Sophia Edwards's Reviews
It'll undoubtedly be a divisive game, one I'm certain many will hate due to how punishing and unfriendly it can be, particularly in the game's awful prologue, but once I got into the swing of things, I found an amazingly rewarding game that I grew to love. While it can sometimes be alienating in how out there many of its ideas seem (considering the game is technically one big bossfight, it'd have to be), 'Trillion: God of Destruction' is an outstandingly original game that I can't wait to check out again.
Both a great action game and a really fun strategy game, 'Empires' might not appeal to most 'Warriors' fans, as the new elements can seem intimidating and almost jarring when put next to the combat, but for those who put the time in, there's a lot of complexity and fantastic ideas to be found here, making this one of the best 'Warriors' games to date.
A fantastic reboot that revitalizes an aging series wonderfully, the 'Hitman Intro Pack' is packed with personality, intelligence, and absolutely wonderful gameplay. This should easily satisfy series veterans and newcomers alike, and gives me a ton of hope for upcoming episodes. I can't wait to see where IO goes from here.
I didn't enjoy 'Punch Club' as much as I wanted to, mostly due to mechanical gripes that bugged me throughout my entire playthrough. Despite these issues, it's a charming little game that the developers have only improved with the addition of free content. While it makes a few missteps in some critical areas, for fans of life sims or boxing movies, this is definitely worth checking out.
A game filled with ambition that never quite reaches its lofty goals, 'The Witch and the Hundred Knight' isn't a bad game, but it's not a particularly good one. While the 'Revival Edition' is a substantial improvement over its predeccesor, the already confirmed sequel needs to double down on these improvements and change the structural flaws still present here. The story is worth experiencing if you can tolerate a character who's intentionally extremely unlikeable, but as an overall package, it stumbles in a fair few critical ways, and ultimately ends up as one of the weaker efforts from a largely fantastic studio.
While 'Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest' can stumble in a few places, namely the melodramatic plot and a few structural annoyances, this is ultimately a great SRPG that should please series fans. Some of the newer mechanics don't work quite as well as they should, but the tweaks to the core gameplay go a long way to making this a challenging, and immensely satisfying game.
While 'Sadame' isn't a bad game at all, it feels like a particularly hollow one. The game has promise, but it all gets squandered on combat that's too simple and dull for its own good. For $15, the quantity of content is impressive, but despite the good ideas present, 'Sadame' doesn't have nearly enough variety or challenge to ultimately make it feel worthwhile.
'Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae' lives and dies by its combat. There's nothing else here, and I don't say that to be snarky. There's a story that barely exists (maybe two minutes of total cutscene time), but outside of that, it's all action. Thankfully, 'Mitsurugi' overcomes the low budget to deliver excellent mechanics that are capable of standing entirely on their own. I wish there was a little more to it all, but this serves as a nice action game that should easily satisfy genre diehards.
'Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel' likely won't capture a major audience within the fighting game community, though for what it tries to do, it's a fun game. Those who are just looking for something light and frothy will have a good time, but if you're looking for much complexity, this likely won't hold interest for terribly long. The stalwart online helps the game a great deal, but lack of moveset variety in the roster isn't particularly exciting. For sure, there's fun to be had with 'Nitroplus', it just requires that you play with other people, as the single player is far too limited for its own good.
It stumbles in a fair few places, and it likely won't sway those who aren't fond of the basic idea of the franchise. Overall, however, 'Neptunia VII' represents a strong step forward in a franchise that seemed all too content to stand in place. While I wish it went further with its parody than it ever really does, a sequel that doubles down on the good ideas introduced here could potentially lead to something great.
An extremely strong start to a promising series, here's hoping we see Square Enix give this formula another shot soon.
'The Deadly Tower of Monsters' is initially extremely charming and unique, but it runs out of steam way too fast to carry it through its already short campaign. While the aesthetic is terrific, the gameplay and humor don't work well enough to make the game terribly memorable. It's not a particularly bad game, but at best, it's a dull, mediocre footnote for a studio that's done far better work than this.
A tremendous remaster of a really great game. 'Resident Evil 0' might be a little too difficult at times, and the inventory system really could've used some tweaking, but there's never been a better way to experience this survival horror classic. If you've never played the game before, it's a fantastic time, and if you have, it's hard not to appreciate just how much has been done to make this version of it extremely worthwhile.
In spite of some odd quirks, and a little bit of age starting to show, 'Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen' still feels incredibly fresh, is tons of fun to play, and is a great addition to the wealth of the PC platform. It can take a little while before things really start to get going, but once they do, it's a compelling game that has a lot to love for both action and RPG fans. If there's ever going to be a 'Dragon's Dogma 2', it could turn out to be something of a masterpiece.
While 'The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel' is definitely a good game, and one that JRPG fans are likely to get a kick out of, I do wish it could've been a little more noteworthy. The combat system is excellent, and the game has some really fun side activities that serve as nice distractions (the playable card game, Blade, is a major highlight) from the central adventure. Still, the wonderful gameplay mechanics don't gel perfectly story format, which leads to pacing issues that hurt both aspects. 'Cold Steel 2' is due out next year, and if that speeds things up just a little bit, it'll absolutely be worth your time, but as it stands, 'Cold Steel' is a pleasant game that I really wish I could've fallen in love with. It's worth a look, but there are a few hurdles to get over before things really start to get moving.