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Splatoon Raiders is the kind of game that the Splatoon series had always been missing before this point. As a fan of single-player games over multiplayer games, it naturally wound up appealing to me more than the mainline games do. Without the typical baggage of Splatoon’s online play such as map and game mode rotations, the end result is something that feels more focused and considered towards single-player and cooperative play. The surprisingly high skill curve and daunting enemy designs also makes it one of the toughest Nintendo games in a while, with a real mean streak that allows the customization elements to be fully leveraged. This in conjunction with a surprisingly long main campaign makes for a game that’s easy to enjoy fully with friends or by your lonesome. Pretty much the only issue with it is that it’s somewhat wanting for variety, as all its got going on is the core Splatoon gameplay, which is as good as ever, but potentially not a good sell for everyone without the multiplayer or live service elements that help define it. While I don’t think the end result is quite as strong as it perhaps could have been, it’s very much a worthy entry in the Splatoon series.
Koikata: How Our Love Grows stands out for its striking art and cute heroines. While the plot was rather thin in most routes, I enjoyed learning about the heroines' problems and seeing the protagonist support them, helping where he can.
LABYRINTHOS: The Depths Want You is a dark fantasy visual novel with roguelite gameplay elements that present the journey of a single man to reclaim his past. Despite what would be a long struggle against forces of Chaos and the temptations of flesh, he ascends the tower to discover more about himself, and by the end, finally reclaim his freedom. There are a lot of interesting story elements scattered around that readers can appreciate if they piece them bit by bit, but the pacing relative to the frequency of erotic content makes it a little bit hard to digest the storyline as it unfurls. It requires a lot of persistence from the reader to get through the slog of its simplistic gameplay loop to finally get to the meat of its narrative. By that point, it might be hard to say whether or not it was worth the trip. For people who are keen on reading consistently interesting dialogue, this one might not be for you. Between the lackluster gameplay and the buffet of honey pots, there are too many stopping points that break the flow for what otherwise would have been a fine dark fantasy story. But for those who like equal amounts of plot twists and curves, you might have found your next interesting pick-up. There’s a protagonist that serves as an easy self-insert, and there’s plenty of ladies to woo along the way. I highly recommend it for people who like picking up girls in dungeons without the need to make any commitments.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition offers the definitive way to experience one of the first truly great JRPGs of the Nintendo Switch. This game is just as immersive and captivating as it was nine years ago, but with a few additional perks and tweaks to really bring it to life now that it isn't running on a system being completely pushed to its limit. While its main plot and combat systems are more adequate than outstanding and can put off at least a few players expecting more from them, its lovable array of characters, awe-inspiring and imaginative landscapes, unique world, and gorgeous soundtrack makes it one of the most memorable RPGs of the 2010s. Even if it’s in a “better than the sum of its parts” way. There’s so much to do and so much to see in the world of Alrest, and a lot of it is still pretty great.
Starsand Island gets an incredibly begrudging recommendation, with a list of asterisks next to it. It’s a surprisingly fun core experience, and it implements a ton of features that I wish other life simulation games had with great-feeling gameplay. The way everything interlinks is done really well, and there’s tons to unlock. Sadly, it’s let down by the minimal content around the characters and an incredible number of bugs and other issues to the point that it feels like it should have never left early access before being dealt with. Yet despite all the problems it has, it’s just enjoyable enough in many ways to somewhat forgive the issues and keep playing for hours on end.
My (♂) Life as a Vampire's Maid (♀) offers a very specific combination of tropes, but even as someone who enjoys many of them, I found the game to be ultimately forgettable. The narrative does have a few interesting ideas, and the characters can be charming and quite funny. Sadly, it simply fails to fully develop its narrative or pull me in with its more salacious content. Still, its niche appeal might convince some people to give it a shot.
Sister Other Paranoia is a psychological horror visual novel that features sensitive mental health issues and overlays it with an eventual descent into madness. By poking at the truths that people hide to protect both themselves and others, it unleashes a feeling of fear related to breaking subtle social norms that everyone has experienced in some shape or form at some point in their lives. Hasuya, alongside the rest of the cast, provide sets of dialogue that seek to understand forms of internal, interpersonal conflicts and encourages readers’ introspection to appreciate character arcs’ resolutions. Although relatively simplistic and straightforward in terms of the storyline, Hasuya’s own journey, his interactions, and his borderline metafictional reflections about social issues make for an interesting and memorable experience. Additionally, the themes that Sister Other Paranoia features give much-needed visibility to people who might suffer from similar forms of social anxiety as the members of the cast. With excellent visual assets, a cohesive presentation, and an impressive lineup of musical tracks, it’s hard not to enjoy Sister Other Paranoia. For those looking for a more sensitive creative work to read, it’s not a bad candidate for a pickup. There will be people who enjoy the game less because of the compromises as a result of its limited length, but I think the game’s well-rounded enough to be a strong title regardless. I recommend giving it a go if the subject matter is something that interests you. It’s short, cute, and easy enough to relate to. I enjoyed my time reading this one, and I’m looking forward to what HazeDenki will have in store for us next.
STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT is a science fiction visual novel that seeks to enhance the original STEINS;GATE visual novel’s reading experience by featuring redrawn art assets, rerecorded voice lines, an updated soundtrack, a few additional scenarios, and a polished modern UI. By drawing inspiration from the charm of the traditional visual novel format and the updated flow in STEINS;GATE ELITE, it brings its well-loved time travel story to 2026 for old fans to relive and for younger fans to experience for themselves. With the incorporation of the E-mote system as part of its visual presentation, STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT’s cast exudes liveliness previously unseen in previous versions. It achieves the balance of providing entertaining motions to the characters without transitioning into a fully animated title like ELITE, avoiding the weaknesses that format brings. Overall, I do think that despite its shortcomings (see: the handling of the character 4°C), STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT is now the best way to experience the Future Gadget Lab’s journey through Rintarou’s eyes. It’s definitely worth a try, and I highly recommend it for both old and new lab members. With that being said, there is still the consideration of prices across all of the available versions. In terms of experiencing the full story, the original STEINS;GATE fulfills that purpose well enough for half the price point ($30) of the two other versions, ELITE and RE:BOOT, which are both at $60. ELITE, on the other hand, is bundled together with the side story Linear Bounded Phenogram as a package. Honestly, it’s a pretty opportunistic move given that you’re forced to get the animated version of the visual novel if you wanted to read the spin-off. Fortunately, these versions go on sale frequently enough that getting both of them is still probably cheaper than RE:BOOT will be for a good while. You’d be missing out on the new features that RE:BOOT offers, but they’re more fanservice additions than requirements to fully appreciate the STEINS;GATE world. Regardless, RE:BOOT is definitely worth the try, and I highly recommend it for both old and new lab members alike.
Ready or Not – The Deadline is Coming! spends more time telling the reader about the challenges of the eroge industry than focusing on romance with its cast of mostly older heroines, and that’s what helps it stand out. With an interesting premise and a surprisingly informative story told in an entertaining way, it’s also worth reading this visual novel if you have any interest in the industry itself.
Staffer Retro: A Supernatural Mystery Quest is a worthy follow-up to Staffer Case that expands and enriches the Staffer universe. Though it focuses more on narrative than puzzles and has somewhat different strengths and weaknesses than its predecessor, Staffer Retro maintains the series’ main thematic thrust and has me excited to see where the story will go next.
Blue Reflection Quartet is an impressive collection that goes surprisingly far in some areas while falling short in others. Blue Reflection is a good if flawed game that certainly could have used more comprehensive improvements, and the changes to Sun from the original gacha game go much further than I would’ve expected. Ray was admittedly not as good as I’d hoped, but I do appreciate that they made a new, albeit very short, game just for this compilation. The lack of inclusion of the existing DLC is also a slight letdown. In the end, Blue Reflection: Second Light is the star of this collection, and it brings with it all the titles that lead up to it and the context and character introductions they bring. Given that buying Quartet is cheaper than buying Second Light, which is already more than worth it at the higher price point, the inclusion of the other titles is icing on the cake.
70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X isn’t going to quite match the shmup genre’s elites, but it is absolutely a quirky, unique, and fun experience with an average, if janky, shmup attached to it. I, for one, feel it is absolutely going to resonate with its target audience of classic anime fans and those who crave something a little more unusual in their life. Like a dynamic time capsule from the 1990s emulating the 1970s, 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X does a fantastic job of being a playable and fun Saturday Morning Cartoon, with enough content and spirit to keep even the most casual of fans engaged in the battle of Geppy-X and the Space Devil Empire. Go, Geppy-X, win the war and inspire the hearts of the world!
I enjoyed my time with Truxton Extreme and appreciated the effort put into the story mode. It mostly feels feature-full as well. Though once you peel that layer off, you realise a lot of it is just the same content. A dedicated practice mode wouldn’t have gone amiss, and maybe some alternative enemy patterns or visuals for differing playthroughs of the Story Mode would have staved off the feeling of repetition. Much like the original Truxton, I have no doubt this game will garner a cult-like following, and I feel this title is strongly aimed towards them while trying to bring in the wider shmup demographic, albeit with mixed results. The bland visuals and initial few stages don’t help matters, so while this is a damn fine shmup in its own right, I just feel that more could have been done to truly make this title a little more extreme and less extremely bloated.
Although more than a decade old by now, Wagamama High Spec is still a decent enough moege for what it is. It didn’t break much new ground even for its time, and its few somewhat serious plotlines can be a bit abrupt in how quickly they come about and are dealt with. Still, the fun enough cast and solid production value made it enjoyable enough throughout its runtime for me, even if one character became a clear favorite.
Assessing a fan disc like Wagamama High Spec OC can be a bit of a strange endeavor. There’s plenty of meat on the bone here, so if you like Wagamama High Spec already it’s well worth the purchase, especially given its lower price point, and that’s ultimately why it gets the same score despite being a modest bit weaker overall. If you didn’t like it, this isn’t likely to change your mind. The actual contents end up being a bit more of a mixed bag than I’d have hoped for, leaving the sense that this could have been something better. The routes range from nice little after stories to a couple of fun bonus side routes to two routes I actively recommend against reading. As such, trying to even give it a score feels like an effort to average out a pretty wide array of points, given its wider spread of highs and lows. I’ve also both seen better fandiscs out there and better from the original story. It’s fine enough for what it is though, and adds a good amount more than it takes away.
With an exciting story and enjoyable characters, Advent: Dawn is a solid entry into the annals of mystery visual novels. It might not blow your mind, but it’s well worth a read.
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 1+2 Dual Collection is a double dose of some of Inti Creates’ most considered games to date. While it’s fair to say that it’s probably too soon for a collection like this, it delivers subtle but keen improvements to gameplay in addition to performance enhancements that let the games play smoother than ever. While not every quirk has been addressed, such as more translation polish, the games are quite good and easy to recommend. Luminous Avenger iX 1 in particular is my favorite game in the series to date, featuring a solid (if short) story and incredibly focused, rewarding score attack gameplay. If you haven’t jumped in already, this is a great way to get prepared for Luminous Avenger iX 3.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Endless Ragnarok is a rather excellent game as a whole package as long as you’re looking for gameplay over story in your JRPG. That said, the Endless Ragnarok content is only really exciting to heavily invested players, who really want to farm the endgame. The new roguelite mode is certainly a standout feature, but you will need to grind those quests for quite a while before unlocking it in full.
There is something to the heart of the story of Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga. Its theme of what it means to be remembered and how saddening it is to be forgotten is a compelling emotional core that could have made for something so, so much better than what I got. Instead, it’s a poorly structured and even more poorly edited visual novel that got in its own way of trying to tell that story at every turn, one which I have next to no positives to speak of that don’t carry at least some form of caveat. It makes for an experience I expect I will very soon forget, and I most certainly will not miss my time with.
While Sonic Frontiers – Definitive Edition is absolutely a misnomer, it’s a fine way to play the game if you haven’t already. The updates it has received since its initial release in November 2022 make the game worth revisiting, with lots of new content that’s fun to play even if they don’t necessarily fix any of the game’s more foundational problems. There’s a good game to enjoy even with the warts present in Sonic Frontiers, but given the cynical nature of this version’s release, it’s hard not to feel like they should have gone harder in improving it. While I wouldn’t expect every problem to be addressed, things like fixed bugs and technical issues would surely have gone a long way in making a fun game even more easy to enjoy.