Danreb Victorio's Reviews
I’m surely invested in the story, but it takes too long to get there. The fact that the second tape isn’t coming until mid-April doesn’t make it any easier. It just makes it hard to recommend the game right now, especially at $40. That’s a lot to pay for what’s essentially half a palette cleanser.
The path to Afterlove EP‘s release undoubtedly came with a lot twists and turns, but the end result is an impressive slice-of-life adventure that successfully brings great diverse characters, relationships, and inclusion to the forefront as a game that’s both artistic and entertaining.
I still loved it, and I can’t wait for the next entry in the series, but Daybreak II doesn’t take the series to new heights like its predecessor did.
Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is a terrific value to both newcomers to Ys and those looking to experience the story again with the updates it got. I would’ve preferred more substantial improvements, but the 12 hours spent in Felghana were definitely more than enjoyable and definitely represents a great start to the big huge 2025 that Falcom is poised to have–which should be music any JRPG fan’s ears.
If you want a simple game that’ll allow you to feel, Pine: A Story of Loss does that at the barest of minimums, so I can’t fully recommend it for $10. You’re better off with a game like Florence which does the same thing with much more variety and likely more enjoyment.
Last Time I Saw You is a worthy $16 experience if you’re looking for a palette cleansing game to play between big games or if you just need a beautiful cozy game to play that has nothing to do with farming. Last Time I Saw You is a game that checked a lot of those boxes for me, and I think a lot of people will find something to enjoy with this title.
Atlus and Sega have once again come out with a winner in Metaphor: ReFantazio. It’s simply exquisite.
It makes you feel in ways you can’t even describe, and that’s a quality that makes Neva even more special with all the amazing things it has going for it.
The game’s saving grace is that aside from the clunky sailing, I never felt like I was wasting time in this game’s 30-or-so-hour adventure. I may be down on a lot of the changes, but I had a lot of fun playing it, especially since Karja was such a cool character.
With everything it has going for it, Astro Bot is easily one of the best games of the year.
At the end of the day, the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is an easy recommendation for people that enjoy the Ace Attorney series, especially if the Miles Edgeworth character from the original trilogy was intriguing to you. If visuals novels or tons of reading aren’t your thing, you’d be wise to stay far away. Either way you look at it, it’s a great set, and Ace Attorney Investigations 2 is worth the price of admission on its own.
Just Crow Things is a fun little title that masterfully marries the enjoyment people have with both cozy games and games that are more on the chaotic side.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is undoubtedly one of the weirdest and most unique games I’ve ever played, and it’s also quite clear that it goes for the jugular with its humor, but it just didn’t work out like that for me. I can definitely see a lot of people enjoying the experience and enjoying the humor way more than I did, so I’ll understand if people think I’m being harsh.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is one of the biggest surprises and best games of the year.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak stands tall as one of the best games in the series and one of the best games of the year, despite the dearth of great JRPGs we've gotten this year.
I’ve wanted this game ever since I heard about it, and it seems like I waited forever, but it was absolutely worth the wait and I’m so glad I was able to play this game to its fullest extent. Polychroma Games made something special, and I believe they’ll be a studio to look out for.
Little Kitty, Big City is the very definition of a cozy game. It’s about being a cat doing cat things and finding your way home after eating all the yummy fish and making friends with all the animals in the city. If you’re set on getting all the fish and getting the cat home, the game shouldn’t take more than two hours to finish. If you want to do everything there is to do, it’ll probably be closer to five hours.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau is simply stunning. It looks amazing on every platform, it features some of the best platforming I’ve played in any game, the combat is fun, and the story makes you feel. Even with all this, I think my favorite part about the game is that it’s short and sweet. I Platinum’d the game in about six hours, and I loved the vast majority of time I spent playing.
Polish issues notwithstanding, I had an amazing time with Princess Peach: Showtime, but it’s hard to recommend at the full price of $60. The levels are fun, Princess Peach’s transformations are amazing and I’ll be surprised if I don’t see a bunch of different kinds of Peach cosplay during convention season. Also, the game is much more enjoyable when you’re playing it with people watching–it’s one heck of a streaming game. But having loading issues that too frequently occur, taking you out of “the zone,” can lead to frustration and feeling like I didn’t get what I paid full price for.
It brings me back to a time where I bought games by judging it by its cover, and this really feels like a gem.