Visions of Mana's earnestness and positives outweigh its negatives by a sizeable amount. At the very least, old-school 90s RPG fans should be glad that Square Enix did not forget about this classic series, now with a few more bells and whistles to make it quite a ride.
Gundam Breakers 4 is a return to action-slash-build-a-Gundam/Mobile Suit form after a long hiatus; the less said about New Gundam Breakers, the better. The combat is still fast and fun, with great controls and speedy gameplay. The plethora of GunPla base models and bits means no two Gundams online will be the same, both in aesthetics and practical use. The story mode is a great introduction to the Gundam Breakers process, though its missions could use more variety. But a few dud pieces aren't going to ruin the whole model.
With a bunch of neat levels and charismatic themes, as well as fun boss battles that require you to parry like a champ, right down to the smooth and tight controls, Bakeru is a fun 3D throwback ride for those who yearn for a 2000s-esque style challenge and colourful ride through a fantastical & cheery-looking Japan. Some levels do feel a bit samey and can get pretty easy half the time, but Bakeru doesn't wear out its welcome with padding and will entertain you hours on end with its bright demeanour and tribute to Japan.
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.
While simple in design, Cat Quest III offers quite a bit of a challenge for the first few hours until you find a favourite weapon or spell (or two) you can cheese with, like with the Orion Sword and lightning build I made up and hour-and-a-half in. Still, this doesn't discount the fun factor and charm the game embodies. Plus, the added New Game Plus mode, the Infinity Tower challenge, and Mew mode modifiers where you can make the game harder for yourself (like no leveling up or no upgrading equipment) will definitely sate challenge buffs everywhere. Simply put, Cat Quest III offers a lot for both casual and hardcore action RPG fans who want a bit of open-world on an indie game scale, a good chunk of feel-good equipment-based fighting and spellcasting, and a whole lotta cute. Just prepare to read through a barrage of animal puns in the story.
While not wholly a chillax game since there's combat, everything about Dungeons of Hinterburg screams "vacation", albeit with an impending disaster looming as you have to sort that out while you're getting your stamps and dungeon work cleared. While its conflicts are mundane, its puzzles and dungeon-trekking, as well as its social elements, make for a hearty combination to ease the soul, especially with the game's heartfelt message about work-life balance and its statement on commercialization in the tourism industry.
With an epic plot and a neat combat system that blends the best of turn-based and real-time combat, Trails Through Daybreak is a welcome new entry in the long-standing Legend of Heroes series from Falcom. The best part? You don't need to play through the past Legend of Heroes games as Trails Through Daybreak is a great starting point, featuring new and likeable characters, as well as a fun battle system to get into, all the while complementing its world-spanning plotlines.
While hardcore action gamers may not find the game too deep, ZZZ’s combat is meaty enough to warrant repeated playthroughs and try out different character combinations. Despite its platinum shackles, there’s much fun to be had in following the cyberpunk anime adventures of Wise and Belle: video renters by day, rogue navigators by night.
Elden Ring's big expansion just adds more beautiful brutality and action RPGing carnage to its already-tough base. Shadow of the Erdtree is meant to test the mettle of the game's hardcore audience and isn't going to let up soon. This isn't going to change your mind about From Software's approach to its dungeon crawlers: it's either "get good" or go home and it intends to keep the messaging that way with its Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. The expansion's new offerings and updates, as well as epic boss fights, are still as grand and challenging as ever to the point that you may see optional boss Malenia (both versions) from the base game as a "walk in the park".
Shin Megami Tensei V back in 2021 was an epic JRPG that really needed a better core story (or a superior method of telling it) and better hardware to run, along with some interface tweaks. The Vengeance revamp fixes all of that and adds in a lot more, making this entry the definitive version of an already-stellar post-apocalyptic demon-summoning Nahobino-ing experience. With a lovingly crafted world with warranted upgrades, a huge cast of powerhouses to summon and recruit for your uber-demon army, a banging soundtrack with more awesome aural extras added, and a better framerate for the overall graphical experience, this is one literal hell of an adventure to dive into.
As far as platformers go though, Umbraclaw is pretty unique. Give it a go if you feel like you had your fill with overpowered-at-the-end main characters in their 2D platformer games, and opt to rely on skill using a cat and its shadowdash.
While the story & gameplay's broad strokes might be familiar, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2's execution, perspective, and overall production values are just stellar and highlights Ninja Theory's strengths in delivering what it does best: story-heavy cinematic gaming. The characters are fleshed out and well-written, with proper focus on your main character and her turmoils that carry over from the first game, the fighting feels weighty and challenging without being completely frustrating, and the HUD-less approach to presentation is welcome.
Animal Well makes a damn good first impression with its awesomely-crafted pixel art, moody aesthetics, and ambient sound work. And within hours while you're playing and even after finishing the game (6 to 8 hours tops), you won't forget a sight like Animal Well.
The only major issue in Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns is that it's not as detailed or fleshed out as the Tides of the Foscari DLC. But with such a steal of a price tag to use Contra characters and go hog wild on the rest of the game and DLC stages with overpowered superguns? There's really not much fault to find in that, if I'm being honest.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes perfectly captures the zeitgeist period of Japanese role-playing games of the late 90s, faults and all. [...] Players who yearn for the days of an epic fantasy story with solid turn-based combat & dungeon puzzle shenanigans most immersive will find a lot to love in this heartfelt tribute from the late Yoshitaka Murayama and his team Rabbit & Bear Studios.
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.
With great controls, a decent learning curve, and fun levels and lovely aesthetics, Pepper Grinder fills in the short-but-sweet arcade gaming niche that we love out of a twitch-based indie offering. Drill out!
Berserk Boy wears its inspiration loud and proud; our main character Kei even has afterimages from dashing similar to the Mega Man Zero/ZX series. True, it has some audio issues and requires you to play it to perfection for the best outcome, but that's the norm for these kinds of retro-styled titles that try their best to cater towards hardcore platformer audiences. And for a game of this calibre to be made by one solo developer? That is a helluva achievement. If you need a speedy 2D platforming challenge with a nifty Mega Man-inspired soundtrack (and suit-changing gameplay), Berserk Boy will sort you out.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a huge improvement over FFVII Remake because it doesn’t need to stretch the 3-hour closed portion of its source material to the point of insane padding. Unfortunately, the last quarter of the game’s plot is really not doing it for me and falls flat, thus derailing the entire narrative that opens up more questions and answers. Regardless, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an ambitious and well-made take on a huge chunk of a 1997 JRPG wonderchild and does justify the purchase of the PlayStation 5 for what it offers. Final Fantasy VII fans from back than and the remake will find a lot to love and cherish here. Just make sure you’ve done your homework before jumping in.
Penny's Big Breakaway is a godsend for those who lost all hope for 3D platformers making it big. While I'm not a fan of the main character's aesthetic and the last few levels being pretty buggy, the overall game & experience were given a lot of care and thought by Evening Star. Besides, gameplay & level design matters, and this yo-yo-centric misadventure has it in spades, along with some charm and boppin' tunes to jive to courtesy of composer Tee Lopes. If you love 3D platformers and can't get enough of replaying the same levels over and over for the best times & scores possible while finding out new platforming tricks with yo-yo-style shenanigans, this one will do it for you.