If you are a fan of Shmups buying Jamestown+ is a no brainer. The game looks and plays like a dream. The soundtrack is one of the best you will find and having local multiplayer makes this a joy for folks that like to play games with their friends. I do wish this had online multiplayer since not all of us live close to friends we can easily snag up to play. I played this for around 5 hours and I was able to beat all of the stages the game had to offer, but I could’ve invested a lot more time if I wanted to unlock everything the game had to offer and complete all of the challenges, making it well worth the $17.99 price point. If you’ve been looking for a Shmup to test your skills or just a good game to play with some friends, you really couldn’t go wrong picking this up.
I have to say overall I had a great time with GENSOU Skydrift. The racing was fast, fluid and just a lot of fun. The graphics and artwork are outstanding. The game runs at a solid framerate no matter if the Switch is docked or in handheld mode. I polished off the campaign mode in just a few hours, but I spent about 4 or 5 more playing around on all the tracks with friends and CPU racers. The $23.99 price tag might seem a little steep, but this is a quality racing game. If you’re a Touhou fan I think you will find a lot to love here, and if you’re a racing fan looking for a solid title this might just be your cup of tea as well.
While I didn’t touch on everything found in VenusBlood Frontier International I feel this is a pretty good overview of how the game flows. While this combat sounds complicated it’s really not once you start playing and is actually highly addictive. I haven’t had this much fun with an SRPG in many years. The story here is top notch and I loved all of the characters found here. This is one of the few times I can say a game truly met my expectations, and I sincerely hope Ninetails will bring more of these titles to the West. For the $40 you’re getting 100+ hours of solid gameplay and story in a game that has some of the best music and artwork I’ve seen in a long time. This is a must own for visual novel fans and SRPG players alike.
All and all I had a great time with Pokémon Sword. The game runs very well docked or in handheld mode, online features work great aside from the slowdown and the gameplay is quite addictive. I loved all of the characters and some of the theme music is the best I’ve heard in a long time. I felt like the game was easy enough for a casual player to get into, while it still had plenty of depth for veteran players to explore. This is exactly the balance you want in a game like this. I played this for around 55 hours for this review and finished the main story and bit of post game content. I feel like this game is well worth $60 price tag. There is plenty of content and I feel like old and new players will find a lot to love here.
Utawarerumono: Zan is not a bad game, but it is a game made for fans of the series exclusively. If folks go into this with no knowledge of Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception’s story they will be completely lost. The combat is solid and tons of fun. I really enjoyed unlocking all the different modes and watching all my favorite characters grow stronger along the way. The story mode is well done, but it does skip around a bit too much, and some will find its length a bit on the short side. However, I do think fans will find plenty of content here to justify the around $50 price point. In the end this game is the very definition of a fan service game, and I think that’s perfectly fine.
Battle Planet – Judgement Day is one of those game that I don’t think is bad a game and is very reasonable at the $14.99 price. I do however think it was made with a particular kind of gamer in mind. Fans of these types of games may think well I won’t need to get upgrades, I can use my luck and skill to wing my way through the 40+ waves the game has to offer. I have serious doubts anyone can do this since the damage you take from a single hit on the higher waves is substantial even after unlocking many perks and upgrades. This makes the game grindy since you will have to run the first waves quite a few times to power up enough to handle the more challenging levels and bosses. I spent around 5 hours with this one. Some of that time was solo and some was co-op with a friend and having two players does make the game a bit easier, but even then it is no cakewalk. I was only able to complete 35 waves for this review. It was just too difficult for me to handle solo past that and I had no one local to help me out. That being said, if you’re into this genre and love a good challenge you’ll like want to give this one a go.
Gun Gun Pixies isn’t a bad game, but it’s certainly not for everyone or without its share of issues. The biggest issue here is the camera. It’s by far the hardest boss you fight in the game. It gets stuck on corners and wonks out every once in a while. It’s much harder to fight what you cannot see. The enemy collision detection is very much in their favor, you can be way back from a spinning tentacle and still take a hit. I think the over the top fan service is balanced out by the great story, but if you’re not a fan of these types of games or Idea Factory’s wares then this isn’t going to change your mind. I spent about 12 hours completing the story and there are tons of post game options to play round with, so the $49.99 pricetag for a physical edition with that awesome artbook is totally worth it. In the end if these games are your thing you should pick this up. You’re going to have a great time with it despite its flaws.
I enjoyed Code Vein a lot more than I thought I would going into it. The combat is challenging without being frustrating most of the time, the Code system allows you to mix and match jobs to your liking and the overall look of the game is outstanding. The maps could’ve used a little more detail in certain areas and some variety would’ve been welcomed. That’s honestly a very minor complaint, since of the game looks great. The music is outstanding and with three different endings and New Game+ there is a decent amount of replay value here for the 60 buck price tag. If you are a fan of Souls games, this is a must have title, and folks that wanted try out a Souls game but wanted something with a bit more story and character should definitely pick this up. You will be glad you did!
While I do feel the gameplay in Crystar is simple, the story and aesthetics truly make this a one-of-a-kind title. I really want to gush about all the great twists and turns in the story and about how these characters grow as the game progresses, but that’s all spoilers and I think everyone should play this one for themselves. I played around 30 hours and completed all of the main story. I did feel that making you run some of the latter stages three times with just a few story changes was a bit much, but there was a good payout on in the end so I can let that slide a bit. I feel like this game is well worth the $59 price tag if you’re into games with a deep and meaningful story. I feel like this one might get buried by bigger releases this generation, but I hope people don’t overlook it. Crystar is a very special title that I feel everyone should give a shot.
I spent over 40 hours with Omega Labyrinth Life and had a blast. While the game isn’t perfect, the dungeon crawling is fun and the over the top aesthetics really make this stand out. I completed the main story during my playthrough, but there were two 100 level dungeons I have yet to explore. If you love Rogue-Like Dungeon Crawlers that have tons of Ecchi, you should pick up the game today at the $59.99 price tag. I know that sounds pretty steep, but there is a lot of content here. If you’re a casual fan of this genre this is a good title to get your toes wet with, since I didn’t think the difficultly was too steep for anyone to enjoy. I hope D3 Publisher figures out a way to bring us the sequel. If it’s as good as this one, we’re missing out on something great.
I had put off reading The Song of Saya for years and I can safely say I was missing out one the most thought-provoking and well-written visual novels of all time. This is one of the most gory and violent games out there, but none of this is done for shock value, it all has a point. I know some of the more extreme elements here such as cannibalism and rape will turn off many readers, but for those willing to take the plunge you will find something much deeper here. This is a very short visual novel clocking in at around 6 hours, but it is worth every penny of the $19.99 asking price. In fact I am very tempted to order the Limited Physical Edition over on JList for $24.99 + shipping just have to a physical copy and the amazing soundtrack. If you’ve not read this one and can get past its very disturbing aspects, you find a one of kind experience that will leave you with the question – how far would you go for love?
Attack on Titan 2 was already a pretty massive game and this Final Battle version only sweetens the pot with tons of new content. You could easily spend 50 or more hours unlocking and exploring everything this game has to offer. If you haven’t picked up the base game I feel this one is well worth the $59.99 price tag. You can upgrade the base version to the Final Battle version for $39.99. I think for the amount of new content here it would be well worth it. The Nintendo Switch version of the game does have some slowdown when lots of Titans and characters are on screen moving at the same time. I didn’t encounter this too often, but on a couple of missions it is very noticeable. I wish they had added a few new mission types to the game as well, just to add a bit of variety. Those are really the only two complaints I can find with this outstanding title. Fans of Attack on Titan, buy this game today. You’ll be very happy you snagged it up. If you aren’t a fan of the series or found the anime’s pacing too slow, you should pick this up as well. I was not a fan of this until I played the first game back in 2016 and I’m very glad I decided to give it a chance.
Vambrace: Cold Soul is certainly a not an easy game, but I feel like you are rewarded with a pretty good story for putting in the work. Exploring the dungeons and managing very limited resources is both challenging and fun. The multiple endings do encourage you to play through the game more than once, at around 10 hours a run. this makes it well worth the $24.99 price point. If you’re up to the challenge there is a lot to love here, but if you’re a more causal RPG gamer, you may want to pass on this one.
I have to say, Atelier Lulua ~The Scion of Arland~ is one of the best games in the series. The characters are wonderful, the story while not unique is still very interesting and the combat is a pure joy. I played this one for around 45 hours and could’ve easily gotten more finishing up quests, doing post-game stuff or trying for one of the other endings. If you’re a fan of series, the game is well worth the $59.99 price tag. If you haven’t picked one of these games up in a while, now is the perfect time to jump back into this great franchise.
I spent 22 hours to complete the main quest and there is some postgame content to delve into as well. If you’re a fan of the series you’ll probably want to pick this one up as well. It will be worth the $49.99 asking price. While it’s not as good as other spin offs there is still some value here. If you are new to franchise this may not be the best entry point, but you don’t need any knowledge of the rest of the franchise to jump in either.
I have to say I had a lot of fun with Void Bastards. The artwork is here amazing. I loved all of the different designs for the enemies and comic book style cut-ins are just a pure joy as well. The quirky British voices the aliens have and just the overall silliness of what you’re doing gives you a big smile. The shooting here is pretty tight and there are a few different difficulty levels to choose from, if FPS games aren’t really your thing. At the $29.99 price you get a nice 15 hour campaign that has New Game + so you can keep collecting and killing bigger aliens. This might seem a little steep, but PC games go on sale often, so if you wait for sale you’ll get an even better value here. I would recommend this one to anyone that has a passing interest in rouge-like or FPS games. This is one very unique title. It does have some quirks and you will get screwed over by the rouge-like nature of it, but there’s nothing else quite like it out there.
I have to say I was very surprised at how good Lapis x Labyrinth was. After 20 hours I found the gameplay fast, fluid and most importantly fun. The upgrade system is slowly introduced so you never feel overwhelmed, and I thought the difficulty curve was just about right for this type of game. Some of the maps can get a bit confusing even with guidance they give you and some of the enemies late in the game can be very cheap with attacks that cause instant death or knock your stack out of whack. Still I have to say if you want a great Action RPG you could do a lot worse at the $49.99 price for the limited edition that comes with some extra goodies.
Moero Chronicle Hyper is an excellent port. The new features such as auto travel and HD Rumble make the experience even better than before. If you love dungeon crawlers and want to spend some quality time with amazing monster girls, this will be the best 20 bucks you ever spent on the eShop. I highly recommend it.
I won’t say Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ is a bad game; it’s just not a very exciting one. The game looks good and has a wonderful soundtrack, but the gameplay is just kinda boring. After around 25 hours of playtime I was totally burned out on the city building. The lack of exploration, way dumbed down alchemy and combat really hurt this one. It is wonderful to see all your favorite alchemists from previous games hanging out and having fun together. These interactions are pretty much the highlight of this game, and everything else is lacking. At $59.99 I would only pick this up if you are hardcore fan of the Atelier series. For everyone else I’d recommend you hold off for the upcoming Atelier Lulua ~The Scion of Arland~ to get that alchemy fix.
All in all if you own the PlayStation 4 version of this you can get the new content via DLC, so you’ll probably want to skip this. If you don’t own the PlayStation 4 version, are a huge Girls Und Panzer fan, or just want to play it on the go, this is a great option for you. It does come at steeper price than usual with an import running $72.99 on the Switch. You can snag this on PlayStation 4 from Play-Asia for much less at $38.99. In the end, no matter which version of this you buy I think you’ll have a lot of fun and I do recommend anyone that is a fan of the series or that loves tank combat games to check it out.