There are some really uncomfortable themes throughout both of the LISA games, both opening with a reminder that the protagonists are over 18. This warning doesn’t make these feelings go away, and we found that there was a general sense of unease throughout the entire playthrough – but then, this is wholly intentional. Neither of these games are sunshine and rainbows, so it does its job perfectly. LISA: Definitive Edition will leave you thinking for days after completion about the complexities of the human condition. It’s a deep experience packaged in a grotesque and uncomfortable game.
Nevertheless, this refreshed iteration of Murder on the Orient Express is a joy to play. The inclusion of new content and the unique modern setting really make for a very fun time. Small issues can’t mar the fact that this is ultimately a very enjoyable case to crack.
While Nights of Azure is an enjoyable enough ride, it doesn't really possess anything that makes it worth investing a large amount of time in. A lot of the game's extra components, like the inclusion of merchant trading, seem sloppy and poorly thought out, offered as a mere distraction from the rest of the release. Luckily, it's fairly easy to power through combat and see out the story, and doing so is reasonably satisfying, if not a little repetitive at times.
Megadimension Neptunia VII stumbles into the same traps that many of its peers have fallen into before, serving up lazy quests and a questionable amount of fan service. Fortunately, it makes up for these shortcomings with boundless energy and endearing characters who provide an enjoyable and light-hearted trip through alternate dimensions. While the game may have benefitted from enhancing some of its mechanics, it's by no means a bad RPG experience – just one that we feel like we've had many times before.
While this game is a good addition to the existing lore of the Planet of the Apes franchise, it offers little in terms of actual gameplay. The plot of the game is strong, but it's just not enough to totally carry the experience. Final Frontier feels like a valiant attempt at storytelling in a new environment, but it just doesn't quite stick the landing.
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is a wonderful way to spend several hours thanks to a delightfully fun combat system. The standard JRPG storyline means everything feels very familiar, but it's not all bad. Overall, the game's nothing special -- certainly not to look at -- but there's at least plenty of content here, and the title does a decent job of keeping things fresh.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Garden Simulator is low risk, low reward, but highly addictive. We spent hours before we even realised it, and found the experience to be thoroughly relaxing; exactly what the small plot of the game sets out to achieve. While it’s nice to potter around your small garden and admire your crops, it does feel somewhat tedious after a while. Tasks tend to be repeated in some form or another, and there’s no variation in season or weather. Every day is the same. It feels like a trick has been missed with this, and that so much more could have been done by adding this in, along with some garden pests.
If the lead character’s HP reaches zero then it’s game over. All character levels are lost upon defeat, and you’ll have to start the dungeon from the first floor, keeping your equipment and any learned skills. Though the floors are short, it’s best to take your time and level up steadily to make progress in preparation for the potential difficulty spike, otherwise you’ll pay the price for trying to rush through. The game's flow can feel quite protracted as a result, and there’s a certain amount of level grinding from the off.
Other game modes feel slightly less frenetic than the campaign and scenario modes, and are definitely the modes to try if you really want to take your time and not feel rushed. There's definitely a lot of opportunity to play the game exactly how you want to, and find the mode that works for you if you feel the competitive options are a bit too stressful.
Memories of Marl Kingdom improves on its predecessor's weaknesses. Battles offer up a challenge and need to actually be thought about. The chapters in the game are set before, during, and after the events of the first two Rhapsody games, giving a deeper insight into the stories. Again, injected with musical intermissions, it’s an all-round better experience than Ballad of the Little Princess, albeit a much briefer one.
Providing a fairly monotonous story with a splash of colour, the characters seem to be the only bright spot in this otherwise dreary role-playing game. That's not to say that the constant rigmarole of finding and slaying isn't fun – it is - but considering what the storyline offers, the grind hardly seems worth it; the narrative's simply not engaging enough to warrant the repetitiveness found throughout Atelier Sophie: Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. If you've played other titles in the series, then this entry will feel like it adds very little to the experiences that you've already had, while leaving a much blander taste.
Touhou Genso Wanderer can feel like a lot to take on at times. As beginners to the series, a lot of time was spent feeling as if we were on the back foot and had missed chunks of tutorial content. The game's fun enough to begin with but becomes frustrating very quickly, and ultimately doesn't offer enough excitement to sustain any interest that it may have piqued early on.
With such stellar source material, it's a real shame that The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia is so disappointing. What could have been an exciting, funny, and rich game has turned out to be a dull experience, offering nothing to players but repetition with little challenge.
The Witch and The Hundred Knight 2 is a colourful, funny, and interesting game, but it's greatly hindered by a drawn-out, convoluted battle system. Hardcore JRPG fans will get more out of this game than the casual player, but as a whole it just feels far too inaccessible for its own good.
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.