MercurySteam has a lot going for with Blades of Fire despite its drawn-out story and path that does wear out its welcome over time. While not exactly the most engrossing of all action RPGs with Dark Souls DNA, Blades of Fire is still worthy of your time due to its approach to weapons-crafting and nuances to its combat system.
Dragon Age - The Veilguard is far from being a disaster that many internet haters are claiming it to be. It's a serviceable and high-budget comfort food-level action role-playing game. Though if I'm being fair, that's probably the worst thing a standout trendsetter company like Bioware can commit: something that straddles along the lines of "fine".
While beautiful to look at and immersive to a degree, Nobody Wants To Die is a game that plays itself most of the time while you get your jollies being in a sci-fi noir universe with its own unique storyline and lore. There is some semblance of replayability, but the save options and convenience are eschewed for no reason other than to force you to replay the whole game again.
Dragon's Dogma 2 may not be for everyone, but if you want a fantasy role-playing game with all the thrills and excitement (and caveats) that make you want to better yourself and get immersed in, sink your teeth into this monster mash. Though if you just got off the first game and the Dark Arisen expansion pretty recently, you may want to wait until the game gets a discount. If you're fresh in, go for it with dragonfire-tempered expectations.
If you're itching for more potential Dohalim x Kisara ship material and a jaunt into Tales of Arise' combat all over again in a "new" setting, you can't go wrong with this decent-sized expansion that at least learned some lessons from overblown and too-long-for-their-own-good Tales Of sequels. In fact, if you want a solid Tales Of Arise experience, get the base game and expansion for a fun JRPG time. Otherwise, it's not required viewing unless the price goes down.
Don't expect a huge leap in innovation and surprises, but a boatload of fun for both your friends and family. This Mario entry is basically comfort food that barely sates, but doesn't enthrall, inspire, or enervate.
Sonic Superstars retains the same 2D nostalgic joy thanks to its fun levels and challenges, though we advise playing the game solo if you actually want to finish it. You'll still find a lot to love from the game's levels, though they aren't as strongly designed as the ones in Sonic Mania. Sonic Superstars does enough and a bit more with its charm, especially for completionists. Though I could do without Knuckles' recovery frame when he sticks onto ledges, or Tails' flying method being the way it is (sins of past games and adherence to tradition for ill), the overall game is a solid 2D jaunt for all ages. The co-op really needs work though and is nothing more than a party favour.
For the low price of US$14.99, you could do worst [than this indie mecha title] and it'll at least sate your jollies if for a few hours.
If you like a Flashback or Another World throwback title that kindles your nostalgia, go ahead and jump into Lunark. It'll keep you sated for a few hours with its lush pixel artwork and quirky puzzle-and-platforming gameplay. However, I cannot recommend this title to anyone else looking for a standard and modern 2D gaming experience, because Lunark is purposely designed for that specific 90s mindset.
While Wanted: Dead has some charm and some interesting gameplay and minigames to break up the pace, the terrible shooting mechanics, and lack of checkpoints in crucial parts of the game mean you have to really take up the game with its own broken-as-heck terms. At the very least, it's a 10-hour-or-less thrill ride so it's not a complete slog and it has its heart in the right place design-wise. It will toughen you up, if you give it a chance.
As far as game license cash grabs go, RWBY: Arrowfell could have been worse. At the very least, there's a serviceable action platformer game here with loads of potential, but it's squandered by boring-level design and all-around simplicity.
Despite how pretty it animates and how unique it looks, [Moonscars] punishing gameplay isn't for everyone.
Soulstice has a lot of, well, spirit to make it more than above-average hack and slash 2000-era fare. "A" for effort, at the very least.
You could do worse than with Square Enix's brave new venture into Soulslike territory that's roughly 20 hours or less depending on your skill level. I personally would love to see Team Ninja continue on with this take on Final Fantasy, but with better level design and a less banal plot thread that's a bit more accessible to non-fans.
Echo Generation has potential to be an indie darling. Perhaps if it eased up its combat prompts and set some clear goals in its storyline, then it wouldn’t be a pretty but aimless experience that it is now.
For a series that has been around for 30+ years, [Tales of Arise] should have at least taken cues from older JRPGs and just do with a major overhaul and shaking up. As it stands, JRPG fans will just have to settle with an alright-if-not-that-perfect experience.
Outside of [technical issues & weird platforming physics], Sonic Colors Ultimate is a nice mix of 3D Sonic gameplay that stems from the Dreamcast era and 2D classic platforming that put him on the map in the first place.
If it weren’t for [its controls] -the most important thing to nail in the genre- Greak would have been a top tier 2D platformer. As for now, it has to settle for the bronze medal for its art and ingenious idea of making platforming and puzzle segments using a trio of heroes.
Grime is a very unique-looking game set in a weird-as-hell creationist-themed world that’s sure to be divisive among gamers. It has some fun rock-solid moments, but the game is clearly trying to be Dark Souls with 2D and platforming when it should have just emulated how other 2D hardcore titles like the Ori series handle difficulty and fairness.
With a bit more polish and tweaking, [Nanotale: Typing Chronicles] can stand out as this year's remarkable RPG offering. For now, it has to settle being the first-ever type-savvy RPG that entertains for a bit before petering off.