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Much like the rest of the game, Dust & Neon’s bosses pretend that they’re interesting, but are absent of charm or character. Then there are the final bosses who require an arbitrary number of level-ups to reach, forcing players to chew through repetitive missions and farm XP, a task which only brings the game’s flaws more readily to the surface. In its finest moments, Dust & Neon presents serviceable roguelite gameplay with responsive controls, but there are better options available with way less meaningless grind required.
Quibbles aside, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is exactly what it's selling - a celebration of 35 years' worth of Final Fantasy music that's packed with nostalgia and rhythm game mechanics. With songs from other Square Enix IPs available as bonus content, there's still plenty to keep players busy even after the ending. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is an enjoyable, whimsical rhythm game that should appeal to Final Fantasy fans, no matter where they started with the series. As celebrations go, this one's a winner.
After Metroid Prime 4's development was restarted in 2019, Metroid Dread and now Metroid Prime Remastered are reminders that Retro Studios and Nintendo have an iconic, evocative, and gripping sci-fi series that unfortunately now sees only sporadic releases. Luckily, the brilliance of Metroid Prime now has a chance to reach a much larger audience. The original 2002 release impressed with its bold new direction for the series, and now the definitive version of the classic has arrived in Metroid Prime Remastered.
Hogwarts Legacy is a wonderful game filled to the brim with adventures to be had, activities to engage in, and secrets to be found. The school and the surrounding areas have been recreated beautifully, and players will easily lose hours lost in the whimsical splendor of this wizarding world.
With any roguelike game, the biggest problem is repetition. Hitman: Freelancer is in a strange place when it comes to this; the core gameplay loop and these levels have, in some cases, been around since 2016, and repetition is built into the game's framework. If someone has yet to play the recent entries, and with all three previous games wrapped up in one package, Hitman: World of Assassination is an incredible deal. As a free update for players who already own Hitman 3, it's absolutely worth jumping back into.
Like its predecessor, Tails: The Backbone Preludes tells an unconventional and surreal story with confidence, resulting in narratives that are sincere, vulnerable, complicated, and heart-breaking. The only downside to this branching narrative style of storytelling is that it's easy to accidentally take the short route and leave the experience feeling like something is missing. Ultimately, Tails: The Backbone Preludes tells four phenomenal stories that either deepens the characters that players know and love, or introduces them to new players entering this stunning world for the first time.
All these things come together to tell a story about change and how one processes and works through the fear that comes with it. Overall, Backfirewall_ is a wonderful experience filled with heart, wit, emotional intelligence, and respect for the player. It's a high recommendation for anyone as a result - even if puzzles aren't appealing, the uniqueness of its story and the deft skill with which it's told make for an excellent experience all the same.
Hi-Fi RUSH is an absolute delight. A simple idea that could have been extremely difficult to correctly develop, Hi-Fi RUSH is a real joy to play. Here's hoping that there are many more brilliant surprises to come this year, as Hi-Fi RUSH sets a high bar.
Fans of 3D platformer adventures, especially those who also are fans of SpongeBob's television series, will find a lot of value in the game SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. The friendly banter between SpongeBob and Patrick throughout the game offers a lot of jokes - and even some unexpected laugh-out-loud moments - that makes it difficult not to smile while playing. The art style, music, and voice acting all provides a high-quality feel, almost like being inside an episode of the cartoon series. Meanwhile, the gameplay itself is well-crafted and offers a lot of variety for players. All these things combined make the game an overall enjoyable, if not immediately forgettable, experience for players of all ages.
The Dead Space Remake severs the bar to raise it.
SEASON: A Letter To The Future has a real touch of brilliance around it, showcasing something truly unique with a world that players will be desperate to rediscover, and hopefully there will be an opportunity to do so. A game that will last long in the memory, even if it's something that will be lost to its own characters.
As time goes on and Thomasina becomes haunted by strange dreams and flashbacks of her past alongside some disturbing encounters in Bewlay, the cosmic horror elements of Hob's Barrow slowly come to the forefront, leading to the game's harrowing conclusion. With a recent resurgence of the point-and-click genre, this game is a great example of how to do the style justice. Although it's occasionally stifled by less-than-stellar quests, the overall storytelling, acting, and general ambiance of The Excavation of Hob's Barrows make it well worth a player's time.
Mahokenshi has no “endless” mode or anything of the like, and completing each mission and related side objective grants the game a decided and achievable end-state. One would expect that, with good sales, additional quests and modes (and mods) may eventually be added, all of which would inject some more needed bang for its buck. As it stands, Mahokenshi is still a great, session-based deckbuilder, and worth wading through its few snags.
Forspoken is sprawling, awing in its scale, and a treat to look at, and while the gameplay is snappy and engaging, it's not necessarily impressive enough to completely distract from haphazard discussions with NPCs and a narrative that should have been given more space.
Sailing Era can be a slow experience, as oftentimes there is no clear way to a given objective. However, this adds to the game’s overall sense of discovery, and sailing across the clear blue seas is surprisingly soothing. Players hoping for a more action-packed RPG experience may wish to stay in the harbor, but anyone looking to get lost in the feel of touring the world aboard an old-fashioned naval vessel might find Sailing Era up their alley.
A Space For The Unbound tells a story with plenty of heart and strong atmosphere, if occasionally let down by technical limitations.
Ultimately, Fire Emblem Engage is an excellent game that contains one of the finest tactical systems in recent memory, and it's well worth a look for that reason. Just don't expect to remember much about Elyos once the journey ends.
Re:Call is worth investigating with a playthrough - just be prepared for a paradigm shift just when things are getting good.
Regardless of which version is played, though, the same thing holds true in 2023 that was evident a few years ago: Monster Hunter Rise is an excellent, massive game, and should be experienced by anyone with even a slight fondness for action-RPGs or monster hunting genres.
Ultimately, both games remain fantastic additions to any JRPG fan's game library, with Persona 4 Golden by far the more refined and exciting experience. While re-releasing the same games on multiple platforms isn't necessarily the most enthralling action from a long-time Persona follower's perspective, it's nice to see classics continue to become more accessible to potential newcomers. The preservation of this series is important, and if in the process of that the best way to play them emerges - like the case of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden on Switch - then that's just an added bonus.