Paranormasight makes me feel like the visual novel genre has been held back by largely adhering to a formula first created 40 years ago. It makes its evolutionary steps seem effortless, simple, and long overdue. But more importantly, it tells an excellent story that defies expectations. So, as long as you’re up for some reading and a bit of thinking, Paranormasight is one you shouldn’t miss.

I’m legitimately surprised by how 24 Killers manages to be so closely related to its influences yet still provide a unique experience. A studio’s philosophy is an intangible thing to try and mimic, but Happy Shabby Games seems to have taken 24 Killers protracted development period and nailed it. It feels like a spiritual successor, directly related to Moon. It features the same askew artstyle, a strange but relaxed soundtrack, and an atypical narrative with off-kilter dialogue. Meanwhile, it’s more player-friendly without being overly modernized or sterile. It’s great to see other developers pick up the torch, as the world could use a bit more love in it.

Looking at Figment 2 from any angle other than a strictly aesthetic one makes it seem lacking. But because it executes its sights and sounds so expertly, it’s really hard to identify where it’s lacking. It’s so well-polished and tangible passion has gone into crafting it that, so long as you have a good vector on what to expect, it’s still possibly a good time. I think I just might be too cynical and jaded to connect with its kindness and optimism.

Going into Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, you have to be prepared for an uncomfortable experience. The combat is a mire of frustration, and the controls really could have used some tender loving care. However, if you’re looking for some classic Japanese horror with a stack of cryptic narrative lore to dig through and you’re aware of what you might be in for, it’s definitely worth diving into.

Romancelvania feels a lot like an idea too grand, a team too small, and a deadline too short. There is a lot of vision, a great deal of creativity, and no shortage of love, but all of that got crushed under the reality of the workload. The whole combination of two established subgenres is a substantial experiment, and that requires a lot of prototyping, testing, failing, and starting over. Romancelvania feels like it charged ahead without looking back on a lot of things. As such, the end product is a bit of a mess...Like your own favorite hand, it gets the job done. You can accurately say that Romancelvania is both dating sim and Metroidvania. However, also like your hand, it’s ultimately an unsatisfying experience.

Prior to Lightfall, I felt Destiny was at its strongest point ever. The narrative was exceptional, the character development was unrivaled by any other FPS, and the future seemed both terrifying and wildly exciting. After Lightfall, I am still intrigued to see what happens next, but I think that lies solely with my thousands of logged hours and personal emotional investment that may not exist for new players. There is so much potential in Destiny for newcomers, but it isn’t easy to find, and Bungie often doesn’t help them along the way.

What makes Return to Castlevania better is that it essentially allows you to turn Dead Cells into a Castlevania roguelike, and a damned good one. The DLC serves as a fantastic love letter to one of the series that helped inspire Dead Cells, and that love absolutely comes across. I honestly wish that more games would let me just turn them into a Castlevania spin-off. What’s the matter, Mario? Think you’re better than Castlevania? Well, you’re not, so put on this leather cuirass and carry this whip. Wait, that sounded weird.

I want to stress that Wo Long is not going to be for everyone. It can be extremely punishing, especially if you're butting heads with the parry system. But the setting, the aesthetics, and action sensibilities from a learned team made it all worth it to push through and get over that hump.

There’s still some work to do, and I have a laundry list of things I want to see, but I have zero regrets about binging the whole thing over a single weekend. [Early Access Review]

For someone who also works in music journalism, my skills are shaky, to say the least. But, having taken the time to improve these skills, I now feel better equipped to appreciate the game for what it is: a fun, quirky, sometimes weird, and often cheesy critique of capitalism. When I was less focused on how perfectly I was playing, I had a much better time headbanging through each stage. Just give me a wider variety of music next time and I’m sold.

Saint Maker isn’t a new Perfect Gold for me. The two visual novels are different enough that they’re only barely comparable, but I just found it doesn’t demonstrate the same level of skill. Regardless of how the two titles stack up, I still very much enjoyed Saint Maker. Most of that admiration comes from how intricately stacked its themes and characters are. It has a lot to say, and it says it well....I’ll be continuing to keep my eye on Yangyang Mobile. I don’t have any specific expectations for what I want to see from them. I’m mostly just interested in where they go next.

I hope every Resident Evil game from here on out has VR support, because it’s a great long term value add. At this point you kind of know that if you’re buying into an RE project, there’s something cool coming down the line. I can get behind that!

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is a hearty tribute not only to early ’90s platformers, but to video gaming itself, offering up stress-free thrills, comedic characters, cool co-op action, and even a fistful of secrets and surprises, all visually and aurally punctuated with delightful, nostalgic style. While not as deep, as complex, nor as prestige as its inspirations, Grim Guardians achieves its humble goals handily, offering up a cheerful dose of retro action while sporting a likable personality all of its own.

If you remotely like Kirby and haven't picked any series entries up in a while, it's hard to go wrong with this one.

I admire the gusto with which Mundfish approached its debut game because it’s created one hell of a world to explore. But beyond its pristine setting and ass-kicking soundtrack, it’s largely forgettable. Maybe if the gameplay evolved beyond its basic beginnings or if the story was — I don’t know, good — I might be willing to give it another go. However, given how unlikely such a monumental change like that would be, Atomic Heart is destined to be a one-and-done type of experience.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is the definition of a day one hardware title.

Ryoma's story has finally come west, and it's well worth experiencing if you're a fan of Ryu Ga Gotoku's brawlers.

As it stands, Shadow Warrior 3 is a fine game, and the Definitive Edition will be a welcome upgrade to owners of the original console versions, but it only manages to meet expectations while also running it under a track of abrasive banter. It’s like playing skeeball while the fire alarms keep going off. It’s not a bad way to spend your time, but you might be happier if you went and found out what’s burning.

While the community will ultimately decide whether or not Wild Hearts lives on as long as any given Monster Hunter iteration, I hope it does.

Metroid Prime Remastered is a fantastic renewal of the classic GameCube title.

Mahokenshi is a decent-looking game, but it’s not that amazing. Thankfully, it’s not the most action-packed title, so a choppy framerate isn’t going to torpedo things, but it’s not something you like to see.

A hangover of abandoned game design, dressed up in unruly aesthetics and powered by cyberpunk Pat Benatar. The unforgiving gameplay and changeless, repetitious action will leave some appalled, but the radiant cast of reprobates, silly mini-games, baffling dialogue, and shameless commitment to the bit results in one of the most bewildering, hypnotic releases in some time. Simply put: Wanted: Dead is a fucking train wreck, and you better get your ticket punched.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is a testament to the power of a soundtrack, and it’s well worth the attention of any fan of Final Fantasy, music, or Final Fantasy music.

I’m hoping that TMA Games continues with the concept, whether expanding Waves of Steel with additional content and quality-of-life additions or if it moves onto a sequel that further explores the concepts they have put together here. In the meantime, I think it’s time I gave a closer look at the naval warfare subgenre. It seems like something I could sink my fleet into.

Hogwarts Legacy is a sometimes unremarkable open world game that's severely uplifted by its dedication to the best parts of the source material.

It’s a complimentary piece to Backbone, which can stand before or beside it but shouldn’t be set apart from it. However, in context, it’s a terrific addition to the series. While it isn’t as compelling or fully featured as the first act of Backbone, it is a much more solid experience. The series, as it is currently, is a lot stronger with the inclusion of Tails: The Backbone Preludes. It’s a great collection of fiction. But without Backbone, it completely lacks the ability to stand on its own.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is an astoundingly good game. There is so much creativity packed into its seven different worlds that I could not stop playing it over the past weekend because I was too excited to see what was next. This is, without a doubt, the best SpongeBob game I’ve ever played, and I hope Purple Lamp Studios keeps the keys to the license for years to come.

Competent is definitely not the worst descriptor a game can attain, but I’d be happier if Dread Templar had found a way to truly distinguish itself. When I find myself with that retro-shooter itch, I can’t see myself coming back to this one. It takes more than good gunplay to make an experience memorable, but there isn’t much more to Dread Templar than that.