Thomas Knight's Reviews
Overall, I find the Atelier Dusk Trilogy DX to have been done well. The games themselves are all very enjoyable and this is the definitive version of them, with some great additional features which improve things even more than most remasters would.
Unfortunately, I don’t really recommend Gungrave VR. Perhaps if you happen to be a die-hard fan of the series, but even then I’d think carefully before spending $30 on a two hour game, with such low quality. This game really does not feel like it was designed for VR.
If you want to see a busty ninja or two humiliated and violated by all manner of creatures, Taimanin Asagi has its issues, but is something you might appreciate. It has its charms, especially when it comes to the artwork. Just don't go into it expecting much in the way of story or the same standards as modern visual novels.
Secret Agent is worth reading, but certainly isn’t going in my top recommendations. It’s a pity as I was quite excited to read ensemble’s first localized work and the concept is an interesting one. Unfortunately, some routes are notably better than others and the romance with the heroines while certainly good at points, wasn’t amazing either.
Loop8: Summer of Gods has an interesting concept and some great characters that give a good reason to play it. My first impressions were actually quite positive and if my review was based on the first ten hours, it would probably be a 7/10 due to the great character moments and idea of growing stronger through loops. Unfortunately, the issues with gameplay and systems that came to light over the full forty-five hours it took to complete, and the method of storytelling make it difficult to outright recommend.
I enjoyed the final chapters of Beta-Sixdouze and it certainly added to the lore of the series well, but it felt like a long and tiresome journey to get there at times. It has plenty of good moments sprinkled throughout, but between the technical issues and the moments of tedium, it’s difficult to outright recommend this visual novel. It did feel like somewhat of a letdown, as Alpha-Nighthawk was quite good.
There are certainly some positive elements to Fitness Boxing Fist of the North Star. It encourages progress, uses unlocks well, and demonstrates stretches in an easy-to-follow manner. Sadly, the issues with the core gameplay and the price point make it difficult to recommend. For some casual exercise and at a lower price-point, then it might be worth picking up, especially if you’re a fan of Fist of the North Star. But there are better options out there.
Despite mentioning quite a lot of issues with Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars in my review, I still enjoyed playing it. It’s not the best hack and slash gameplay around, but it was fun seeing the Neptunia characters and how they interacted with the Senran Kagura ones. Still, if you want a hack and slash game, Senran Kagura Burst Re:newal might be a better option.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge is only a few hours long, but for a Star Wars fan it could be worth it to experience that galaxy, far, far away. It does a lot right in that aspect. That said, considering the price for such a short game and the issues with the gameplay, I would be more cautious if I were a more casual fan or just enjoyed these types of games. It immerses you in that universe, but it doesn’t keep you in it.
Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon – Infinite Combate is not a game I’d generally recommend. There was a lot of frustration. I found myself disappointed. With that said, as a fan of the anime series, there were certainly points I enjoyed, mostly around seeing the story again and talking to the characters. Some of the customization and extra content in the post-game helped to redeem it too.
Generally, I think that Jump Force is a reasonably good fighting game, with a terrible story and too high price. I do feel like fans of the anime involved will appreciate the game much more than others. A lot of care has been taken to transfer the characters from anime format into the game and keep them as they are meant to be. It is also quite fun to see characters from different series talking to each other which you can only really experience in a crossover event.
Overall, this is a great rhythm game with some decent puzzling sections – that is if you are playing in VR. I did find that the control scheme was a big issue on the DualShock controller, but with PS Moves it worked almost perfectly. I’d certainly recommend it to VR players, despite frustrating issues around advancing the story and puzzles. For players using the TV and a DualShock controller, I generally wouldn’t recommend it unless you try before you buy.
Overall, I enjoyed playing Gensou Skydrift, but it did have some issues. It is quite short, without many modes. It has some technical issues and it’s not great graphically. With that said, I certainly enjoyed that it was more difficult than the average and it is very fun to play against friends, as well as in single player. The skill needed to successfully navigate the courses is what makes it stand out the most to me and certainly fits in with the rest of the Touhou Project series in that way.
Overall I certainly enjoyed this game. It was full of personality and it was a nice change to be making dance poses instead of attacking or defending like in some other popular VR rhythm games. I did feel like it was too short on content for the relatively high price and it might be better served on a VR system with better tracking, but it was fun and it’d be great to implement into someone’s VR exercise routine with the 100-stage mode.
In the end, I find myself rather mixed on this title. It has some very good points – the character interactions, the voicing and the way it works as an introduction to the world of Azur Lane. There’s even a huge selection of characters to unlock even if it doesn’t cover the full range of Azur Lane characters. While there are positive points, there are certainly negative ones too. The constant button pressing and going back to the map to proceed. Battles being too short and too easy to need to do much. The user interface only really works well if you have a controller. In the end, I think this is going to be one mostly for fans of Azur Lane rather than fans of anime games in general.
While I enjoyed My Klutzy Cupid for the characters and do recommend reading it, it certainly has its weaknesses around the story, its length, and feeling rushed at times. I’ve mentioned the slightly older Kamiyaba from the same developer a couple of times during this review, and in some ways, it feels like a budget version of that, despite Kamiyaba being slightly cheaper. It’s worth picking up and reading. I think most will enjoy it, but I don’t think it’ll blow anyone away unless they particularly like one of the heroines.
Queen Of The Otaku: There Can Only Be One puts forward an interesting idea, takes it to a dark place, and caters well to certain fetishes. It’s a rather limited title, but it does quite a lot for a fairly low price. If you enjoy the themes here and aren’t looking for much of a story, it’s not top-tier, but certainly not a bad title to pick up.
Neptunia as a series does seem to suffer when it moves away from its JRPG roots. While Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters has a lot of great points, the more action-oriented gameplay aspects do let it down quite a lot. I’d not suggest rushing out and grabbing it, but Neptunia fans will certainly find a lot to enjoy and this is certainly who it’s aimed at. If you can get past the slow start and the gameplay, the story will make it worth it.
I struggled to rate Café Stella and the Reaper's Butterflies. It does a lot right, but it also does a lot that I didn’t like too. I mostly enjoyed the experience, but I can’t say it left much of an impression on me. It had a few great moments, but no standout plot. Many of the characters I really liked, but some routes fell flat. It has the high quality of a Yuzusoft title in many ways, but it’s the weakest of them that I’ve played. While it’s worth playing, unless you’re particularly into cafes I’d say to wait for a sale.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires isn’t the best game in the series, but it’s a solid entry that gets most things basically right. While there are certainly plenty of points to pick at, I still enjoyed taking over the country.