Some criticize JRPGs for being weird, having too much talking, brain-dead gameplay, being pretentious, and even pandering too hard to be likable to nerds. I can think of one game that fits those criticisms, and it was trying to honor the best of them. YIIK? Yuck…
All in all, Fallout 76 comes off as the core gameplay experience you’d find in Fallout 4, only with multiplayer sort of tacked on somehow. There’s no real overarching story and no NPCs to really speak of, and yet there’s a giant map to explore and collect things while just getting stronger. It’s the modern Bethesda Fallout experience, distilled to that core gameplay loop.
A line from a certain character is very apropos to how this game sees our current year politics and culture: "Everything is political, Sean." I think the game has a good road movie story in there with the two brothers, however the heavy-handed politics are written for pretty much only one crowd: the folks who think our current president is literally Hitler..
The game is overall a short experience, which honestly is a detriment to it because I legitimately wanted to see some kind of resolution for Chris and his dad, Charles.
If you're looking for a game that presents a story that is pretty grounded in reality yet presents some twists and interesting character development, you should consider checking out Before the Storm. Still, you should be wary of the game's performance issues and don't expect mind blowing writing.
Oninaki is an enjoyable RPG if you’re looking for a melodramatic hack-and-slash RPG from yesteryear, and if you properly explore its Daemon mechanics. The game may have some missteps, but I think Tokyo RPG Factory could really shine with more time and a bigger budget.
Mortal Kombat 11 is the latest and greatest entry in the long-running fighting game series focused on excessive murder and crazy Asian-inspired supernatural things. The formula is bloodier, more refined, and improved upon, and this feels like the definitive Mortal Kombat game.
Senran Kagura: Peach Ball is a fun and exciting take on the pinball genre, but within the big-breasted ninja girl series Marvelous is known for.
I really hope Inti Creates explores more of this universe seen in Dragon Marked for Death, as I think they have a solid new IP to work on in future titles. There are snippets of DLC that go into the Dragonblood Clain, but I definitely want to see more. Now with a base, they can refine and experiment!
Little Dragon’s Cafe is an interesting attempt from Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada that plays to his strengths. The game takes you away to a rural, sparsely populated island and drops you into a cute and heartwarming story about strangers growing together.
Perhaps the source material is too dark and violent to really tout this game, however, if you're a fan of the series you should absolutely consider picking it up. Some minor performance or gameplay issues don't really mar the experience – which is to say Berserk is one of my all-time favorite pieces of fiction.
Players that don’t like typical Bethesda RPG tropes like the combat, the skill system, the exploration, or the questing will likely not enjoy Starfield because it’s definitely more of the same. However, if you enjoy Bethesda RPGs and have been itching for them to finally do a sci-fi game, Starfield is quite a fantastic ride.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is a proper return to form for one of the most beloved mecha game series. Everything in the game has been carefully looked at, designed, and fine tuned to appease both longtime fans like myself and newcomer pilots as well. I couldn’t put the game down, every bit of the game is fun – Armored Core VI is a love letter to mecha action.
The Ascent manages to create an unbelievably detailed and dirty cyberpunk world for you to explore and find your place in. All the while you’ll unravel cyberpunk-esque corporate schemes. I couldn’t stop playing the game, The Ascent is absolutely dripping with cyberpunk aesthetics and is a true love letter to the genre by clear lovers of cyberpunk fiction.
Siege of Centauri is a very enjoyable tower defense and strategy game hybrid. The game had some bumps at launch but has received patches and updates since. This honestly feels like somewhat of an experiment for Stardock, a side project while they have the next big RTS cooking in the oven.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is an interesting yet enjoyable side-step for the No More Heroes series. Suda and his team took a risk in offering a completely different experience from what fans have known, and it’s a trippy ride that only they can produce.
I really enjoy the game, I just wish it had more MMO meat to compliment its experience.
I went into playing Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment with caution as to how the game could possibly recapture the essence of the source material, but it does that admirably – even with something as small as the inability to actually "quit the game", which is something that'll stick with me for a long time, just like the series itself.
In closing I'd like to reiterate how much I thoroughly enjoy Awesomenauts, and most especially the content seen in the new release. However, I do worry that the new content seen in Awesomenauts Assemble may not be quite enough for other fans to double dip.
I had an enthralling time playing and experiencing an aquatic, post-apocalyptic world in FAR: Changing Tides, and the game shines as an example of true high art in video games. FAR: Changing Tides is a little gem that cannot be missed, it’s a masterfully crafted emotional adventure.