Those looking for a turned-based RPG, inspired by the golden oldies, are advised to look exactly where Earthlock took its inspiration from, as it's not very good at what it does. Some neat ideas have been included, but these can't make amends for a lack of an engaging plot, or fun battles.
Humourless, bland, boring, and, when it comes to the extra rogue element, straight up irritating, Unicorn Dungeon is simply not worth anyone's time, genre fan or not - and that's even when taking its tiny price into consideration.
Omensight looks and feels good… but that soon gives way to repetition, as well as the realisation that nothing in this animal kingdom has what it takes to stand in the way of the main heroine. As for the story, and whole murder mystery aspect, well, it they are not that impressive, in all honesty…
If Hell does exist, then it's surely the one depicted in Agony, because one can get used to pain and suffering, but these can't compete with utter and complete boredom. Madmind Studios' rushed, "controversial" cash-grab, is nothing more than one of the contenders for the worst release of 2018, and one of the worst survival horror games ever, full stop.
Both in terms of storytelling, as well as gameplay, Tower of Time sits right there in the middle of the quality scale. A handful of interesting ideas do exist, and, as a whole, this isn't bad or broken, but, from the first to the fortieth hour, nothing in this dungeon crawling "RPG" will turn out to be exciting, either.
STAY starts as an nail-biting adventure that's hard to let go of - literally and figuratively. Soon enough, however, it will become an exercise in frustration, partly because of the slow pace of it all, but mainly due to some bad design choices, with the aggravatingly cryptic, and speed-bumpy puzzles taking the biscuit.
The most impressive thing about this is its pleasantly corny, '80s-esque name, because, besides the fact that Raging Justice is a brawler of below average quality, it makes the mistake of being way too much in love with its source material, and doesn't stray one bit from it
From beginning to end, Dark Rose Valkyrie feels as if it has every flaw of the JRPG genre combined into one package. The characters are stereotypical instead of memorable, the story sort of… sits there, and the battles are slow, and depend more on grinding than tactical thinking. Apart from all this, Compile Heart's creation is audio-visually unimpressive, a technical mess, and feels as if it hasn't spent the right amount of time in the oven.
Not only will Episode 2: Hide and Seek not turn the heads of those who didn't like the first part of The Council, but it will probably disappoint the ones that did, as it takes a couple of steps backward. The journey through the realm of mystery thrillers it offers remains a somewhat engrossing one, but it surely needs to think a lot about its next step if it is to succeed.
This is a 12-year-old's (and beyond) sexual fantasy, and a pretty "safe" one at that - and that's fine. Unfortunately, the game attached to it all is a bore, as Gal*Gun 2 is nothing more than a mediocre, on-rails - sort of - shooter of no importance.
Forgotton Anne is a charming little adventure, with an interesting, and good-looking, hand painted world that's fun to live on for the eight or so hours that this will last. Unfortunately, the story never really manages to become as emotional and engrossing as it thinks it is, and the rest of the experience, the actual jumping and puzzle-solving, feels more like useless baggage.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a lesson in sequel creation. Instead of making some slight alterations, or simply changing the setting, this smooths all the rough edges of the first game, while keeping the plot, writing, and role-playing aspect in top form. While not without flaws, and although the seafaring business is not equally awesome as the rest of the experience, this is, without a single doubt one of the best Dungeons & Dragons-inspired RPGs of the year. Kudos in spades Obsidian Entertainment!
A Robot Named Fight! is a "great game, BUT…" kind of deal, that won't appeal to just anyone. It's actually highly recommended, but only as long as you can deal with a metroidvania with a perma-death mechanic - and one that won't exactly win any awards for its variety and replay value.
Frostpunk isn't perfect, but it doesn't really matter, as this is playing a different kind of ball game that has a unique charm of its own. It engrosses players into its frozen, post-apocalyptic world, and lets them do more than just design a city; it lets them really fear about failing, and it lets them feel immense joy for every small victory. It's a survival strategy game at its best.
No, this isn't as good as those who have fallen in love with it say it is.
What Lode Runner Legacy isn't: something new and innovative that focuses on adding new elements to that distant classic from the '80s. What Lode Runner Legacy is: the original game at its best, with added levels, a retro-friendly voxel art style that fits like a glove, and a level editor that raises the replay value sky high… and it's on Nintendo Switch!
The Council is off to a really good start with Episode 1: The Mad Ones, with an occultism/conspiracy-heavy story that is as mysterious as it is engrossing, and a RPG skill system that works well in unison with the more "traditional" elements of narrative-driven gameplay. It's a rough diamond, for sure, but at least it is one that provides a fresh look on the genre, making it easy to get hungry for the next chapter.
The levels are enjoyably tough, as well as quite pretty in all their cartoony simplicity, but, when it comes to enjoying Sling Ming, it all boils down to this: who will find controlling a heroine by handling the rope she is tied to, with gravity doing the rest of the work, any fun? Simply put, the answer is "not everyone."
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero's Costume Pack is not bad. In fact, it retains the same quality as the rest of the DLC packs, as well as the core game itself. Unfortunately, while it gives you new toys to play with in the form of new classes, these don't provide a strong enough reason to play the levels that are 99.99% identical to the originals.
Unless willing to experience a, somewhat flawed, cult piece of adventure game history that oozes with spookiness, The 7th Guest is not really a big recommendation, especially after so many years, as it's basically a series of puzzle mini-games; mini-games that lack a "connection" to the game world, and which are of mixed quality.