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Eye-catching paper art aesthetics aside, the biggest lure of Paper Ghost Stories: 7PM is its Malaysian setting and focus on the Hungry Ghost Festival for its horror narrative. While jump scares form a good portion of the scare tactics in this title, a few stand out because of their ties to the Hungry Ghost Festival. As for the other scare tactic, both the audio and visuals work nicely in tandem to create a sense of undisturbed peace in one moment and unsettling tension in the next. The slice-of-life story conveyed in this short game is pretty short and sweet, even if it feels like nothing quite happened in this first installment of the Paper Ghost Stories series. So long as you are not takut (afraid), for a short horror game with a refreshing Southeast Asian setting:
After my initial confusion on the first couple of screens on Faith: Chapter One, I buckled down and embraced the game for all its tension and world-building and found that I couldn't get enough of it. Even while writing this review I'm itching to go back and go through the trinity again to pick at its bones and just get more from it. I want to challenge myself and uncover everything Faith: The Unholy Trinity has to offer. Be it the spooky season or the resurgence of the horror genre but something about Faith: The Unholy Trinity just clicked. If you have a passion for the macabre, you need to play this game. Just have a Bible and a priest handy.
I loved my time with Serial Cleaners, which clocked in at around 10 hours. It was everything you could expect from a sequel of a game that showed some real promise. The greater lean on narrative and the gritty aesthetic carried the game much further than the original Serial Cleaner, but sadly the core gameplay loop remains mostly unchanged. This is fine initially but wears thin toward the end. If you're a fan of Stealth games and movies such as Pulp Fiction, you'll lap up everything Serial Cleaners has to offer. While it outstayed its welcome, I'd have no qualms about hiring this motley crew for another clean-up.
Nine Noir Lives is a wholly original take on a genre that doesn’t get much love any more. The things that are great about this game make it worth playing for sure. The story is properly fleshed out, the characters are unique and well written and the puzzles themselves really do make you feel like you’re occupying a world of complex cats and critters. That said, there are aspects here that could do to be improved and as such, I’m inclined to award Nine Noir Lives seven slow blinks out of ten.
Over a series of beautiful serene views and generally casual puzzles, Hazel Sky sets forth a young engineer’s introspective road to finding his true wish buried amongst his duties and desires. Despite the context of an engineer’s Trials, you will actually not learn much about what it means to be an engineer or even about the seemingly vast world of Gideon. The action tasks could get tiring to complete due to the constant need to hold the grip button in most cases too. Still, there is fun to be had sprinting across the open lands, swinging from the ropes, strumming the guitar strings, and singing along to the songs.
My only complaint with Little Witch Nobeta is that I wish there was just more of it to enjoy. Even for a Souls-like game, it’s pretty short and I clocked in about 9 hours before the credits rolled. That said, within that time span, I was left consistently impressed by its razor-sharp level design, strong enemy and boss design, and smart application of its unique mechanics. Nobeta may be little, but she leaves a big impression.
Despite feeling like I've been knocking chunks out of The DioField Chronicle in much of my review, I did enjoy my time with the game quite a bit. My enjoyment mainly came from the fun combat hook. It's the poorly slapped-on exploration or the high fantasy by numbers storyline that lets it down. It feels like an experimental title for Square Enix. Should we get a sequel, if they put more of a budget into the outside of combat sections you'd have pure gold on your hands. Sadly, as it stands you've got poorly rendered PS2 silver dropping through your fingers with this one.
Saints Row (2022) is a mixed bag. The story and characters are only decent and there are a lot of bugs to iron out. The gameplay has only slightly changed since the previous games. That said, the character’s interactions made me laugh and the gameplay is just enjoyable, with a few improvements over the past games' already solid gameplay and a ton to do. I found it difficult to rate this one. There are a lot of points where I feel it could be better, but I still enjoyed many elements of this. It’s one that I somewhat reluctantly recommend.
Renai X Royale - Love's a Battle had me laughing from start to finish. It won’t be for everyone with its fourth-wall breaking and focus on comedic characters over romance routes, but it’s a ton of fun. I really appreciated how even side characters had their moments to shine too.
Metal: Hellsinger was an adrenaline-fuelled experience that left me with a smile and a sore neck each time I turned the game on. It managed to not only present me with a visceral and focused First Person Shooter, but also my current musical obsession. The gameplay gave me no middle ground in the best way and pushed me to play better with each trial and difficulty setting. Initially, if I couldn’t catch the beat I’d play very poorly, but once it clicked with me I’d find myself headbanging, foot stomping, and playing with all the ferocity of Slayer possessed by Lucifer Morningstar himself. Metal: Hellsinger is quite possibly the game I’ve needed ever since Doom Eternal’s curtains closed and I for one throw the devil horns into the heavens at the prospect of more to come.
Radiant Silvergun is a legendary title for a reason. It's addictive, it rewards your time, and it offers players an experience that initially would seem quite routine at first, but it isn't long until the depth shines through and it has its hooks in you. Treasure is an iconic developer, and with titles like this under their belt, you can see why. It's a perfect blend of home and arcade experience that deserves to stand next to the better-known Ikaruga as an all-time great. It shouldn't just be famous for its price tag.
Splatoon 3 is an incredible game that further evolves an awesome twist on the competitive shooter genre. Unfortunately, it’s let down by what is perhaps its most important component, the terrible and limiting online functionality. Luckily, the game is fun enough that I think legging through the exhausting online problems is worth it, and it has an excellent single-player mode to keep you occupied as well. Expressive, vibrant, and endlessly indulgent in its uniqueness, Splatoon 3 is very much a worthy follow-up to its predecessors.
SD Gundam Battle Alliance is a good action RPG wrapped in even better Gundam fanservice wrapping paper and served up in a way that makes sharing the treat the best way to experience it. It can be a little grindy, a little cute, and displays some practices that I just can't get behind. Despite that, the core gameplay and fan service are just too good for me to refuse that itch of "one more go".
The current Switch build of No Place for Bravery is so buried under technical problems that you should stay far away. But if and when the problems are fixed? I wasn’t able to see the end of No Place for Bravery, making it difficult to fully evaluate. It certainly has some good pieces: great art, a strong concept, and satisfying combat. Maybe that’s enough for it to be worth a shot. Still, from what I did see, it’s hard not to feel that with a bit more thought and care No Place for Bravery could have been a much better game than it is.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is yet another solid game in Falcom’s rich legacy of RPGs. Issues like the lack of an English dub, slow game speed, and the strange sidequest system add up and do bring the experience down somewhat. Despite these issues, Trails from Zero is a game that manages to successfully and smartly craft an experience that stands out from its contemporaries.
Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate – Episode 1 has a fascinating world and engaging mysteries to solve. It hooked me from the start and just kept getting better. While the other games in the wider franchise use time looping, it does it here in a much more interesting way. While I did bring up a few issues, Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate – Episode 1 is a story worth experiencing. I’m looking forward to seeing what Episodes 2 and 3 bring.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is a much better fighting game than it was on its original release. The various gameplay tweaks and the increase to 60fps on current-gen and PC bring this underrated title to life. Unfortunately lackluster online multiplayer and lack of new characters do knock this down somewhat, but if you haven't already owned the original and are newly into JoJo you'd be downright bizarre to sit this title out.
The simple things here are just okay, though they’re fairly standard. On the whole, and whilst I can’t quite put my finger on it, something feels stale with Aeterna Noctis — “Limp” even. What makes metroidvania’s so fun is not merely the challenge but the pace, reward, and sense of impact your upgrades give you. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, Aeterna Noctis tipped the scales heavily in favor of repetitive challenge that rarely feels rewarding to overcome.
Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate Definitive Edition is a strong remastering effort of what is one of the Musou franchise’s best entries. I was overwhelmed by the addictive and plentiful amounts of content on offer, as well as some frantic and varied gameplay. The few cracks that display the game’s age are small potatoes when stacked up to how much of a blast it all is. If you want a quintessential Musou game that is practically never-ending, you’ve come to the right place.
Idol Manager is an enjoyable management simulator with a unique subject matter that hasn’t been seen in the genre before. The story has its moments, and any fan of idols will likely have a chuckle or make a grim nod at least once or twice. Additionally, it has some thoughtful difficulty and gameplay options in its free play mode that adds multiple ways for folks to enjoy a second or third playthrough. It does have some faults, most notably in its UI, but only so far as to be inconvenient. For fans of management sims and/or idol culture, Idol Manager is recommended.