As we come to the end of the year, I figured there'd be an Atlus-published strategy RPG on my game of the year list; I just never imagined there'd be two. But Stella Glow made beautiful music with my heart, and you definitely need to pick it up and get that soundtrack CD. Good night, Imageepoch – sadly, there will be no encores.
If you've got access to a group of friends who are down for some weird concepts and Capra-based shenanigans, Toto Temple Deluxe should definitely be on your radar. There's something just plain fun about hurtling yourself into a goat from three-quarters of a screen away in order to sneak out a one-point win. It's ludicrous, but it works, and I hope Juicy Beast has more of these concepts because I'm down for whatever they've got.
If I had written the review after I had cleared Day 1, I would have been ready to give Badlands some awards. The frustration of the later levels and all the level skipping that I did to see if it would improve really left a sour taste in my mouth. There's a really good game here, just know your frustration point and be ready to jump out when it gets there.
Shiftlings is a solid yet unspectacular first effort from a rookie developer, though I do hope it's not the last we see from Sierra. If you can put aside the obsession with finding everything in a level, there's a pretty fun game here – just be ready to fiddle with the sound options.
The Wii U version of Nihilumbra isn't the game's first picnic on a console, but it never really got the publicity it deserved. If you've passed it up previously, don't sleep on this game now that it's on the Wii U, just have some kittens handy to provide a dose of happiness afterward.
Because it was a 2012 DS game, the first release of Devil Survivor 2 flew under the radar of a lot of strategy RPG players. If you're one of those, or want something that can take up a lot of time, then Record Breaker should be on your radar.