Kakuchopurei
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Upon completing Sand Land, I'm left with fond memories of its narrative depth, cinematic moments, and the occasional tedious journey. Engaging with the manga version proves far more enjoyable; the adaptation could have reached greater heights, suggesting ambitious goals that fell short in execution.
Ultimately, Stellar Blade is a game that focuses on style over substance with aa developer being overly ambitious for their first AAA console title. Let's hope that SHIFT UP continues to improve with their future games because with further refinement and a more specific tight focus on sharpening and honing its good mechanics instead of mixing everything in a mess like throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks, Stellar Blade could have turned out to be a much better game.
[Tales of Kenzera: ZAU] has its hiccups, but the music scores, the vocals, the beautiful settings, its overall feel; it really makes you feel empowered. The "I CAN DO ANYTHING" kind of powerful! For a simple baby-level Metroidvania gamer like me, I enjoyed it for what it is.
Lunar Lander Beyond offers a modern take on a retro genre, making it possible for a new generation of gamers to enjoy a classic genre with new accessibility options and visuals. However, the game's physics make this title an ordeal to go through and revolves around trial and error at times. If you need a throwback to the Atari classic, it's a solid effort.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes perfectly captures the zeitgeist period of Japanese role-playing games of the late 90s, faults and all. [...] Players who yearn for the days of an epic fantasy story with solid turn-based combat & dungeon puzzle shenanigans most immersive will find a lot to love in this heartfelt tribute from the late Yoshitaka Murayama and his team Rabbit & Bear Studios.
The art style is seemingly minimalistic but that's what makes it shine. Even the music really sets the mood for your assassination. I'm honestly impressed that all this was done by a solo developer. [...] Unlike a shot in the dark, Children of the Sun is a banging good time that stimulates your puzzle senses while delivering its premise with precision.
Sons of Valhalla successfully achieves a delicate balance between the action and real-time strategy elements, but it may be overwhelming for players who are not accustomed to this hybrid genre. Despite the difficulty level options, it can be frustrating for new players to endure the game and constantly lose and regain a base in repetitive cycles.
Dragon's Dogma 2 may not be for everyone, but if you want a fantasy role-playing game with all the thrills and excitement (and caveats) that make you want to better yourself and get immersed in, sink your teeth into this monster mash. Though if you just got off the first game and the Dark Arisen expansion pretty recently, you may want to wait until the game gets a discount. If you're fresh in, go for it with dragonfire-tempered expectations.
With great controls, a decent learning curve, and fun levels and lovely aesthetics, Pepper Grinder fills in the short-but-sweet arcade gaming niche that we love out of a twitch-based indie offering. Drill out!
All in all, Bears in Space is honestly an amazing game just to kick up and shoot the crap out of things, while also being entertained with its brand of humour. Think High On Life but actually solid in the gameplay department and arguably more funny!
It may have taken over ten years to finally come out, but Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is an unforgiving experience that will either make or break players. Success relies heavily on personal skill, luck, and meticulously planning every move to ensure survival until the very end. Yes, all the points I've made mostly sound negative but if you're the type who love a devilish challenge, I recommend this title. Otherwise, there are others that are much more lenient for players new to the roguelike genre. Like I said earlier, it's under the "love it or really hate it" category of niche entries.
Rise Of The Ronin is Team Ninja's best title to date, perhaps on par with Nioh 2. It's not the most revolutionary title, but the developer continues to shape the Souls-like genre into their own distinctive style and that continues with this latest game. If you're looking for a meaty historical open-world game that's not too difficult but still provides a bit of a challenge, Rise Of The Ronin is that game.
Death Trick: Double Blind really did keep me in suspense, and I was impatient to figure out who did it in this mystery storyline. But like I said, this is definitely what you want in a mystery visual novel; the sense of guessing and well-woven narrative that keeps you in suspense! You feel completely involved, and makes you feel like an ace detective even for a second. In all honestly, I still can't find anything jarringly negative to say about this visual novel because I genuinely enjoyed every lovingly written & designed part of it.
Let's just say that with all that's on tap here and experienced for 20+ hours, I'll be sticking around for this timesink.
Ultimately, Unicorn Overlord excels in its graphics and art style. However, the gameplay is mostly just fun for a few hours before it devolves to becoming stale due to repetitiveness and a lot of insignificant mechanics (dating sim-like Rapport, etc.) that don't affect the gameplay. On the surface, it looks pretty excellent, but the final 40+ hour experience from start to finish makes you feel like playing a mobile game.
Berserk Boy wears its inspiration loud and proud; our main character Kei even has afterimages from dashing similar to the Mega Man Zero/ZX series. True, it has some audio issues and requires you to play it to perfection for the best outcome, but that's the norm for these kinds of retro-styled titles that try their best to cater towards hardcore platformer audiences. And for a game of this calibre to be made by one solo developer? That is a helluva achievement. If you need a speedy 2D platforming challenge with a nifty Mega Man-inspired soundtrack (and suit-changing gameplay), Berserk Boy will sort you out.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a huge improvement over FFVII Remake because it doesn’t need to stretch the 3-hour closed portion of its source material to the point of insane padding. Unfortunately, the last quarter of the game’s plot is really not doing it for me and falls flat, thus derailing the entire narrative that opens up more questions and answers. Regardless, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an ambitious and well-made take on a huge chunk of a 1997 JRPG wonderchild and does justify the purchase of the PlayStation 5 for what it offers. Final Fantasy VII fans from back than and the remake will find a lot to love and cherish here. Just make sure you’ve done your homework before jumping in.
Penny's Big Breakaway is a godsend for those who lost all hope for 3D platformers making it big. While I'm not a fan of the main character's aesthetic and the last few levels being pretty buggy, the overall game & experience were given a lot of care and thought by Evening Star. Besides, gameplay & level design matters, and this yo-yo-centric misadventure has it in spades, along with some charm and boppin' tunes to jive to courtesy of composer Tee Lopes. If you love 3D platformers and can't get enough of replaying the same levels over and over for the best times & scores possible while finding out new platforming tricks with yo-yo-style shenanigans, this one will do it for you.
The Matchmaker Agency has the potential to shoot further with its cupid arrow but falls short in its many flaws. Although love knows no boundaries, this agency failed to make a lasting impression to make for a meaningful relationship.
Skull And Bones' sailing and naval combat are solid and well-made from the get-go. Unfortunately, it isn't enough to carry the entire game and its insane "quadruple A" price tag. Whether it's the lacklustre storytelling, the shallow gameplay mechanics, or the uninspired multiplayer, there's no denying that Skull and Bones fails to live up to the hype. And as players lower their anchors and bid farewell to this ill-fated voyage, one can't help but wonder what could have been if only Ubisoft's higher-ups and management had dared to chart a course less travelled.