Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is simultaneously too beholden to the structure and design established by Disco Elysium, yet fails to capture the same sense of immersion and authentic representation of humanity that made its predecessor so special.
Vultures - Scavengers of Death is a worthwhile genre-blending experiment with solid mechanics and strong atmosphere let down by significant technical issues and slavish devotion to its inspirations.
This crowning achievement in open-world game design proves why Monolith Soft are the masters of their craft.
Class of Heroes 1 & 2 Complete Edition doesn't revolutionize the genre, but it provides many hours of dungeon crawling fun in an approachable format for newcomers and genre aficionados.
If you are a new player or have only experienced the original Vita release back in 2017, then give this Switch version a second look. It’s rare for a Switch port to have few significant compromises, and even rarer still for that port to be the best version of the game, but Aksys and Falcom did a great job with this release.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles has a solid combat system let down by repetitive and boring dungeon design and a lack of depth in the town-building and character progression mechanics.
A landmark achievement in remaking a classic RPG where every change brings value to the experience, and none of the core essence of the original is lost in the transition.
SteamWorld Heist II is an excellent turn-based strategy RPG, as long as you can put up with the lackluster naval combat.
Adore tries to combine action roguelike mechanics with creature collecting, but a few novel ideas fail to save an overall repetitive grind.
Improving slightly upon the combat system from Super Mario RPG isn't enough to make Another Crusade worth playing, especially when the story and characters are flat.
Spike Chunsoft returns to their flagship series with must-play entry for any fan of roguelike RPGs, delivering one of the most mechanically deep games I've played in years.
Lunacid understands what made FromSoftware's first-person RPGs classics and avoids their worst pitfalls, successfully introducing modern design elements without detracting from the core experience of exploration and simple-yet-effective combat.
If you can look past the amateurish presentation there is a profound story and captivating gameplay experience unlike anything else waiting to be discovered.
Persona 5 Tactica crafts an engaging personal narrative but falters in conveying its themes and delivering satisfying turn-based tactical combat.
Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher builds on Monster Rancher 2's best aspects and represents the Ultraman universe well for a satisfying monster raising simulation experience.
Wargroove 2 is a fantastic sequel to an already great strategy game, building off of the foundation of the original to reach new heights.
Anyone interested in Dai's story should just watch the anime instead.
Mon-Yu seeks to make first-person dungeon crawlers accessible for players who have been intimidated by the genre in the past, but loses sight of what makes the genre great in the first place.
Wandering Sword is an excellent debut game and has all the hallmarks of a classic RPG. Do not overlook this superb indie gem!
The HD versions of Etrian Odyssey and Etrian Odyssey II in the Origins Collection are faithful to a fault, but miss the mark on delivering a definitive experience for a pair of already revisited classics.