For fans of the franchise who aren’t usually RPG fans, this one is going to be fun. Tactical RPG fans who don’t generally play run-and-gun platformers are going to have fun with it. And if you’re a fan of both? This is a must-buy. It’s a sign of how you can do interesting things in a familiar space with novel implementation.
If it weren’t clear by this point, I did not care for Card-en-Ciel as an aggregate. Not because it’s a bad game, because the core game parts are actually pretty good… but every single part around that game makes me not want to bother engaging with it any further. I like the ideas on display but I also do not want to play this game. The annoying stuff makes it feel actively hostile and unappealing. It’s easier to just not.
I don’t think Cat Quest III is going to blow anyone away, but I think it is entirely worthy to be in this franchise. Do you like fun action RPG games that focus on solid, simple game mechanics? Do you like cats? Do you enjoy exploring and finding things to do in the world, searching around for a bit, and then going through the game again? Then you’re going to get your money’s worth and more from Cat Quest III.
If you’re looking for an engaging science fiction story about identity, mind, and personal values in a society that seems to value none of the above? I would recommend this one without reservation. Good work, Minds Beneath Us. You impressed me.
However, if you like to march through corridors, blow through your enemies, and maybe get a few one-liners in along the way? Phantom Fury is going to be a good time. It's a legacy throwback that has done its homework, and while it didn't delight me it also never made me want to throw the dang thing in the garbage. It's some good lightweight fun. Let's just hope that this time around the title avoids becoming the main character of controversy, hmm?
As it stands, ArcRunner is not a bad game. I don’t think it’s truly dire by any stretch of the imagination, even with the font being kind of awful. But it’s just not a very good game either. It’s fine. And just fine doesn’t get much more than a tepid recommendation. There are a lot of games in this genre, and a lot of those are more fun to play with
At a $15 price tag, it feels like a light weekend thing, something you can drill through in a few nights of idle play and then pick up again whenever you have a hankering for something similar. That’s… what it wants to be. And so I have to kind of give it up for that. There are frustration points, sure, but if you like this style of platformer it simultaneously doesn’t feel like something that’s been done a dozen times before and is fun to play start to finish. Not every game manages that.
As such, ultimately I face the difficulty of trying to put a numerical score to something that is either going to be an experience you love having that you cannot convince others to engage with or something you want to love that you can't bring yourself to enjoy. It's the difference between having a 5/10 that you should definitely try or an 8/10 you might really dislike. That's hard to score. So in this particular case, please don't focus on the score below. That's not really indicative. Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is an odd game that you will either really like and have a lot of fun with or it is going to frustrate the heck out of you, but I think ultimately I have to err on the side of it trying new things even if I don't think it totally sticks the landing.
Maybe it'd be nice to say that we all should have gotten over Final Fantasy VII by now instead of fawning over the world and its characters. But far from being the simple note-for-note reprise of the original that it could have been, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth swings for the fences to be a big and original thing that feels like a full game even while it is, functionally, the middle. It has weaknesses like combat I'm not wholly sold on and maybe a bit too much start-and-stop through gameplay, but if you've been looking forward to the game, you will not be disappointed. And if you want to experience the full story, this is a really good time.
So at the end of the day, despite everything that made this look like it was going to be a disaster, Granblue Fantasy Relink is not just an alright game. It’s a really good game, a delight in terms of action RPG gameplay, and easily a title that you can start sinking a huge amount of time into whether you know this crew or not. I’m excited for the prospect of more, from more characters to more stories. And if you’re looking for a new RPG to sink your teeth to at the start of the year, you already have a strong example.
The list of things to find might seem a little short at first, but it’s remarkably devious and should keep you searching for a consistent stretch. If you see the scenes above and think “that looks like fun,” hey, you are probably going to have a good time.
On a whole, I feel like Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is more sure of what it wants to be than its predecessor. It’s not trying to split the difference by being an RPG in one mode and a fighting game in others. On the other hand, the original’s RPG bona fides were a big part of what attracted me to the original, so it raises the interesting question wherein I both prefer the original for what it was trying to do while recognizing that the sequel is probably the better fighting game, which is what it’s trying to actually be. Taking into account the long tail of support for the original, the promise of more characters, and the surfeit of extra modes, this is almost a definite buy for fighting game fans, especially if you are a longtime fan of the original game. But it’s also a good buy if you’ve always loved fighting games but dislike threadbare stories or struggle with the controls. And with the sheer breadth of extra modes available, odds are good you’ll find stuff to love in here.
If you’re looking for a metroidvania game to play that you haven’t played before, this game is going to deliver. It’s not without charm and it’s not wildly incompetent. But it’s a C- effort and that’s all the worse when you know that the studio is capable of delivering much better. Unless you’re in dire need of a new metroidvania or a big fan of the series it’s based upon, I wouldn’t rush to grab this one.
If you are tired as heck of roguelike games, this is not the game that’s going to change your mind. But if you like solid platforming action and are willing to learn the game’s systems, crack the bones and sink into the marrow? You’ve got a heck of a game on your hands, and many exciting runs ahead of you. And that’s even before you unlock your third characters.
What Roboquest aims to do is to be a game that is quick on the surface but brimming with depth underneath, and it fulfills that goal not just adequately but admirably. Every part of this game feels lightweight, like a short romp, but as you keep hammering away at its intricacies you find yourself dealing with ever-greater depth and complexity. It encourages you to just keep going for one more run, time and again. If you like first-person shooters, you will have an absolute blast with Roboquest. The game scratches the itch for a satisfying and active shooter in a way that few other titles manage, and you can expect to spend hours just ducking back in for another round of shooting and jumping in the hopes of reaching the end this time. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
Gordian Quest is a straightforward and fun game. I liked it all while I played. But I also kept wishing I was playing on my PC, which is… probably the game’s biggest weakness. It feels like a PC game ported to a console (which, let’s be real, it is) and it is a bit limited as a result of that. However, if you want the game in portable form and don’t have (or want) a Steam Deck? It’s a great addition. Sure, you will have to wrestle with the game’s interface a little bit and there will be the odd moment where you feel like something should have worked but you couldn’t see a bit of text that indicated otherwise. But the game is good enough that a bit of interface jank hardly pulls it down, in the end.
There are definitely some rough edges in Affogato, like poor sprite work and the odd technical issue. But while those issues are noteworthy, they are far from being a significant drain on the game. Indeed, I found myself consistently enjoying the game, and while the issues do drag it down they don’t really hurt the game. This is a fun, inventive title with a lot of heart to it.
It’s smaller than its inspiration, a bit simpler in some ways, and I am very deliberately leaving out some of the places it goes simply on the basis that it’s worth seeing it for yourself. If you’re like me and have been looking for more FFT for the past two decades, this game will not sate your hunger completely, but it’ll be damn filling. You will walk away satisfied. That is high praise, and a testament to how good the game actually is. And I’m itching to play it again… and hopeful for an even better sequel one day, perhaps. So give this one a shot.
The biggest worry I had about this game, as I related in my initial preview, was that this is a bit of a wisp of a thing. Fortunately, looking at the price compared to what is actually on display here… I don’t think that’s actually a problem. Yes, it’s a light thing, but it’s not being priced as a high-end experience. It’s asking you to drop a little money on a game where you can do some fun puzzle gameplay within an RPG framework. That’s exactly what it delivers, and for that I think it’s definitely worth a look. If you enjoy a bit of RPG and strategy in a game and enjoy yourself a match-three game, you will be well-served by Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. I can’t tell you how well it stacks up compared to the DS version, maybe, but now it’s available on more modern devices and it’s still fun. What more could you ask for?
The story works but it has some notable flaws, and if you’re familiar with the property lots of it feels like familiar ground. The gameplay is solid enough but it’s very much about following a very strict path rather than going off in new directions. The visuals are afforded far too much weight and don’t actually work all that well beyond seeing quick snippets in trailers. Which, when you look at it all in one go, might make this the most Star Wars game possible in all of Star Wars. I just wish that felt like a compliment.