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Taking inspirations from other series, Shining Resonance Refrain returns the long running Sega franchise to the West for the first time in over a decade. Mixing a cliched story story full of enjoyable characters with a simplistic combat system, Shining Resonance Refrain can provide you with hours of fun, but certainly is far from a must play game in the genre.
Those who have played LEGO games in the past pretty much know what to expect from each subsequent game and LEGO The Incredibles does very little to break the mold. Even so, LEGO The Incredibles is a perfect segue for kids who have just seen the latest movie and want to jump even deeper into the world of The Incredibles.
TERA is a solid MMO with a very enjoyable combat system. However, it fails to impress when it comes to traveling and the lack of quest diversity. There is still plenty to enjoy, especially in the endgame. And the constant support the game has received thus far is promising for the future. En Masse is definitely in it for the long haul on consoles with new dungeons being added and double XP weekends. With a zero dollar entry cost, TERA is an MMO worth diving into.
Looking to remake a classic like Secret of Mana was certainly a tall task, with Square Enix succeeding in some ways and disappointing in others. While overhauling too much might have seemed blasphemous, the lack of any real non-superficial changes gives you less reason to play this remake of Secret of Mana versus just pulling out the original and playing it instead, even if this is a solid remake overall.
With exploration being the key, InnerSpace is a great candidate for picking up and playing on the game when you have a few minutes here and there. This makes InnerSpace even more appealing on the Nintendo Switch, as long as you don’t mind the game’s hands-off approach with telling you what you need to do.
Most people that are interested in wrestling games know what they are going to get gameplay wise, and WWE 2K18 does not let us down in that aspect. The disappointing MyCareer and lack of any real advances in the gameplay keep the game from really rising to the top this year, but the match options, along with an extensive roster of wrestlers, make WWE 2K18 one that wrestling fans should still enjoy.
While many Nintendo fans have moved on with the release of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo is proving that the 3DS at least has a little life left with games like Miitopia. The game certainly isn’t for everyone and is far from the most in depth experience you’ll have this year, but it’s hard to deny that I had fun while playing Miitopia.
The Danganronpa series may have seemed a bit daunting in the past due to its RPG gameplay, but now Spike Chunsoft has created a solid gateway game with Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. Featuring various bullet types from those that cause enemies to dance or those that knock them back, there is plenty of fun to be had here in this often very creepy game.
Wulverblade is a solid beat ’em up arcade title that is beautifully wrapped in pleasing aesthetics. It covers a well-trodden path seen in numerous games before, but it manages to deliver an experience that is still its own. The combat is satisfying, especially in terms of sound, but it is held back from being a more rewarding experience due to limiting control factors. Furthermore, the entertaining cooperative play completely forgoes online connectivity, meaning two people will have to play on one machine. Still, hindrances and all, there’s something enjoyable about Wulverblade’s loop that helps carry it through the somewhat short campaign.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance strips away the fantasy from RPG and replaces it with something infinitely more dirty and relatable. This is one role-playing experience that is spilling over with ambition at every turn, even if it gets in its own way from time to time. The hardcore, survivalist, tactical players out there will likely have a field day with everything on offer in spite of the flaws present, while the rest may find themselves turned away by the cumbersome systems connecting it all.
Far Cry New Dawn hardly reinvents its core formula, for better or worse. The expected bits are all there, peppered with a few low-impact RPG elements. This isn’t an evolution of the franchise, but rather a more favorable pairing of gameplay and setting than past releases. New Dawn sure feels familiar, but it definitely knows how to have a good time.
Metro Exodus emerges from the underground to explore a world far more colorful than the Moscow railways. Exodus does a fine job of injecting larger spaces with familiar gameplay, even if the two don’t always compliment each other. The refocused survival aspects are welcome additions and add to the hopelessness of the post-apocalyptic setting. The game goes off the rails a bit due to abundant technical issues and restrictive movement that reveal the lack of AAA polish. Even with its lesser parts, Metro Exodus takes the franchise forward with an experience worth seeing through to the end.
Battlefield V is very much a work in progress. The core experience is thrilling and comes together beautifully with the right players. It’s a multiplayer offering that DICE could no doubt expand upon in the coming months with meaningful updates to put it more in line with community expectations. Once the balancing issues and technical problems become a thing of the past, Battlefield V will stand as one of the most engaging multiplayer experiences on the market.
Featuring largely familiar combat and a mostly lighthearted story, people know by now what they are getting into with the Atelier series and that is really no different with Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings.
For anybody looking for the next grand scale RPG on the market, The Alliance Alive really isn't going to be that. Those looking for yet another fun little adventure focused on characters though will likely find plenty of hours of enjoyment out of The Alliance Alive.
While you typically knew what to expect from a new Sword Art Online game in the past, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet turns that idea on its head with a completely different third person shooter experience. It certainly is nowhere near the best RPG out there right now, but getting to jump into the world of Gun Gale Online this time around makes Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet well worth it for fans of the series.
Crossing Souls is teeming with personality, even if it all isn’t originally its own. It expertly weaves the nostalgic tones of 80s media, covering its lesser parts to an extent. The crew may not be as lively as the environments they find themselves in, but utilizing them for general platforming and combat is enjoyable enough. Crossing Souls will no doubt pique the interest of those currently enveloped in this re-emerging stylized culture.
Those who were hoping to see a full fledged sequel with tons of new features in Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Hacker’s Memory are likely going to be disappointed, though it’s hard to complain when we get more of what was already a very fun game. The classic style combat is still solid and the large roster of Digimon to obtain and raise is just as fun in Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Hacker’s Memory, but just make sure you temper your expectations going in.
Verdict If you have played Job Simulator and had a thought of what would it be like if renegade fruit started attacking while you did your tasks, Shooty Fruity might be right up your alley. As long as you go into Shooty Fruity with an open mind, you should have a pretty good time.
For those that really enjoyed a return to the SNES era of RPGs with I Am Setsuna, Lost Sphear will be right up your alley. There aren’t too many things that feel incredibly innovative, but the sense of nostalgia and solid game mechanics make Lost Sphear at least worth checking out once it gets a price drop.