Daily Archives: August 9, 2025

CyberBoxTV, Gaming, Review

Review: Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga — A Gorgeous cinematic experience with a bare bones gameplay.

Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga is a visually stunning experience, boasting some of the most impressive graphics ever seen in a video game. The characters are rendered with remarkable realism, while the environments with their breathtaking landscapes are nothing short of spectacular. The atmosphere is further elevated by an immersive soundtrack, meticulously crafted sound effects, and the haunting inner voices that masterfully convey the protagonist’s psychosis.

The narrative picks up directly from the first installment, taking Senua on a new journey where she faces both human foes and towering, monstrous creatures. However, beyond its technical and artistic achievements, the game has notable shortcomings. Its playtime is a mere 5 to 7 hours, making it even shorter than the original. The progression is extremely linear, to the point where it often feels like walking through corridors. Enemies become repetitive, encounters are scarce, and much of the experience revolves around listening to dialogues, internal voices, and solving the occasional puzzle.

The Enhanced version, released alongside the PS5 edition and as a free update for Xbox Series, brings back the Dark Rot mode, which adds permadeath that if you fail multiple times you’ll have to restart the journey from the very beginning. On the plus side, this version offers improved performance at 60 FPS. While not essential for the game’s slow-paced rhythm, it does provide smoother visuals.

Combat boils down to pressing two buttons with no real variation, which limits the gameplay depth. In summary, Hellblade 2 is technically brilliant and atmospherically captivating, yet mechanically simple.

Score: 3/5

CyberBoxTV, Gaming, Review

Review: Mafia: The Old Country – A Visually Stunning Return with Limited Depth

Mafia: The Old Country marks the long-awaited return of the franchise after nearly a decade, presenting a story-driven experience. This new installment shines primarily for its visual presentation, masterfully recreating early 1900s Sicily with an impressive level of authenticity. Built on Unreal Engine 5, the game’s visuals and animations are top-notch character faces, lighting, and environmental details are truly breathtaking.

The map is quite large and open for exploration, inviting players to discover every corner of this richly detailed world. The story follows Enzo Favara, an ordinary young man who becomes entangled in the culture of the first Italian mafia. Throughout the game, players serve Don Torissi, who assigns Enzo the dirtiest tasks of the family business. The narrative structure is solid, featuring several memorable action sequences.

Gameplay-wise, the combat delivers what you’d expect from a third-person shooter with a cover system, enhanced by well-designed stealth sections that keep the tension high. One standout innovation is the cinematic knife fights are brutal, intense, and often delivering the most dramatic outcomes in key missions.

However, Mafia: The Old Country stumbles in several areas. Despite having an open world, it’s only accessible through a separate mode that lacks meaningful content, aside from admiring the scenery or hunting for collectibles. There are no side missions, meaningful NPC interactions, or engaging activities, making the open world feel completely unnecessary.

Narratively, the game starts strong but falls into clichés halfway through, when a forbidden romance introduces predictable drama for the protagonist. The enemy AI is also weak, often lining up to be shot or reloading while walking toward you, making them easy targets. Missions are strictly linear, offering no room for deviation, and the campaign lasts around eight hours.

In summary, Mafia: The Old Country is a decent game that visually impresses and delivers a competent narrative experience, but it suffers from stereotypical plot twists, poor AI, and an empty open world. The core mechanics are solid, yet the lack of post-campaign content makes its long-term value questionable.

Final Score: 3/5