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There’s a lot to love about Ballhalla, even without mentioning its art style that’s gleaming with colour, or its foreboding electronic soundtrack which is evocative of Frozen Synapse’s. What could so easily have ended up as a perfunctory effort bolstered only by inventive marketing, as I feared was the case, has actually turned out to be an inventive and joyous ride.
Honestly, I am Setsuna may be the best RPG I play this year (Trails of Cold Steel is excluded because it released last year). With its simple title, emotional story (try to get through it without feeling something), perfect soundtrack, enjoyable battle system, and pretty aesthetics, I am Setsuna is an admittedly short title with a few flaws that, on the whole, succeeds.
In all, the game feels like it is the developers testing the waters of ideas, but they pulled from their older games to give something to the long time players of the series.
All things considered, The Lion’s Song debut episode isn’t bad, just lacking. I’m hopeful that the next episodes will be a bit more interesting, and I would certainly be willing to give the next one a try once it releases on Steam.
Tom vs. the Armies of Hell is a jumble of failed and successful attempts at a game. For $12.99, the price seems a little steep for the myriad problems I ran across. The difficulty and alleged skill involved in completing this game may be worth it for some who enjoy a hard time, and there is an easy mode for those who just want to experience the entertaining story.
I want to like Anima: Gate of Memories – and, to some extent, I do – but the character flaws and clichés, the shaky combat system, and the absolutely droll and horrific dialogue (YouTube the Reading Ergo) pull down a title that, with a little more polish or a more experienced development team, could have succeeded on multiple levels.
Ziggurat is not perfect by any means, but it does its job well and provides one hell of a time.
Replica conjures a complicated totalitarian world of privacy invasion and information censorship. It’s a short game with a powerful message and definitely worth £1.99/$2.99 over on Itch.io and Steam.
Full Mojo Rampage is an entertaining and successful top-down stick shooter. I found minimal to no mechanical issues, and the game always ran smoothly for me. Controls were tight, and the ability to level up after a death (as well as the options to customize your character stats and weapons) were great.
Overall, Song of the Deep is an enjoyable way to spend some free time. The puzzles can get old quickly, but the gorgeous world and captivating plot will have you sinking in your seat for days on end.
With solid combat, enjoyable exploration, and in depth characterization, Mind Zero breathes fresh air into a potentially stale formula.
The world creation is where this game shines. The limited amount of areas is full of small details. When looking at random documents and reading them, they’ll have actual information – not just gibberish to make it look like a document was written without any real content.
he slow start to this game really almost made me give up on it. I am glad I waded through because the battle sequences are fun and challenging. Then the change in team keeps from getting complacent in the moves and abilities available. Some of the character interactions can be a bit odd, mostly in Ichiya’s section related to the female characters around him. But there are other more endearing and interesting interactions that make up for some of the oddities.
The gameplay itself is fun if a bit uninspired. The narrative stumbles from the starting blocks until the finish line, finding itself in more embarrassing scenarios as it progresses. With mission lengths falling terribly short and being the very definition of redundant, there isn’t much value to be had outside of the gameplay. It’s a sad cycle to see the Hyperdimension series fall into; it has officially become what it set out to satirize.
BoxBoy! would have a lot of replay value if I thought it was worth playing in the first place.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness offers an impressive experience that accomplishes what it sets out to do. While the bulk of the game is relatively short (though with how the actual plot runs its course, that seems to make logical sense), the gameplay more than makes up for it.
It’s a game that’s not only very enjoyable to play, but one with enough mystery to it that it keeps you thinking inside the moment and out.
On the whole, Mushroom Wars is a cute and enjoyable RTS experience from indie developer Zillion Whales. For its $9.99 pricetag, the short campaign and inclusion of skirmishes/multiplayer is worth your time.
Furi is a serious endeavor for the hardcore. It’s extremely fun and very rewarding, but it delivers in equal parts immense frustration and anger.
The game does have its flaws. It's a short play, easily completed within a matter of hours. And while it's largely deft in its deconstruction of game development, it can get heavy-handed at times – the concluding scenes at E4 being a case in point. Nevertheless, it's still a game worth experiencing. It's an intriguing and amusing game and is a smart analysis of the game industry's concerns and how they relate to players.