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Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past is a solid JRPG remake with more than enough plot and gameplay to keep RPG fans happy. The turn based battle system is light on grind, filled with Dragon Quest’s trademark cast of colorful monsters, and offers a mostly hands-off feature for fights. With an engaging story, a huge world to explore, and plenty of side quests and additional content, there are many of reasons to get lost in the past.
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a hell of a mess. At moments, the complex and fun combat and progression systems break through the game’s ick presentation and sexist character designs, but what little fun exists gradually fades before you’re even halfway through the campaign. If you’re a fan of the series, there’s plenty to love here, but Apocalypse is unforgiving for any new players.
While woefully short and unchanged from its PC incarnation, Noitu Love: Devolution is a great little action title with satisfying bosses and slick controls.
Event [0] is a fun and interesting exploration game. Its use of conversation to progress the story is one of the more unique things that I have seen in recent memory. It is a little short, but the ability to get a different ending lengthens the game. While the game does feel like it is missing something in its story, the overall experience is memorable and enjoyable.
Oceanhorn is unashamedly a Legend of Zelda clone, but feels more like an homage than a copycat. There are few original ideas, but old-school adventure game fans should love Oceanhorn's bite-sized interpretation of Zelda's classic formula.
An accessible game to those unfamiliar with tactical RPGs, Guards has enough to satisfy newcomers, but its reliance on grinding as well as its limited gameplay system might persuade veterans to look for something deeper.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is an acceptable title dotting the grievous past of Compile Heart. A dungeon crawler with maze style gameplay, and a fairly unique and customizable battle system, MeiQ does a good job of providing some fun and interesting moments. Falling short overall in the battles, and leaving very much to desire with story, characters, dialogue, and respect for human dignity, MeiQ is a title only for the most dedicated RPG player.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is a direct sequel in a time where that is exceedingly rare, and a very welcome one at that. The original Trails of Cold Steel was a great game that was under appreciated, and this sequel brings all of the same charm and quality from the first and does more preserving than improving. With some slight improvements and great source material, Trails of Cold Steel II is a no-brainer to add to any JRPG collection.
ReCore is the framework of an incredible game with some truly unforgivable technical issues, which greatly deter from the overall experience. You'll enjoy the challenging platforming, and awesome robotic action…in between aggravatingly long loading screens, and deaths via falling through solid surfaces.
Depending on your preferences, God Eater 2: Rage Burst is likely going to be either everything you love about JRPGs or everything you hate about them. While it sports an incredibly deep combat system, fun and complex hunting gameplay, and a lot of personality, it suffers from a lot of technical issues, repetitive grinding, and a cliched story that follows a two dimensional cast.
Few games execute as well within their actual play as NHL, and that continues with in the newest installment. There’s a lack of girth around the main game, with Draft Champions and Franchise Mode feeling like copies from previous EA Sports games. But at the same time, the on-ice play has never been better, the on-ice trainer is improved further and adding in net battles was a smart move. While it disappoints slightly, NHL 17 is still a must-play for hockey fans.
Jotun: Valhalla Edition is a beautiful, but sometimes shallow, crash course in Norse mythology that shines in its boss fights’ designs and overall presentation. And while Valhalla Mode isn’t much of an incentive to jump back in for returning players, it adds tremendous challenge to the already difficult core experience.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice is yet another fantastic game in the Ace Attorney series. The gameplay is better than ever, and the stakes have never been higher, all of which only helps to make one of the best stories in gaming even better. Play this game — you won’t regret it.
For the curious and the creative, brimming with replay value, and fairly priced, Project Highrise is the game that SimTower should’ve been.
While it may look simple and even a bit silly on the surface, The Final Station is quite the captivating game. The story and survival aspects have been blended wonderfully, and it leaves you with plenty to mull over long after the credits roll.
Despite superficial similarities to classic Nintendo games like Super Metroid, Axiom Verge isn't afraid to bring a lot of new ideas to the table, and is all the better for it.
While I applaud Blizzard’s effort to provide fans of the StarCraft 2 campaign a reason to jump back in, the large amount of time between each mission pack’s release is a massive buzzkill. The gameplay is a bit stale at this point, and this second mission pack is less adventurous than the first, but the cut scenes and soundtrack are still phenomenal and almost alone worth the price of entry. I recommend Nova Covert OPS DLC 2 to only the most ardent of fans, but otherwise urge you to wait until all three mission packs are available before deciding to jump back in.
As a fan of Snow White and the Huntsman, I can appreciate the premise of the story and the effort to expand the universe through Elisabeth’s story. As a gamer, it did become frustrating at some times. The takeaway from this is that, while you don’t have to have watched the movies to enjoy this game, it definitely helps solidify the universe in which you’re playing. It draws on elements such as Queen Freya’s castle or the enchanted forest known as Sanctuary, or understanding that Goblins are extremely weak to fire. It’s little things, but it makes the experience a little more meshed together. I can say this much, it was a better story than Winter’s War.
Sally’s Law is held back by a lack of challenging puzzle gameplay and replay value. However, if you can get past its flaws, you’ll find an undeniably cute and positive story that will warm your heart.
Hue is a unique platforming experience that marries a charming art style with an original gameplay mechanic that differentiates it from most other platformers. Focus is required to make it through the interesting puzzles, and without this you are bound to be punished which can be frustrating.