Despite the permanence of typical Atelier quirks, Atelier Ryza 3 is a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy featuring some of the best the series has to offer. While this marks the end of Ryza’s journey as the heroine, her influence to this unique and charming franchise will be felt long after the credits have rolled.
Despite some shortcomings, Process of Elimination weaves an intriguing tale, bolstered by a cast of endearing characters. While it might not topple the giants in the visual novel genre, it is a story worth experiencing all the same.
While Like a Dragon: Ishin! Might not be the strongest entry in this venerable franchise, its emphasis on weapon combat and an interesting take on historical characters and events makes it one worth experiencing all the same.
With an unforgettable cast of characters, enthralling story and a deep, enjoyable combat system, Trails to Azure is truly the full package. It’s not just one of my favorite games in the long running Legend of Heroes series, but one of the finest that the JRPG genre has to offer.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a solid foundation for a new IP with fluid combat and fun exploration but fails to topple its spiritual predecessor due to oversimplification of customization and a lackluster PC port.
Just in time for the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy, THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE impresses with its wealth of content and feels like a true celebration of its timeless legacy. Whether you are a beginner who has never played a rhythm game before or a veteran of the genre, if you like Final Fantasy music, this is one title you don’t want to miss.
Fire Emblem: Engage falters as a follow up to what I consider to be the best the series has to offer thus far. However, despite its failings with its lackluster story and characters, the deep customization and enjoyable combat makes it one well worth experiencing anyway.
With improved presentation and various quality of life changes, Tactics Ogre Reborn is a worthy remaster in all areas except for one. However, that one ends up being one of the most important as with poor balancing of difficulty with union levels and an overly inflated HP pool, it became an absolute chore to play early on in the experience and never quite recovered.
Due to a myriad of issues both big and small, Star Ocean: The Divine Force feels less like a step in the right direction but instead, a stumble towards the goal. Still, the excellent combat and a more enjoyable story shows that there is still life amongst the stars and I sincerely hope that the series will continue and improve even further.
The Diofield Chronicles has a solid foundation of mechanics that is hampered greatly by its poor balancing of difficulty, a cast of forgettable characters and a world that failed to draw me in with its lackluster presentation.
Trails from Zero is a wonderful introduction to Crosbell and the charming members of the SSS, expertly ported to PC with all the bells and whistles one would expect from a modern release. It’s a great sign of things to come for the sequel and an easy recommendation to all RPG fans.
Despite a few issues, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a remarkable achievement that evolves the series formula in exciting ways, all the while weaving an emotionally charged story that is sure to be remembered for a long time to come. It makes a strong case not just as one of the best games of the year but as one of the best of all time.
Soul Hackers 2 is a game that compares unfavorably to the recently released SMT V which I consider one of the series best. However, even when viewed on its own merits and nothing else, it falls far short of excellence due to its poor pacing, simplistic combat and endlessly dull dungeon crawling.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak offers new content that is not only impressive in scale but also in its quality. While there are some notable elements like difficulty in searching for multiplayer games and afflicted variations being a bit over tuned holds it back from being a perfect expansion, the positives very easily outweigh the negatives.
As it stands, DNF:Duel is not a fighter I will continue to play as it’s not the kind of experience I’m looking for in a fighting game. However, that is not to say that I don’t see the value in having a game where bombastic, overtuned characters do dumb things to each other as I don’t believe every fighter needs to be meticulously balanced and brutally deep to have a place in the FGC. All that really means is that I’ll just be watching instead of playing.
With added quality of life features and improved pacing, AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative is an impressive follow up to an underrated gem and one that should be on the radar of anyone who appreciates compelling stories in their video games.
Salt and Sacrifice is a greatly ambitious title, melding a number of gameplay elements from other popular series but it comes at the cost of overall polish and focus, leaving a frustrating experience that feels like a step back from its predecessor.
Triangle Strategy weaves a mature story full of intrigue and places the player in an unenviable position of having to make some very tough choices with meaningful consequences, all the while challenging them to face encounters that will test their strategic mind. In other words, it’s a compelling good time.
As a brand new IP, Ghostwire: Tokyo shows a lot of promise with its strong animation work, solid combat and interesting world design, but it falters along the path to the finish line with a story arc that feels rushed along with an excessive use of typical and tired open world game design tropes.
While the technical issues of the barebones PC port and the familiar trappings of the open world formula substantially soured my experience, Elden Ring is still an impressive achievement of fusing compelling world design, exploration and combat.