Chalgyr's Game Room
HomepageChalgyr's Game Room's Reviews
Overall, I have to say I absolutely love how they’ve evolved, and continue to evolve, the Atelier series. Atelier Sophie was probably my favourite post PS2 Atelier title, and Atelier Sophie 2 doesn’t disappointed. With a more refined combat and alchemy system, and interesting weather feature, and improved graphics and character animations, Atelier Sophie 2 : the Alchemist and the Mysterious Dream is a must play in the Atelier series.
Otherwise, Phantom Breaker: Omnia is a solid enough 2D anime versus that I’m happy to have finally seen localized. Plenty of characters with their own personal fighting styles before applying secondary mechanics and there’s more than enough to keep fighting enthusiasts going especially with the online versus component.
In conclusion, Aztech Forgotten Gods is a fun title with a cool movement and combat idea that was implemented fairly decently. The game isn’t very long, but is full of a charm that is quite nice to see. While there are a few technical issues and a lack of explanation for some of the abilities you get, Aztech Forgotten Gods was still quite enjoyable.
That being said, there is a lot to like here as well. Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredibly vibrant world, both visually and in its various interactions. Whether I was petting an animal, taking the time to read through billboards or finding a ton of quests to spend my time on, Night City was a thoroughly engaging virtual world. That being said, it’s still an imperfect world in a handful of minor but certainly noticeable ways. Though I was excited for the original release of Cyberpunk 2077, I suspect my experience benefitted from waiting to play. I’m glad I finally got the opportunity to do so.
To conclude, Variable Barricade was a nice twist to a usually predictable Otome game. It chose to pace out the story in a way that gave you more control. Your potential husbands are tasteful and quirky, making each moment you spend with them a nice surprise. The music does have some questionable tracks, but still gets the job done. Overall, this visual novel continued to peak my curiosity, making it hard to set down. I’m giving this game an 8.5 out of 10. Now, if you’ll excuse my rudeness I have a couple of match making friends I have to deal with.
Is The Cruel King and the Great Hero perfect? No, but it is adorable, heartwarming, and you’ll want a box of tissues on hand to cry into at a few places. It’s a lighthearted JRPG and I for one am very happy to have been able to sit down to it and look forward to the next fairy tale-like adventure from Nippon Ichi Software as they between this and the Liar Princess and the Blind Prince have a really good thing going.
Thea 2: The Shattering shares that DNA from the first game, but has evolved into something different – and something with higher expectations. It’s hard to say whether or not those expectations will be fully met by fans, but at the same time? Like the original, Thea 2: The Shattering has an addictive quality that tugs at me in a variety of different ways that kept me engaged for hours at a time.
Edge of Eternity is a great throwback to classic JRPGs overall. The presentation is fantastic, the world is expansive and there’s plenty to do with your time. That being said, the overall story and supporting characters while solid, were lacking for me. There’s plenty of systems layered in, and while combat is probably the most important system and also arguably Edge of Eternity’s best system, they don’t always seamlessly support one another. It is worth calling out that a reasonably small studio managed to make a large, high quality and very enjoyable game in Edge of Eternity and JRPG fans should come away pleased overall.
Overall, I loved Rise of the Third Power. Looking like a classic JRPG but playing to a tune all of its own, it has everything from well written characters and a well paced experience over to a very well designed battle system and amazing music to support it all.
Overall ELEX II is a decent experience and it fixes some of the issues that I had with the original. While not perfect, the sequel does have an easier level of entry and the return to Magalan was an enjoyable one.
“Power to the People is a relaxing game and I found myself rather pleased with it. It’s a game that challenges people at a level that they feel comfortable with. That said, while the game is solid, I feel as though there isn’t a lot of replayability. Additionally, the tech tree adds flavor and assistance to the player, but it’s a feature that management simulation games possess making it common place in this genre. Regardless, if management simulation games are your style, this is a great entry level title to pick up. It helps that it isn’t expensive either!”
Overall, I had an absolutely wonderful time with Ocean’s Heart and loved it the whole way through. With that old-school Legend of Zelda vibe in both gameplay and art style, add in some unique twists and takes, and couple it with an immersive world, and you really have a recipe for success. While there were a few technical problems and design choices that I didn’t agree with, most of the time it wasn’t a big enough issue to truly worry about for the most part. With tons of bonus quests, caves to explore, and a secret boss, Ocean’s Heart is sure to keep you well entertained!
In Conclusion, Creative Assembly’s Total War: Warhammer III is their Warhammer-franchise swan song and it exits stage left in a massive, yet dignified manner. With eight unique factions, most with their own extraordinarily unique sub-factions (with the exception of the Daemons of Chaos), a huge, multi-tiered campaign map, a complete overhaul of sieges and how they work, dozens of unique and absolutely gorgeous battlemaps, the best music in the franchise, and housing one of the best-told and designed tutorial prologue- with a little more work, some clean-up for balancing, Total War: Warhammer III could very-well unseat the reigning Total War king, Total War: Shogun 2.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is an improvement on the last Dynasty Warriors game, but that has more to do with my love of strategy and management than anything else. Given the divisive reception to the last mainline game, I understand why they moved away from the open world, but it does leave this entertaining game with oodles of potential in something of an identity crisis as well. What’s here is fun, and I am always up for some Three Kingdoms strategy and combat, but I can’t help but look forward to the next iteration that is built specifically with the PS5 hardware in mind.
Overall, Monark scores above average on its report card. Non-traditional JRPG elements combined with a fun tactical based combat system and plenty of different musical tracks to groove to, it was hard to put down even when I couldn’t figure out what I was actually supposed to be doing. Maybe this was just me and the types of puzzles, or maybe it was a bit too vague, but it was often almost enough to make me quit and have to retake my semester all over again.
Infernax is a bloody good time. The developers did a great job of harnessing just about everything that made classic platforming adventures like Castlevania great, while sprinkling in some new features along the way. The formula was not quite perfect for me, but it was pretty close and those looking for a challenging new game in the genre owe it to themselves to give Infernax a look.
Overall, Maglam Lord had a lot of potential that it just didn’t fully capitalize on. While characters and dialogue are done really well, the combat that becomes tedious contrasting against some arbitrarily powerful or annoying bosses can be frustrating. Most enemies are simply palette swaps, including bosses that are just large normal enemies, and an annoying grind for materials at times really serve to slow the game down. Maglam Lord certainly isn’t bad, but it isn’t all it could be, either.
In a few short words, Dying Light 2: Stay Human surpassed my expectations. For those that have been on the fence as to whether or not make a return to this world after the first I would highly recommend it. Combining the fast paced parkour features of the first in a world that allows you to take it at your own pace was a great combination that I’ll not soon be leaving as I continue through my version of the journey wrapping up side stories left behind. Follow up article for multiplayer and co-op: Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Better with a Partner? https://chalgyr.com/2022/02/article-betterwithapartner-dyinglight2.html It’s just as easy to recommend Dying Light 2: Stay Human as a multiplayer experience. With plenty of things to see and do, one person’s world could be different than another and while certain objects will only ever unlock “once” such as your injectors for health or stamina upgrades, nothing is stopping you from helping out a partner in order to find theirs and grabbing a ton of loot while you are at it.
Overall, I have to say I really liked this Nep-Nep spin-off. While Dimension Tripper Neptune: TOP NEP might not be long, it’s definitely a really fun rail-shooter. It’s also pretty cheap, so it doesn’t feel like you’re losing out really either. The soundtrack is good, the gameplay is smooth, and while it is rather short, you can always aim to beat your high score on subsequent runs. Top Nep gets 8 puddings out of 10. Score: 8 / 10 puddings
Overall SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash is a solid card game that is a blast from the past. I may have missed this when it originally came out due to never owning a Neo Geo Pocket but I sure am glad SNK decided to re-release the game on Switch. Here’s hoping we see a new SNK vs. Capcom in the future or even a re-release of the Japanese-only second game that has been translated.