A noble attempt to do something unique in the strategy RPG space that won't appeal to most players.

It may not be quite the package we were hoping for, but this port is still the best way to experience these two charming classics.

I will end my review the same way I started it: Kentucky Route Zero is a very strange game. Although I did not enjoy it very much, I can see how it is a compelling piece of software. It is very artsy, very avant-garde, very surreal, and a very acquired taste.

An excellent opportunity for those who loved the original to play it again, but newbies will need the patience of a saint to survive the complexity of its gameplay.

In a way, Etrange Overlord is exactly what many of us hope for from smaller titles. It has flair, it is not some object forced out by cookie-cutter conformism, and most of all, it is experimental, reaching for something larger studios would be afraid to touch. It’s also compact, with play times unlikely to greatly exceed 16 hours, except for the most avid completionists. The end result does not quite achieve celestial perfection, falling some way short of the mark, but as a famous fallen angel once said, “It’s better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”

I enjoyed my time in Rainy Woods, but I wish The Good Life would have given me more reasons to stick around longer. It’s a refreshing experience that encourages you to slow down for a minute and take the time to smell whatever it is that grows out there. And for SWERY fans, The Good Life feels like his most polished effort to date and probably a greater realization of what he had attempted to do with Deadly Premonition, at least in terms of free, exploratory gameplay.

Broken Pieces is an odd, disjointed game with unnecessary combat, tedious back-and-forth exploration, and frustrating puzzle designs. And yet, I found myself wanting to explore Saint-Exil with Elise to figure out its mysteries despite those flaws, to the point that I was honestly a bit disappointed at the game’s relatively weak ending. Anyone looking for an exploration adventure game that harks back to the genre’s past and doesn’t take a ton of time to complete should give Broken Pieces a try. Just don’t expect the vase you assemble from all of the game’s pieces to necessarily come together thoroughly enough to hold water.

Under the Island falters in its combat and storytelling, but more than makes up for those shortcomings with engaging world design, clever puzzles, and creative boss encounters. Link’s boots are admittedly difficult to fill, but Under the Island has enough good ideas to set itself apart from its inspiration. The journey is a short one at only eight to ten hours, but I enjoyed my time with the game. It’s no Link’s Awakening, but in its best moments, it gets close enough to scratch the old-school Zelda itch.

For me, I wish the game had a bit more bite to it. The optional content was more my speed in terms of puzzle solving and felt satisfying to crack. Most of the game felt a touch on the easy side, and while easy isn’t the same as bad, I was left wanting. That said, Arranger’s story, chill atmosphere, and unique art style make it an adventure worth trekking.

Still, I hesitate to recommend Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars to anyone other than Yoko Taro enthusiasts or players looking for a streamlined introduction to turn-based RPGs. The game is far too short, simple, and easy to maintain your attention for long, and its plot remains unmoving well beyond the point at which you’re likely to lose interest. Nonetheless, its compelling late-game narrative, charming graphical style, and superb score leave me cautiously optimistic about what a sequel can bring to the table. I just hope that the next time this dragon lands, it has learned lessons from its first, flawed foray.

Despite my grievances, this is a competent, tightly developed game. I would argue it’s played even a little too safe. Although a genuinely enjoyable experience, I am shocked at the lack of surprises or variety in storytelling and gameplay. This is a perfect example of a game that needs more time in the oven. I can’t imagine the developers will leave this project behind anytime soon, but I certainly hope updates are free and don’t come in the form of paid DLC — at least for a little while. Wildermyth feels unfinished, but the core is sound.

When all is said and done, your satisfaction with the DS version of MUA 2 will rely in large measure on what you expect going in. The game is relatively short, but you're supposed to play it more than once.

All in all, this title is an uneven experience. The story is more substantial than most roguelites but is hampered by the randomly determined pacing. A few classes are a blast to play, while others feel too weak at high difficulties without good luck. For the first 20 hours or so, you are regularly getting new story content and new upgrades, and it’s easy to sink hours into Tainted Grail: Conquest. I just wish it kept up the pace all the way to the end of the story.

For as messy as Kingdom Hearts is, for all of its flaws, the series has a lot of heart and emotion that’s been beautifully conveyed through the music over the years. With Melody of Memory, I got the chance to re-experience many of the tumultuous emotions that I’d felt since the beginning and reconcile them. This was a series I once adored and recently began to feel disenchanted with, but this game reminded me of joy I’d felt hearing each song for the first time over the years. And while the package could be better, and I wish I enjoyed playing it more, this feels like the only way to cap off the Dark Seeker Saga. Whether I’ll be back for the next Saga, I’m not sure, but Melody of Memory captures my journey with the series perfectly: we’ve had our ups and downs, but ultimately, Kingdom Hearts has been influential in my life, and I don’t regret seeing the series through.

If the game mechanics of Anniversary Edition don’t click with you right away, 2G is different enough and beginner-friendly enough to satisfy, and the reverse is true if you find the beginning hours of 2G lacking in tension or difficulty. Neither game is a masterpiece, but combining both games into one affordable package was a great idea and makes this collection a worthwhile purchase, especially since 2G had such a limited Western release. I appreciate PQube giving this oft-forgotten series a new lease on life and look forward to where they take the series next.

Sunshine Islands is a passable installment in the Harvest Moon series. It's a great pick up and play game, but it doesn't do much new.

This isn't the next big JRPG, but it'll certainly take you a long time to complete.

Essentially, The Chapter of Marisa is more Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. That’s probably in its favor if you enjoyed the base game, but if you were expecting drastic change or development, this DLC will disappoint. Given its length, I’m reluctant to recommend purchasing this DLC for its full asking price, as it seems more than a tad steep for its short playtime. Should The Chapter of Marisa ever get a significant sale, that might be a different story if you enjoyed Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. Just be warned to temper your expectations accordingly.

Cing produced two of the DS's finest adventure games with Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk: Room 215, but AGAIN was just "meh." It's not a bad game, but it's not great either.

Recommended to those seeking an RPG that is light in all senses of the word.

Evaluating World of Final Fantasy as a complete package feels a little strange because its target audience is so ambiguous. I've been playing Final Fantasy for the majority of my life, and yet it's almost as if WoFF has no idea how to appeal to me as a longtime fan. I love the series for a multitude of reasons, but WoFF's fanservice feels cheap, and does disservice to the original works it references.

Otome Daoshi -Fighting for Love- is a visually impressive otome visual novel that, unfortunately, fails to stand out narratively or mechanically in the crowded Switch market. While the artwork is a highlight, and the experience may appeal to those seeking light entertainment, many players may find better value picking the game up on sale versus its standard $49.99 USD price. Given the genre’s high competition, Otome Daoshi is best considered as a secondary choice rather than a must-play title.

With a great amount of variety and choice, Last Dream: World Unknown is an RPG Maker game that deserves to be celebrated. The game is here to remind us that old school RPGs can still be fun, but it also brings back memories that we don't always want to admit — that some parts are best left in the past. Regardless, if you love the NES and early SNES days of turn-based combat, I highly recommend this game. Otherwise, the archaic dungeons, awkward world map navigation, and the basic plot might put you off.

No game, including other horror titles, looks as good as Layers of Fear 2, yet it falls incredibly short in design. Even the story, which I personally enjoyed, is needlessly enigmatic and overly "artsy." Layers of Fear 2 isn't for everyone, but for those who want to dive into a visually stunning, off-putting environment, this will sate.

Ultimately, Vestaria Saga II, much like the first game, is a collection of cool, innovative, smart concepts and well-developed characters strung together haphazardly by a largely incomprehensible story. The brutal difficulty is in no way for everybody, but if you want an intense tactical challenge, this is still a good vehicle for it. If you’ve had your fill of Fire Emblem and want more, the Vestaria Saga series is an appropriate next step. But hurry up, Zade has towns on the other side of the world to save!

As someone who really enjoyed Chaos;Head, I really, really wanted to like Chaos;Child. And there are a number of things I do like about it: the cast is fun, the core mystery is gripping, and the level of gore, while not for the faint of heart, is on par with a Sion Sono flick (nasty and weird, but not wholly distasteful). However, its preoccupation with padding its length with the same tired tropes and non-consensual sexual fantasies makes it tough to recommend to any but the most devoted Science Adventure Series fans. Please 5pb, hire a copy editor.

I really like a lot of what VA-11 HALL-A is doing. I think changing up the choice mechanic, taking control away from you, and putting the focus merely on dialogue and not one character's story are all fantastic, but a lot of the ideas sound better on paper to me. Glitch City is a fascinating world, and Sukeban Games have created something truly unique that has inspired many. VA-11 HALL-A deserves its large fan following, but it's not mixed quite right for me to love everything on offer.

Ara Fell is a solid example of what RPGMaker games can be, and while it never wows it's certainly a lot of fun.

The Falconeer absolutely has its high points, and all of the elements of a great game are there. It’s just disappointing that they don’t gel enough to be wholly satisfying. Visually, the game is stunning, without caveat. The combat can be exhilarating … at its best. The story can be interesting, even fascinating … sometimes. The game’s heights are extreme, but so are its lulls.

While I enjoyed my time in space in Episode 1 of The Expanse, a part of me still wanted more. Unfortunately, that’s not only because it was so enthralling that I couldn’t wait to see the other side of the cliffhanger ending, but because it’s so short. On a second playthrough, I picked all the opposite choices of my first run, but the consequences are too far-reaching to feel any difference. Episode 1 mainly serves as a mere reintroduction to Camina and her surroundings, which are new to fans of the show and newbs alike. It’s The Expanse, not The Compact, and I get the feeling I’ll need to see the rest of the series to have a firm position on where it lands.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light shows how much and how little the series has changed over the past 30 years. It was fun experiencing Fire Emblem‘s origins for the first time in the original format. For a game released in 1990 on the Famicom, it indeed has a grand story with beats reminiscent of games from that era. However, I do know the third game of the series, Monshou no Nazou (Mystery of the Emblem), is a remake of this game and features a lot of improvements. It makes me wish we got that game instead; it would have been closer to how the series is today.

World of Horror remains dependent on its writing, visuals, and quantity of randomized events. Once the well runs dry on new encounters, World of Horror loses its luster. Clicking quickly through repeat events reminds oneself that this is a game and not a cursed town in 1980s Japan. That said, completionists and horror enthusiasts will find much replay value as several missions create an air of variability, each with two, three—sometimes four—unique endings. This is a competently made game with much to appreciate, though repeat material and a bogged-down user interface stymie the otherwise delicious mood.

Lost Epic feels like it has great ideas but only good execution. It sits somewhere between full and half-hearted, perhaps something along the lines of “three-quarters hearted.” It feels like a game that is seventy-five percent of what it aims to be. Rather than having a series of cresting highs and sinking lows, it feels more like a steady wave of averageness. Lost Epic is ultimately adequate in all areas at the cost of being generally unremarkable. While I mostly enjoyed my time with it, I’d sooner recommend Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights to anyone looking for a gorgeous 2D action RPG.

While the musical presentation was excellent, the gameplay passable, and the controls well executed, the horrible job with the story and the disappointing graphics dragged down the game a lot. Add in the short playtime and you have a game that is a rental at best, but definitely not a purchase.

I also wager that ten years from now, Sand Land will be a slam dunk video game in “hidden gems” lists and “underrated games” essays. Once its price crawls below $25 and its bafflingly pointless “Deluxe Edition” content is packed in (or, better yet, deleted altogether), the game will be value caviar for hungry backloggers. Partially in honor of you future value seekers (hello from 2024, if so), I don’t want to outright pan the game for being an inconsistent and unnecessarily SaaS-ified jumble as it is now. It has plenty going for it, especially in its visuals and its vehicles. Just don’t give Bandai Namco your hard-earned ten extra dollars for shit they probably forced ILCA to shovel (the Deluxe Edition content) right as they were wrapping up development. Better yet, wait until Sand Land is on sale. That is, unless the 8 to 16-year-old in your life asks for it, in which case I guarantee they’d get sixty bucks worth out of the game.

Ultimately, though, I have incredibly mixed feelings about Yo-Kai Watch 2. On one hand, I really wanted to love it because it channels the more outlandish elements of the TV series incredibly well, but I also can't shake the feeling that Yo-Kai Watch 2 is more of a glorified expansion rather than a true sequel.

Romancing SaGa 2 is equal parts fascinating and frustrating. I've barely scratched the surface with some of the novel features this game offers you, so if you're thinking of playing it for the first time, I really encourage you to do so as there's a lot to love about this SNES remaster. Yet I also want this review to act as a warning on the difficult journey ahead, and while I've enjoyed my time with it for the most part, the obtuse nature and tough gameplay weren't always for me. If you love this series, you know what to expect and you'll enjoy every second. If this is your first SaGa, please don't go in blind: I didn't, and I'm glad I took the time to do some research and go through the game prepared.

Stella Glow is a game that makes a terrible first impression: The story is a hodgepodge of several other JRPGs that telegraphs its twists from a mile away, its villains' motivations fall apart under any scrutiny, and the game's attitude towards its female cast is abhorrent at the best of times. And yet, something happened as I spent time with it: I started having fun.

The Surge doesn't always fight fair and sometimes betrays the very best parts of what it's trying to do, but I can't deny how much fun it was when I really got into the groove and found myself tearing off limbs left and right. In his best moments, Warren hits hard and the enemies make you feel that power in a satisfying way. Regrettably, there's little reason to come back to the game once the final boss falls. You get the standard New Game+ mode, but with no multiplayer and only further upgrades to find, it really comes down to how long you enjoy the combat before it becomes dull. I finished The Surge in about fifteen hours, and that proved to be enough slicing and dicing for me. This is a solid step forward for Deck13, and I hope they continue this upward trend in the future.

Despite some frustrating map design involving hunting for switches and keys, Strife is a rompin', stompin' FPS with a fascinating setting and fun characters.

Yo-Kai Watch was never about combat even from the onset, yet lighthearted scenarios that parody the mundaneness of life or silly little mini-game diversions can only carry a meaty 30-hour RPG so far. Until Level-5 can figure out how to make the battle system something more than an unwieldy, AI-controlled mess of ghost cats and otherworldly misfits, it seems like Yo-Kai Watch will have to settle with being one of those niche "big in Japan, and Japan alone" fads.

The Council continues to be unabashedly unpredictable in its twists and turns, but Episode Four's character developments leave much to be desired. Its Social Influence system remains a fun mechanic, but an overpowered Louis renders the skill tree mostly moot.

Perfect for classic point-and-click lovers who can't stop randomly combining items.

Get lost in the enchanting art, but don't expect much more.

At the outset, I was raving about Potionomics. I had modest expectations going into this title, given its cartoony aesthetic and cliché plot, but I love fantasy-based shopkeep games like Recettear, so I gave it a go. Again, I could not believe just how complex and deep the varied systems flowed together. Building a deck based on relationships I made was always exciting, just as seeing the interest increase with each sale was. Unfortunately, the bag of tricks emptied halfway through this fifty-hour investment, leaving me eager to exit the whole affair.

Though I was excited for this game to move off of Apple Arcade because I don’t do well playing games on a phone, this is one offering that could have stayed there.

Everlove: Rose may have its issues, but my time with it left positive thoughts. It doesn't do anything clever or groundbreaking with the visual novel formula or its own storyline and lore, but I enjoyed my time with it. The different ways the story plays out held my interest as I explored the possibilities, and that is worthy praise as for any choice-driven visual novel.

I'll admit, the game did grow on me and I actually liked it more than I expected to for its 19 hour duration, but it is not a game I can recommend at full price; especially with so many better and higher profile titles releasing this season. That being said, if you find Last Rebellion for $12 or less in the bargain bin, it's not a terrible purchase.

A Telltale-esque title set in suburban America that hints at maturity.

By Afterlove EP’s closing moments, I was happy to take the needle from the vinyl and put the record back in its sleeve. I will file it away in the collection, an imperfect album, with some standout tracks that make the filler worthwhile.

None of the bland gameplay is helped by the fact that the controls feel sluggish overall.

A Telltale-esque title set in suburban America that hints at maturity.

It's too bad, because Drakengard 2 could have been, and could have done, a lot more than it did.

If you don't already like the Neptunia series, you will probably be hard-pressed to like this game. It's a pretty typical action RPG, with a ho-hum story. However, as a Neptunia fan, this game does what the Neptunia series is best at: having fun with its cast of characters. For once, these characters are taking a relaxing break from the toils of their daily life and not worrying about getting thrown out of their country by evil forces or thinking about how to best serve their citizens. Gaming has always been one of the great pillars of the Neptunia series. It's just a shame the gameplay in this particular game isn't the best.

A welcome enhancement to a BioWare classic that is worth revisiting if you can see past its aged look, but consoles may not be the best format.

Ultimately, that blend exemplifies the entire experience in Wolfstride. There are good ideas at work with the combat, style, and interesting story twists. But for everything it does right, it does two things wrong. Whether it’s aggravating attempts at comedy, tasks that feel like a chore, or a tone that just can’t decide what it wants to be, there is always something standing between you and the ideal experience. So really, your experience will be defined by how much you can enjoy, or at least tolerate, the worst parts. There’s gold in them thar hills, but you’ll have to dig through a ton of peepoo to get to it.

If you're looking for something new in your RPGs, then give 99 Spirits a shot. The puzzle-style battles are fun and interesting and allow you to forgive the less interesting aspects of the game.

I wouldn’t say Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny is a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination, but it could’ve been so much better. It successfully recreates the hectic mecha battles that the Gundam franchise is known for in an interactive format. I had fun playing it, even if I had to step away after every hour or two of play. I can only hope a future Gundam game can capture the true scope of the franchise in its entirety, but as it stands? Now that I’ve played this game, I have a nostalgic urge to rewatch Mobile Suit Gundam SEED again, so I think Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny Remastered made an impression, at the very least.

I walked away from Yakuza 4 having had a much more fulfilling experience than I did with its immediate predecessor. The new characters revitalized the old "Tojo clan is in trouble" plot, and the different combat styles brought new life to the never-ending street brawls. I do wish that the developers left Kiryu out, as his addition feels unnecessary. Yakuza 4 brings the series ever closer to its modern-day iterations, with enough polish to be playable for newer fans of the series. I look forward to seeing what the last part of the Yakuza Remastered Collection brings us!

When all is said and done, I can’t help but feel disappointed with The Chapter of Markus since it is what closes out the three DLC story expansions for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. I wouldn’t say it’s exceedingly terrible, as at the end of the day, it’s more Eiyuden Chronicle, but it doesn’t live up to its inherent potential either. If you’re already getting the DLC by backing the title, I’d say it’s worth playing. But if you’re debating purchasing the DLC separately, I’d recommend waiting for a hefty discount. As it stands, I just can’t recommend paying the steep full price of around $9 USD for what you get here.

Instead, I'll say that it means well and may appeal to a breed of old-school gamers. All others, stay away or take my warning that enjoyment will vary.

All in all, it's decent to play, and Compile Heart is trying to improve, but they need more common sense in refining basic gameplay elements.

Escape Academy is far from a stellar title, but it’s enjoyable if appreciated for what it is. The creators have released a “road map” for future updates and DLC, which is always nice to see. Would-be purchasers may take heart in knowing that there’s more life to be injected if escape room puzzle solving evokes an interest. As for me, I’ll quietly look forward to these updates, but I’m in no way chomping at the bit.

I found Legrand Legacy an exceedingly tough game to score. Although it clearly has its flaws, I enjoyed the roughly 40 hours I spent with it all the same. The small but immensely talented development team may simply have tried to do just a little too much here, possibly to the detriment of character development and script writing. There are things it does well, including its great audiovisual quality, but it doesn't truly stand out in any meaningful way. SEMISOFT wished to create a love letter to JRPGs, and perhaps it did that in a most unintentional way. Legrand Legacy manages to capture much of the indelible charm of the JRPGs to which it pays homage through its rough-around-the-edges execution.

For visual novel and turn-based RPG lovers.

A decent RPG that could have been great.

Surprisingly immersive horror adventure that fails to amaze due to several annoyances, dated graphics, and lack of conclusion.

In other words, for those still interested, Alpha Protocol should be low on the to-play list.

I'm a big fan of nostalgic "old-school" style RPGs as my catalogue of reviews suggests, but honestly, Nostalgia fell completely flat in almost all areas.

I’m glad I finally played I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. Its concept very easily draws players in, and to an extent, I even enjoyed banging my head against its opaque puzzles, knowing that each subsequent episodic level would bring a refreshing protagonist and style. Besides an underwhelming finale and some questionable puzzle design, the game is not as misanthropic or depressing as it would seem. Instead, it will always be narratively remarkable as the sole video game in Harlan Ellison’s expansive body of stories, scripts, comics, and teleplays. Ellison passed away in 2018 at the age of 84 but may his morbid and gleeful performance as AM live on for at least another hundred and nine years.

If Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists accomplished one thing, it was getting me into the series at last. I don't know how fast I'm going to move on to the main series, but I've had my first glimpse into the world of Atelier and I'm interested. Town building was fun in this game, and it made me feel like a real manager of an economic enterprise. I enjoyed my time in this world, and if you have been thinking about this one, give it a shot if you can.

If you are a big fan, then I can't see you being disappointed with the game unless you really hate the graphical style or the voices.

You have to put a lot of work into the game (and the WiFi settings) to get a good experience out of it.

The balancing act RGG plays with its titles is a tricky tightrope to walk, and they usually knock it out of the park. That they failed to do so here is just disappointing. Nonetheless, the fact that this game came to Steam might—might—mean we can see more titles in the future, and there’s a lot of potential here. If they can build a more compelling mystery, be more thoughtful about the serious issues they want to address, and fix the detective elements, they might be onto something special here. Most people seem to think they already are. Maybe next time, I can too.

Chaos Wars is not a great game, but it is fun. I felt let down by O~3's low-budget localization, and the last few hours of gameplay really felt dragged out, but otherwise I enjoyed the experience.

Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy earns a passing grade, but just barely. Honestly, I did have fun playing through this one… most of the time. But in a market saturated with clever and impressive games of a similar vein (say, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island), there was no way I could allow Fia and her friends a spot on the honor roll. If you can’t get enough of anime-infused dungeon-crawling adventures, the latest in the Mado Monogatari series might be for you.

In other words, for those still interested, Alpha Protocol should be low on the to-play list.

If I had to come up with an example of a simply good visual novel, Symphonic Rain would be it. While its dabbling in the rhythm game sections does it more harm than good, it takes just enough risks and twists in its writing to keep you engaged throughout the five-to-seven odd hours it takes to finish a route. Symphonic Rain hits a little too close to the monotony of life at times with its gameplay, but the great quality of the writing certainly makes it a visual novel worth checking out.

In other words, for those still interested, Alpha Protocol should be low on the to-play list.

Entertaining for what it is, I don’t think Veritus is going to knock anyone over, but it doesn’t have to. The world was built for sevens, and if you want an old-school game that is reasonably fun, that’s what you get here. I love that the team made such an attempt to change up the formula from most games we see, but I wish more of it felt fun or engrossing. Storytelling’s tricky because going through the motions and delivering a ham-fisted story certainly feels tired, but if it lacks clarity, it’s going to be hard for earnest individuals to buy into your world. Still, Veritus charms, and those chasing nostalgia may actually be met with a tight, creative adventure.

This review may come across as more negative than intended, simply because there’s such a strong baseline to compare it to. No Sleep For Kaname Date has pros than cons for me because I have a preexisting investment in the aspects it carries over the most elegantly from the rest of the series. The cast, puzzles, and humor are undoubtedly its best parts, and the story’s issues are thankfully not so severe as to drag those parts down. I at least recommend it to fans of the series, just with a few asterisks.

Despite the faults, From the Abyss is a solid dungeon crawler. It does what it does well for the genre, and it is very easy to pick up and play. In the long run however, it's not going to be memorable game.

Despite not living up to its potential, Hyke: Northern Light(s) still has its charms, and I don’t regret the time I spent hanging out under the stars with Hyke and her friends. Hopefully, if she gets another outing, she will pitch up on more pleasant ground and serve us a meal we can properly enjoy.

By far the largest issue Fable has is its length. Completing at least 50% of the sidequests, marrying, slaughtering an entire village, and buying three houses, I still only ended the game at slightly over eight hours.

Spiritfarer is a perfect example of a game where one has to keep their expectations in check. I honestly feel the trailers have misrepresented what the majority of the game is, and I wish the developers had actually cut the content in half or found a way to speed up the entire process. What’s here hints at the depth of quality that could have been, but the designers seemed more concerned with giving their audience their money’s worth rather than packing ten hours with high-quality content. Or maybe I should have engaged in more meditation over the 25-hour experience. Regardless, Spiritfarer has moments of beauty that will resonate with many players, while others, like myself, will be left wondering what could have been.

A major improvement over the junky Jake Hunter game we got last year. Some of the flaws like the misplaced Americanizations still bug me, but Memories of the Past is still a suitable apology for last year's disappointment.

Mercenaries Wings: The False Phoenix is a serviceable SRPG that brings little new to the table but might satisfy an old-school itch.

At the end of the day, The Last Story is a decent RPG, but nothing to be excited about. A dull story and uninteresting characters mar a unique combat system and solid gameplay.

PoPoLoCrois is, at its core, a vanilla, mediocre, bland, been-there-done-that Japanese RPG that probably should have stayed in Japan.

Definitely not for everyone. But regardless, at the end of the journey, after the countless deaths and billions of bruisings, the stat rolling and puzzle solving, you will undoubtedly feel accomplished.

I don’t regret my stay in Providence Oaks, but like most vacations, I wish I had gotten to do more in the short time I had with the game. If you’re looking for a slice-of-life experience in a peaceful lake town and you don’t mind some bumps along the road, Lake might just be up your alley. If you want a narrative game with replay value where your choices affect the story, this vacation might leave you a little wanting.

Cat Quest II feels like the perfect game for a parent and child to play together. This is likely a growing market, so I applaud the publisher for being on top of this. The game hides enough potentially mature jokes to keep adults chuckling along, while the kiddo may fall in love with the adorable atmosphere. Although never too difficult, Cat Quest II seems to hit the sweet spot of demanding one's attention while never being too frustrating. I think anyone could actually enjoy this game, if one doesn't mind a chill, cozy excursion into the land of meows and ruffs.

My stance on Escape from Ever After is clear. The characters, music, and writing are tons of fun and exude plenty of charm. Unfortunately, the gameplay, especially the mushy controls, sharp difficulty spikes, and maddening puzzles, left me feeling cold. So, despite its potential, Escape from Ever After was a middle-of-the-road Paper Mario-style experience for me.

Silent Hope is a charming, adorable game with pitch-perfect sound design, from its limited voice work (the Princess and the King), suitably adventurous and mysterious music, and dopamine-inducing sound effects. It gets repetitive but has a well-oiled gameplay loop that keeps you on the rails. The limited character builds result in a lack of depth, but the fun of combining the right weapons, runestones, and skills to make huge numbers appear and enemies disappear is always present. Silent Hope is simple in almost all respects, and yet it brings me joy to play it and likely would do even more so for the children in your life.

Varlet could’ve been another pleasant surprise by FuRyu, similar to The Caligula Effect 2, but sadly, it doesn’t reach that level. There’s some mild enjoyment here if you can temper expectations and be patient, but that isn’t something everyone can or should have to do. I think there’s potential here, should FuRyu decide to explore Varlet further in future game projects, but as it stands now? I’d advise waiting to get Varlet on a discount, even if you think you’re the target audience for it.

Episode Five is a step back for the series in multiple ways, leading to a conclusion that feels rushed and minimally fulfilling.

My opinion of Soul Hackers 2 was in constant flux during my playthrough. I never especially disliked the game, but I often flipped between enjoyment and disappointment within mere minutes. That feeling of disappointment is what remains in the end. I am not sure if Soul Hackers 2 is exciting enough to hold new fans through to the end, and it isn’t mechanically competent enough to fully grab the attention of a series veteran like myself. But there is still the visual flair, musical swagger, plethora of rad demons, and bonds of friendship you forge along the way to make it an enticing package.

Contact is a classic case of A for effort, C for execution. It is easy to tell that a lot of love was put into this game and it had the potential to be a classic of Earthbound proportions. Unfortunately, despite the game's merits, I ultimately found it too mundane, boring, repetitive, monotonous, and dull to recommend.