Like its predecessor, *Chaos;Childkept me thoroughly entertained, and I found myself reluctantly tearing myself away from it right in the middle of chapters. The deaths and the search for the truth behind them are gripping and at times dramatic, with the music enhancing the atmosphere. In between, calmer moments and humour lighten the mood, particularly in some of the protagonist’s inner monologues.
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Chaos;Head Noah had me hooked (figuratively speaking), but it also often made me laugh. Particularly when it came to school, otaku life and some of Takumi’s fantasies, I often found it hard to keep a smile off my face.
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Kirby and the Forgotten Land doesn't lose itself in unnecessary vastness despite the jump to three dimensions. Despite its linear structure, there's plenty to search for and discover in the levels. The camera, despite its limitations, is rarely a problem. Kirby's flying ability was sensibly restricted, the new Mouthful Mode is visually unusual but a nice change of pace. The optional challenges offer enough content for motivated players, and only in rare cases is the lack of a retry function via menu bothersome. Even in harder mode, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is usually not particularly challenging, but still entertaining. The visual style of the game is appealing, though the framerate reduction of distant objects and enemies is a minor flaw. Apart from that, the game runs smoothly and no bugs occurred. At the latest with the optional tasks, there's nothing to complain about regarding scope. Kirby fans who wanted the jump to three dimensions and people who want a linear and colorful gaming experience with smaller discoveries should have little trouble with Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
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AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative entertained me just as much as its predecessor. I also mostly enjoyed the humor, even if its often sexual direction will definitely not be for everyone. Some scenes, as mentioned above, are deliberately over-the-top and absurd. I personally like that the game and its characters often lean into a light, and perhaps for some players overly exaggerated, tone. The mystery remains unclear for a long time, with only individual pieces being solved before most of it eventually comes together. The fact that I did not fully understand every detail myself is, in the overall context, not something I would count as a criticism. The structure with its different routes can also occasionally lead to some confusion. During the Psync segments, I often had to experiment a bit, and sometimes I ran out of time—but I found that unproblematic. Once you focus on the known correct interactions and use the skip function, you can quickly return to the point where you previously failed. Anyone who enjoys a mysterious case with puzzles that do not require excessive brain strain should definitely consider taking a look at AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative, provided they can handle—or even appreciate—its exaggerated tone and humor. I look back on it with mixed feelings: one half because I was well entertained, the other because it’s already over, even though it certainly wasn’t lacking in content. I would gladly see more entries in the series.
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Those looking for light horror atmosphere, a fairly simple story, and certain insights without elevated demands can safely check into Hotel Izanami. Others should probably look for different accommodation.
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Death's Door is an altogether convincing top-down action-adventure. The combat has a pleasant pace, even if you occasionally find yourself having to wail on enemies a bit too long. The puzzles aren't overly complicated, though the absence of a map gets in the way now and then.
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The same basic framework for the third time, without any long breaks in between, did start to feel a bit worn out to me, but otherwise I certainly found myself entertained once again.
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Overall, I found Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair quite entertaining too. Once again, I enjoyed gathering evidence and drawing conclusions, even if they weren’t always correct.
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I don’t see Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc as the ultimate experience, but it was gripping and entertaining. Despite the ‘death game’ premise, I didn’t find the atmosphere too oppressive either. So there was no reason for me to hesitate for long before picking up the sequel.
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Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream offers an entertaining experience again without a major focus on the story. Instead, it shines with a complex synthesis system in which one can comfortably lose oneself for hours in total.
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Gal*Gun Returns is rather recommendable for a limited target audience. The gameplay is mostly not particularly demanding, and across the four character routes of the Chosen Ones, locations repeat themselves somewhat often. Minigame sections and boss fights are a nice change of pace.
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Dreamcutter offers short, pleasant entertainment with minor technical issues, but it probably won't haunt your dreams. The combat system is simple yet fast, and moving through levels with various obstacles is enjoyable.
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Even though stealth games are not among my favourites, I still found Aragami: Shadow Edition quite entertaining. I chose a rather brutal approach: waiting for enemy movement patterns, warping between nearby shadows and striking, hiding the bodies again, and returning to the darkness. If a guard became alerted, I would eliminate them with an ability and make them disappear as well. The fact that enemies show no concern for missing people or bloodstains? Well, for me that was secondary—the fun came first. I also liked the idea of displaying shadow energy and selected abilities through markings on the character’s cloak. With a mostly slow and cautious playstyle, I was able to progress through the game quite comfortably. Of course, this does make the pacing suffer somewhat. At times, I also would have preferred more generous checkpoints. In the Nightfall campaign, I had to abandon my approach of eliminating as many enemies as possible, as the difficulty became too high for that style of play. Additional challenge is provided by the third difficulty level and optional medals. Unfortunately, performance issues slightly detract from the experience. I would also have preferred full voice acting, as it would have supported the atmosphere better. At times, it is also not entirely clear why certain areas—such as rooftops—cannot be reached, even though they appear to be within range and sufficiently shadowed.
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As it turned out for me, AI: The Somnium Files is not the psycho-splatter experience I had initially imagined in my mind. There are a few moments that gave me a slight feeling of nausea, but overall that is negligible. Instead, alongside the tension and oppressive scenes, there is also plenty of humor, a fair amount of absurdity, and quite a lot of sexual thoughts—especially from the protagonist. Overall, I felt well entertained.
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Blue Reflection: Second Light met my expectations and has become, at least aside from the complexity of certain features, a sequel that feels more polished overall. My expectations were even exceeded when it came to the quantity of optional scenes, which often managed to put a smile on my face.
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A Plague Tale: Innocence is a quite entertaining roughly ten-hour journey in plague- and rat-infested medieval times. The stealth system and level design as well as enemy distribution are mostly forgiving enough that even for people with less patience or talent for stealth, it does not constitute a significant obstacle.
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Overall, I felt well entertained by Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. The graphic style is pleasant to look at, although there are occasional minor stuttering on the Nintendo Switch. I had no problems with combat or movement because of this.
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Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny has something to offer for different player types. Those who mainly want to advance the story can do so without being intimidated by the multitude of features. Anyone seeking more challenge can carefully increase enemy strength via the Cheat Shop. And those who wish to thoroughly train and optimize their team will find ample opportunities—and tougher opponents—especially after completing the story.
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This certainly made the experience more enjoyable, but I never fully warmed up to how heavily I had to rely on target tracking against moving enemies, especially since many opponents simply seemed far more maneuverable than my own aircraft. The story mode is also not particularly long. After finishing the game, the total recorded flight time was around nine hours, although that figure also included an abandoned run on Normal difficulty as well as a few free missions.
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Even though I had to hold back with the alchemy system to avoid being significantly too strong, and the story isn't truly gripping, I liked the game overall. Through the possible chaining of various attacks and the block function, the combat system feels more active than in the predecessor [...]
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