oprainfall
Homepageoprainfall's Reviews
I enjoyed my time playing Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, especially after all the recent updates. The game has a decent story, very fun combat, a well-implemented soundtrack, beautiful environments and great looking characters. However, it is still affected by technical issues, an absurdly long first chapter, a questionable use of character creation, the omission of characters such as Yuuki and the CUBE shop system which shouldn’t be there in the first place. It took me about 121 hours to beat the main story while doing side missions and Bond Events as well. Once you beat the story, you can tackle Raid Dungeons, try to test your mettle against high level foes, try to get high rarity weapons or even try to unlock all the event CGs. So there’s still some things to do even after beating the game. Would I recommend paying $60 for this game? I would only recommend doing that if you’re a hardcore Sword Art Online fan like me. If you’re not, I recommend waiting for a sale or waiting for the technical issues in the base game to be mostly fixed. If you do decide to take the dive, know there’s an immense amount of content waiting for you.
I don’t think I can recommend this adaptation of Fairy Tail. For people that aren’t fans of Fairy Tail, there’s not much here other than a mostly competent RPG. For people that are fans, there’s just heavily truncated and compromised versions of the things they like. There’s some fun character interactions in the side quests, but I don’t think it justifies a $60 price tag. It’s a fairly lengthy game at around 40 hours, but most of this time is spent just being disappointed. If you’re a real diehard fan, and you just have to play this, then I’d at least recommend waiting for the price to drop.
I have to say Death end re;Quest 2 is one of my favorite releases of the year. It takes everything the first game had to offer and refines it into a more streamlined package. It took me around 20 hours to get the True Ending. There are two other endings here as well, but the requirements here are much more obvious than the way the first game handled the endings. I think folks should definitely play the first game before jumping into this one. I loved all the characters here, the combat is still a ton of fun and soundtrack is one of the best out there. The PC version does have a few bugs that need taken care of, but if you have even a passing interest in this series I think you should take the plunge. If you’re a fan of horror with a little bit a fanservice thrown in, you’ll be glad you did!
I have mixed emotions with Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break. There are nagging technical issues and the game design incorporates a game genre I despise, but I can’t deny how much fun I had with most of it. I got about six hours of entertainment out of the single player campaign alone, close to an hour of which was me begrudgingly playing the modes more focused on tower defense. $30 might be a bit much if you’re like me and aren’t as into the tower defense aspects of the game. If it goes on sale though, go right ahead and be prepared to rock and/or roll.
While I think I liked Samurai Shodown 2 a bit less than the other two Neo Geo Pocket fighters I’ve looked at, I like there is a wide range of characters with two different styles and collecting the cards adds a good amount of replay value here. I don’t think it controls quite as well as the other title, and the fight against Gandara is just plain annoying. It’s very difficult until you unlock a few cards to get an advantage. There is a rewind feature thankfully and you will be using it a lot here, I assure you. This one will set you back $7.99 as well. While I don’t think this is a bad game, I would have to recommend the other two titles over this one, since it just doesn’t have the polish of those. If you are a hardcore Samurai Shodown fan, you will still find a lot to love here.
Radical Rabbit Stew is a fun little romp through a zany, retro-themed world. Whacking rabbits around with your super spoon is a fun main mechanic, complimented by a number of others along the way. You may find yourself scratching your head a few times at some of the puzzles, but it’s definitely a good game. Perhaps its biggest flaw is that it is on the short side, but it makes up for this with a built-in level editor, allowing players to create and share their own levels! For the Steam version being reviewed here, this is done via Steam Workshop. The editor lets you select items from various wheels, similar to what Nintendo did in Mario Maker 2. Steam says I’ve spent between 6 and 7 hours in the main adventure, and that includes collecting all of the blue coins, which nets you an extra secret after the credits roll. Radical Rabbit Stew is available on the Steam Store for $15.99. You can also find it on several other platforms. Can you whack your way through all the rabbit queen’s minions and defeat her to rescue the legendary space chefs?
Generally speaking, all of this works nicely…well sort of. While the puzzles are fine, and there’s a good variety of them, there are some technical troubles. I played the game on the Nintendo Switch, and it had a rough time running the game at certain points. I remember having horrible amounts of framerate drops, especially towards the end. It’s sad, but this is a really big problem with the game. I’ve heard that it’s better on PC, but as it sits right now I did have a good time with Quench. It’s currently $19.99 on the Switch store, and I had about 5 hours worth of gameplay on it. I recommend this game if you love puzzle games, but just be wary that it has some technical issues that hold it back, at least on this console.
Carrion is a game I’ve been looking forward to for a while. And though I am more than a bit disappointed I got stuck, I’m still eager to play through again sometime soon. It’s an absolute steal at $19.99. Warts and all, this is a fascinating and wholly unique game. I’m glad as always that Devolver Digital takes chances on titles like this, and can’t wait to see what’s next from Phobia Game Studio.
Obey Me is a pretty solid overall. The combat is fast and fun, the characters quirky and while it’s a bit on the short side at just 5 hours, the rating system gives it good replay value. The game takes quite a bit of inspiration from the Devil May Cry series and makes it into its own thing, and I think this comes over very well. Performance issues on the PlayStation 4 took away from my experience just a bit, but I think if you can snag this up on PC it would be much better. The game is pretty difficult, but I think it was fair for the most part. The stage hazards are just plain overkill at times, and some of the boss battles were just a bit much. They seem pretty overpowered to me. For the $19.99 price tag if you’re a fan of this genre you’ll find a lot to love here. For everyone else, if you’re interested in trying one of these games for the first time I feel this is a good place to start.
Waifu Uncovered is a fun and simple shooter with a very unique theme. My only real complaint about the game is your hit box is entirely too big for a game of this type. This makes arcade mode basically impossible without some good luck. For the low price of $6.99 there is a lot of fun to be had here, with some replay value if you want to unlock the extra ships and such. Fans of ecchi type content will feel right at home here and should snag this up ASAP. Anyone curious about this title should just not take it too seriously. It certainly doesn’t take itself serious, and there nothing wrong with that. We all need a good laugh these days, for sure.
Fight Crab is pure insanity straight out of the gate. The combat here is very weighted and the controls feel a bit clunky, but this game is just so much fun none of that matters. You tell me another game I can take a giant crab with a battle axe and beat down a foe? Or one I can have a crab throw a Kamihameha! Goku would be proud! In all seriousness, this one may not be for everyone, but if you want something unique that really is a ton of fun to play, you can’t go wrong here at the $19.99 price tag. I spent about 3 hours or so with it and I’ve unlocked a good bit of the crabs and weapons. I’ll dig into this a lot more when the online features go live, since I feel that will give this one a ton of replay value. Though I had a lot of fun just playing the single player stages over and over to see how crazy things could get. While this may not be something we ever thought would exist, I’m certainly glad that it does. We all need something lighthearted for a good laugh right now.
Xenoblade Chronicles is one of my favorite games of all time and Nintendo has made it even better with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. The game looks amazing, the soundtrack is one of the best you will find, and the story is top tier. There really is no other franchise out there like this one, and that’s what makes it so special. While others may copy aspects of it, none can put together the whole package like Xenoblade does. At the $59.99 price tag, if you own a Switch, you should snag up a copy today. This is one journey that should not be missed by anyone!
Even as I’m writing this, taking the game in its entirety, am I struggling with my feelings for Forgotten Trace – Thanatos in Nostalgia. It has its moments of pure brilliance, but they are buried under such striking flaws. I also cannot ignore Almaz’s development of this series, as this Chapter was originally completed and released back in 2015 in Japan, meaning it has taken five years to reach this point for Western audiences on top of the fact that little progress has been seen from Almaz since. And so I find it incredibly difficult to recommend this game, both as a stand-alone visual novel, as well as the series prologue it’s meant to be. This first Chapter will leave players with a sense of ambiguity due to the lack of closure and there has been little news coming from Almaz, leading me to believe that the continuation, let alone an eventual conclusion, to this series will not happen in a reasonable amount of time. I don’t fault Fruitbat Factory for bringing this visual novel to Western audiences, but given the fluctuating quality of the original product and the assumed length of time before we may see any continuation, this might be a hard pass for many. It’s truly unfortunate, as I, myself, am enticed enough, desiring to see the Forgotten Trace series to its next installment.
Overall, Panzer Paladin was actually better than I thought it might be. It wasn’t quite perfect, but it came really damned close. If they had done things like make Remixed a bit more different than Classic, or ironed out the glitches I experienced in Tournament mode, I would have given this a perfect score. It’s a tremendous value for only $19.99, with multiple endings, tons of different modes and an adventure I won’t soon forget. I spent about 10 hours beating the game the first time, but since then have spent several more hours just enjoying the game. I always knew Tribute was capable of greatness, and I’m so glad they achieved it in Panzer Paladin. Now I just hope they have a sequel in the works, cause I want to see more from this amazing world.
How far would you go to get revenge? How much would you sacrifice for forgiveness? How do you deal with guilt when it eats you from inside? Is there a line you won’t cross, or is everything fair game to make someone else pay for your pain? None of these are easy questions with simple answers, and The Last of Us Part II doesn’t really offer a definitive answer, either. It can’t, and if it did, it would ring hollow. Instead we’re left with the wreckage of two lives spurred on by vengeance and the hope that, maybe, there is closure for the worst of us.
Ultimately, I don’t think I was the right person to review Keen: One Girl Army. It’s not horrible, and I like the ambitious scope of the adventure, but it’s also much more hardcore than I was expecting. That said, it’s attractive and has good replay value, apparently featuring a secret ending if you’re patient enough to 100% every level and unlock every Shrine. With all that in mind, Keen isn’t a bad deal for $15.99. Ultimately I think this is a good experiment from Cat Nigiri, and I hope they’re not discouraged by my thoughts. If you’re a fan of puzzles, not matter how difficult, then this is your game.
Overall I did really enjoy my time with STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town. It’s still just as good as I remember it being. If I had to pick any concern, it’s just that it’s a lot of the same. Don’t get me wrong, I still really recommend this game, even if it is $49.99. I was just hoping for something more substantial in terms of changes. I’ll still be playing and revisiting this game just like every other game in the series, and I’m glad it’s on newer hardware so I can introduce more people to it. If you’re curious, you can find the game both on Steam and the Nintendo Switch on July 14th.
Curse of the Moon 2 is great however you slice it. It’s not quite perfect, but it’s so damn close that it barely matters. For $14.99, it’s a bit pricier than the original, but still a great bargain. I enjoyed all the time I spent with the game, especially since there’s more to unlock. I have two mystery modes I’m working to open up, but even then there’s a lot of replay value here. You have multiple endings, as well as plenty of ways to progress through the game, and if a friend is close by, you can also enjoy the co-op mode, which looks really fun. You’ll even unlock cool features like the ability to play as Ultimate Zangetsu, who is even more of a badass than usual. While I would have appreciated a feature like an art gallery or bestiary showing all the enemy names, there’s very little to complain about here. If you like classic platformers and love Castlevania flavor, you absolutely need to own this game. Now I’m just hoping to get an announcement of a Curse of the Moon 3, cause frankly I enjoy these side stories more than Ritual of the Night.
Indiecalypse stands as an example of misplaced effort. Instead of being one polished game, it’s a cobbled together mess of several different incomplete builds of games. Even the Kickstarter backer list seems rushed, since none of the names are in alphabetical order. The humor isn’t dark so much as desperate and annoying to a degree that even Meet the Spartans thinks it’s overdoing it. In a way its portrayal of video game fans and developers reminds me of the movie Ready to Rumble, which is about pro wrestling and designed for its fans, but ends up depicting those fans as dumb, immature, irrational troglodytes. This game isn’t even four hours long, but not only did it feel much longer, I had to keep taking breaks every twenty minutes or so. Sometimes I just had to play something else, but usually I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling because this game’s sense of humor has that effect. $12.99 is far too much, and I’m not sure any sale price could justify ever buying this.
While it’s functional as a game, I expected more from Habroxia. That may sound unfair, but my expectation was not to breeze through everything the game had to offer in less time than a Lord of the Rings movie and feel no urge to return to any of it. What it does right, it does with no particular finesse. It’s a shooter in which I was able to get away with not shooting anything, or mindlessly holding the fire buttons on way too many occasions. Considering what else is available, not just on consoles but on PC as well, I struggle to recommend this to anyone, barring a massive discount from its $7.99 asking price.