Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights begins with the soft pitter-patter of rain and text scrawling itself along the bottom of the screen. A short exposition accompanies a beautiful illustration that showcases the player character: a young girl fast asleep with lilies in her hair and a foreboding, sinister looking brand on her forehead. She awakens alone in an unfamiliar world with the spirit of a deceased knight to guide her. This paints an evocative picture of the world of Ender Lilies and sets the tone going forward.
Ultimately, Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker marked the end of an era. Plot threads from A Realm Reborn onward come to a close. The story is rife with fanfare, paying homage to past expansions in ways that sometimes feel overmuch or hit in just the right way.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a remaster of a remake. It’s a game that persists through the wheel of time as it is ported from generation to generation, breathing life into the Ogre Battle series.
Darkest Dungeon II creates a new framework for the stress inducing cosmic horror series, and is just as challenging as its predecessor.
Diablo IV features a compelling antagonist in Lilith, and while it tries to present more interesting ideas into the series by the way of story, it ends up retreading old ground in more ways than one.
Overall, Nightingale is an engaging survival game and one that feels like you can have low commitment to in order to have fun. It’s easy to pick up and put down, and has some solid foundations. Even in its early stages, Nightingale has a lot to offer players, even if it is very clearly in Early Access. I’m eager to see what the game will be further down the line when some of these issues are ironed out, and what the core narrative of the game will eventually turn out to be. For now, I’m content logging into Nightingale for a few hours every few days just to hang out with friends and explore the vast wealth of Realms the game has to offer.
A beautiful homage to the Disgaea and Persona franchises that tries to tread some familiar ground.
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey is a solid attempt to create a new epic, but it also falls foul of similar missteps to its predecessors.
If you're looking for a solid brawler with a dramatic story that samples from perhaps one of the most iconic shounen manga you should definitely consider giving Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise a shot.
We revisit World of Final Fantasy with its newest re-release and Maxima update.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 proves itself as an enjoyable, if not straightforward, isometric RPG that doesn't strive to be more than it is.
Ogre Tale is a great side scrolling beat-em-up, especially for those looking to play something with incredible visual charm and style.
Ghost of Tsushima feels like a tech demo–a showcase of the PlayStation 4’s graphical capabilities, especially through its hefty photo mode and the sheer amount of things you can have on the screen at the same time.
At the end of the day Prinny 1•2: Exploded and Reloaded is a charming, if sometimes crude, platformer that comes with the signature style and flair Disgaea fans have known and loved for years.
If you’re looking for a new platformer to sink time into, this is one you shouldn’t overlook. With amazing visuals, a fun story, and short bite-sized stages, this is a game you can easily pick up and put down.
There is something all encompassing about the darkness in Amnesia: Rebirth. The distinction is how it swells around the player and creeps up the corners of your screen, and how you’re left scrambling over rocks and oddly shaped architecture when resources run thin. I’ve never felt something more complete and simultaneously frustrating in all of my years playing horror games.
Walking away from Resident Evil Village leaves me with mixed feelings. It wasn’t a game that I immediately disliked, and I can’t say that I didn’t have a lot of fun playing it. But a second playthrough made me more aware of pacing issues, and on harder difficulties the general spike that otherwise feels somewhat artificial.
While it was largely considered one of the less popular titles in the franchise, Nintendo rereleased Skyward Sword HD for the Nintendo Switch so a new generation of players that can experience what is considered to be the narrative foundation for the series. The result is an adequate entry, but one where its history and original control scheme’s legacy still can influence people’s enjoyment.
With new visuals, greater accessibility features, and a re-orchestrated original soundtrack, Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster keeps modern sensibilities in mind while maintaining the feel of the original release.
Egglia Rebirth is a surprisingly dense game. The more I played, the more things began to fall into place. What I initially felt was just a mobile title ported to the Nintendo Switch quickly became a more in-depth and interesting turn-based RPG.