The game boldly embraces girl battles, complete with dynamic cutaways and iconic “beam struggle” climaxes. If the storytelling were more compelling, this could easily be Inti Creates’ best title to date.
Everything just feels “right” in Replaylee. It makes the vanilla game look like a rough draft and like this was the game they intended to make the first time. It took a long time, but it’s finally here; this is the “Banjo-Threeie” fans have been hoping for.
These days, The Evil Within 2 is dirt cheap, and if you play it on a Series X, it gets a nice frame rate boost to a consistent 60. It looks on par with the likes of Alan Wake II, but you won’t have to contend with obnoxious characters and agonizing pacing. This was a solid sequel that should have gotten more love.
Blood West offers flexible, skill-driven mechanics. Whether players approach it with stealthy backstabs or gunslinging headshots, the open-ended levels encourage creative approaches in an imaginative setting with plenty to see and do. It isn’t the most polished or evenly balanced, and the tone can feel more comedic than horror. It feels more like Evil Dead than Bone Tomahawk.
Mario Kart World is another great Mario Kart. It isn’t eighty dollars good, but if you can get it for around sixty, you’ll be very happy with the value it offers. There are plenty of features and stuff to do to keep players enjoying this endlessly, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it is not the generational leap forward like some of the past entries.
For almost fifty American dollars, you are not getting your money’s worth. Death end re;Quest Code Z is outrageously overpriced. The visuals look like it’s a twenty-dollar PlayStation 3 downloadable game, and the low-effort visual novel scenes have no energy or dynamism.
It delivers polished, meaty, and violent action with excellent visuals, but it won’t matter if it’s cheapened by difficulty sliders. Move over, DOOM 3, DOOM: The Dark Ages is now the most disappointing entry in the franchise
Avowed has its moments when players are invading a camp full of thugs and monsters, where the sparks can fly and the blades can clash. Between those moments are insufferable dialogues with a cast of characters you won’t care for, in a setting that never feels convincing. It’s a shallow and dumb game that could be a guilty pleasure if you got it for $20.
Tales of Graces f Remastered is a solid JRPG for young gamers who think turn-based gameplay is boring. The saccharine friendship themes will bore most older gamers and make their skin crawl, but it does have some genuinely heartfelt moments. Some of the writing is sloppy and the motivations are weak. If you’re a little kid, it may resonate with you.
This was a very responsibly made JRPG that has an epic vision and scope with a sweeping adventure, mystery, and a cast of lovable characters. It scratches that very specific itch that only a real Final Fantasy can scratch.
Adol may not be able to remember them himself being the professional amnesiac that he is, however, I will not forget this experience. Fantastically tight and responsive action combat, a light-hearted story, and dungeons to explore are what Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana promises, and it delivers.
Nightdive has made an exceptional remaster of a very mediocre game. The Thing does not deserve this kind of attention. There are better games out there that could have gotten this treatment, but hopefully, it inspires someone else to take another shot at adapting John Carpenter’s immortal classic. Its premise is still fertile and novel and maybe one day, someone will get it right.
Most people consider Chrono Trigger one of the best JRPGs for a good reason. It’s an exciting story to play through with unforgettable visuals and music. The gameplay is a perfect balance of challenging yet it remains streamlined to keep it accessible. It may be too basic for hardcore RPG maniacs, but it’s hard to ever feel disappointed when getting swept up in such a wonderful and feel-good adventure.
Much like Triangle Strategy, both games suffer from having to compete with Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. No SRPG has ever or likely will ever come close to achieving such greatness. You’re better off revisiting those two classics if you need to scratch the strategy RPG itch.
Spirit Mancer is a solid action platformer with amazing pixel art and breezy gameplay that makes it ideal for kids.
Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered are the definitive versions of two awesome but flawed games. One game surpasses one in another aspect and vice versa, but between them both you’re going to get a superbly gothic and atmospheric epic backed by some of the greatest and moodiest dialogue in any game ever.
Little Big Adventure: Twinsen’s Quest is borderline unplayable. The kinesthetics are dreadfully unpleasant and the rough state of the game can lead to some nasty bugs. The few areas of improvement are not worth enduring this sluggish mess. Gamers are better off playing the original.
What’s interesting to note is that a lot of these game-breaking issues can easily be resolved with a patch. Assuming that day never comes, this is a quest I wouldn’t recommend to anyone other than the usual Dragon Quest fans who would buy it anyway. Some things should be left untouched since the modern audience does not understand what made it good in the first place.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next was close to being fun. The tiring and repetitious structure that makes players run back and forth between the same areas across a huge map becomes very boring. There is too much teasing the player with a challenge and when it finally comes, it is too little and too late.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a flawless JRPG experience. It takes an old gem masterpiece from the golden age and refines it into an epic masterpiece with an AA budget than what Square Enix typically spits out of its mouth.