Adam Carr
Shin Megami Tensei 5 is a bastard to rate. What we have here is a game that, when everything is working in tandem, is possibly the greatest JRPG of all time. The depth, the mechanics, the loop – it’s perfect. The things it fumbles, however, makes getting to that greatness a chore at times, and it does serious damage to the overall experience. This is a 10/10 game, trapped in an 8/10 body – which is a real shame.
Knights of the Old Republic is still a fantastic RPG. Its best years are certainly behind it, but what it does well, it does better than most games released today. If you can look beyond the clunky controls and slightly janky systems, you will find a story and cast of characters that will stick with you for life.
Warborn is a game that teeters on the edge of brilliance. Poor AI and a few quality of life issues tarnish an otherwise great game. A solid TBS that can be enjoyed by newcomers and veterans alike.
Despite a few niggling issues, Dungeon of the Endless is an incredibly satisfying mix of Roguelike Dungeon Crawler, Tower Defence and Resource Management.
Boomerang Fu is a fun little brawler, packing depth and style in equal measure. It’s let down by a lack of online multiplayer, but if you can get a few people together, then this is absolutely worth booting up from time to time.
Overall Pacer is a good game. It stumbles from time to time with flaccid weapons and a lack of an active online community, but in just about every other category, it does a corker of a job. When compared to other games in the genre, it holds up favorably and if you are a fan of said genre, then, honestly, this is one worth checking out. Heck, this is a pretty damn solid starting point too.
Overall, The Medium left me with feelings of general frustration. Not at the quality of the game, or the mechanics themselves, but the length of the ride. The game is simply too long and the vast majority of my issues are a result of the core game growing stale, or the story being broken up by long stretches of nothing. All that being said, I had a good time with The Medium. It’s not something I’d recommend people rush out and buy at full price, but it’s certainly a game worth experiencing.
Gynoug is an experience. The gameplay is fine, it does the job and has just enough added gubbins to keep it feeling mostly fresh. The star of the show, however are the visuals. This game comes from a time long forgotten - where dripping, throbbing, scrolling, and pulsating was just an everyday occurrence. For that reason alone, providing the price is right, it’s worth a gander. Aside from that? If you are a fan of Shmups, then Gynoug should satisfy.
Overall Wintermoor Tactics Club is an alright game. The story is held up by solid dialogue, an interesting premise, and a cast of characters that are endearing enough to cover up some of the game’s flaws. Unfortunately, those flaws were ultimately too much for me to completely ignore and I left Wintermoor feeling disappointed. This is an incredibly accessible title for gamers who don’t have much experience with Tactical RPGs, however, if you’ve ever seen the box art for a TRPG, then you probably have enough experience to waltz through Wintermoor without breaking a sweat.
Kowloon High-School Chronicle is a hard game to recommend. It’s old in a way that makes it unpleasant at times, but the core concept is rock solid. Once you get past that initial wall of text, you’re in the clear. That being said, there are much better dungeon crawlers out there, and Kowloon is not good enough to recommend over them. What it has in spades, however, is a theme that is quirky, endearing, outlandish and totally unique. I would wait for a sale before you pick this up, and even then, only if you really appreciate Japanese-Indiana Jones-Anime-Horror-Comedies.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is a mixed bag, to say the least. Its strengths don’t necessarily lie in its qualities as a game, but its inclusion in a genre that is inherently addictive. The formula the genre uses has been refined and mastered to the point it has become quite the potent drug, and Olive Town can administer that narcotic effectively when it wants to. The issue is, I found it didn’t have any staying power. I was hooked whilst I was playing, but once I put it down, it was a real struggle to pick it back up. There were just too many niggling little issues that hindered my enjoyment long term. As far as farming-sims go, this one is passable and worth checking out if you have exhausted other, better games in the genre.
Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ is a pain in the arse. When it hits right, it sticks the landing with acrobatic precision. That juicy core, the multiplayer, and endless content - these all get the thumbs up from me. Its damn aspect ratio in conjunction with some lazy balancing and clunky menus do quite the number on an otherwise great title. This makes the game incredibly hard to recommend, especially to newcomers to the series or genre. Ultimately though, I did end up having quite the good time - flaws be damned.
Fort Triumph isn’t a bad game. I’d even consider it a good game for a little while. Its issues are its general lack of polish and how quickly every one of its systems dull by the end of the first or second act, let alone the final act of the fourth campaign. There is oodles of content on offer here, it just wasn’t worth experiencing to the fullest. This is all made worse by the poor production values and general jank. Probably something to look out for on sale.
Diablo 2 Resurrected is a fantastic remake of Diablo 2, in the sense that it is Diablo 2 with prettier graphics. Outside of that, Diablo 2 feels dated at best, bland at worst. There are so many better games in the genre that outshine Diablo 2, and one of those games exists within its series. This is a nostalgia trip of the long-toothed foggies, and not much else. The bugs don’t exactly help either.
Cotton 100% is alright. It’s a fun romp, but when put up against most modern shooters, and practically every other Cotton game released this year, it just feels a bit lacking. The existence of Cotton Reboot really invalidates this game’s whole shtick, and the fairly basic gameplay has since been expanded upon in games like Cotton 2. It’s not bad, it’s just there – it exists.
Wonder Blade is far from a bad game. In fact, it was a very enjoyable experience for about an hour. The overall lack of polish in the games finer designs undermine its smooth gameplay and gorgeous visuals, whilst the absence of multiplayer hamstrings its longevity. With a bit more spit and polish, and a couple of mates brandishing Joy-Cons, this could have been quite the hidden gem. Alas, it was not to be.
Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning is, in my opinion, not worth playing. It doesn’t do anything egregiously bad, it just doesn’t do much above passable either. In a world with a seemingly infinite supply of games, there are better ways to spend your time than trundling through a mire of mediocrity.
Overall, the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection is possibly worth considering. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 is still a fantastic game, and Sigma 2 is not a bad game, despite being a downgrade. You are still being lugged with Razor’s Edge of course, but that may be a tax worth paying. Unless you’re on Switch. Switch owners should stay far, far away from this collection. Ryu Hyabusa deserved better and we can only hope he gets it on the other platforms.
NIS Collection Volume 1 is probably not worth buying, and it pains me to say. One of these games is one of the best turn-based strategy games to release on the PS2, and all it needed was a tiny change to its speed. Considering that PC players have been using cheat engines to add in 2x speed increases since the mid-2010’s it’s baffling how this wasn’t just included as standard. Even Soul Nomad could have been redeemed. Alas, what we have here is a cheap cash grab that does nothing obscure that intent. If you must play Phantom Brave on Switch, then this might be worth it on sale.
Xuan Yuan Sword 7’s biggest sin is that it’s boring. Really boring. It might look nice, sound great, and be steeped in culture, but actually playing is closer to a chore than anything else. It’s also really long, coming in at 20+ hours. The gameplay on offer here can barely sustain a game half – or even a quarter – of that length. This is scratching at the heels of mediocrity, and it’s not with the time.