Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is an altogether fun but often repetitive dungeon crawler let down by its weak cast and uninteresting storyline. Moments spent in the labyrinth dungeons, though initially confusing, are bright spots in an otherwise uninspiring game, giving the opportunity for exploration and presenting an intriguing battle system which allows for plenty of customisation and experimentation.
Little Dragons Café can be fiddly and repetitive, but it's not all together awful. A host of interesting, well-rounded characters provide an engaging story as you raise the world's cutest dragon. It might not be the most taxing game, but it provides a cathartic experience with its simplistic approach to café management.
My Hero One's Justice is a perfectly adequate fighting game, and a good adaptation of its source material - but it's not much more than that. It provides a great opportunity to play as some much loved (and hated) characters, showcasing the variety of powers each has on offer while being a fun, engaging, and challenging anime-based title, but it's not quite the heroic effort that we were hoping for.
Fairy Tail carries on going even when the storyline is done; there's plenty to upgrade in the guild, and a multitude of characters to rank up, unlocking new content and cutscenes. That, combined with an enjoyable battle system, makes Gust's latest a solid experience for anime fans.
Buried Stars is an intricately woven visual novel with a lot of cool concepts. An interesting and varied cast keep you on your toes, while a plot filled with twists and mystery makes Buried Stars a must for fans of the genre.
Atelier Ryza 2 is a great addition to the Atelier series, bound to please long-time fans and hook in newcomers. Featuring a colourful cast of characters, an interesting mystery to unfold, and fun crafting features, it's a joy to sink hour upon hour into. While it does have its shortcomings, they are easily forgiven by how entrancing the rest of the game is.
Overall, this is a fast-paced, colourful, and nostalgic experience. It’s challenging while staying on the right side of frustrating, with a lot of fun to be had. Though you might not get much out of the story, you’ll still have fun clearing levels and beating time trials.
Aesthetically, the game looks really pretty and is totally evocative of its 1930s setting. The game is plagued with hammy dialogue that makes it feel totally campy and like an old B-movie, but not altogether terrible when coupled with the Lovecraftian influence it draws on. Call of the Sea is a mostly fun puzzle game that falls short on the mystery it tries to have you unveil. While it looks aesthetically pleasing and ticks a lot of boxes for its period setting, the story is lacklustre and predictable.
All in all, this is a beautifully crafted cautionary tale about the horrors of war and the true devastation it can rain on ordinary civilians. Like real war, every story you play will be different with different outcomes, and you’ll be led to make increasingly more desperate and erratic choices to ensure the survival of your characters.
Landing itself somewhere between a twin-stick shooter and a rhythm game, Soundfall feels like it's not really doing one or other of these particularly successfully. Saved by an incredible soundtrack, Soundfall has the potential to be a really incredible game with an exciting concept, but is let down by repetitive gameplay and a weak story.
Best Month Ever! is a short, enjoyable narrative that perhaps suffers from high ambitions that don't quite pay off. Glitches in the game can really take you out of what would otherwise be a fluid experience.
To be fair, the game is visually appealing, with a minimalistic art style that manages to convey the feeling of the time. It's an interesting experience and a unique premise (how many other Cold War disaster games are you going to play this year?), but ultimately that can't save the title from falling a bit flat.
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist is a fun visit through adolescence which begs the player to keep living life to the max, experiencing all the game can offer. It's a beautifully artistic game, with many opportunities for a unique experience every time you play.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of bugs present in the game. Characters will glitch in and out of existence while you’re talking with them. Sometimes the whole screen will go black and your character will pop up in a different part of the map when fast travelling. It’s things like this that really stop Potion Permit from reaching its potential, and its charming visuals can only do so much to counter this.
There’s a lot going on, but it doesn’t stop the game from feeling stale. Only getting to do one battle per in-game day makes the title's pacing feel very slow, and the story feels disappointingly broken up as a result.
Visually, The Entropy Centre can be a bit hit-and-miss. A lot has clearly been put into the visual aspect, but it does often feel like assets are reused over and over. As such, the inside of the facility can often feel a bit stale and samey. The same cannot be said for the outside of the facility, though, where outer space looks incredible and almost picture-perfect.
Octopath Traveler II presents enough rich, turn-based action to forgive its minor combat system flaws. It's a breath-taking work of art, filled to the brim with story and adventure, bolstered by a cast of incredible characters who will leave you wanting more at every turn. A masterfully crafted RPG.
Tchia feels really unlike any experience we've ever had with a video game. Full of heart, but occasionally lacking direction, it's a unique experience showcasing the love the dev team has for New Caledonia. Everything about Tchia evokes a wonderful tropical vibe, full of rich history and culture, from the folklore elements of the storyline to the authentic voice acting in New Caledonia's native language, Drehu. Unfortunate bugs let it down and stop players experiencing it to its fullest, but a solid, enjoyable, and ultimately beautiful game is at its core. It's evident that a lot of love has been poured into this really exciting debut from Awaceb, and as a day one PS Plus Extra release, it's bound to bring a lot of joy to a lot of players.
For a game that was never meant to exist, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a revelation. It has everything a Holmes fan could want; mysteries to unravel, fun dialogue and banter between Holmes and Watson, and plenty of investigations to be had. Playing through with barely any instruction or assistance from the game itself really gives a sense of achievement not often found with other detective games. A compelling and mythical storyline is really the cherry on top of a fantastic, thought-provoking game which will have players exploring every nook and cranny to get to the bottom of the mystery at hand.
Live A Live is an incredibly interesting and unique JRPG experience. With lovely HD-2D graphics and numerous main characters, it's hard not to compare it to the likes of Octopath Traveler, but it really is a completely different kettle of fish. Live A Live is a varied thrill ride that still impresses all these years later, and while the combat does struggle to live up to the rest of the adventure, the game does a fantastic job of tying all of its intriguing, individual stories together. It's a history-hopping journey we'll be thinking about for quite some time.