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World to the West is probably one of the finer ways to to experience easy going, family friendly, lightly puzzling and very cute gaming. I certainly loved it, and if I was to offer personal advice in two words I would simply tell you:
Injustice 2 is a very solid fighting game that has not changed a whole lot mechanically from the last offering. Visually it is a step forward, but the narrative is a step back. I cannot entirely share the feeling that this is going to be a title that is meant to milk out additional money via a combination of microtransactions and DLC, which is a bit of a turnoff, but the variety of modes and quality roster do help to take the sting out of that, because there is already so much content available.
If you're going to play Farpoint, then be absolutely sure that you get the lightgun. It adds everything to the experience, making the game one of the most immersive and fundamentally enjoyable shooters that I've ever played.
It's a deep, complex, stylish game that blows every other fighter out of the water, but made surprisingly accessible through things like the Stylish control scheme and a Combo/Mission modes that serve to teach useful, practical combos and strategies.
Regalia is a game that's honest, and it's a game with gumption.
The Legend of Dark Witch franchise is far too limited and nowhere near of the standard where its music is ready stand alone, and Rudymical is just not worth playing on any level.
It's quite a step up to make the combat a core part of the storytelling experience.
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.
LocoRoco can be confusing, wearisome and infuriating at times, but it's still impossible to stay mad at it for long. It's a happy game without gratuitous conflict or drama, and its sheer optimism alone prevents its shortcomings from ruining the grand vision. It's a game which just works, and without a doubt, the PS4 remaster is the best way to experience it.
It's a game for the here-and-now, made to give the 3DS one of its last hoorahs with a major franchise before all of Nintendo's developers move fully to the Switch.
On a technical level Caligula isn't perfect; characters can run right through doors, and enemies have a habit of getting stuck in scenery as they chase after your characters, but the art direction itself with its soft pastel colours and clean elegance is a massage for the eyes.
This is one of the best tactics JRPGs you can play. It'll last you a long time, become more rewarding the more time that you put into it, and runs just perfectly on the Switch's hardware. You could not ask for a better portable game than this.
While the game might not be better than its peers, it would fare better if it were judged separately.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a love letter for fans, a final send-off for some beloved characters and fitting conclusions to endearing storylines.
Normally, I wouldn't find much charm in the somewhat simple, blocky graphics. The retro look has been done past the point of a trend, to say the least. But having the elements resemble being made from teeny tiny building blocks is so apt for Block'hood: our world is built with piece by piece, block by block, just as the 'Hood is.
For all its mechanical competency, The Surge feels as mechanical as its enemies through most of the experience. No where near enough was done with the science fiction theme, and after catching my attention with an intriguing set up, the game then lost me with a generally dull plot that it was never quite able to claw back.
The end result is a mixed offering, but one that could serve as a fantastic foundation for Coffee Addict Studio to build on in future games.
Outstanding production values, smooth technical features and entertaining romantic entanglements go a long way towards making this Otomate title a pleasure to play; but the lack of overriding originality, and falling back on some of the stock filler props of the VN genre, hold it back from being a truly innovative iteration in the crowded field of stories of players imprisoned in a virtual world. Not every game needs to be innovative, however, to provide thoughtful entertainment, and Period: Cube most certainly provided me with that in good measure.
I'm sure the developers went into NBA Playgrounds with the most noble of intentions, but this game is not the NBA I remembered. This game is one that young me would never have considered to be worth my allowance.
It's not a classic by any means, but it's different, interesting, and often quite clever. This is a developer with a bright future.