Pierre-Yves Lanthier's Reviews
Shiren the Wanderer - The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is amazing. It’s hard, it’s challenging, it’s a Roguelike. While there are many features present in order to help out Shiren and Koppa, none of it matters if fate has other plans. Careful consideration of actions is just as important as making proper preparations but above all else, it’s ok to run away sometimes in order to come back with better equipment and beat the crap out of whatever made you run away in the first place.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 is an excellent follow up to Trails of Cold Steel. With many improvements to the core system both subtle and brand new elements to grace the field of battle with, this “sequel” is the perfect continuation to this already epic series of JRPGs from Nihon Falcom and XSEED Games.
The original Toukiden took the Monster Hunter idea and put a classic feudal Japanese spin on it. Having originally released for the Vita it wasn't long before it saw both PS4 and the PC releases after having found success as a "Monster Hunter Clone". That simple status however is now no longer valid, as Toukiden 2 just set a new bar for the series with an open world that fans of the genre have only dreamed of.
Everyone thinks that being royalty is easy. Sit on a throne, yay or nay the missives that cross your desk. You know... be the boss and have your minions, errr advisers, take care of the rest. In some cases everyone may have been right. In other cases? Strap in for a debt-inspired adventure framed around when royalty came back to claim land that was theirs. Let's just say that there was a freaking huge bill attached to it and not paying it off is not an option!
Overall, God Wars: The Complete Legend is a great re-release of God Wars: Future Past. With all previously available content present and more added in upon this release, there’s more than enough to love while either at home or on the go and it has really found an amazing home on the Nintendo Switch.
So was seven years worth waiting for a new entry to Dead or Alive? Yes. Alongside the like of the newest Soul Calibur and the upcoming Mortal Kombat, this is a good time to be a fan of these titles. With both a new story to follow and plenty of other modes to keep yourself and others occupied as you go head to head, Dead or Alive 6 is a great new entry into the series and worth picking up.
Overall, Nioh 2: The Complete Edition for the PC was an amazing port from the Sony PlayStation 4 once you get the settings right. At this current point, I’ve played through the main campaign coming in just under fifty hours but as of yet I cannot comment on the three DLCs of The Tengu's Disciple, Darkness in the Capital, and The First Samurai. So because of this, I’ll be back shortly with another article covering the other three additions as they were originally extras to the main title and have their own sets of modifications and obviously twists and turns.
WRC 8, FIA World Rally Championship is a fantastic racing simulator for players of all skill levels. Brand new to the style? Go for it. Coming back for more? Just load up the pro side of things and do what you do best. With plenty of options for everyone, I’m just sad that I’ve waited this long to do some offroad racing.
The Legend of Heroes - Trails of Cold Steel 3 is the perfect continuation for the series. With the first two chapters telling their story to completion it could be hard to see where things go next with the same protagonist but with his new direction in life? It works really well. From learning in the classrooms and the battlefield to teaching students about both, the only thing left is to wait for Trails of Cold Steel 4 and not spoil it for yourselves as it was released last year and it could be some time before we get our hands on it.
Overall, Yakuza 0 is fantastic. Two protagonists. Two engaging storylines. Six combat styles that just make this beat ‘em up style worth continuing on for hours at a time without feeling boring. Between all of the elements, my only regret is that it’s taken this long to get into this series and I’m very much looking forward to my upcoming journey’s through the current six titles while everyone waits for Ryu ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza 7 to get localized.
Overall, Catherine: Full Body is a great remake of a dark and very adult story that was rather refreshing to go through. With tons of choices to do, or not do, and plenty of moments that can make you cringe and really wonder if that was the right thing to do, there are so many different outcomes available that makes this eight to twelve hour adventure worth going back again and again before even getting into the gameplay challenges and online leaderboards.
Cold Symmetry have nailed it. Mortal Shell is an amazing, brutally hard, rewarding, frustrating, thrill ride that the genre has needed from development teams outside of From Software. With a genre that everyone has been gravitating to, it’s not an easy one to pull off especially on the first try and that’s what was done here. Out of the box and having made the style work in a different manner may just change the game moving forward while having also brought back the thrill of exploration and the fear of what’s behind the next corner.
Overall though, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy is an excellent sequel to Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & The Secret Hideout. While the refinements to the gameplay’s perspective of the adventure alone are worth the return, the return of the original cast and of the protagonist for another adventure was something that the series has been missing for a long time. It’s not to say that most of the sequels in the various trilogies weren’t worth it as Atelier Firis remains just about my number one entry, but seeing first hand the growth of the protagonist on their next adventure was something that this series needed and it did it very well.
So from the Prologue to Early Access and then to full release, Afterbuner Studios’ Dreamscaper has been an amazing adventure. With multiple easy to use systems, an intuitive combat system and plenty of upgrades to be discovered and unlocked, there’s more than enough dungeon crawling and rogueliting to keep anyone busy for a long while. If it gets too easy? Just add in some extra modifiers and see if you’re still swinging the same tune or getting kicked out of the record store for not knowing what Math Rock was.
Overall, I can’t recommend Falling Squirrel Inc.’s The Vale: Shadow of the Crown enough. It’s more than just a video game, it’s an experience that blends in a real world issue with a well balanced gameplay system that just works. Well written and narrated story mixed with an easy to pick up yet hard to master combat system all while seeing nothing more than particle effects on a screen, it’s a reminder that there’s still so much more we can do for those with disabilities.
Like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess before it, Breath of the Wild almost didn't release on the console that it was originally intended for. Unlike Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild actually released side by side with the newest console and its version of the title. Was it worth it to do both hardware generations? I would say so.
Rainbow Skies is a perfect example of a sequel that takes everything from its predecessor and does it better. From the dialog to the various system enhancements and the sheer ease of playing on the platform you want when you want. This is a sequel worth looking into and the best part is that you don’t have to play Rainbow Moon to enjoy it as the adventure itself only references its predecessor in passing meta dialog.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows in an interesting game. On one hand, we have a title that could have made a beautiful point-and-click or even a visual novel. On the other, we have the amazing adventure RPG that sees an unlikely group follow through an investigation that leads ever further down the rabbit hole.
Overall as much as I enjoyed the first Banner Saga I enjoyed the second even more so. With the small adjustments to the graphics and the visual elements in general, it felt like an even better packaged experience. I don't think that I need to mention it, but, I'll be eagerly awaiting the release of the third and final entry into the Banner Saga.
One Piece Burning Blood was awesome. Hours could honestly go by while playing simply the campaign mode before even starting Wanted Posters or joining a faction online. What impressed me the most was that it has a fast paced system that was not overly burdened by needing to perform combinations in order to do anything but instead added different layers creating a much smoother experience that was much easier to enter and enjoy over longer periods of time.