The Dragon of the North DLC does little to shake up the Nioh formula, providing familiar environments with uninspired boss battles. That said, this is more Nioh, and the strength of the base game should still give you the challenge and thrill of combat despite the DLC's downfalls.
Dragon Quest Heroes 2 provides a fantastic RPG-Musou experience, giving players the best of both worlds. The story might fall flat, but by Lu Bu, is the gameplay is an absolute blast.
The Surge is a flawed but ultimately enjoyable action RPG. While it can be incredibly frustrating at times, the fantastic combat and body part targeting system does enough to overshadow the bad parts.
Even though it released in a year full of major blockbusters, this little game ended up stealing my heart.
There are still some core narrative issues with the main characters and the game can be a bit too easy at times, but the new job system alone made this journey back to Ivalice so much more enjoyable. Whether you're returning or playing this game for the first time, Final Fantasy XII is a JRPG that deserves to be played.
Miitopia is a quirky and entertaining RPG-lite in very short bursts, but unfortunately the game doesn't have all that much to offer outside of a few goofs. The lack of substantial player involvement leaves it feeling too automated and the experience grows stale, fast.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm's first episode can feel like a drag in the beginning, with a weak main mechanic and slow pacing, but it all pays off in the end and manages to become a flawed, but captivating experience.
Project Cars 2 delivers an outstanding racing experience, unfortunately, once the honeymoon period wears off, the by the numbers career mode does little to captivate in the long run, and the numerous bugs and inconsistent presentation and AI hamper an otherwise fantastic game.
Bloodshed's End concludes the Nioh saga on a high note with amazing bosses and a new challenging mode. Not to mention it has some truly nostalgic throwbacks to Ninja Gaiden, and that alone, makes it a worthwhile experience
I want to love it, so badly and from a pure gameplay standpoint, this is probably one of my favourite racers in quite some time.
The Evil Within 2 is a shining example of how to expand your game world while still having it remain a focused experience. Minor bugs cannot hinder what is ultimately a bloody (pun intended) good time.
Cat Quest's combat can get stale and the lacklustre dungeon design definitely hampers exploration, but the surprisingly entertaining story and cool loot system is enough to keep you engaged to see it through to the end, if, you're playing in short bursts.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 suffers from some technical issues and takes a really long time to kick it into high gear, but when it does, it manages to become a sublime RPG, standing toe to toe with the behemoths of the genre.
Monster Hunter World is an addictive, thrilling but ultimately satisfying experience. It's the perfect starting point for newcomers, but it also has all the depth that long-time fans enjoy, making this easily the best game in the series.
Lost Sphear is a bit of a hard sell to people who are not fans of JRPGS and even though the writing and characters are quite stereotypical, the story has a lot of heart. The battle system and customization options make for a fun game.
Detective Pikachu, as a character, is really quite special - but the game itself is unfortunately just not very much fun to play.
Ni No Kuni 2 manages to showcase that even without Studio Ghibli, Level-5 can still create a truly wondrous and magical JRPG. Even though the new features and strategic elements feel undercut by its easy difficulty, this is still a fine example of what the genre has to offer.
Detroit: Become Human manages to dial back Quantic Dream's usual style of storytelling and instead focus more on the characters and their personal journey resulting in one the most compelling adventure games in recent memory.
Dark Souls is an amazing and important game, but the remaster does little to spice things up, providing little reason to really go back to Lordran. Blighttown runs at 60fps though, so that might be reason enough for some.
Onrush is the perfect game to play after a long day at work. It's fast, it's fun and somewhat cathartic as well. Unfortunately the lack of content and a cooperative multiplayer focus that's never fully realized will leave you rushing to play something else after a few sessions.