Rise of the Ronin dilutes the gameplay of Nioh and Wo Long to accomodate for an open world that offers little of worth. Combat is still great despite this, but it could have been so much more
While I may have criticized Yakuza: Like a Dragon for a decent chunk of this review, there’s still a lot to love about it. Ichiban is the perfect character to usher in this new era of Yakuza, and the amount of things to do outside of the main story is almost overwhelming. However, Yakuza 8 will need a lot of work put into it to make the RPG elements more balanced and engaging.
Despite the simple combat and some story issues at times, Atelier Ryza 3 offers an engaging gameplay loop that never gets boring.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty differentiates itself from Nioh thanks to a few key mechanics, though the experience can feel a little linear and easy at times. Still a fun game for fans of Team Ninja, and faster Soulslikes in general.
While the RTS sections might drag things down a little, 13 Sentinels is still a fantastic story driven game that offers up a unique experience. It’s not quite the game that I thought it would be, though in some ways that didn’t turn out to be a bad thing. The future is looking bright for Vanillaware, and I hope that their next game goes all-in on the adventure elements, without anything else getting in the way.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak won't convert diehard fans of older entries, but it still offers more solid hunting gameplay.
Remnant 2 is simply the first game but better. Improved customization, worlds, and combat all make for the perfect sequel.
Chained Echoes rises above its SNES-era inspirations, crafting an experience that easily stands out for its own merits.
At the end of the day, Tales of Arise is an incredibly fun game. There are some things that I would have liked done differently, and the battle system is definitely simplistic, though these things likely won’t be much of an issue for most players. Honestly, any game that I can play for 50 hours in under two weeks and still enjoy is a great one in my book. I’m looking forward to seeing what Bandai Namco does with the franchise next — hopefully we wont have to wait until the PS6 for their next Tales project.