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By the end of Spirit of Sanada you'll have learned something, enjoyed the prettiest Warriors game to date, and seen just how far Koei Tecmo's been able to take this series, so that it's no longer purely an action game. With Spirit of Sanada, we see a future for the Warriors franchise where every battle and event is given context and purpose, and it's a far deeper and more rounded experience for that.
The general ignorance of the west towards Japanese folk stories and philosophy mean that this is a game that a lot of people will scratch their heads over. This includes those that generally likes the games that Japanese creators make with the western market in mind. But I hope it's a game that others embrace as a stepping stone towards understanding a history and culture that too many are too eager to dismiss as "weird" or different.
I'd usually count myself a completionist who's only goal is to earn every single achievement possible, but Super Mario Odyssey showed me that there's so much more to it than collecting things.
Yonder is a game that matches is aesthetics, design, and vision in a way that very few games could even hope to achieve; even those games that end up with astronomical Metacritic scores and GOTY awards from every corner. It's a beautiful, clearly heartfelt masterpiece, and if more games were to follow this one's lead, I would have a great deal more faith in the emergence of video games as an art form.
Keep me guessing, Spike Chunsoft, and I'll forever love you for it.
I have a great deal of difficulty putting in words just how much I love Hellblade. It's just that powerful.
You'll feel deflated – if not outright miserable – after playing it, but it's also a truly masterful example of writing and storytelling, and it's the kind of game that people should play, because it will prove to be genuinely challenging and, hopefully, encourage them to think a little more critically of the world around them.
Patapon is simple, elegant, and utterly delightful.
Warriors All-Stars is a delight.
Echo is a resounding win.
The story at the heart of it all is one of the most moving and heartfelt tales I've ever seen in a game, and that's a huge achievement. The best part is that Mel Kishida is just getting started—if this is his directorial debut, I can't wait to see what the future has in store.
Smart, sharp, often surreal, and always hugely entertaining.
Ōkami is to video games what something like Spirited Away is to film; it's not only beautiful and powerful, but it speaks to the very core of the Japanese soul, and because of that it's hugely educational to anyone that has an interest in the country and its culture.
This is one of the best games Australia has ever produced.
There's nothing genuinely like Shadow of the Colossus out there, and hopefully this new, pretty version, as superficial as that prettiness is to what makes the game so important, encourages a new generation of players to try it for themselves.
I love it because it's genuine bona fide art, made with that explicit intent and, importantly, successful at it. It's a game that weaves a masterful story, and would only really work as interactive art, because ultimately, what this game is about is a conversation... and it wants to hear your answers as much as it wants to pose questions to you.
It's a beautiful, emotive game and with it Tokyo RPG Factory has cemented itself as one of my favourite JRPG outfits going around.
Fe is a fairy tale: the sort of story that finds charm in its simplicity and familiarity, but has a lot to say to anyone willing to dig beneath the surface. In that, it's a resounding success.
Koei Tecmo has done a remarkable job of telling the many stories of the many people that make Romance of the Three Kingdoms such a compelling book and period of history, and the beautiful cinematic consistency makes it the most perfect realisation of everything Koei Tecmo has been aiming for with this series since way back on the PlayStation 2.
For a debut game, Moss is a remarkably mature, intelligent, confident and purposeful game by Polyarc.