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It's quite impressive that SEGA has been able to take something so revered as Valkyria Chronicles, and do it justice with the fourth title in the series.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is for people that enjoy a well-written fantasy story, and one that they feel like they have a role in making. The open-ended approach gives players a lot of agency in weaving their own stories, and this is backed up through the character development and combat systems, which at all times reward creativity, and punish those that are not really paying attention. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is very much a love letter to the RPGs of yesteryear, and it's a proof of how enjoyable those games can still be.
Hyakki Castle puts up a welcome challenge and offers players something rooted in a very authentic Japanese (Shinto) spirituality. It's an artifact of the country and comes from the same place that the likes of Okami, Nioh and God Wars does. It's truly amazing that the Nintendo Switch has had three of those four released on it in the span of just a couple of weeks.
That being said, Realpolitiks is a really delightful game to have for on-the-go play, on a console that I would never have guessed would end up with something like this on it.
Spider-Man was never not going to deliver on its promise, and as much as I enjoyed my time with it, I still hold out hope that at some point the industry will start to question whether empty, superficial fun really is the peak of what its biggest projects can offer.
Punch Line is a effective as a satire and parody. It's obviously only going to appeal to people that are that immersed in Japanese culture that their sense of hyperbole comes across as amusing and surreal, rather than just silly, but then this is very much an insider's parody of a type of anime that only the most dedicated (and therefore, likely aware) fans of anime in the first place. For that niche Punch Line is pitch-perfect.
There's still plenty of fanservice in Nekopara; the girls have good taste in underwear, that's for sure, and there's plenty of flirtatious dialogue and risqué implications, but it all comes across as playful, and reinforces the rest of the game's silly tone. And for that, it's absolutely delightful.
The racing market is a crowded one, but F1 is pure racing, and the sport doesn't get much more exciting, or strategic, than this one
As a first effort out it's genuinely impressive, offering a clean and enjoyable combat system that can also be used to introduce new players to the joy of modern 2D fighters. I firmly believe there's a role for fighters like that in the market, and Blade Strangers is a very fine first effort indeed.
Dragon Quest XI is, from end to end, an iconic example of everything that Dragon Quest has stood for since way back in the 80's. It's charming and has a colourful energy that makes it very hard to put down.
Warhammer Inquisitor: Martyr succeeds in giving players an action RPG experience that manages to combine the action of a 'Diablo clone' with the Warhammer 40K license.
Not once has SEGA let me down, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 is no different. It's a bloody brilliant game.
If nothing else, the simple reality that Shenmue is again a living franchise is, all by itself, something truly amazing.
It's a rare example of where the randomisation of the roguelike structure doesn't feel like a lazy excuse to ignore level design. Rather, it provides a canvas to allow some of the cleanest and engaging tactical action that we've seen in quite some time play out.
God Wars is too Japanese in tone, aesthetic and design to ever have much of a hope of reaching a mainstream audience, but as a culturally relevant artifact, anyone who is interested in seeing how a game can explore ancient folk tales and spirituality in an interesting and engaging manner should not pass up this opportunity
There's not much wrong with We Happy Few that can't be fixed with some patches, and regardless of what happens there, the game has a narrative that is brave, intelligently crafted, and so incredibly poignant.
Phantom Doctrine did come out of nowhere to become a truly enjoyable and memorable experience.
We might not have any of the real classics just yet, but The Amazing Shinsengumi is a perfectly good stand-in while we wait.