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Despite my complaints, I really did enjoy playing The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics. As a fan of the genre, I found a lot to appreciate, despite my lack of familiarity with the source material. Though I can’t say this with certainty, since there’s no in-game timer, I estimate I spent about 22 hours playing through the game. Once you beat it, you unlock a New Game+, though I didn’t have enough time to test that out. Though it’s relatively linear, I felt I got my money’s worth for $19.99. If you’re a fan of tactics games, I’d say AoRT is worth the price of admission, even if I hope it gets some DLC to flesh things out and fix the quirks.
TRINOLINE is a visual masterpiece with a dramatic story that’ll leave you in tears. Regardless of the few glaring issues, this is undoubtedly a must-read. It will take a lot of stamina to power through the low points of the story, but once you get there, you’ll experience something truly incredible. My game clock informs me that I spent 33 hours reading this which justifies the $34.95 price point. Pick it up today on MangaGamer and Steam and once you’re done prepare yourself mentally for the next endeavor.
I have to say I really had a blast with Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout. The combat is fast and fun. The gathering and alchemy work more seamlessly and the story and characters are all top notch. If I had a minor complaint, I just felt this story wasn’t quite as strong as some of the others in the franchise, but it’s still top notch. I spent about 35 hours with the game and with post game you could easily get another 6 hours or so. It’s well worth the $59.99 asking price. If they built off the great mechanics found here for the next game, this series will only get stronger and better for years to come. I personally think that’s a wonderful thing, and very much look forward to the next adventure.
Sparklite is a fun little game lifting inspiration from games like The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past and Rogue Legacy. It’s not a particularly hard game unless you’re not strong enough for something just yet. After a while, you’ll have seen most of the screens the game can generate in the world, and then the world will start to become a bit less interesting and repetitive. I’ve had a fun time with Sparklite anyway, though. It is an interesting spin on Zelda-esque gameplay. I say Zelda-eque, because this is not really a Zelda clone. It just borrows a few core design ideas from that series rather than trying to be that series. It basically melds some bits of the classic Zelda formula with a bit of rogue-like and other elements. I’ve spent nearly 20 hours in Geodia at this point, and have mostly completed the game (minus a few side quest things and achievements). Sparklite is available on Steam for $24.99, or you can get the Deluxe Edition for a little more if you want the soundtrack and digital art book. You can also get Sparklite on Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. This review is based on the PC version. Can you overcome the obstacles ahead and save Geodia from the greedy baron?
In summation, I still rather enjoyed KUNAI. I just wish it was a longer experience with a more coherent plot. That said, there’s tons of charm and humor here, and plenty of challenging and satisfying gameplay. Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong for only $16.99. I admire TurtleBlaze for this first Metroidvania, and even though it’s not perfect, I think it could be the starting point to many other tremendous projects. If you’re a fan of the genre, I’d say you owe it to yourself to pick this up.
Black Future ’88 surprised me quite a bit. It’s a very rewarding and addicting game, and you’ll catch yourself saying “just one more run” every time you die. Its short length and fast pace makes it very conducive to replaying, and unlike some rogue-likes, it’s fun to play pretty much immediately. Even in a genre where a game like Dead Cells stands tall, this can certainly stand on its own merits. If you like rogue-likes and platforming action games even a little bit, this is an easy recommendation. It’s $20 on Steam and the Nintendo Switch eShop, and even though a successful run lasts 18 minutes or less, you can easily sink 10+ hours into it.
If you are a fan of Shmups buying Jamestown+ is a no brainer. The game looks and plays like a dream. The soundtrack is one of the best you will find and having local multiplayer makes this a joy for folks that like to play games with their friends. I do wish this had online multiplayer since not all of us live close to friends we can easily snag up to play. I played this for around 5 hours and I was able to beat all of the stages the game had to offer, but I could’ve invested a lot more time if I wanted to unlock everything the game had to offer and complete all of the challenges, making it well worth the $17.99 price point. If you’ve been looking for a Shmup to test your skills or just a good game to play with some friends, you really couldn’t go wrong picking this up.
All in all, I’m still very much a fan of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE after beating Encore. It’s basically the same game, just with a bit of extra content thrown in and some minor quality of life improvements such as the Quick Session option and faster load times. While I was ultimately unimpressed with the EX Story, I still appreciate being able to play one of my favorite Wii U exclusives on my Switch portably. If you’re a fan of Japanese culture and love crazy RPGs full of heart, you owe it to yourself to play Encore. Now I just have to cross my fingers and pray we get a true sequel that improves on this already fantastic experience.
Virgo Versus the Zodiac is an adorably charming rampage across the galaxy. A memorable main heroine worth making that emotional investment in, an impressive transformation of traditional game mechanics into the unique, and an aesthetic style all its own, Virgo Versus the Zodiac delivers an unforgettable experience. A single playthrough will take about 20 hours and provide plenty of reasons to replay well beyond. A hidden gem, this star yet shines dazzlingly bright.
All and all, Jupiter & Mars brings with it a very good message and an eco friendly agenda, but forgets to bring a game worthy of that message with it. It even has videos in the game advertising nautical wildlife preserves and their association with this, so it’s pretty clearly meant to bring with it a message. The intent of the message, however, is a very positive one. It almost feels a little like a movie game, except this one has no movie. Whether that’s good enough reason to drop some money on this $25 PS Store title, I’ll leave up to you. I do believe some of the proceeds made from the sales goes to the nature organizations it’s associated with, so you can take comfort in the fact you also donated to charity. Sounds like a win win to me.
I definitely recommend getting Tokyo Dark -Remembrance- on either Switch or the PS4 when it comes out later in 2020, or even the original version on Steam. The game is about $19.99 right now, which is a little bit steep, but I think you’ll enjoy it if you love either of the genres it’s a part of. I had a blast with the game, and managed to get about 6 hours out of the whole thing. Pick this up if you need a nice little horror/mystery game to go through
Bug Fables starts out as a totally fine homage to Paper Mario, but as you play the game you realize that the game has a lot to offer. If you really want something in that sort of ballpark, this game is definitely worth your time. If you don’t like Paper Mario specifically, then its a bit harder to recommend. It’s currently $20 on Steam, and beating it will likely take around 30-35 hours, and if you’re a completionist, it can easily get over 40 hours. I think it’s a little too long for its own good, but still worthwhile.
Overall, Ghost Parade reminds me a lot of games I played on the SNES and PS2. As a kid, I would’ve loved this game, having great nostalgia in adulthood. Yet here I am as an adult, unable to look past the very flaws I could’ve overlooked as a kid. As such, the game feels like it was made with love, but pulled down by inexperience. Having played this game for five hours, it feels the game falls just short for the $39.99 price tag. Instead, I would say wait for a sale to come along. I hope the developers who made this game makes another title. Experience is experience after all, and I am sure if they can overcome their flaws,they can craft a fantastic game in the future.
Overall, Heroland is a fun little game. After a while it starts to become a bit grindy, though. You need engaging gameplay when things get grindy, and I feel like this game falls a bit short in that area. The tours feel more bland when you are just replaying them, and they take a bit too long due to the relatively slow pacing. The story dialogue only happens the first time you do a tour, which makes subsequent runs a bit faster. There are lots of hero characters to unlock and level up. The game also has tons of treasure items to collect (plushies, weapon replicas, and furniture for your room). So there is definitely plenty here to keep you busy for a long while. Heroland is available on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $39.99. You can also find it on PC (Steam) or on the PlayStation 4 store. Can you uncover Heroland‘s dark past, or will you be forced to work here for eternity?
Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san! A River City Ransom Story is a fun, if not frustrating at times, spin-off of the Kunio-kun games. However, as a game designed to be played through several times, often completing vague objectives to get certain endings or rankings, it quickly lost its charm for me. If you’re confident the gameplay loop won’t get old, the $13.99 asking price will probably seem like a good deal. Otherwise, I’d look elsewhere to get your fix of high schoolers beating up other high schoolers and/or time travelers.
In the end, Super Crush KO isn’t quite an indie classic, but it also has some shining points. Though the plot is almost non-existent, the characters are cute. The combat is amazing when it isn’t slowed down by some awkward design, and it can flow very well. And the art is tremendously engaging. While I do feel $14.99 is a bit pricey for a game I beat in a little over two hours, I still am glad I got to cover it. Vertex Pop has the bones of an amazing game here, and I’m hopeful their next title reaches its full potential. If you like cute and colorful games and don’t mind something short and sweet, then I’d check out Super Crush KO.
Honestly, for only $9.99 you get a great experience with Cthulhu Saves Christmas. It’s a very solid RPG with lots of laughs and good mechanics. Though I do miss some features from the first game, it overall does a good job of streamlining things for the better. More than anything, I just wanted reasons to keep playing in this universe. Any sort of unlockables, optional dungeons or hidden bosses would have been very welcome. Though my time with the game wasn’t exactly short, I kept finding myself wishing this was a 30-40 hour game. And while the ending was a bit of a disappointment, I still find myself hoping we get another entry to make this a trilogy. All in all, I’m happy with the latest from Zeboyd Games, and hope we don’t have to wait very long for Cthulhu’s next adventure.
I have to say overall I had a great time with GENSOU Skydrift. The racing was fast, fluid and just a lot of fun. The graphics and artwork are outstanding. The game runs at a solid framerate no matter if the Switch is docked or in handheld mode. I polished off the campaign mode in just a few hours, but I spent about 4 or 5 more playing around on all the tracks with friends and CPU racers. The $23.99 price tag might seem a little steep, but this is a quality racing game. If you’re a Touhou fan I think you will find a lot to love here, and if you’re a racing fan looking for a solid title this might just be your cup of tea as well.
While I didn’t touch on everything found in VenusBlood Frontier International I feel this is a pretty good overview of how the game flows. While this combat sounds complicated it’s really not once you start playing and is actually highly addictive. I haven’t had this much fun with an SRPG in many years. The story here is top notch and I loved all of the characters found here. This is one of the few times I can say a game truly met my expectations, and I sincerely hope Ninetails will bring more of these titles to the West. For the $40 you’re getting 100+ hours of solid gameplay and story in a game that has some of the best music and artwork I’ve seen in a long time. This is a must own for visual novel fans and SRPG players alike.
Devil’s Hunt is a game that knows the look of a high-quality video game, but stumbles on most other fronts. It has the skeleton of the game in place, but struggles to flesh things out beyond that. Clocking in at about six hours, it’s a mostly functional package that takes a grandiose story as its base and delivers something less bombastic. Hopefully Desmond can get his act together should another installment come to fruition.