Review code provided by the publisher.
I love the ship and the personalities that reside on it, each with its own issues and secrets. I would love to see how the developers can expand it, maybe telling another story from a different perspective or by moving the protagonist into another space. Overboard! represents a clear way for the narrative and choice-driven adventure title to evolve in cool ways.
The entire trilogy sends players throughout this amazing sci-fi universe that feels alive and vibrant everywhere you look. Perhaps these games should have been remastered separately to get the attention they deserve, but having the entire trilogy in a single bundle that's perfectly playable nearly 15 years after the release of the first game is surely convenient.
Review code provided by the publisher.
Tales of Arise is a successfully comeback story. It’s definitely one of the most refreshing Tales game and probably one of the best JRPGs launched in 2021. I’m not sure if Bandai Namco planned to make the Tales franchise mainstream, but that’s something that Tales of Arise manage to achieve, and that’s probably the best compliment I can give the game.
ACE Team has specialized in weird worlds, but this is the first time the studio has managed to craft one that is also beautiful and immersive. Sometimes I wanted the gameplay spaces to be a little bigger, or even entirely open world. But I understand that The Eternal Cylinder needs structure and hope that the easy-to-understand mechanics and cute protagonists will allow a wide range of players to engage with the game.
I would like to see more use for the sacrifice mechanic and some extra ways to cheat the rules. But self-aware creatures, cards that immortalize failed runs, and general creepiness add a lot to the core concepts. Inscryption has all the necessary ingredients to set a new standard of quality for its genre and keep fans engaged for tens of hours.
Football Manager 2022 is a great take on the most popular sport of the world. It provides ways for both casual and obsessive fans to get more involved with their favorite club or almost any other team they want. The new animation system changes the experience quite a lot, both visually and tactically. Some transfer action might feel a little unreal and the game still generates new players that sometimes make little sense. But this is a solid game with a lot of options and plenty of incredible moments.
Expeditions: Rome knows how to make history exciting and engaging. The tactical engagements offer variety and challenge. Controlling a legion is makes the player feel powerful. Interacting with the likes of Mithridates through dialogue will appeal to history lovers but you don’t have to know the period to enjoy the narrative.
Infernax uses retro elements very well, but this is not an experience that simply appeals because of nostalgia. The core mechanics are very good, the action is fun, the level of difficulty can be tweaked to suit both veterans and newcomers. This is how modern developers should approach old ideas.
Crusader Kings III has good mechanics and production but what sets it apart is the way it connects to the era it depicts. The experience leans into role-playing and personalities in a way that feels true to the image that most players have about the period between 867 to 1453. Without striving to be educational, the Paradox title also manages to be an excellent jumping-off point to learn more about the period, its main characters, its social dynamics.
Elden Ring is everything that I dreamed of and more. Although I did expect From Software to refine the Souls recipe, I was quite surprised by the large amount of new mechanics and how well the Souls formula has been implemented in an open-world environment.
Kaiju Wars is the sort of video game that understands that huge monsters make for incredible threats, which in turn allows players to derive a lot of satisfaction from stopping them in their tracks. The game has the narrative, the mechanics, the scenario design, and the presentation to keep gamers always engaged, guessing how they can pick up an extra medal or tackle a mission on Hard.
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters is one of the best Warhammer games I played in a very long time. Although it’s not perfect, the character classes and mechanics are even deeper than what we’ve been taking as the standard, XCOM. The strategic layer is much more evolved than any similar turn-based game thanks to the addition of random events and the choices you have to make throughout the campaign.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is not the turn-based strategy game that fans of the series are patiently waiting for, but it’s a great waiting room for a Three Houses sequel. If you just want another slice of Fire Emblem and don’t want to replay Three Houses again, there’s a high chance that either (or both) Warriors games will quench your thirst for more Fodlan action.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is the perfect Switch exclusive. The game marvelously captures the playful spirit of the Mario universe, while offering some serious tactical strategy options for those looking for fix for their XCOM addiction.
Hogwarts Legacy perfectly manages to capture the charm and wonder of the Wizarding World universe. Everything in the game is thoughtfully implemented to offer players that unique feeling that you’re sharing the same world as Harry Potter.
Despite some shortcomings, Octopath Traveler II is one of the best JRPGs of the year. It’s nice to know that developers have took all feedback to heart and addressed the main issues with the original game, while adding new mechanics and improvements across the board.
Remnant II brings so many improvements over the first game that I’m tempted to ask Gunslinger to remake Remnant: From the Ashes with all the systems they’ve put into the sequel. I’ve rarely been pleasantly surprised by a game like Remnant II.
Wargroove 2 is one of the best smallish-scale tactics titles I have played recently, offering a wide variety of cool scenarios in its campaigns as well as extra variety with Conquest. The turn-to-turn action is compelling, and players have space to tweak the difficulty to suit their needs.