Alex Fuller's Reviews
For those who haven’t played it before, the Switch port is an ideal time to find out why BioWare’s 2000s output is so highly regarded. For those who have, it’s a great opportunity to recover those fond memories on an incredibly convenient platform.
Though newcomers can jump in here, Mary Skelter Finale is one for fans of the series and dense dungeon-crawlers in general. It will definitely satisfy some, but those passing by with simply a casual interest will find it a slog.
Although it may lack those standout moments that top-drawer RPGs provide, it’s easy to find time whizzing by with catchy music and speedy combat and exploration. With characters and a story that keep things ticking along nicely, The Caligula Effect 2 makes for a satisfying use of one’s time.
The overall gameplay will be very familiar to 3D adventure fans, but the visuals and charm help to make it feel like a fresh experience in the genre. More adventures for Kena and the Rot would be very welcome.
Though it features an interesting approach to choice and consequence, the rest of the game doesn’t have the substance to support it, majorly diluting the impact of its choices and experience overall.
The opportunity to return to Square Enix’s take on Shibuya has been far too long coming, but now that it’s here, it’s immensely pleasing to say that NEO: The Worlds Ends with You does everything I was hoping. Despite some repetitive combat, the rest of the experience more than makes up for it, with the narrative, audio, and visuals combining excellently to make the game enthralling for the length of its forty-plus-hour runtime.
Dodgeball Academia [is] a title bursting to the seams with a Saturday morning cartoon charm. While the light amount of content betrays the fact that the gameplay likely lacks enough depth to carry it much further, it nonetheless provides a ten-hour story with enough humour and speedy battles that make the time fun.
The characters and writing just sucked me in and when one case ends, the desire to jump straight into the next is palpable. It’s a hearty recommendation for existing fans of the Ace Attorney series and anyone else interested in jumping into a new series of adventure mysteries in general.
While the gameplay provides a strong loop that makes it easy to jump in, it’s the immersive atmosphere that grabs hold and keeps players engaged for multiple runs. The emotional struggles of the characters resonate, and there are important messages about how helpful the support of others can be.
Dazzlingly stylish with a superb combat system, Scarlet Nexus is a memorable new title that is huge fun to play throughout.
It’s obvious that the game comes from a place of love, and it is clear how much passion Midgar Studio has, but Edge of Eternity feels like a case where the developers have set their sights too far. There are lots of elements that could be interesting if given the proper care and attention, but in their current state most of them feel superficial and end up cluttering up the whole experience.
For those looking for playable murder mysteries, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind are easily recommended. Though neither game requires too much hard thinking on the part of the player, both feature entertaining stories and characters, with enough interaction and drip-feeding of clues to remain engaging throughout.
This story of not just Ichiban, but also his allies both former and new, is a tour de force that sucks players in completely. It’s a roller-coaster taking players through the full gamut of emotions and an easy, if slightly caveated, recommendation even to newcomers.
In the end, it’s absolutely an enjoyable experience thanks to the way the character interactions work with its setting and themes, but doesn’t have enough to stand out from its niche.
Those looking to spend more time with the goddesses will at least enjoy more of their humour, and VTuber fans will likely get a kick out of their cameos. However, gameplay is very much lacking, with everything being done considerably better elsewhere, and ultimately, as an overall experience, Neptunia Virtual Stars remains a disappointment.
It’s nice to see a game trying new things, and Fallen Legion Revenants certainly does that, but the game’s actively hostile balancing takes away all of that goodwill.
Its setting comes with plenty of interesting ideas, but they necessitate a strong execution. Unfortunately, that execution is sadly lacking here, as those ideas fall down due to a lack of support from the rest of the game and they simply aren’t strong enough to carry things on their own.
Atlus and Omega Force have ensured that as much as possible of what made Persona 5 so beloved has been transported here and put into an appreciably tight package. Spending extra time with the Phantom Thieves and travelling with them across Japan is a much needed positive experience and well worth it.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a strong title with plenty of appeal to both Zelda and Musou fans. The enduring gameplay strengths of Omega Force’s titles are present and its interesting approach to being a prequel ensures there is some narrative interest.
CD Projekt RED's management has absolutely rushed it out before it was properly ready, and at this stage it's very much a case of buyer beware. It’s clear that lots of effort has been put into creating Night City and the well-linked major gameplay systems, but even when putting the technical issues aside, it still feels much like many open-world games that have come before.