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As a free to play game, Sonic Rumble is fine. It provides a Fall Guys-esque battle royale platforming experience with just enough Sonic flavor to distinguish itself adequately as its own thing, though not enough to quite capture the distilled essence of the blue blur. The developers have also been working on implementing new ideas and improving the experience, which is welcome for a live service game. Unfortunately, almost every positive with this game has some sort of caveat, which makes me question its long-term prospects. Ring Survival is a bit lacking in variety at present and doesn’t feel very winnable if you don’t place really well in its first stage. Its monetization can feel almost predatory especially with purchasable upgrades that provide tangible advantages in stages, and the restriction on game modes availability is disappointing. I don’t regret my time playing Sonic Rumble and had a share of fun, but I also don’t see myself coming back to this game years down the line. I don’t love drawing comparisons to competitors on the market, but it’s hard to find a reason to keep playing Sonic Rumble over its generally superior competition.
Double Dragon Revive will not be the return to form that it should have been for some. Others may look beyond the iffy art direction and new-yet-dated graphics and find a very competent and, dare I say, fun brawler with a healthy dose of combat. You’ll find me in the camp of the latter. It’s always welcome to see the Lee Brothers, and while it’s not quite as addictive or fun as Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons, it offers plenty for fans of the genre and the franchise. It’s one I’ll return to time and time again, and I would love to see a sequel to see how the developers would tackle a remake of Double Dragon II in this style.
Harmonic Reflections is a refreshingly grounded drama with thoughtful characters and an appropriately contemplative atmosphere. It could have been more impactful with a stronger protagonist and more developed climax, but it’s worth the read if you’re in the market for a short, focused visual novel.
I was incredibly curious to see if Bloober Team could make it 2-for-2 since 2024, especially considering that up until the Silent Hill 2 remake, they hadn’t dealt with combat before. I’m glad to say not only is Cronos: The New Dawn a success with its combat, but they also managed to really nail the tension of working with low resources and making key choices in the way you can only get from a survival horror. Cronos: the New Dawn offers a gripping tale, plenty of jump scares, more tension than the bottom of the ocean, and a world you'll just want to explore. It did a fantastic job of reminding me exactly what I love about the genre, and wasn’t afraid to humble me when I got too cocky. This is an essential title for horror fanatics and people looking for a unique way to spend their Halloween.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake surprised me with the transformative experiences they offer. While they fall short of the highs of Dragon Quest III’s modern conversion, that’s more in testament to how these games specifically aimed to offer the fullest and most complete-feeling iterations of the first two titles. Dragon Quest I in particular left me very pleasantly surprised, turning an experience many would call antiquated into something fresh and modern, but still dedicated to the old-school roots that defined it. Dragon Quest II’s turns one of the more unremarkable chapters in the series’ history into something to be celebrated. The new map was a lot of fun to explore, and the new party member brings in some considered rebalancing to the entire game that makes it even more enjoyable than before. When combined with III’s remake from last year, I dare say this is my favorite modern RPG trilogy in recent memory.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A departs from the mainline Pokémon titles and succeeds in telling its own story, with a very engaging battle system. It has a great gameplay loop that kept me hooked from start to end, and plenty to find in a small city. While not perfect, it feels like a new take on Pokémon, with elements I'd love to see carry over to the next mainline installment.
There’s not really much more that needs to be said about Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, is there? Even now, they remain quintessential examples of Nintendo being masters of the craft. If you can swallow the hefty price tag, you’ll find that these are excellent ports that bring out these games’ full potential in both graphics and performance. While the control scheme in Handheld Mode is disappointingly finicky, Docked Mode and Tabletop Mode offer up experiences that feel nearly as good as they did back on the Wii. I think both of these games are must-plays if you enjoy 3D platformers. While I wouldn’t say Galaxy 1 warrants the extra purchase if you already own 3D All-Stars, definitely jump into Galaxy 2 if you haven’t already.
Hollow Knight: Silksong asks the player to meet on its own terms. It's completely unashamed of itself or the challenges and warts of the experience it offers. Even its strongest supporters will likely say that it pissed them off at some point or another. It revels in its own excess to the point of hubris at times, and most of its issues feel like a consequence of said hubris. Yet underneath it all, I think Silksong is one of the most triumphant sequels I’ve ever played. It leans into a great many of the strengths of its forebearer while improving on so many areas, all without sacrificing the trademark ruthlessness of Hollow Knight. Silksong combines excellent action and platforming into one of the most salient, gripping, and addictive platformers I’ve ever played.
The biggest barrier to recommending Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is not really a functional one. The game wasn’t made to be the most balanced experience and it has many of the issues that typically limit crossover titles in their ambition, but it’s still made with the goal of fun in mind, and it’s chock full of goodies. This is also far from a rush job of a port to modern systems, as refint/games did a lot to make the game play well and feel fitting among these franchises’ existing western releases, given the game featuring dual audio, maintaining a consistent English voice cast, and the work that went into its online features. Indeed, as someone who played the original PSP title many moons ago, this is more than I could have hoped for with a 2025 rerelease of this title. Some minor hiccups aside, it is a genuinely excellent remaster of a rather niche game. Rather, it’s the fact that this game conceptually feels made for a fairly small number of people. This one is for Falcom fans specifically, and there’s a lot of appeal to them here, even if it doesn’t break a ton of ground for either series. For anyone outside that space, it’s significantly harder to recommend this game. Which is a bit of a shame, because this game is genuinely quite fun for what it is. The implementation of 3D Ys mechanics into a fighting game works better than it perhaps should, given this is a company not known for making fighting games, and it has perhaps the best assembly of music of the company’s illustrious catalog. If you aren’t already a fan of Ys and Trails, this game can be a tougher sell, much as I recommend getting into those series already with all my heart. If you are a fan of Ys and Trails already, this is a worthy title to fit into your collection. It’s a neat little time capsule of Falcom’s history, and a fun experience on its own for what it is.
Mamorukun ReCurse! has so much in common with G.Rev’s other title Under Defeat HD+ in that initially it had enough to interest me but didn’t quite grip me. Switching to the twin stick controls sold the game to me more, and I found myself losing hours to just trying to get further up that scoreboard, engrossed by its visuals, unique aspects, the soundtrack. The game won’t be for everyone, it’s very much unabashed as a cute ‘em up and the timed nature of the arcade mode will put off some of the purists. But for those that can adapt or are happy enough to lean into the goofiness of the title, you’ve got a fantastic package full of content, and in my eyes, the definitive way to play the game. This is absolutely recommended for score chasers needing their next fix.
Heroic Songs: the Remix! is an incredibly casual experience. The story is fairly minimal and laid back, the city-building gameplay is far too easy, and the concerts require no effort and are over in a flash. However, there is some charm to the characters and amusement to be found in their antics.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the inevitable result of Sonic Team’s growing ambition and polish combined with years of arcade racing experience. The result is the very best kart racing game I’ve played since the early 2010s, and a massive turnaround after the tepid thud of Team Sonic Racing. The titular CrossWorld mechanic makes for a game that’s bursting with variety and unpredictability, all woven together wonderfully with considered game balance and customization thanks to its gadget system. My few qualms with the game like occasionally spotty visuals and certain grindy elements do almost nothing to detract from how addicting and compelling everything about the core gameplay is, from its gamefeel to strong track design. In the end, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming away from it just to write this review, and I really think that says it all.
Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian takes a step closer to some of the older Atelier titles with its more in-depth systems, yet it doesn't move too far into the complexity that had many reaching for the nearest guide on alchemy. It's a fun adventure where you can dive in and experience everything it has to offer with some engaging gameplay, or just enjoy relaxing moments with some great characters. Whether you've played Atelier before or not, it's worth picking up.
In not adhering to the philosophy of previous 2D Shinobi titles, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance instead does its own thing, for better and for worse. It's a game that revels in its own excess, asking how many bells and whistles it can add to the core action platforming experience before finally hitting a ceiling. In doing this, it makes for a game that I am tempted to say is one-of-a-kind, but in losing the elegance and no-frills nature of previous titles, it becomes bloated too. It's strange for me to look at a game I like this much, and I still wind up asking myself whether it really needed quite a few of the things it did. That being said, I did often forget about these problems in the midst of play, enjoying myself as I combo’d enemies across rooms or searched for any secrets I missed. While I’m hopeful that the next game is a bit more lean and purposeful, this experience is still nothing if not artful.
Hold Me Tight All Night, Onii-chan! is a sweet visual novel with plenty of loving moments between siblings. The adult content is plentiful, and there's not much in the way of a solid plot, but there's a lot of love on display here.
As a fan of Sky FC, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feels like a rather lovingly made remake. It lines up with the modern Trails games while not compromising too hard on keeping true to the original in areas where it mattered most, and there are plenty of changes I openly welcome. Trails in the Sky has always been one of my favorite games thanks to its characters, world, music, and combat systems, and I had a blast coming back to Liberl. While it is quite a different way to play through the first chapter of Estelle and Joshua’s journey, it is nonetheless one that keeps a lot of the heart. I don’t see it as a replacement for the original, and it is inevitably going to draw comparisons, but I think this version suffices in capturing much of the same spirit of the game that got me into this behemoth of a series. There are plenty of spots I wish would have been more polished, but 1st Chapter got a good amount of the most important areas right. As this is but one side of the coin, I look forward to Sky’s Second Chapter, just as much as I look forward to hopefully seeing this game impact new players the way the original did for me.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star Crossed World offers up an adventure as charming and well-rounded as Kirby himself. The 2022 game is as good as ever, offering a smooth and compelling transition to 3D for the whole series, whilst also showcasing HAL Laboratory at its best through some inventive level and art design. Its upgrade on Nintendo Switch 2 unshackles those technical and artistic capabilities, with the whole experience made even more delightful by a significantly higher framerate, far faster load times, and a boosted resolution that makes its colors really pop. The Star Crossed World storyline feels like an added cherry on top, boosting the game’s content by a respectable amount while also individually being some of the best levels and art design the game offers up. If you’ve missed Kirby and the Forgotten Land up until now, this is unquestionably the version you should pick up.
Waning Flowers of a World Eternal - The Rainbow Appears After Flowering Rain feels like it’s trying to say something, but often can’t really get the right words out. It sets up for plenty of drama, but a lot of it doesn’t land. It has a handful of salient and thought-provoking parts, and the brief bits of levity are actually pretty sweet, but they’re somewhat in the shadow of a rather repetitious story and often unremarkable cast of characters that don’t do enough to make it truly earn its emotional punches. Waning Flowers is an okay but rather flawed nakige that doesn’t really excel or stand out in any particular area.
If what you want is a golf game, you get yourself a golf game with Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots. And a pretty solid one, too, especially given its more modest price point. It doesn’t try to reinvent the sport, but it does offer enough fun means of play to keep you coming back, whether it be for a standard yet brisk version of this tense and rewarding sport or through the fun little gimmicks of special power-ups and massive holes to aim for. For a series that is rooted in charm and personality though, I was left hoping for a bit more out of those aspects, and it definitely could use just a bit more polish in several spots. Still, while they were annoying, most of my gripes were a cluster of minor ones rather than anything that particularly kept me from having a bunch of fun swinging clubs and saying “man I’m good at golf” every time I sank a chip-shot or long putt. If you’ve been hungry for a classic-style sports game that still remembers how to be a video game, i.e. is interested in being fun rather than trying to simulate too many elements of realism, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots offers a fine enough place to tee off.
Shuten Order is a murder mystery visual novel that turns the premise of saving an apocalyptic world on its head by introducing a cast that actively yearns for the end of humanity. Set in an isolated nation that largely resembles today’s society, it questions the meaning of a person’s life and existence as they confront a reality that threatens to swallow them whole. Given a second chance after an undeserved death, is Rei willing to snuff someone else’s future out for her own? With a premise that’s weirdly interesting because of how murder intersects with God’s will, it’s an eyecatcher that promises you an experience not quite like anything you’ve had before. Despite being well-grounded in terms of its overall plot, the use of a branching structure to present stories that are structurally different because of how they take inspiration from different game genres introduces a bunch of compromises in both the route’s gameplay mechanics and its self-contained story. Although it feels lacking at times, its ability to tie in largely isolated scenarios into the overall murder mystery is one of its better points. It’s a little bit weird how the routes feel like their own mini visual novel, yet by the end of each of their stories, Rei is able to make progress towards solving the mystery behind her death. In a way, even though particularly tedious gameplay segments take your immersion away, the fact that all the game’s added functionalities work together properly is an amazing feat by itself. Featuring a borderline impossible murder mystery (in the narrative, anyway) with an endearing cast supported by solid designs and high-quality voice acting, Shuten Order is a visual novel you won’t want to miss out on. Even though it has its flaws here and there, the sheer variation in what it has to offer makes the journey feel consistently fresh as readers tangibly feel the progression of its plot. Keep an open mind as you go through the comfortably familiar catalogue of features; there’s a lot to unwrap both in mechanics and in its themes. As long as you remain aware of its limitations and how it can come short, you’re guaranteed to have a wonderfully fulfilling time. Blessed be the Shuten Order!