Hey Poor Player
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After finishing Moroi, I don’t feel particularly motivated to replay it. The multiple endings might provide additional context or resolutions to its mysteries, but the repetitive combat and uneven pacing don’t encourage another full journey. I’ll probably peek at a wiki out of curiosity to see what other outcomes were possible, much as I’d look up interpretations after a particularly baffling David Lynch film. Moroi ultimately feels like a game too caught up in its own surrealism, sacrificing cohesive storytelling and gameplay depth for visual spectacle and provocative imagery. While it left me intrigued, it also left me wishing the journey had offered more than just style and unanswered questions.
I don’t want to be too negative, because South of Midnight plays fine. I never found myself hating its mechanics. It’s easy to keep playing once you get into a groove, and I always found the story and characters worth the time investment to reach them. There are a few excellent moments scattered across its approximately eight hours, particularly its boss fights. It all comes back to your investment, though. If you can play this game on Game Pass, it feels like an easy decision. There’s plenty here for me to recommend you do just that. If you’re dropping money specifically on this experience, though, it feels like you deserve to expect a little bit more. That some part of actually playing this game feels truly interesting instead of just fine. I very rarely got that during my time with South of Midnight. Still, with a solid enough foundation, I’d love to see the team at Compulsion Games try for a sequel that builds on its strengths and does more to provide a great overall experience.
Look Outside is a wonderfully eerie adventure with some of the most unique scenarios and sights I’ve seen in a horror game in years. While it makes a strong first impression, though, as time went on, I sometimes wondered if I’d be better off just looking outside. However, there are still enough strong moments to make it worth checking out for those who love horror games and RPGs.
Honestly, the only complaint I have after playing Nif Nif is that I wish there were more to do in this charming world. Sure, there’s unlockable content and two playable characters, but the genre is all about immersive replay value. I spent more than a couple of hours playing the game and have unlocked a good chunk of it. I suspect you can unlock everything in less than 10 hours, which is great for those on a schedule, but bad if you want to unwind in this family-friendly world.
Once again, I enjoyed my time with Lost Records: Bloom & Rage and would recommend fans of Don’t Nod’s other work give it a try when they get a chance, but know that some of the questions you’ll likely have throughout this story won’t be meaningfully paid off. I’m glad to say that at least the character stories are paid off well in an ending which I found moving and satisfying at times, even as I thought about my other questions, which were largely ignored. That’s what this game does best anyway, and that doesn’t change in Tape 2.
Still, I don’t want to focus too much on the negative. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is already a deep and satisfying fighting game with a ton going for it. I never thought I’d see another Fatal Fury game, and while it hasn’t yet surpassed Mark of the Wolves in my heart, I definitely want to keep coming back for more. I just hope those server issues don’t continue to be an issue.
The very idea of bringing together the minds behind Danganronpa and Zero Escape will be enough to get many fans of this genre in the door. They’ll find that The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- is an incredibly ambitious title which may not have some of what they expect in the early going, but will ultimately give them everything they’re looking for and more.
These issues aside, Rusty Rabbit was still an enjoyable adventure with a unique story and colorful characters. While the platforming and combat were held back by some design issues, and though I was personally frustrated by an occasional lack of guidance in the game, I still think this is a fun adventure that’s worth checking out.
Even now, I want to go start another run of Blue Prince. I have ideas floating around in my head and if I just draft the right room I’ll be on my way to unlocking more of the mysteries of this mansion. I’ve had more than a few late nights since starting this title, telling myself that I was on my last run but then instantly starting another once it ended. That’s what a great roguelike does to players and Blue Prince is certainly that, as well as a great puzzle game. Blue Prince constantly forced me to learn new things and work towards a wide variety of goals in a way which forced me to change my entire way of thinking about similar titles, even changing how I think about progression. It’s a masterpiece that players should run to play.
Despite only offering minor updates, I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the LUNAR Remastered Collection to any fan of RPGs who hasn’t played these great games. I still absolutely love both of these games. Even after all these years, they are well-paced adventures filled with a lot of heart and excellent characters who are highly memorable. It would have been great to see LUNAR once more get the red-carpet treatment, but just having these games easily accessible to modern audiences is a major win.
The itch for logic and working out solutions rarely strikes truer than 3D puzzle games, and The Talos Principle: Reawakened is the perfect place to start with the series. The eureka moments still hit just like they did, and the learning curve is even more buttery smooth than its first iteration. Newcomers will find a delightfully refreshing spin on puzzling and philosophy, while veterans will get to have their need for challenge satisfied with the tastefully sized expansion called In the Beginning. It’s unfortunate that the level editor isn’t in this version and that there are a few framerate kinks to work out, but neither of these issues hamper the experience much. Between much-needed QOL and delightful developer commentary, there’s hardly been a better time to dip your toes in The Talos Principle.
While I honestly enjoyed some of my time Shadow of the Orient, I feel like it was the wrong genre. There’s so much effort put into making expansive levels that I feel this would have worked better as a small Metroidvania than a lackluster platformer. It’s clear Spacelab Games put a lot of time into the experience, and I strongly suspect they might have some future great game in them. As for this one, fans of retro might enjoy it, but probably not many others.
I really wanted to love Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark. I kept giving it more and more time to prove itself and get past the sophomoric slump I kept finding myself in. But alas, this is not the sequel I was hoping for or expecting after Gal Guardians: Demon Purge. This would be one thing from some new upstart developer, but it’s truly surprising and disappointing from the talented folks at Inti Creates. That said, if you can tolerate bad platforming, poorly managed mechanics, and frustrating balance, then you might still find something to love here. For everyone else, this isn’t the adventure for you.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is a charming open-world JRPG and a worthy addition to the Atelier series. While it may not break any new ground in terms of narrative or combat innovation, it excels in being a fun game and an excellent entry point for newcomers to the franchise.
Expelled may not be as original as its predecessor, and the cast of characters isn’t quite as colorful for my money, but this is an extremely worthy follow-up with an excellent setting and a more fulfilling mystery. This is a school that’s full of secrets, and dedicated players will find numerous jaw-dropping moments hidden in its darkest corners.
While its gameplay is sometimes a bit too involved relative to its themes and narrative, Wanderstop is a wonderful experience that overcomes that flaw through its touching cast, fantastic writing, and engaging mechanics that are all set within an incredibly inviting and cozy world. Wanderstop is a shining example of how powerful video games are when utilized to address real-world problems, and if Wanderstop aims to encourage people to look inward and ask its players to shift their perspectives on life, then that mission has been fully accomplished in a heartwarming fashion.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a brutal, beautiful delight. Its elegant parry system, demonic boss battles, and flexible yet approachable take on character development have come together to create a package that may pull directly from many sources in the genre but ultimately delivers a standout experience that easily stands amongst the stiffest competition the genre has to offer. Its early hours may suffer from linearity, and its parry-heavy combat system may not sit well with everyone, but if you’re up for the challenge and willing to adapt to how The First Berserker: Khazan requires you to play, then you’re in for an absolute treat.
Despite an intense and often unforgiving difficulty and unclear emulation, I still had a good time playing through the blast from the past that is Rendering Ranger: R² [Rewind]. It’s clear to me that Manfred Trenz is a very talented and creative developer, though perhaps one who isn’t very focused on balance in his adventures. Still, if you’re a fan of video game history and don’t mind getting your butt kicked repeatedly, you might want to check this out today.
Atomfall’s commitment to player freedom is baked into its design, and it works really well. I’d love to see the team at Rebellion, or other developers, for that matter, iterate on its structure and build more games designed around this level of freedom. Even most open-world games aren’t even close. Atomfall itself, though, is a tougher recommendation. It isn’t that it does anything terribly wrong, it’s just that little about it other than the structure stands out. Once you get used to the flow of things, there’s not much else I can point at and say this is why you should play Atomfall instead of any number of other survival games. Still, it’s always nice to see a developer try something outside of what has become the accepted right way to do things, and for the most part, Atomfall succeeds on that front.
The wait was well worth it for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The fans have been asking for an AC game set in Japan, and Ubisoft has finally delivered, with a dual-protagonist experience that offers crisp combat mechanics, a bombastic musical score, and a beautiful visual presentation. Assassin’s Creed is so back!