Overall, I have to say that Cherrymochi did an absolutely stellar job with Tokyo Dark: the graphics and music are great, the animated cutscenes are a wonderful touch, and the amazing level of detail that went into the choice and SPIN attribute system is great. Whoever said that "the beauty is in the finer details" is absolutely correct. Despite playing as detective Ito, strictly speaking, your choices and attitude describes who she is, even though she is also given her own personality at the beginning of the game. Tokyo Dark is a game that gets you hooked and keeps you there, all throughout the game, and maybe even past the end.
Overall, I really loved Tokyo Dark Remembrance. The feel of having your choices permanent with the constant autosave really gives weight to your choices, and the story and characters are really interesting. The artstyle is well done and the backgrounds are really well done. The story was engaging and with more than ten possible endings, there’s a lot of replayability value. Tokyo Dark is a game I almost instantly got hooked on, and with good reason too. I had a great time delving into the depths of Tokyo, and I hope you do too.
Ys Origin was originally released for PC in 2012, and has finally received a PS4/PSVita port this year. Created as a prequel to the other Ys games, Ys Origin takes place roughly 700 years before the events of Ys I and provides backstory of the world. With a story that will draw in new and veteran players alike, with a simple yet effective combat system and a stellar soundtrack, Ys Origin definitely demonstrates a quality product.
Mary Skelter: Nightmares is definitely one of my favorite dungeon crawlers, whether it be characters, music, battle system, or tone/theme, I just had so much fun playing it the entire way through. With some seriously messed up looking bosses, handy warp points, and Hameln, Mary Skelter just had so much I enjoyed. I can tell you for certain that I'm eagerly anticipating the sequel that's been announced, and I hope you'll enjoy this game as much as I did.
Overall, I have to say that Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin of a wonderful experience. With a well done battle system, plenty of monsters to collect, tons of gear to make, and some great music to match, there's not a lot to complain about. The multiplayer is extremely well put together for a turn-based system, and there were a bunch of little aspects, like unique egg coloring and the ability to see what other coop players eggs are that show just how much attention went in to the title. While it may suffer from some reused assets and questionable AI choices, most complaints are fairly surface level in nature. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin shouldn't be treated as "just a spin-off", but has earned a right to its place amongst the powerhouses of the franchise.
Overall, I have to say I absolutely love how they’ve evolved, and continue to evolve, the Atelier series. Atelier Sophie was probably my favourite post PS2 Atelier title, and Atelier Sophie 2 doesn’t disappointed. With a more refined combat and alchemy system, and interesting weather feature, and improved graphics and character animations, Atelier Sophie 2 : the Alchemist and the Mysterious Dream is a must play in the Atelier series.
Overall, I have to say that Dungeon Munchies is by far one of my favorite games I’ve played recently. I had so much fun with it, and I really enjoyed what it had to offer, especially considering the small size of the team that put it together. If you’re looking for some 2D action platforming experience, I highly recommend you give Dungeon Munchies a try.
Superdimension Neptune vs. Sega Hardgirls is the latest installment in the Neptunia franchise making its way to PC. As a cross-over between the Sega Hardgirls and Neptunia franchises, we see IF finally taking a spotlight role. Drawing from the Neptunia format with revamped combat and exploration, be prepared for a pleasant surprise on the classic Neptunia system.
Superdimension Neptune vs. Sega Hard Girls is the latest instalment in the Neptune franchise, and it is probably my favorite installment to date. Vs. Sega Hard Girls sees IF finally getting the limelight, now we’re just waiting for “Gigadimension Vert: BOING in the Dungeon”, which probably isn’t going to be a thing, but we hope. The basic plot is that the world has fallen to ruin, due to constant fighting between the goddesses and the Sega Hard Girls.
Overall, Megadimension Neptunia VII is a great installment to the series, and fans of the series will definitely enjoy it. If you're looking at the changes between console to PC, not much has changed, but if you didn't get a chance to play on console, now is when you can. Jumping straight into the series with VII might confuse newcomers, but series veterans will feel right at home.
Va11ha11a is a really odd game. Not because it’s bad, or particularly weird per se, but because I have nothing to really draw a parallel to for comparison. Yes, there are visual novels with gimmicks, but those normally culminate in something, whether it be snagging a girl or unraveling a magical conspiracy by fighting with giant mechs using anthropomorphic books (yes that’s an actual example). Va11ha11a, on the other hand, is perfectly content to just be as it is, which is something I can say is rather novel to find. You aren’t going to find much action here, but the company certainly kept me coming back for more.
Legitimately, throughout the entire last three or so areas, I kept having to repeat to myself “Why in the name of all that is even remotely holy would you even CONSIDER designing something this way”. Extremely poor design/engineering practices aside, I did have fun going through the last few areas, despite my dwindling sanity, and the game as a whole just felt really good to run, jump, climb, explore, and swing through.
Hey ho hunterino! You’re moving on from Moga, Dundorma and Bherna and heading to the New World to continue your hunting exploits, are you? Don’t forget to bring back a souvenir! But not Dung. That wouldn’t be cool. The Monster Hunter Franchise is a series I’ve put more time into than planning for my future. With an average of 400 hours per game since 3U, and with my first being “Monster Hunter” for PS2, I’ve been hunting for quite some time, and I feel confident in saying that Monster Hunter World really outdid itself. Whether it be the ease for new players to get into, the ‘honed’ weapon movesets, the gorgeous environments, or the quality of life improvements, Monster Hunter World has something for veterans and newbies alike.
Zwei is a series originally released only in Japan, if I recall correctly, and the sequel Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, has made its way to North America, much to my pleasure. Introducing some interesting dual character mechanics, probably taken from the Zwei (German for two), provides a wonderful blend of monster mashing, puzzle solving, dungeon delving, and dancing that I’d be hard pressed to give a similarly done title off the top of my head.
I’m not sure about any of you reading this, but I was a huge fan of the first Demon Gaze, even playing through the bonus dungeon that was more than a little bit of a pain in the arse. Especially Luna’s cell. Demon Gaze II is a weird type of sequel, where the events of the first game are followed but not needed to be really known about until the epilogue, although knowing the first game will definitely make some of the recurring characters a lot more hilarious. Like the first Demon Gaze, Demon Gaze II follows the dungeon crawling experience its predecessor left, making a lot of changes and improvements, almost all of which I was glad to see.
With a timer and handy teleportation gates strewn about areas, Dead Cells certainly feels a lot faster paced than most of the other rogue-like games I’ve played. Even the combat, with liberal use of the dodge roll, feels a lot more fluid and technical. With a fresh soundtrack that I felt really captured the ambiance of each zone inside the castle, and some pretty dang nostalgia inducing pixel style graphics that aren’t grossly overdone or under-styled, Dead Cells is certainly a game I’d recommend for any fans of the rogue-like genre who are looking for a challenge, especially since there is such a wide array of platforms to choose from.
Overall, I really enjoyed what Compile Heart had to offer with Death End Re;Quest. The battle system brings a fresh change up to the more traditional style, and the customization of skills, and how you can alter the battlefield with the “hacking” command was really fun. The “Dead End” choices made me feel like a moron, but in a way that had me coming back to say “I’ll get the next one right!”. If you’re any kind of JRPG fan, you definitely want to consider giving Death End Re;Quest a try.
World End Syndrome is super user friendly, intriguing, has a really fitting soundtrack, and totally drew me in almost from the get-go. If you enjoy interactive novels, World End Syndrome is definitely an experience you probably don’t want to miss. So come and unravel the mystery behind the Yomibito, and join us in our World End Syndrome.
Overall, Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets was a great puzzle game with a lot of nods to other games and movies, full of challenging quirky puzzles, a self-writing review, and enough bonus tasks to keep you fellow puzzle masochists happy. The story may be rather cliché, but it was written really well, and the quirky interactions and multitude of stages more than make up for it. If you’ve been craving a puzzle game to scratch that brain frying itch, look no further than Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets.
You get a lot out of Rio Reincarnation, with three games worth of content, and a bunch of extras in the form of bonus 4-komas and even some bonus novel segments that you can read in the extras. Date-A-Live isn’t for everyone, and if you’re looking for a lot of fanservice then you’re probably going to be disappointed, but if you want a rather legitimate story with some humor and don’t mind the harem-y aspect, I would implore you to give Date-A-Live Rio Reincarnation a try, or even take a stab at the anime or actual novels.