IGN Japan's Scores

  • Games
For 439 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 8% same as the average critic
  • 39% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.9 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 79
Highest review score: 100 Pokemon Pokopia
Lowest review score: 25 The Quiet Man
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 5 out of 439
439 game reviews
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    CODE VEIN II isn’t merely an evolution into an open-field format; it’s a carefully refined follow-up that identifies and polishes the weaker elements of its predecessor. The revamped Buddy System in particular feels like a true innovation, transformed into something entirely new that brilliantly balances tension with a strong sense of camaraderie in battle. The story, however, leans heavily on repetition and often lacks emotional impact. Even so, thanks to its many user-friendly features, CODE VEIN II stands as a Soulslike—indeed, an Elden-like—that can be confidently recommended to a wide range of players.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 69 Critic Score
    Koei Tecmo’s attempt to drastically change the Dynasty Warrior series has resulted in a mediocre game. While I appreciated what they went for, sadly Dynasty Warriors 9 does not quite do the job.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Like No More Heroes, Scott Pilgrim and Kick-Ass, YIIK: Postmodern RPG features a nerd as its protagonist – but it’s nice to finally see one who doesn’t eventually become cool. The game is well presented, with eye-catching toon-shaded visuals, a great soundtrack and a deep story. We would have preferred more strategy in battles, while a few bugs sully the experience slightly.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    In the end, fans of the series will be able to appreciate the game's story. But the game has so many flaws that it's hard to recommend it to anyone else.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    While the controls leave a lot of room for improvement, Pascal’s Wager: Definitive Edition is a Souls-like game that offers sufficiently high quality.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Metal Unit is a treasure hunting experience that creates excitement and tension by implementing the risk of losing your items, and it also comes with a light-novel-esque story. While it’s not for everyone, Metal Unit does appeal to a certain kind of gamer. It’s too bad that there’s lots of room for improvement in the Japanese localization.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    From creating your own character to a wide array of vehicles and a unique world, there’s a lot to love in Biomutant – which makes its shallowness all the more disappointing. The inconsistent battle system and the amount of bugs doesn’t make things any better. While the game certainly knows how to hook you, the fun doesn’t last very long.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 87 Critic Score
    Last Labyrinth is a VR puzzle adventure with a wide array of interesting gimmicks and unique presentation. If you want to truly understand the story, be ready for a lot of repetition, but in the end that effort will be well worth it.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 77 Critic Score
    What makes The Sinking City unique is that it really feels like you’re investigating while struggling with hallucinations and madness as you step foot inside the world of Cthulhu mythos. If that sounds like your cup of tea, definitely give it a chance. However, after you get used to the gameplay you will notice that as a game, The Sinking City feels like too much of the same. An open-world design was not the ideal direction to take for this developer specialized in a specific genre.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa might look like an old-fashioned belt-scroller, but it is actually an open-world game full of life and… well, philosophy! There’s plenty of dialogue, and the way the story is told through everyday life events at school and in your neighborhood feels like real life. The game’s systems aren’t well explained, which will catch many gamers off-guard at first, but its climax has a lasting impact that is worth experiencing.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Forspoken is an ambitious title that builds both its fluid movement and its battle system around the concept of magic. From comfortable exploration to speedy combat, this unique open world action RPG has plenty of appeal, and its story that depicts the spiritual growth of its young New Yorker protagonist is immersive. That being said, the game does have issues, such as a lack of variety in side quests and a hub area that takes too much time to navigate through.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Call of the Wild: The Angler is a fishing game that allows you to explore its wide map beyond just the fishing spots, which makes it fun to discover new fishing locations. That being said, for players not looking for exploration this can also result in a tedious experience. Also, the fishing float mechanics are terrible for a fishing game.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Respect for the original game can be felt everywhere, but translating all that into 3D creates many issues. From inconsistent dialogue to UI that is rough around the edges, this is a remake that could have used a lot more polish.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 62 Critic Score
    Call of Cthulhu’s strange and eerie visuals somewhat succeed in recreating the atmosphere of Cthulhu mythology. However, instead of contributing to the story, stats such as Sanity feel like they deny the player’s trial-and-error. From shooting to stealth segments, the wide array of different systems needed more polish as well.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Goodbye World is a short yet emotional tale of two struggling indie game creators that never turns into the obvious success story you might expect it to become. Despite its characters feeling symbolic and one-sided, it manages to feel genuine throughout its two-hour journey.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Slitterhead’s body-swapping system is unique, and its grotesque monster design is definitely appealing. However, it feels like the choices the team had to make with its limited development budget did not work in the game’s favor. Combat needed more polish, the characters lack emotional expression, and the first half of the story is weak. Things do get more interesting towards the end of the game, but not enough to forget about its shortcomings. While its ambitious ideas deserve praise, it's a shame that Slitterhead was not able to fulfill its potential.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    It’s too bad that there’s no challenge mode, but an asymmetric multiplayer game based on a movie is an interesting concept itself.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Combining the realistic settings from the series’ earlier titles with the over-the-top style of entries that came after Saints Row: The Third, this is an excellent reboot. That being said, a lack of polish in the gameplay department and low quality localization for Japan cannot be ignored.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Trying to follow the success of The Fast and The Furious is a welcome new approach for the series, but it fails to deliver. An underdeveloped story and repetitive gameplay result in a game that could have used some more polish.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    With a wide variety of crabs and weapons, and with each crab's claws controlled in detail with the analog sticks, Crab Fighter delivers a surprisingly deep battle experience. It’s great fun to play with friends, and the campaign mode offers plenty of satisfaction. However, the game is not balanced well enough for more serious competition, and online fights will be difficult to get into for newcomers.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    This is a casual fighting game where SNK heroines come together, and while it may succeed in serving that purpose, the game’s main modes and graphics are far from ideal.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 79 Critic Score
    Metal Gear Survive's greatest strength is that it offers many ways to play. Its survival gameplay creates a lot of freedom and variety, but sadly the unsteady co-op experience greatly limits the game's appeal. The story is underwhelming, and the game's overall balance has some problems.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    While it is not bad as an action shooter, lackluster gimmicks and unnecessary characters make both Immortal Legacy’s action and story feel like an unorganized product.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Godfall combines common sword-fighting gameplay with typical hack-and-slash elements, but controls and enemy animations lack polish and don’t feel well balanced. There’s not enough of it either. Godfall also does not come optimized for PC: The UI is cumbersome to navigate through, and while in the end there’s still some good hack-and-slash fun to be had, there’s nothing unique here you won’t find elsewhere.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a gem of the good old days, and this remaster aims to bring its former glory to the modern era by implementing crossplay and online multiplayer. The beautiful score and a visual style that stands the test of time make it feel worthwhile, and both are enhanced by this HD remaster. At the same time, this remaster also brings all the issues the original had, and doesn’t improve upon any of its flaws. Omitting a local multiplayer is the biggest mistake, as this stood central in the original experience.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Bringing unique mechanics from the Shikigami no Shiro series to present day, Sisters Royale is a worthy successor of the vertically scrolling shmup series. Some players might feel reluctance towards the “moe” anime-style characters, but the bullet-hell gameplay itself will satisfy hardcore fans of the genre.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    For a flagship adventure-game developer that has titles like Until Dawn and Hidden Agenda to its name, Supermassive Games' VR horror title The Inpatient is a big disappointment.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 81 Critic Score
    This game comes with loads of great fan service, including a full voiced cast. Sadly, when you look at it as a hack and slash action game, the game has little depth. Still, if you can live with average gameplay there is plenty to enjoy here.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 64 Critic Score
    Travelling through underwater relics left by mankind before they left Earth is a compelling experience, thanks to great environmental storytelling enhanced by stunning art direction. However, tedious and repetitive gameplay throughout the 5-hour journey makes this experience feel like a good story poorly written.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    SWORD ART ONLINE Alicization Lycoris has a great battle system that feels like a full-fledged fighting game. With some of the original characters being more fleshed out, there’s some good fan service here as well, but as a whole the game feels like a low-quality effort. There are just too many errors, bugs and so on that often make SWORD ART ONLINE Alicization Lycoris frustrating to play. The biggest problem is the game’s original story, which has none of the appeal of the work it is based on.

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