Timothy Nunes's Reviews
Rainbow Skies has a few good ideas, but those aren't enough to move past its bland narrative and repetitive gameplay.
Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is a mediocre Metroidvania through and through. It starts with a solid foundation but lacks the kind of all-around refinement and conceptualising to be taken seriously. There's some fun to be had here, but it's not worth the price of admission.
The Last Onicru features some cool narrative choice work, putting some true impact on your choices. If you can get on board with the cheeky dialogue and peculiar main character, you should be able to overlook the lackadaisical combat.
35MM tries a lot of things but succeeds at only a few of those things. There's a unique tale here, but you have to get past many limitations along the way.
Vambrace: Cold Soul lacks the kind of depth that more appealing RPG and perma-death titles offer. Regardless, Vambrace looks gorgeous and does offer that first step into the challenging world of perma-death games.
Startenders begins its life on the PSVR 2 with unfortunate technical issues. Those aside, this is still a job simulator game. It's done well enough when it works, but the game loop doesn't offer much else. It has an attractive price point for what it is, but wait for a patch before jumping in.
There's no question that Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is a beloved entry in the franchise. However, bringing it to the PS5 offers next to nothing to the entire experience, bringing only the most miniscule of adjustments, another Trophy list, and a free PS5 upgrade.
Maglam Lord combines a handful of genres into one package, and does it well enough to make it at least fun. However, it's the kind of fun that comes from mindlessly consuming something with little resistance. Maglam Lord works well as an in-between game, but it cannot hold up against other titles that specialize in the genres that this game combines.
Demoniaca has several great ideas and cool concepts. Unfortunately, too many of these ideas don't reach the refinement needed to work as well as it needs to. Cool boss fights and aesthetics carry the day, but clunkiness between bosses keep it from getting close to its potential. Demoniaca has its charms, but it won't replace any staples in the Metroidvania genre.
Tormented Souls creates an environment that's a blast to explore, and the puzzles it provides help to enhance the engagement the locations provide. However, too many shortcomings get in the way of what could be a solid nod to classics horror games. A handful of bad things can be ignored, but having voice work, enemy integrity, and an underdeveloped main character are too much to overlook. There's an appeal here, but it lacks refinement.
Within Doraemon Story of Seasons beats the heart of what makes the farm sim genre engaging. Unfortunately, the controls don't offer many favors, progression takes a great deal of time, and the early game demands far too much organization to feel productive. Doraemon is not for the farming sim feign of heart, which contradicts its family-themed aesthetic and narrative. Consider Doraemon Story of Seasons a recommendation only for fans who love both franchises.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster offers up some wonderful environmental storytelling, creating palpable tension. Once everything starts to come together however, the game itself starts to fall apart. What could have been good ideas fall into thoughtless choices, and the strengths of the game as a whole are wasted on the finale. Outside of the gimmicky triggering ending, this game had the potential for something interesting.
Ys: Memories of Celceta improves on the issues the Vita had in regards to performance. However, the way the game on a home console isn't quite as forgiving as it was in its original form. This is still a fun Ys romp, as all of them have been, but it changes so very little.
Star Ocean First Departure R offers an easy way to play a hard-to-find classic RPG, but very few enhancements makes this a purchase strictly for Star Ocean fans. Simplistic combat and minimal options make this a hard sell for devout JRPG fans.
Degrees of Separation has a great deal of heart built into it. Ember and Rime bring a light but appealing dichotomy to the world that's fun to solve puzzles with. However, both narrative and gameplay pacing suffer greatly due to creative choices. In the right hands, Degrees of Separation could be a personal favorite. However, a great companion is required to overcome this game's frequent, repetitive shortcomings.
Déraciné has an interesting approach that only FromSoftware can deliver. At the same time, enough stands in the way of the overall package that diminishes what the game could have been. Fans of FromSoftware storytelling will find something interesting here, but others will dislike the pacing and execution.
Fast Striker pays homage to the original game, but it offers very little in regards to modernization. Fast Striker has some simple, intriguing elements to it, but it lacks the polish of other games in the genre.
Fe features a charming aesthetic and a wonderful soundtrack that elevates with every beat. However, it suffers mechanically in key moments, requiring enough compensation to detract from the game's overarching intentions. Still, there's something here, but it'll be behind a struggle.
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth offers further content in the franchise. While the narrative base has an intrigue all its own, the vehicle by which it's received has flaws that can't be ignored. It's a visual novel with limited combat and some peculiar choices that somehow finds its way to a stellar conclusion.
While it starts off strong, The Coma: Recut sets creative traps for itself that keep it from being a short and sweet horror romp.