Drago Noka is a very ambitious game trying to make its own identity in the life simulation genre. Although charming, poor interactions between NPCs and the economy can make players feel directionless. Compounding this problem is the fact that players must discover many facets. There is a lot for players to sink their teeth into with Drago Noka, but a lack of direction could cause most to lose patience before the world opens up.

Sailing Era is a beautiful game where the developers put a lot of thought into its presentation and historical enactment. Still, unfortunately, this title is constantly held back due to its frustrating gameplay loop, combined with a highly awkward machine translation. Unless you have a walkthrough on hand or have an immense amount of patience to fight your way through sheer trial and error, by the twelfth time you reset your save, you probably would’ve wanted to set aside time and play something else at that point.

If you’re new to roguelikes, Lone Ruin’s brevity and simplicity might make it worth a look; if the price is right for you, that is. Unfortunately, its issues with variety and a lackluster arsenal of spells, items, and upgrades hamper the experience. Nevertheless, it tried its best to strike that balance of elements, and I think it’s a commendable effort from a small dev team. To me, though, this doesn’t excel or evolve the roguelike formula in any unique or engaging way and, overall, comes across as a bit hollow and unremarkable.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is an excellent experience. It's challenging yet rewarding, and the core gameplay and solid design fundamentals make it an absolute blast to play. This ninja action platformer takes one of gaming's most legendary action sub-genres and makes it relevant again for 2023.

One Piece Odyssey is ultimately a story of friendship, a central theme of the series shown through the eyes of a new character to pass judgment and to understand why the bonds of this crew are so strong. While this adventure might retell past quests, there are enough subtle changes to spark some real emotion. Still, the low difficulty and reliance on auto-battle will leave hardcore JRPG fans disinteresting. However, the exploration and numerous ways to dump dozens of hours into this experience make this a One Piece adventure for everyone.

The Forest Quartet is a gorgeously emotive game, one that explores the complex emotion of grief with empathy, nuance, and understanding. This jazz-inspired puzzle game is an experience to be relished, one that will live long in the memory.

Aokana EXTRA2 is an excellent return to Sprite’s work that manages to nail what is impressive about the original game. Not only is it great to see the cast again, but seeing Misaki and Masaya dealing with their inner demons makes for an impressive visual novel. Sprite went all out for this fandisc and made it a must-play.

Children of Silentown is a grand adventure. The world had me in a constant state of suspense, and the characters constantly surprised me. Even with the occasional logic issues found in certain puzzles that lost me, I found fun in the overall design. The characters and locations were charming and memorable, despite the eerie nature of the art style. Children of Silentown is well worth your time if you are a fan of Adventure games.

If Adventure Academia had understood the assignment, the story would have been a little more exciting, and the systems wouldn’t be so disjointed.

At the very least, the remastered add-ons contribute toward newer players learning the ins and outs at their own pace. With this launch, I sincerely hope the rest of the older Valkyrie Profile games make their way to modern platforms with similar treatment, too, as this is a criminally underrated series.

From visual dynamics alone, Kukoos has a very promising appeal, especially to those for a younger audience. With a wacky storyline and eye-catching environments, it would fit decently into the 3D platformer genre. But the opening for that spot diminishes greatly, given all the technical issues in the gameplay and the plot progression. With aggravating limitations and a lack of polish, I can’t imagine Kukoos to be a platformer that would stick in anyone’s mind. 

Sadly, it’s tough to feel connected to the characters, but if you’re hungry for an action-filled survival horror experience, The Callisto Protocol has just what you need.

Even with the flaws in the design, and a few objects popping in on occasion, Wavetale was an absolute joy to play. From the charming graphics and characters to the amazing freedom of movement, the adventure Sigrid and the Shadow go on to discover the truth of their home is one I’m happy I got to experience.

The Witcher 3 is commonly cited as one of the best video games ever made. While I would never have called it “perfect,” it was always close. This final release brings it even closer.

Melatonin feels like a gorgeous love letter to long-time fans of the Rhythm Heaven series. Despite it being rather brief, the fact that every rhythm game has its own Hard Mode with a more challenging set, alongside the ability to create your own beatmaps, checks all of the boxes. If you’re looking to chill out and unwind from the sensory overload that some of its contemporaries have, Melatonin’s pastel colors beautifully represent relatable daily life and manage to form a great relaxing package that truly deserves noteworthy attention.

High on Life knows what it wants to be and delivers that experience to players who likely want the same thing. The level of humor and writing is on another level. Still, you’ll want to pace yourself, if only not to grow tired of the waves of enemies you’ll encounter, which is thankfully broken up with platforming sections and standout interactions. The phrase, “Made by gamers, for gamers,” has never rung truer than when describing High on Life.

It only took ten years, but now, we finally have the first official English TYPE-MOON visual novel in our hands. And it’s absolutely stunning. With some fantastic characters, brilliant writing, and the best visual novel presentation I have ever seen, Witch on the Holy Night is a must-read for anyone interested in the visual novel medium. Maybe they’ll get to Fate/Stay Night next time. But it won’t look as good as this.

Samurai Maiden is an action title boasting conceptually sound ideas that grievously fall flat due to poor optimization, rigid movement, unnecessarily high enemy numbers, and artificial difficulty by extension. The replayability offered by greater difficulty modes is rendered moot. Granted, exploring the stages for collectibles and platforming can be enjoyable. The cast is pleasing to see converse and bond, too. Still, the lacking narrative and gameplay-related drawbacks significantly hamper the experience. At one point in development, there was a promising time to be had here, but it’s been mired by severe faults.

Dragon Quest Treasures is a fun time with plenty of adventuring to be had. Its charming writing expected of the series, and the endearing cast creates a distinct, inviting ambiance, even if the story isn’t exactly compelling. Of course, there are plenty of tasks to complete and items to find to keep busy as well.

Chained Echoes is a wildly ambitious and impressive turn-based RPG that, aside from minor faults, sticks the landing on all fronts. From its terrific and constantly thought-provoking battle system with well-implemented challenge, to its strongly written cast and masterclass worldbuilding, this is an essential must-play for any fan of the genre that I sincerely hope doesn’t pass anyone’s radar.

Overall, despite its sudden difficulty spikes at specific points in the story or when fighting bosses, The Knight Witch is a great way to burn off some hours when you aren’t busy and for fans of on-rail arcade shooters. It’s fun to challenge yourself as you dodge bullets that the Golems and bosses fire as you attempt to take them down.

Need for Speed Unbound is a game that favors glamor and style over substance. It’s an absolute visual and aural treat. Don’t get me wrong, the art direction is phenomenal, especially with the combination of unique cel-shaded effects and photo-realistic graphics. I mean, they even got A$AP Rocky to feature. I keep wanting to push the pedal to the metal and thoroughly enjoy what the game has to offer, but the endless bloat and grind to get there is beyond disheartening and frustrating. Criterion has promised free content updates in the future, so here’s to hoping it satisfies the needs of the Need for Speed community. But what Unbound has to offer at this moment is a high price tag, a cliche narrative, and an average racing experience.

At the beginning of this review, I was trying not to compare this game to Dodgeball Academia. It takes a long time to develop an indie game, and I have little evidence that the two have anything to do with each other. But it’s hard not to look at these two games next to each other and see that the things I really adored about one are mostly absent from the other. There’s definitely an enjoyable experience to be had with Soccer Story, but you’ll need to have a high tolerance for jank to find enjoyment in it.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a brilliant example of what a Remaster should be. It's the same game I remember, but the updated graphics, controls, and combat make it so much more. You might feel fatigued with the respective mission structure, but there's so much for new and old fans to enjoy in this release, and I'm happy that it received the level of attention it deserves. This is a must-play game for any who truly wishes to understand the incredible narrative of Final Fantasy VII and what makes it so great.

Finding Paradise is a worthy successor to To The Moon, which re-explores the themes of death and regrets in a new light, in an easy-to-understand way. This Switch re-release offers players the chance to play the game in the most visually impressive way it’s ever been and brings it to a broader audience. When I wasn’t interrupted by strange interactables, I was immersed in its grippy and mysterious narrative. Now all I have to do is wait for Imposter Factory. They made a third one of these! I need to play it!

Being such a short and simple experience, if the ending of a one-sitting game is bad, it inevitably taints the whole experience – and I would say that Goodbye World‘s pointlessly cruel and mocking ending goes several steps further than that. Rather than coming to the end of a thematic roller coaster, I was left feeling like I’d been casually thrown off of a cliff.

Renai X Royale is another enjoyable visual novel from ASa Project and NekoNyan. It’s a great example of comedy, landing its jokes from start to finish. While its over-the-top nature makes the romantic and more nuanced side of the story feel a little lacking, this is an easy recommendation for fans of the genre.

A list of boxes was checked, but the soul here is missing, and players will most likely pick up on that and stay away. This franchise has long been neglected by its owner, and while a trilogy of remakes ought to be a sign that Square wants to reignite interest in Front Mission, 1st is, unfortunately, the exact opposite. You wanted Front Mission; here it is, now go away.