Justin Oneil's Reviews
Noel the Mortal Fate is an enjoyable action-adventure/visual novel but one whose strength lies firmly in the story. That story is what kept me playing to the end as I enjoyed the twists and turns and the character development along the way. The gameplay was just fine to me and the visuals also are somewhat lacking. In short, if you’re looking at Noel hoping for a great gameplay experience you should look elsewhere but if the storytelling is what you value then you’ll most likely be quite pleased.
Soul Hackers 2 can’t quite match the high bar that the Persona franchise has set but it is still an enjoyable turn-based, dungeon crawling JRPG. The best parts about it are the story, the stylish art direction, and gaining new demons to use while the worst are the repetitive dungeons you’ll be spending hours and hours in. If you can look past that latter point then there is a lot to enjoy about Soul Hackers 2 whether you’re a returning fan or a newcomer.
South of the Circle tells an emotional and thought-provoking tale that isn’t to be missed by those who enjoy narrative adventure games. I found myself caring more and more about Peter and Clara as I got to learn more about them and it isn’t often that you get an emotional video game tale that focuses so much on love while also talking about things like war and social issues. The game won’t take more than a few hours of your time but you’ll likely remember it for far longer than that.
Long Live The Queen is an enjoyable visual novel game that provides plenty of replay value thanks to the choices and stat systems. You never know how Elodie’s tale will play out as she could end up killed if you didn’t raise a certain skill enough or end up taking her rightful place on the throne if played your cards right. It can be a little intimidating managing all the stats and those who don’t enjoy reading over gameplay won’t find this to their liking. For visual novel fans though I think you’ll find a lot to like about this one.
Turrican Anthology Vol. I & II have some great games and the extra features that have been added are among the best that I’ve seen in a retro game collection. That is why it is such a shame that these are two separate collections that are priced so high as I can’t fully recommend them at the asking price. It becomes even harder to recommend to those who picked up the Flashback Collection last year as you already got some of the best entries in that even if it was missing many of the extra features that are included here. Whether you’re a fan of the series or just have a passing interest in seeing what the Turrican series is all about I think you should wait to pick these two collections up on sale.
Turrican Anthology Vol. I & II have some great games and the extra features that have been added are among the best that I’ve seen in a retro game collection. That is why it is such a shame that these are two separate collections that are priced so high as I can’t fully recommend them at the asking price. It becomes even harder to recommend to those who picked up the Flashback Collection last year as you already got some of the best entries in that even if it was missing many of the extra features that are included here. Whether you’re a fan of the series or just have a passing interest in seeing what the Turrican series is all about I think you should wait to pick these two collections up on sale.
I personally love a good side-scrolling beat ‘em up game but Samurai Riot: Definitive Edition is just not one of them. While the different schools and branching paths are some cool ideas the actual gameplay and technical issues left me feeling disappointed. There are a lot of other recently released titles in this genre that are just flat out better so you are better off spending your money on those.
Avenging Spirit is a fun retro arcade game but one that you likely won’t be spending much time with. It isn’t expensive so I don’t mind the length too much but if you’re expecting to get hours of unique content out of this you won’t. You’ll get to kill enemies as dragons, vampires, ninjas, and more while trying to save your girlfriend and then you’ll likely head off for some new adventure. If that sounds alright with you then give this one a shot.
Mothmen 1966 is a creepy and atmospheric visual novel that nails the computer graphics style of the 1980s. It has great writing, interesting characters, and breaks up the reading with some timely puzzles. It is on the short side though and there isn’t much reason to replay it once you’ve reached the end so those seeking a longer visual novel experience won’t find it here. For those who are fine with getting their creepy story fill in an hour or two and getting out this one should be right up your alley.
Live A Live is a beautiful remake of a cult classic JRPG and one that any fan of the genre should take time out to play. The HD-2D visuals are superb throughout and along with the musical score, helps to make each time period feel distinct. I loved playing through each character’s story and seeing how the game would surprise me next even if all of them weren’t as memorable as certain others. Live A Live has certain things that hold it back a little due to the era it was originally made in but those few nitpicks aren’t enough to dissuade me from wholeheartedly recommending it to any JRPG fan out there.
MX vs. ATV Legends makes some improvements from prior entries but still needs more time in the shop to deliver a great experience. The Career Mode has a lot to do and being split into three racing styles helps it stay fresh. That said, problems with the controls, the unbalanced AI, and technical issues really brought down my enjoyment of this game and makes it hard to recommend over other racing games. You can have some off-road fun here but expect some misfires along the way.
Matchpoint: Tennis Championships isn’t the best Tennis game I’ve ever played but it manages to be more fun than some others I’ve played in recent years. The act of actually playing it is what I liked the most about it as moving and performing shots generally felt really good. It doesn’t have much to offer outside of the Career Mode though and the overall presentation needs to be improved if this team makes another one. If you’re looking for a good playing Tennis game then I think you’ll like what this one has to offer.
Rayland is a perfectly fine puzzle game about bouncing lasers around with mirrors and that’s about it. Many of us have done this same thing in other games and this game doesn’t do anything to set itself apart. If spending a few dollars to do that while earning some easy trophies sounds up your alley than Rayland may be for you.
Crypt of the Serpent King Remastered 4K Edition is just a prettier version of this previously released dungeon crawler and that’s it. If you played it before there isn’t much reason to return unless you want some more easy trophies. Newcomers won’t have to spend much to gain entry to these dungeons but will quickly see that this game has little substance and will likely move on from it quickly.
AI: The Somnium Files – nivranA Initiative is a bigger and better version of the first game that left me thinking about its story long after I rolled credits. It’s got another captivating story that is a delight to unravel, great cast of characters to interact with, some smartly designed puzzles, and a wonderful soundtrack and voice overs to listen to. My only real complains are that I wish there was an actual PS5 version so that the visuals and load times were a bit better. If you were a fan of the first game or just enjoy visual novels based around mysteries then this is a must-buy.
Auto runners don’t always appeal to me when I try them but I did enjoy the time I spent with Superola Champion Edition. The premise is silly and it blatantly copies ideas from other games but for a few dollars you are getting a lot of content here to play through.
Wreckfest took its time getting onto the Nintendo Switch but that wait led to one of the best third-party ports I’ve seen on the platform yet. This is a very demanding game performance wise and the Switch version delivers on that front for the most part. It does have some brief moments of slowdown and the visuals take a little bit of a hit but being able to smash up a ton of vehicles on the go is heaps of fun despite those few drawbacks.
Eastasiasoft has a lot of games that are worth your time but Neko Secret Room is not one of them. There is nothing much to do here at all other than match some picture pieces together and even after doing that you are left with the feeling of “why did I just spend my time doing that?” Pass on this one and go find one of the many other games in this publisher’s catalog to play instead.
REDO! has an interesting world and horrifying enemy designs but is held back by some clucky gameplay controls and the lack of some metroidvania staples like a map. This game is brutally tough which will appeal to fans of Souls games but for those who aren’t you’ll likely find yourself growing annoyed at how easy it is to die. I don’t think this is a must-play but it can offer up some brutal fun for a few hours if this is your type of thing.
Thunder Kid II: Null Mission is exactly more of the same from the first game for better or for worse. It will provide you with some brief running and gunning fun through some low poly environments but outside of that it doesn’t have much to offer.