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The Lullaby of Life exemplifies everything that a cozy and relaxed game should be. The art style and sound design are impeccable, and the difficulty curve is gradual and well-designed. Best of all, the game doesn’t hold your hand and lets you figure it out on your own. Dare I say, The Lullaby of Life is one of 2024’s coziest games.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a game that tries to do a lot, but is only at its best in being a great game to play. While having a story component that feels mostly unnecessary to the experience and is not going to be what I recommend buying the game for. The shadow form mechanic is so interwoven into the entire game, from the enemies to the gadgets, and upgrades in-between. With so many awesome open area levels and expertly designed closed-in ones, I loved my experience in Ereban: Shadow Legacy. I just wish there was less noise, and more allowing me to just slither around and enjoy its gameplay endlessly.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes does a great job of bridging JRPG fans of the past to the present day. It provides an engaging story that immerses the player and evokes different emotions. Every single character is detailed and designed with the utmost care. There is so much to do in this game that you can put hundreds of hours into it and the replayability is endless. As a huge Suikoden fan, this spiritual successor gets my stamp of approval. This was Yoshitake Murayama’s last project before he sadly passed away and he can be proud he created a gaming masterpiece and an all-time masterclass in JRPGs.
There is a lot to love in Rise of the Ronin and it is a valiant first crack at an open world for Team Ninja. The gameplay and combat shine the brightest here. It does a good job of keeping you in the flow of combat. The side content is a checklist of things to do, but it serves its purpose to supplement the combat, which is a frenetic and brutal dance.
Spending many hours speeding through raceways, I can safely say this is more of a hole-in-one than a boogie. Strong game feel, enjoyable mechanics, and well-designed raceways give Turbo Golf Racing a firm place in the ball-focused racing genre.
Anyone who played the original Final Fantasy 7 must check out this game. Likewise, anyone who enjoyed Remake back in 2020 should continue that story here. Rebirth serves many roles very well. It excels as a JRPG, a sequel, and a modern-generation video game. We may still be early in the year, but this is an instant Game of the Year contender.
When I heard about Berserk Boy initially a few years ago, I instantly was curious. Strong art direction and gameplay channeling two franchises, Sonic and Mega Man, is such a strong concept. Building on X’s Dash ability and giving it that Sonic attitude, I couldn’t wait to play this. Being given the opportunity to review this was amazing and it lived up to my lofty expectations. Minor audio issues with the voice action do very little to stop this storm. Strong core gameplay, impressive level design, striking 16-bit art direction, and an amazing score all come together to create one of 2024’s best games. I can’t wait to see how Berserk Boy Games builds on this strong foundation for their next classic in the making.
Despite a long hiatus, the Alone in the Dark remake is a solid offering in a long-dormant franchise. It does borrow heavily from modern survival horror titles but still manages to create its own distinctive experience. It’s clear that a lot of attention went into rendering both David Harbour and Jodie Comer into their characters. Fortunately, that gambit paid off well in a concise package with decent gameplay and story beats to match.
Going into this charming indie game, I was excited by the strong visual identity and musical score. But I came away feeling flat. The strong presentation, great audio design, and unique mechanics do not make up for unfair challenges and needlessly punishing players for playing on lesser difficulties. If you are willing to give Popslinger a chance and fight back against the foam, you might enjoy the otherwise sweet soda beneath.
Persona 3 Reload more than exceeded my expectations. Its original emotionally charged story, themes, and setting were followed to a T with new moments throughout that fleshed out its villains and various members of SEES was a welcomed surprise. Its renewed combat system was refreshing and Tartarus felt more alive and enjoyable to explore. There is a ton of replay value with its new game plus and an emotional ending I can never forget. There is not a single thing I would change about this game in the slightest and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Sonic Frontiers takes lessons from games across the industry and puts its own spin on them. For the first time in many, many years Sonic Team united varied elements into a cohesive package. Breathtaking soundtrack, bold steps forward on a core formula, and spectacular boss fights dash past pop-in and difficulty issues to create the best Sonic game in many years.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth feels like the culmination of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku’s efforts over the past decade to create a bombastic franchise that is rich in personality and action. The game’s engaging combat, stunning locales, and a dense assortment of side content and mini-games, all help to ensure Infinite Wealth is a good time from start to finish. Some issues with the story’s pacing are quickly forgotten when players begin to immerse themselves in the game’s world, and not a minute of time spent feels wasted. It’s not easy for a franchise to continuously reinvent itself while keeping things fresh and modern, but Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth does exactly that. The series is going from strength to strength, and Ryu Ga Gotoku’s biggest problem right now is likely trying to figure out how exactly it will raise the bar even further next time.
Banishers Ghosts of New Eden adheres to a scope that DON’T NOD is comfortable with and sticks to it well. The game has decent combat with cryptic haunting cases to solve. Despite a lot of attention placed on the post-mortem love story, don’t expect it to be the next Romeo and Juliet any time soon.
It’s clear a lot of love and attention to detail that went into creating Suicide Squad. Despite some narrative shortcomings, the game has that tried-and-true world-building and characters that Rocksteady is known for. The moment-to-moment gameplay is phenomenal and feels great with a performance to match. The end game seems promising and has a solid foundation. Though some technical issues persist, mission/enemy variety and interesting loot and designs will only propel the game further. With a clear year-one roadmap already established, Suicide Squad is undoubtedly Rocksteady’s most ambitious and deepest game to date.
Make no mistake, Tekken 8 is one of the finest offerings in the long-running series. It offers plenty of modes to keep you busy while making it welcoming to both newcomers and vets alike. Dare I say, Tekken 8 is the best iteration since the ground-breaking Tekken 3.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an exercise to not judge a book by its cover. Many, including me, assumed it would be Far Cry, except with Na’vi. But in reality, the game is a meticulously crafted game that stands on its own from its source material. It doesn’t bring many new features to the table, but it does provide a solid experience that brings Pandora to life in ways well beyond what movies are capable of.
The original Turok 3 was released during an awkward time. Sandwiched between the tail end of the Nintendo 64 life cycle and right before the release of the PlayStation 2, it likely passed many players’ radar. However, like their previous offerings, Nightdive Studio did a tremendous job bringing back a forgotten gem to modern audiences. If you slept on Turok 3 in 2000, make sure to not pass up it again in 2023.
Persona 5 Tactica is an excellent strategy game. The combat feels fast and fluid despite its turn-based nature in varied and interesting stages throughout. There’s also plenty of variety in the character roster and customization via the personas and skill trees. The story felt like its own thing while never overstaying its welcome with awesome new characters. As well as having condensed and easy-to-navigate menus to not bog down the game. It is a very easy recommendation to those who have completed Persona 5 Royal and want a very streamlined introduction to the strategy genre. Considering the game even on normal or hard feels manageable, due to mastery of its amazing combat system that is just as enjoyable as the rest of the game
Lost Eidolons has many great things going for it. However, it isn’t perfect by any means. Despite its issues, its positive aspects triumph overall. The story always kept pulling me in and evoking emotions that not many games can do for me these days. Lost Eidolons is a game that might take some time to get attached to. But once you get in the swing of things, it hooks you, and you’re in for the ride. Lost Eidolons is available on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC platforms. The game has an MSRP of $34.99 which is a great price for how much I enjoyed the game.
Originally conceived as a spin-off, and spending just 6 months in development, Like a Dragon Gaiden could well have found itself sitting among the series’ more forgettable entries. To the contrary, though, Ryu Ga Gotoku seemed determined not to let this happen. Instead filling Gaiden to the brim with things to see and do, mini-games large and small, a meaningful narrative, and even a brand-new combat style. While it doesn’t tear up the playbook of what to expect from a Like a Dragon game, it does everything you’d expect it to do extremely well. It even finds room for a couple of welcome new additions in the Agent gadgets and engaging Castle setting. It is clearly meant to serve as a stop-gap before the imminent arrival of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth in January 2024. But Gaiden does more than enough to appease fans old and new, filling in some crucial blanks for the series’ often convoluted narrative, and serving as a great swansong for Kazuma Kiryu. The Like a Dragon series continues to ride the crest of a wave at the moment, and all eyes will now be on Infinite Wealth as it looks to continue this trend.