Matt Sainsbury
Doom 64 is an impressive port of the forgotten son of the series.
There's simply nothing to sink your teeth into with this game
Talisman is a classic board game, and deserves respect for that. It’s also eminently playable to this day, and very easy to pick up and play, and as such it’s a genuinely good game for lazy Sundays with friends
The Switch has no shortage of this genre at this point, but SeaBed might just be the most meaningful of them all.
Persona 5's excesses and its thematic step backwards are issues, but the raw gameplay is so enjoyable, and the characters so vibrant and well-written, that I haven't minded having the excuse to play through the bloat again. Not by any means.
You probably already know whether you want to buy MLB The Show 20.
If for no other reason, NinNinDays is worth a spin because the asking price is cheap, and the art is just that good. As pervy pin-up goes, there just aren't crotch shots and taut midriffs of the same quality on the Switch as what Sumire's story offers. However, outside of the art, a limp localisation of what is only a standard and uninspiring narrative are big red flags that would hang over any visual novel, and NinNinDays doesn't get a free pass for those issues just because its fan service is particularly appealing.
As something of a budget entry into the same genre occupied by Onechanbara, Dead or School is decent fun. Being a budget game it struggles to maintain a consistency in tone and experience, but a solid loot and upgrade system, some great boss fights, and a good sense of humour, all help to see it through.
It's great to have a "real" Kingdom Under Fire game playable on modern platforms.
Just as I have a special reverence for Demon's Souls, even as I recognise Dark Souls was able to refine and improve on "the formula", I recognise that Nioh 2 is the better game, while also missing spirit and originality, which has gone by the wayside.
As a fan of Pokémon, Mystery Dungeon roguelikes, and whimsical, light-hearted, and wholesome art styles, Rescue Team DX clicked with me on every level.
Two Point Hospital is wildly entertaining, with a great sense of humour and production values that pop with light-hearted, satirical style.
Ganbare! Super Strikers is simply let down by the limitations of being a micro-indie game. It has a host of good ideas, and the action on the pitch is fine.
The appeal of Langrisser I & II is quite limited, and I don't think it's going to grab the attention of the Fire Emblem new converts that the developer was probably hoping to. With that being said, for the nostalgic, and people who like their traditional tactics JRPGs, there's a lot to like here.
Kingdom Rush isn’t even that great by tower defence standards.
Hero Must Die has a lot going for it – a strong, immediately compelling theme, a lovely, melancholic aesthetic, and a simple elegance to its systems. Unfortunately, the development team really struggled to find a way to marry the form and function of the JRPG, and the narrative that the mechanics are meant to support.
Ultimately, Wanderlust succeeds in being an inspirational work about the power of travel.
If you love your historical strategy for the history that they depict, then Romance of the Three Kingdoms delivers. Everything about it is a perfect reflection on what that book was on about.
My one real concern with Katana Kami is that I’m not sure just how well it conveys its themes to people who aren’t already deeply into this stuff.
Rune Factory 4 is a delight. It's one of those heartfelt, earnest, and wholesome games that remind you that not everything needs to be dour, competitive, excessively violent, or deep.