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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a sparkling rendition of a beloved classic. Though a distinct lack of challenge and some unnecessary padding hamper the experience, a trove of wonderful characters, spirited worlds, charming dialogue, and memorable encounters fill the heart and rouse the senses, resulting in one of the finest adventures in The Great Gonzalez’s illustrious career.
Sand Land replicates both the unmistakable style and iconic character of Akira Toriyama’s work with color, authenticity, and passion. As an open-world adventure game, however, it is both conventional in gameplay and repetitive in design, resulting in a good-looking, great-sounding but overly simplistic adventure that nails the charm and aesthetic, but not the excitement and dynamism. A stylish but average escapede that never really gets out of first gear.
Eiyuden Chronicle is a fantastic first entry from Rabbit & Bear Studios in an attempt to bring back Suikoden. A by-the-numbers plot holds it back from truly achieving greatness, but a strong cast and exciting base building makes this a must-have for all fans of classic JRPGs.
Princess Peach: Showtime! doesn’t quite suffice as the leading lady performance our Mushroom Monarch deserves, but there’s no denying its infectious charm and cheerful sense of creativity. While Showtime! doesn’t match up to the escapades of her plumber pals, this spirited adventure - punctuated by heartwarming visuals, fun and varied stages, and a superb score - is worth a weekend of anyone’s time. Encore!
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth ups the ante in this unforgettable globe-trotting journey. Featuring some of the best characterization in gaming and a faithful and enjoyable recreation of Final Fantasy VII’s world, this is one train you won’t want to get off.
With Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom continues to solidify its reputation as one of the industry’s premier developers. The sequel delivers an incredible, continent-spanning odyssey filled with monsters to battle and mysteries to explore - rewarding player discovery and backing up its captivating sense of adventure with refined, enjoyable combat. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is one of the best fantasy RPGs of the modern age and will no doubt prove a strong contender for game of the year.
Alone in the Dark serves up a classy and confident slice of old-school survival horror, all sliding puzzles, creaking floorboards, and long, dark shadows. Though it lacks the grander scope of its Shock & Gore contemporaries, this quaint tribute to yesteryear impresses with its kooky cast, strong atmosphere, and vintage ‘ghost story’ vibes. Crucially, Alone in the Dark finally fans have a new adventure they can be proud of.
Vanillaware has once again proven its adeptness at capturing the key flavors of classical gaming, before invigorating those flavors with its own distinctive, captivating style. While the formulaic story will win no awards, the satisfaction derived from its absorbing mechanics sees Unicorn Overlord march confidently to victory. A new time sink awaits. Join the Liberation, comrade.
One of the most esteemed and cherished RPGs of all time returns, smoother and smarter than ever. Unfortunately, Persona 3 Reload deals an incomplete hand, with disappointing omissions, stunted evolution, and a contentious price tag. Nonetheless, its indelible cast retain their infectious social spirit, set to break your heart and burn your dread all over again.
Enshrouded is par for the course with most survival games released in early access. There are promising foundations and underwhelming systems in equal measure, but it gets key things right in the form of an engaging build system, a sense of adventure in exploration, and some great quality of life features. Probably more fun in co-op with friends, there’s enough here for most survival veterans to enjoy so long as their expectations are suitably adjusted for early access titles.
Tekken returns to the ring with a powerful new engine that sees The King of Iron Fist Tournament looking, sounding, and performing at its most majestic. Gameplay still forgoes evolution in favor of tradition, resulting in progress that is mostly skin-deep. Regardless, Tekken 8 remains a blast to play, set to keep competitive hype fires burning throughout 2024 and beyond.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a sublimely designed celebration not only of its own storied past, but of the joys of gaming itself. Epic in scale, driven by an emotive story, and overflowing with compelling action and absorbing activities, Infinite Wealth’s bold ambition pays off handsomely, resulting in one of the finest open-world adventures ever made.
Finding its feet for a second round, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising comes out swinging. Delivering an exciting, accessible, and shamelessly sexy fighting experience - packed with dramatic action, fun features, and bags of personality - GBVSR is a major improvement over its predecessor, fully deserving of a spot among the new year’s heaviest hitters.
As chaotic as it is repetitive; as satirical as it is hilarious; as vulgar as it is authentic, RoboCop: Rogue City is one of the most sincere licensed games in history. Teyon deftly replicates the series’ explicit satire and retrofuturistic style in a release that, much like its inspiration, is smarter than it initially appears, and has more heart than its violence implies. You now have 15 seconds to go buy.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a gorgeous open-world adventure that, despite having some similarities to Ubisoft’s own Far Cry, has its own identity that begs you to explore every nook and cranny. That exploration won’t be for everyone, but for those of you tired of having your hands held, there’s a lot to see, do, and enjoy.
Rogue Trader is very much a release in the Owlcat Games mould, combining a great degree of customization with a solid story, meaningful choices, and interesting characters. While all that, combined with excellent use of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, comes perilously close to pushing Rogue Trader into the greatest realm of CRPGs, unfortunate balance issues, obtuse design elements, and myriad bugs prevent the title from achieving its full potential.
From a gameplay perspective, Gangs of Sherwood breaks little in the way of new ground. But thanks to the talent of its developer, an eye for creative world design, and the classic, swashbuckling spirit of yesteryear, this plucky bout of melee mayhem pushes past its limitations to deliver a great-looking and enjoyable scrapper for you and your band of merry men.
Super Mario RPG is a faithful remake of the 1996 classic, which adds several new gameplay features and some welcome quality-of-life updates. While the revisioned graphics, sound, and music are amazing, the storytelling is still very basic with a challenge that is somehow easier than the Super Nintendo original. However, if you can stomach the price, which is a bit high considering the overall package, there’s still a lot of fun to be had here.
While die-hard Phantom Thieves will enjoy stepping into the Metaverse once again - as slick, stylish, and cool as it ever was - Persona 5 Tactica lacks variety, momentum, and challenge. Its key issue lies in a fatal lack of mechanical balance, resulting in an endearing but unsatisfying strategy experience.
Modern Warfare 3 has moments of Call of Duty classics, with a reinvigorated multiplayer, and a twist on Zombies. However, there is too much Warzone polluting the base experience, and the franchise should try harder to keep both experiences unique.