Bleak Faith: Forsaken has a lot of potential, and the developers seem dedicated to updating the game, so it's possible that a lot of this review will be outdated in a few months. At the moment, it's a testament to the difficulty of making a good Soulslike. All of the pieces are there, but they don't fit together properly, which exacerbates the genre flaws more significantly than any other type of game on the market. Bleak Faith has some strengths if you're willing to work past its flaws, but it doesn't stand out among the absolute glut of similar titles on the market.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a solid and enjoyable experience for fans of old-school survival-horror. It might be a bit too slow-paced and awkward for those who don't have a taste for 2008 game design, but that's the biggest criticism about it. It doesn't break the mold for the franchise, but it's one of the more solid and enjoyable examples of it, and it's a good place to start if you'd like to see what is up with the long-running horror series.
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is a comfy and cute game. It's one more trip with Ryza and her friends, with mostly familiar mechanics and locations, but there are enough new twists to make it a worthwhile revisit. The only real complaint I can give is that the Key mechanic is poorly implemented, but even that is a case of missed potential rather than anything that's actively bad. If you like Atelier, it's easy to like Atelier Ryza 3.
I genuinely feel rather bad going on and on about the game's flaws, but the most exceptional thing about Clive 'N' Wrench is the effort that went into bringing it into existence. I'd love to say that it's a great, or even a good, game, but it's pretty unexceptional even by the standards of low-budget indie 3D platformers. There just isn't anything to recommend this game on its own merits, and it is buggy enough that it's hard to even recommend it as a curiosity.
Tchia might be a game-long love letter, but it's a real love letter. It's a fun little exploration game, and the BotW-inspired movement mechanics make it a delight to move around the world. It shines most when it is an outpouring of love for New Caledonia's culture and environment. It's rare that I've played a game that makes me want to visit somewhere more, and it's hard to pay Tchia higher praise than that.
Resident Evil 4 Remake does a hell of a job arguing why a video game classic needed a remake. It straddles the line between loyalty to the original and providing a fresh experience better than even Resident Evil 2 Remake did. Pretty much every new gameplay mechanic and design choice leads to a more engaging and enjoyable game. I can't say that it replaces the original, but it's a damn fine companion, and most people wanting to experience RE4 for the first time will likely gravitate to the remake. Either way, it is a must-play for Resident Evil fans, and RE4 Remake is already a strong contender for one of the best games of the year.
Overall, Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a fun little visual novel that doesn't quite hit all the marks but is still a breezy and enjoyable romp with some creative use of gameplay mechanics. I had a difficult time getting past the fact that it wasn't the game I was had expected based on the first couple of hours, but once I did, I was able to enjoy it for what it was. The setting is clearly built up to potentially allow for more games in the same universe in the future, and I hope the next game in the series is willing to be a bit more daring.
At $9.99, Return to Castlevania is the most expensive DLC for Dead Cells yet, but it is substantial enough to be worth it. The new areas are a ton of fun, and the number of new weapons and costumes is hefty enough to add extra value to the game. It might not hit as hard for those who don't have nostalgia for Castlevania, but even then, the extra biomes and boss fights are pretty darn great.
Overall, I really enjoyed Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. It's a distinctive game, and the morale mechanic changes how you approach combat. It suffers a bit from the world being less exciting than Sekiro's world, and the loot system feels a lot more stapled on than it was in Nioh, but those are both minor complaints. It's fresh enough that I didn't feel like I was playing Nioh 3, and it kept enough of the core mechanics that it retains its own flavor.
Atomic Heart is a good game that buries itself in the shadow of great games. There's a lot of creativity, flair and intriguing design, but the game seems to lack confidence. This leaves the plot feeling a little halfhearted and some gameplay features feeling like they were there to check a box rather than actually add anything to the game. When Atomic Heart is on, it is on, but it spends too much time in the doldrums to keep it from truly reaching excellence.
Octopath Traveler II is a case of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Almost everything is very similar to the first game, but there's more content, and the features are smoother. There are a number of areas where the developers clearly had more confidence than they had in the original Octopath. I loved the first game, and I found the second to be a more enjoyable experience in pretty much every way. It's a charming, delightful, and incredibly fun JRPG experience that fans of old-school RPGs should relish.
Like A Dragon: Ishin! is Ye Olde Yakuza, but that's all it needs to be. The setting is fresh for the series, and it provides a fun way to see the same crime drama action in a new historical setting. Even if I prefer the modern setting, Ishin handles the change of setting well. It doesn't break an molds, but it's a delightfully fun experience for fans of the franchise. If you're itching for more Like A Dragon, Ishin! scratches that itch wonderfully, and it's a darn fun game in its own right.
Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line is exactly what it promises to be in the best possible way. It's a simple, addictive and incredibly delightful rhythm game set to some of the best songs in gaming. The RPG elements add some nice customization and Final Fantasy feel, but the real star of the show is the songs. With enough customization and options to make even the rhythmically inept feel comfortable, it's a game for anyone who has ever hummed "Locke's Theme or Answers" without realizing it. Just be prepared to lose hours upon hours trying to master it.
Wanted: Dead is certainly an experience. It's a weird game with occasional flashes of something great. It's difficult to recommend it solely based on that. It's disjointed, repetitive, and feels more like a collection of ideas stitched together into the rough shape of a game rather than anything cohesive. For a certain kind of gamer, this is going to be catnip, but for the average person, it's probably going to be too weird to work, and unfortunately, the gameplay isn't strong enough on its own merit to overcome that.
It's extremely difficult to not gush about Dead Space Remake because it does everything right. As much as I love Resident Evil 2's remake, it's fundamentally a very different game from the original. Dead Space Remake is a loyal and loving remake that captures everything that was good about the original, while fixing almost everything that was bad. It's easily the gold standard for how to remake a beloved game, and it's easily as good as Capcom's efforts. If you were a fan of the original, Dead Space Remake is a must-play, and if you're interested in experiencing it for the first time, the remake is the best option.
Mahokenshi has a cool concept and plenty of high moments. It lacks that special something to separate a good deck builder from a great deck builder. It's too slow, too repetitive, and a touch too easy. Even taking that into account, you'll still get hours of gameplay out of the loop, and if that works for you, it's easy to see it becoming a niche favorite. With the deck builder market so crowded, Mahokenshi doesn't stand out as much as it should, but it's still a well-made game.
Power Chord is a perfectly competent but entirely unexceptional roguelike deck builder. Once you take away the rock 'n' roll theme, it's pretty much another Slay the Spire clone that doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from the rest. It looks nice and plays well, but it doesn't stand out. If you've already burned through the other games in the genre and want something new, Power Chord will be the nice snack, but don't expect it to be a long-term engagement.
Fire Emblem Engage is a mix of steps forward and back. On a gameplay level, it's pretty much the absolute best the franchise has ever been, with excellent level design, great new gimmicks and features, and a customization system that offers a ton of depth. The storyline feels too much like standard Fire Emblem to stand out, and the side content that isn't focused on combat feels tacked-on. It's still a delightful game to play, and despite my nitpicks, I had a fantastic time. Fire Emblem fans will find a lot to enjoy, even if the story might not be to their tastes.
Persona 4: Golden is probably the ideal place to start your Persona experience if you haven't yet. It's probably the most consistent of the three games, and it nails the atmosphere, characterization and tone while keeping the gameplay fresh and exciting enough. It fun even if you are coming directly from Persona 3 Portable. If you have the current PC release, not a ton has changed with the latest patch, and you might consider whether you want to start this all over again. If you're looking for an excuse to pick it up, there's no better time.
It might sound like I'm being negative about Persona 3, but I'm not. It's a lot of fun, and it has a lot of interesting strengths. It has the misfortune of being the first game in a franchise where the sequels improved on a ton of features and were released before it on the PC. If you've never played it, it's well worth a shot. It's still a great game, but it has aged more than its sequels. Despite that, it still does some things superbly well. The addition of an entire second playable story path and a bunch of new social links also makes it a worthwhile experience for those who played the original release but not the portable version.