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As an experience, LUNA The Shadow Dust is genuinely profound. An intriguing, mystery brimming story brought to life through fantastic, whimsical aesthetics. Its brilliance is only marred by its missteps in gameplay, which cannot be ignored. The price of around $20 (US) for about five hours of play may discourage, yet the abundance of talent and imagination more than make up for it. If you’re willing to open yourselves to this encompassing experience, then the rich cinematics, the sheer force of the visuals, and the immensity of the sound score will all immerse and awe. Embrace it, and Luna The Shadow Dust may just leave you speechless.
Overall, notwithstanding nitpicks here and there, Mary Skelter 2 is wonderful. This game can take roughly forty to fifty hours to complete depending on work order completion and difficulty. That said, this game also has a remake of the first game that comes with the package, with a new scenario at that. At a price point of $39.99, this is an astounding value. With Mary Skelter Finale recently announced, there is perhaps no better time to jump in and play what both games have to other. Oprainfall’s review of the first game was already highly praised and I would be ashamed if I gave it any lower than that.
I enjoyed my time with ORANGEBLOOD. It is very rough around the edges and while the story is not a very optimistic one, the style and flavor that the world of hardened criminals and punk city aesthetic has going for it, is something I had a lot of fun with. I would like to see what the developers can come up with again though, maybe with a more cohesive story, a more likeable protagonist, or strictly speaking, more resources to make a bigger game in this style. I got plenty of hours out of ORANGEBLOOD. It took me about 12-15 hours to finish and 20 to complete those pesky chests and extra items to search for. With an asking price of $19.99 you will get your money’s worth in my opinion. This game was so close to being something really special, I urge you to give it a try if you’re intrigued by the setting or need an RPG with a different style going for it.
Still, I do think the DLC is well worth it if you like Dead Cells. It’s more of a good game, and I’d argue that it’s some of the better content, at least as far as the early game goes. The weapons are all really fun too. It’s $5, and even though you can technically see all of the content within 20 minutes, this is a rogue-like. You’re gonna be replaying it quite a lot, and on a larger timescale, which adds quite a lot of variety. The base game is $25, and while that might seem somewhat steep for what the game is, I’ve put over a hundred hours into the game, so it’s well worth it.
There’s a lot to like about SC5VR, but it’s definitely geared toward fans of the series. Newcomers to VR will find an easy rhythm game with a low barrier of entry and style oozing from every pore, but rhythm players wanting a challenge may need to look elsewhere. Still, if you have access to a VR system, I suggest at least giving Kinda Funky News Flash! a gander. It’s is available for PlayStation VR for $39.99 USD. The game requires the PlayStation Camera and two Move controllers. Grounding eventually plans to release versions for the HTC Vive, SteamVR, and oculus quest.
Ultimately, I feel there were tons of cool ideas on display here and tons of charm, but that it wasn’t fully realized. Vitamin Connection is still a fun experience, and I appreciate the creativity. I just feel that perhaps some features required more time in the oven, so to speak. Honestly though, for only $19.99, it’s hard to take too much fault with the experience. I’d say if you want to support a cool indie company, you should give it a go. Just be ready for a steeper challenge than you might expect.
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD is a fun little game. Some bosses are much harder to capture alive than others, but most are fairly easy when you know how. It should also be noted that there is a harder difficulty mode for those that seek to test their mettle against tougher foes. I’ve spent 20 hours chasing outlaws and kicking butt. Sometimes your butt is the one that gets kicked, though! You’ll need to be careful when an area has numerous enemies in it or clusters of them. Otherwise, you’ll die super-fast. Against smaller numbers, the bounty hunter is a force to be reckoned with. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD is available digitally on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $29.99, and it looks like a physical release is coming later this year. The HD version of the game can also be found on a few other platforms. Do you have what it takes to catch nasty outlaws alive, or will you be the one bagged?
At the end of the day I feel like Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire is well worth your coin. It’s a fun and customizable Shmup that anyone can pick and play and that vets will be able to challenge themselves with as well. The story is pretty insane at times, but I had a blast with it. The music is really good and there were no technical problems here that I could find. If you’ve ever had a passing interest in this genre, do yourself a favor and pick up this gem.
All in all, I really enjoyed playing through Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo. For $39.99, you get 6 distinct, entertaining and challenging games. Though I didn’t play it in TATE mode or multiplayer, I had a fun time. Thankfully, you can tweak things to make the experience more palatable to your tastes. While I miss features like galleries and sound tests, I still would highly recommend this collection. I spent probably 5 hours playing through all the games, though there’s plenty of replay value to get all those endings. The name Psikyo is legendary for good reason, and this serves as a wonderful tribute to their legacy.
As much as I like the world and story of The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters, as well as most of the gameplay, I can’t overlook how much it felt like the game was being padded with fetch quests and picky event triggers. I lasted eight hours on the first go, but had to keep taking breaks every 30-40 minutes or so because I could only do so much backtracking or scanning of every wall in every room for hints before needing to do something, anything else. For those with a higher tolerance for it, the $15 asking price (or about $23 for a deluxe bundle with the artbook, soundtrack and two DLC costumes) should be well worth it. After all, someone needs to help Mina out so she doesn’t have to settle for a disappointing B on her exams. Yes, really.
This game is weird to me. It’s very long, and has a lot of boring activities/fluff that makes it annoying to play sometimes. But in all honesty, the game is just too charming to put down. Its style, score, and even length are all so deliciously Dragon Ball that it puts a smile on my face. I’ve put more than 50 hours into this game, and just keep coming back. This feels more like a love letter to Dragon Ball than a game, and honestly I’m okay with that. There’s nothing technically wrong with it, other than some minor frame drops, and it even has a Compendium of information and collectibles from across the Dragon Ball world, including some of the old card game from the Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game. Every last detail, even the title cards with narration, just makes me feel like I’m a kid again watching my favorite Saturday morning show. I can’t really recommend this game unless you’re both a die hard Dragon Ball and RPG fan, and also feel like spending $59.99 on a story you’ve probably seen thousands of times. But if you are like me, I think you’ll find a lot to enjoy about this game, despite all of its flaws. From the second that “Cha-La Head-Cha-La” starts blaring, to the image of Goku staring out over the wilderness, I guarantee it’ll spark joy inside you. It truly is the best example of a Dragon Ball Z video game.
I have to say Granblue Fantasy: Versus exceeded my expectations by miles. There is a great amount of single player content. RPG Mode is a ton of fun. The story is pretty basic but it’s fun for old players to see some of their favorites in a new adventure and a great introduction for new players. The gameplay is easy enough for anyone to pick up on and deep enough for advance players to still have fun with. This game is just simply a lot of fun. If you have a passing interest in Granblue Fantasy you should pick this up. If you’re a fan of fighting games looking for something different I think you will find a lot to love here as well!
Overall, I loved Nioh 2 as it provided many of the same positives as the first game. I am having a hard time deciding which I prefer, since both have their own merits. What this game has over the previous is a better tool set, be it the yokai abilities or the tinkered abilities lending to neat attack chains, and a better assortment of yokai to face. With twenty main missions and numerous sub missions to go through, the $59.99 price tag is well worth it. After all, I put in over 40 hours total and that number will only continue to rise. If future DLC allows the game to evolve to even greater heights, then this could become one of my personal favorite games of the year.
Overall I very much enjoyed my time with Afterparty. The world was gorgeous and filled with likeable, interesting characters. It tackled themes I found particularly compelling, and the dialogue options offer a lot of replayability. I would actually love to go back and see if I can’t get some different outcomes from the ones I got my first playthrough. It’s light on gameplay, but this is a game I would definitely recommend for those who enjoy narrative experiences.
Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is one of the best collections like this I’ve seen. The port work was all quality and you can tell the team really wanted these to come out as close to perfect as possible. Fans of classic Shmups should be all over this one. They will definitely find a lot to love here. These game are pretty short and you can run through them in a few hours, but there is a ton of replay value as you challenge yourself to do better at each game. The $39.99 price tag might be a bit steep for casual fans, but I feel like the quality is here. This one is worth your coin if want to get into some classic Bullet-Hell goodness.
Overall, I am happy that NIS America brought new life to two classic games in Langrisser I & II. Sure, it’s not perfect, and there’s many archaic oddities, but I had a good time. My biggest complaints were a lack of a timeline or registry showing your achieved endings, and something that made it more apparent how to recruit certain characters. In my 36 hour playtime, I probably encountered only 16 of the total 33 playable characters and approximately half of the 50 classes. Even then, for $49.99 you get good bang for your buck, and tons of replay value in Langrisser I & II.
It’s clear that Shenmue III is a game that wants to please the fans and it’s clear a lot of effort was put in ensuring this experience is the one we would have had on the Dreamcast back then. They even bothered to get Corey Marshall to reprise his role as Ryo for the English audio track. However, the game trips over itself in its execution. Shenmue III is so stuck in the past and in its own bad habits that it forgot it needs to move on. Shenmue III is very much “more Shenmue” in that it’s certainly a continuation of the story, but its also not taking many significant steps in moving it or the gameplay forward. Yu Suzuki had a rather grand vision for the future of the series but for fans to have waited this long only to get a small glimpse of that vision and continue to be teased about it is incredibly disappointing. It feels like him and his team are constantly building hype for things we can expect in the future games without ever actually delivering on it. And while it’s true that in the past, he wasn’t entirely at fault due to the fate of the Dreamcast, I have a very hard time excusing it here.
Despite some qualms here and there, I overall enjoyed my time with Banner of the Maid. It’s not exactly the best in its genre, but it manages to carve out its own niche. Its a rather unexplored time period in video games. Most RPGs and SRPGs tend to just go for a medieval fantasy setting, or sci-fi setting, so something like this manages to stand out. It’s $17 on Steam, which is a very fair price for this. I could recommend this if you’re wanting a SRPG and can forgive a rough localization.
Eredia: The Diary of Heroes is indeed quite the memorable epic and very much a hidden gem. An intriguing set of dramas intertwining, some fantastic characters whom I look forward to revisiting, stellar writing with plenty of humor, and a jam-packed journey that will never leave you bored, Eredia’s entire experience is an impressive one. Although it’s a long way from perfect, it’s most definitely on its way to becoming an exceptional story and series. Eredia: The Diary of Heroes absolutely captivated me, spurring my excitement and desire for its next chapter.
Arc of Alchemist has all the ingredients of a good game, but something went very wrong in the cooking process. The characters are all pretty well written and I think they are the most interesting part of this title. The main story is rushed a bit in places and very predictable. The combat itself isn’t bad, but it’s pretty basic overall and gets stale quickly. The graphics look decent and the open areas fit the the story well, but the performance takes a huge hit in later areas. The game is pretty short, most folks will probably wrap this one up in around 10 hours, and you can add some time to that if you decide to go new game+ or get the true ending. The flaws make this one pretty hard to justify at its $39.99 price tag, but if you’re looking for a decent adventure with some funny and interesting characters, this would be one to consider during a decent sale.