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Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition is a dying breed of turn-based JRPG. One day it may follow Final Fantasy and become another action game series. Commanding a party in this manner means strategically directing them at your own pace. Refusing to change is one of the last and great freedoms we can enjoy as a species and this is what Dragon Quest XI aspires for.
Ultimately, Deep Rock Galactic is a fantastic game for those who like Left 4 Dead or games like it. The squad based missions are infinitely more fun with friends though, and similar to Sea of Thieves the game is more enjoyable with others.
For those wanting a fun side-scrolling beat’em up, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a fun and unique game that will provide hours of content. Those wanting a farming and village sim are better served by other franchises like Rune Factory.
Hades is Supergiant Games’ magnum opus. The team finally crafted a brilliant gameplay system that can meet Jen Zee’s magnificent art. The constant flow of features and content keeps the game from ever getting stale or complacent. There is never a dull moment, and there is always something new to see.
Fans of No More Heroes will be disappointed by this elusive sequel. It was a game made out of obligation because people wanted more No More Heroes, and lacked the inspiration that fueled the first game. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle often feels like a bargain bin action game, and the only parts that save it from being utterly repugnant is its soundtrack and amusing mini-games.
If you are wowed by grimy and disgusting but beautifully realized cyberpunk aesthetics, then Observer: System Redux is worth your time since that is all it has to offer. This is a horror game for tourists, since there are no actual stakes, and if you die there is almost no progress lost. It is made to make you feel smart; you don’t have to actually be smart to solve the mystery or the puzzles.
If you’re even remotely into cyberpunk worlds, Cloudpunk is a game for you. It’s cheap, but the production value is through the roof. I would happily have paid double what this game retails for and still say it’s worth it. Don’t let the screenshots fool you. The world is massive, and the story is all-consuming.
Even if you are absolutely desperate for a new action RPG experience, you are probably better off rolling up another character in Torchlight II or Grim Dawn over buying Torchlight III in its current form.
No More Heroes still stands tall as one of the great cult games of its day. It has aged very well in an era where experimental indie games are more common, and players are more open to unconventional design. It never has a dull moment, and has so much variety packed into a game that has such simple combat.
Like Spore before it, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey falls victim to its own ambition and fails to be engaging. Too much focus is put on the exceptional amount of immersion, that none is spent on making the game fun.
Earth Defense Force 5 is an immensely generous package that is bursting at the seams with content. Fans of the series will be undoubtedly satisfied with the all-you-can-eat-buffet approach to the range of options and playability. Newcomers will also find this latest entry the best place to start, as it is the best representation of what the series has to offer.
The first game is borderline generic, but the second game does improve on many things like level design and pacing. It is worth a play for Assimilimation if you do not enjoy the first game. If Angry Video Game Nerd 1 & 2 Deluxe does teach us anything, is that there is an angry nerd inside all of us; and this game will bring it out of you, screaming and cursing all the way through.
Pumpkin Jack is ultimately a shallow game that fails to live up to the kind of 3D action platformers it was influenced by. It may be impressive for a one-man effort, but it still feels like it was made by one man. Games are complicated to make, and having more people involved can spark creativity where ideas can bounce off each other.
Ultimately, there are better RPGs on the Nintendo Switch to play. For the highest-grossing media franchise, Pokemon is an emperor with no clothes. Instead of giving loyal fans bang for their buck, they’re now asking for DLC that barely adds instead of improving. If Pokemon is the king, it’s about time the fans had a coup.
OneeChanbara Origin‘s gameplay is very enjoyable, but if it was longer than five hours, it would have worn out its welcome. It is highly replayable, and has a variation of the “Bloody Palace” survival mode and a secret third playable character to make things interesting long after beating the story.
Still, there is no denying that Aquanox Deep Descent is a very flawed game that doesn’t live up to its pedigree. The modest budget and troubled development cycle are glaringly obvious in many places throughout the game, and there are a lot of janky mechanics and bizarre design decisions.
Overall, Genshin impact is a pretty complete package. Everything has been polished to the point of perfection, and to get it for free is ridiculous. There are just a couple of caveats, but they’re minor in my book.
Upon first glance, it could be easy to mistake Ghost of a Tale as a mid-level developed game from a small company. It isn’t until the closing moments of the game where SeithCG’s limitations reveal themselves. It may not be best played on Nintendo Switch, but Ghost of a Tale is definitely worth a look on other platforms.
Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ is not the pretty, zombified sweetheart one would hope for. She is a plain Jane, who wears sloppily applied Hot-Topic make-up and masquerades as a zombie. Spending a lot of time with her yields boring conversation, unfunny jokes, and tired movie references.
Romancing SaGa 3 is still best played on original hardware. This new version’s updates are not worth the outrageous asking price from Square Enix. Despite the shortcomings of this “enhanced port,” this is still a highly recommended JRPG; so long as you are willing to take the time to understand how it works.