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For now, Poker Pretty Girls Battle is a nice addition to any gamer’s casual lineup — particularly at this nice a price. While it’s never going to win any “game of the year” awards or anything like that, it was never taking aim for that end of the market — it’s simply an enjoyable game, nothing more, nothing less. And sometimes that’s all you want.
It really is a perfect example of a modern developer completely understanding both the appeal of classic arcade games and their potential pitfalls, and providing us with a new one that is beautifully designed for play at home. It’s one of the best “modern retro” titles out there, and a great addition to the library of any gamer who just wants an experience that is pure fun from start to finish.
For the right player, Pretty Princess Party will keep you entertained for hours and hours thanks to its consistent trickle of unlockable items and engrossing interior design mechanics. It’s a surprise hit in my book. Give it a chance!
As it stands, it’s a good example of how a video game can be used as a form of “interactive artbook”, where engaging with the “game” side of things allows you to explore the “art” side more deeply. I’d love to see more of this kind of thing — and I’d especially love to see this get some form of packaged release. Imagine a nice box set containing a selection of Yom books, perhaps a wall scroll, a soundtrack CD from the anime and this game!
If you are a Monster Hunter fan then you probably already own the game; however, if like me you were slightly hesitant due to it being on Switch, I can confidently say that it’s not an issue at all. If you’re a new player to the series then this is a fantastic starting point as the lower rank quests are honestly quite easy in comparison to previous titles, but the high-rank quests still offer a challenge.
This is the sort of experience open-world games should be aspiring to provide: not endless checklists of pointless busywork, but incentives for players to explore these intricately crafted environments. You should come away from an open-world experience at the very least feeling like you know your way around — and in more picturesque examples, having a strong desire to visit those places if only they were real.
If you can stomach the gore and uncomfortable tags, then sweet pool is a BL more should have played by now. It’s easily one of the greatest horror visual novels available in English.
The core gameplay is solid and enjoyable, the optional extras are worthwhile and fun if you’re a retro gaming enthusiast — and they won’t be missed if you’re not — and the whole package is a great addition to the Switch’s library. I suspect people will still be playing this for quite some time to come yet, if Tetris 99’s enduring popularity is anything to go by!
Delicious! Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire is a fun game — nothing more, nothing less. It is, as noted above, pure comfort food — something you can fire up when you just want to play a game to engage your brain a little bit, but you don’t want to immerse yourself in something complicated or narrative-heavy. The nature of mahjong solitaire means that it’s far from a mindless experience, and the dopamine hit from finally unlocking a new costume after several failed attempts is undeniable.
In its current state, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is hard to recommend. Crafting is tedious because of the clunky way the makers are implemented, and the town is lifeless due to a lack of varied dialogue or meaningful events each season. Patches are supposedly planned to improve these problem areas (along with performance), so the game could be a decent entry in the series after some updates.
Six’s story continues to become increasingly intriguing, but still feels unfinished as of now. Her true intention in her journey, her reasons for causing the damage and why she did what she did will hopefully be alluded to in the future, as she currently appears to be a morally grey main character. While Mono is undoubtedly a victim who will forever be in our hearts, Six’s actions have left us with more questions after Little Nightmares II. I’m hoping for some more DLC, or at least a continuation in some format; there is evidently so much more to be seen not only in this dark and disturbing world, but in the story of Six.
Mad Rat Dead is a prime example of Nippon Ichi doing what it does best between Disgaea titles: putting out weird games that about five people will play, but then those five people will happily talk enthusiastically about those games to anyone who will listen.
The easier puzzles can be banged out in less than a minute once you know what you’re doing, while the larger puzzles offer more substantial challenges. And with more than 350 puzzles to get through — the majority of which can be found in the harder difficulty settings — there’s plenty of game here to keep you busy in the long term.
The challenging, cerebral gameplay of Alice and You in the planet of numbers might not be for everyone, but the sheer level of charm on display in this game will inspire many people to make an effort to understand what is actually going on from a mechanical perspective. Allow yourself to get drawn in and there’s potentially hours of number puzzling fun to be had here; certainly a nice bit of light relief from the more chaotic, action-packed games out there.
It’s not a game that demands hours of your time at once, nor one that has a vast amount of content to keep you busy in the long term — but it is a game that is fun to boot up once in a while when you fancy some straightforward arcade action that rewards you with the very pleasant sight of some awesome, kick-ass military and mecha girls for doing well.
Gnosia is a game that’s bound to be incredibly divisive. While I found the main gameplay loop uninteresting, fellow writer Lilia left with a far more positive impression. At the very least, I can appreciate the attempt at creating something fresh, even if I didn’t think it worked in the end. If another game of this style was released with improved gameplay, then I’d still be willing to try it out. It absolutely has potential — potential that I feel Gnosia just couldn’t realise.
Gnosia excels at being whatever you want it to be. As a single-player deduction game, or as a slowly revealing, spine-chilling story with amazing characters in the forefront and lore behind it, Gnosia has immediately become a must-play title for 2021. Just as I had hoped.
Prodigal is merely £7.19 to experience, and I cannot recommend it enough. Additionally, both old and new fans of the title still have even more to look forward to with Prodigal, as its final and biggest update will drop mid March with additional content: four new dungeons, two hidden bosses, updates to tools, two new minigames, a handful of quests and Zaegul’s not-so-secret shop opening up.
For me, the highest praise I can give Persona 5 Strikers is that it feels like a worthy sequel to one of the greatest RPGs of all time. Whether it’s the music, the visuals or the triumphant return of a near-flawless cast of characters, it has brought me incredible joy. Ryuji is still dumb and loyal as ever. Makoto is still scary and hot. Yusuke is still weird. And Futaba remains an adorable little gremlin to protect at all costs.
It’s pure, psychedelic, completely surreal escapism that will help you forget the “real” world for a few minutes or hours — particularly if you have the means of immersing yourself fully in it with a PSVR headset and a good pair of headphones cranked up nice and loud. In the world we live in right now, experiences like this are especially important — and I know I’ll certainly be making good use of it whenever it all gets a bit much!