The DioField Chronicle includes a lot of setup for potential sequels, but it does a solid job of laying down the proper foundation to make that work long-term.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero puts together a politically engaging story, fun gameplay, and likable heroes into one epic RPG.
Temtem is a fun monster-catching game that offers plenty of twists on the well-worn Pokémon formula.
There’s a lot to like about “Soul Hackers 2.″ Ringo’s upbeat personality makes her a phenomenal protagonist, along with both the engaging combat and fun characters keeping players absorbed within the minute-to-minute gameplay loop.
Digimon Survive isn’t awful, but longtime fans of the franchise will likely come away feeling a little disappointed. If the tactics gameplay was up to snuff — or eliminated entirely — the experience would’ve been better overall.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an amazing JRPG, with a deep story and fun gameplay that will keep players engaged for many hours.
Live A Live is a high-effort remake from the presentation side, though the base game remains an uneven RPG experience.
Stray isn't just a game about a cat trying to get home, but one about an even greater adventure. And doing cat things.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games can't quite find the right narrative justification for its intriguing gameplay hooks.
AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative boasts a compelling story, along with some great plot twists that caught me completely off guard. Its investigations are intriguing, and its Somnium dungeons are both colorful and foreboding. Nirvana Initiative is an incredibly eccentric game, bursting with vibrant characters, mind-bending puzzles, and an abundance of strange sci-fi detours. And once it builds momentum, it doesn’t let up. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I love it.
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is an engaging mystery that involves murders that span over a period of 100 years.
A gorgeous game with frustrating combat and glitchy exploration, Trek to Yomi is the definition of style over substance.
Chinatown Detective Agency is an engaging point-and-click adventure with gorgeous art direction that falls just a bit short.
'Ghostwire: Tokyo’s vision of Shibuya is eccentric and captivating. Exploring every nook and cranny to learn more about the Japanese myths and legends that inspired the game makes for a compelling gameplay hook. It’s a shame that despite some interesting ideas, parts of the story campaign feel like they were left on the cutting room floor.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is an incredibly fun game, filled with bombastic combat, which also expands on the existing lore of the original Final Fantasy.
“Triangle Strategy” is a fun title that has an engaging story with fantastic characters and worldbuilding. Better English voice acting would have been icing on the cake, but the half-baked vocal delivery left me feeling a bit deflated. In any case, fans of strategy and tactics-based RPG games should definitely check “Triangle Strategy” out.
It may sound reductive, but Elden Ring is a fourth mainline Dark Souls title in all but name. The game’s open-world structure feels very organic - there aren’t lists of activities with checkboxes that players need to cross off. The Lands Between is filled with visually stunning locations and deadly enemies to ensure that the perilous journey to become the Elden Lord is at least pretty to look at. While Elden Ring stumbles a bit in some areas, it still has all the hallmarks of what makes FromSoftware’s games so enticing: it’s fun, challenging, and rewarding.
Atelier Sophie 2: Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is an improvement on all aspects of its predecessor.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of good games, with some excellent quality of life changes. But Nintendo has applied those changes inconsistently throughout.
Blue Reflection: Second Light is an improvement upon the first game, following a group of schoolgirls looking for a way back home while fighting evil monsters.