SEGA and Crypton have polished the series’ challenging rhythm gameplay over the years, and Future Tone serves as the ultimate package for the most hardcore of fans to prove that they’ve mastered the art of very precise button pushing.
All in all, though, Atelier Shallie Plus is a fantastic package that fans of the series definitely shouldn’t miss out on. If you were sorely disappointed with the main story in the original PS3 release, Atelier Shallie Plus is a good attempt at making amends and closing things out in the Dusk trilogy.
In closing the door on the action-packed direction of the past three main games, they’ve opened another that could possibly lead to a familiar yet exciting future for the series.
Still, Nioh’s few flaws aren’t nearly enough to offset everything else that the game got right. This game feels so polished with its satisfying combat and its insanely deep loot and crafting system, along with the hundreds of hours of content it has on offer.
NieR: Automata isn’t without its flaws. The game could’ve done away with its fetch quests completely, and the combat could’ve been a little more balanced.
Overall, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is a really solid compilation that offers a great visual novel experience on PC (and the PS4 and Vita, for that matter). Even for longtime fans who are familiar with the series, the HD facelift that 999 has received is certainly worth a second look too.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.
At the end of the day, Persona 5 is a game that offers us the chance to live the perfect high school fantasy life we never had. It’s a chill, feel-good JRPG where you take control of a likable young man with the perfect social life, along with a secret double life where he and his friends save the world from corrupted evil.
The Surge is a game you'll play for its innovative targeting system and fun combat. If you're still mourning the end of the Dark Souls series and are yearning for more punishing, action-heavy games, this should help to alleviate some of that pain.
ARMS might not exude that same ‘hardcore' draw that other fighting games have, but it's the very epitome of the well-worn phrase, “Easy to pick up, hard to master.” There's something for everyone here, and it's certainly a unique gem of a game that Switch owners would be remiss to pass up on.
The Crimson Court's new mechanics are fantastic additions to Darkest Dungeon, and they've definitely helped to keep things fresh with all these new twists and developments. While I do love how seamlessly the new content has been integrated into the game, it might need a bit of balancing before it becomes truly fun and engaging to play.
Overall, Minecraft: Story Mode season 2 kicks off with a really strong debut. The writing and characters are sharp and humorous, and the story has me intrigued so far. I'm still very skeptical about your choices really having consequences in the game, but who knows? Maybe they'll have an actual impact on events this time.
Given how novel and interesting Splatoon felt during the time of its release, I can't help but view Splatoon 2 as the least innovative sequel to one of the most unique games we've seen in years. There's still plenty of fun to be had here, but just don't go in expecting anything that drastically refines or improves upon the Splatoon formula.
All in all, The Enemy Within starts off strong, even if it does stumble a little here and there. Thankfully, the new story arc seems a lot less bloated and self-involved than the one we got last season, and the new characters are rather well-written, too.
LawBreakers doesn't necessarily offer anything new or groundbreaking, the weapon and character skins that you can unlock as you level up aren't exactly very enticing either, and at this point, it's difficult to say whether the game will be able to keep its player base engaged in the long run. However, if you're simply looking for something new, LawBreakers is a solid enough arena first-person shooter game to get into.
To my (pleasant) surprise, there were also a few key decision-making moments here that seemed to drastically alter the way the story played out. The episode featured a few surprising story twists, a difficult moral dilemma, and ended off with yet another cliffhanger and an ominous preview of things to come.
Though the game does have its shortfalls, like a lackluster tutorial zone and some infuriating boss mechanics, Undertale is undoubtedly a real stroke of genius. The game plays around with conventions and tropes normally associated with RPGs and subverts them in clever ways, all while telling a deeply personal story that everyone can relate to at some point in their lives.
All in all, though, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is yet another fantastic game you should have in your library if you own a Nintendo Switch. It's clear that Ubisoft respects the sanctity of these iconic Nintendo characters, and the game certainly does them justice. Kingdom Battle might not be the most challenging tactical RPG around, but it does offer a satisfying combat flow, and provides ample opportunities for players to come up with interesting strategies and team compositions to complete a map with.
This isn't an inherently bad game by any stretch of the imagination; it's just not one that managed to withstand the test of time, no matter how much Capcom tries to polish it up. And if you're a new player who adored Resident Evil 7 and you're wondering if this little spin-off game is worth jumping into, I'd say have a go with Revelations 2, see how you feel about it, and then take things from there.
Warriors All-Stars sticks with the formula it knows best, and that works. For players looking to dive into a lengthy game with nothing but that satisfying punchy feel of the hack-and-slash combat, this is absolutely perfect.