I have nothing but praise for Upwards, Rain! The Post Office of Farewells. If I had one critique, it’s that the game does such an excellent job building up its fantasy world setting and the characters who inhabit it that I simply wish there’d been more time with them! But I can’t say that the game doesn’t offer a satisfactory and heartfelt conclusion, despite its shorter length. Upwards, Rain! The Post Office of Farewells‘ underlying message is hopeful and healing, one that I hope many others experience for themselves.

It's a well-put-together adventure title that should appeal to people with fond memories of old school Zelda, and an excellent first effort from its creators. If there's one big drawback though, it's that Fara is short.

Despite its mismanaged launch, Cyberpunk is a success story. What began in December 2020 as an incomplete, often-unplayable sore spot for CD Projekt has become one of the most immersive RPGs I’ve ever played – one whose visuals, soundtrack, and narrative can go toe to toe with the strongest in the genre. Despite Cyberpunk’s technical headaches, I’ve enjoyed more than 40 hours in it and don’t see myself losing interest in its rich world or side content anytime soon. Cyberpunk’s botched beginnings warranted the scorn players treated it with, but if patch 1.5 is any indication, Night City’s future looks bright.

Star Renegades guarantees hours of fun, accomplishing gameplay, with a lot to unlock and explore. At game’s end, it’s likely that one victory won’t be enough, and you’ll find yourself diving back in to take on MOTHER and its Imperium hoards once more.

Due to the unique events that take place in this volume, as well as the great post-endgame quests, I do consider Vol.3 the best in the series, though I also enjoyed Vol.2 a great deal.

I could praise the team behind Fatal Twelve for passion and effort alone — and I do! — but to see their vision come to fruition with such great results is also a reward unto itself.

What it comes down to is that The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the great games in the adventure genre: like Maniac Mansion, King's Quest, or Sam and Max Hit the Road. With LucasArts providing this remake for a mere ten dollars, there is no excuse for any gamer not to have this in their library.

I immensely enjoyed my time with Far Away From Home, and found it to be a polished gameplay experience from beginning to end. In addition, its accessibility options are excellent and can really help tailor the experience to your liking and gameplay preferences. Far Away From Home is definitely a game SRPG fans should take a closer look at. Oh, and pet the dog whenever you get the chance too! After all, Claster is the best boy and deserves all the pets!

To The Moon absolutely lives up to the hype, but it's approachable as well. Despite its reputation, it has a surprisingly simple narrative, filled with amusing and relatable characters. Don't let that fool you, though: it's an incredible game that caused me to rethink different moments of my own life and (more than a few times) almost moved me to tears. The problems with the Switch port, even the glitchy controls, only dull an otherwise overwhelming emotional experience, rather than mar it.

Even with its flaws, I immensely enjoyed the time I spent playing Eternights, especially once I reached the game’s true ending. Hint: When you reach the end credits and if you’ve remained faithful to your chosen bonded partner, keep your phone’s camera on for an additional pleasant surprise! I had more fun with Eternights than several other games I’ve played this year. It’s a true delight if you fit the target audience for it, especially for those action RPG enthusiasts who don’t mind romance and dating sim elements. In some ways, it is more substantial than some of the games it will invariably draw comparisons to, and it shows that Studio Sai is an indie developer to watch out for in the future! Follow your heart and stay the course with this one, as Eternights shows that even a rocky path to true love can ultimately be worth it.

I had a blast playing Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs despite some of its shortcomings. With amusing characters, a relatable story, solid combat, fantastic music and voice acting, and meaningful choices, it's definitely worth checking out. I look forward to seeing Pixelated Milk's next project!

Secrets of Grindea is a passion project developed over thirteen years. It’s evident that a lot of care and thought went into the game, and the finished product is fine tuned and polished. Overall, I remain impressed with the title and feel no small accomplishment for overcoming its numerous challenges. Old school-styled action RPGs might not be for everyone, given their sometimes steep difficulty and the necessary patience to level grind. Still, Secrets of Grindea is a love letter to the genre that makes for a thoroughly engaging experience if you’re the right audience. It’s one secret worth telling.

While I’m ultimately disappointed by a few of the newer features LISA: Definitive Edition boasts, I’m overall pleased with the finished product. The border art, new songs, Painless mode, text scaling, and more are all incredible quality-of-life improvements to an already great game. Adding extra dialogue, endings, and enemies is just RPG gravy. LISA: Definitive Edition takes a game I’d already recommend playing and makes it that much more accessible.

Those visual and technical annoyances and failure to stick the landing properly on its otherwise strong narrative muddied the experience for me. Bravely Default II is a beautiful, interesting throwback RPG that falls short of its full potential because of small details. The 2020 worldwide pandemic during Bravely Default II’s development may be a factor, but I wonder if this twice-delayed game needed a few extra months.

An accessible RPG with fantastic dungeon design and charming graphics, but light on story.

Eastward: Octopia wasn’t something I was looking forward to playing because I didn’t even know it was coming! And even though I wasn’t aware of its existence until a week ago, I couldn’t put the game down. While there is a narrative to Eastward: Octopia, it takes a backseat to the excellent farming sim gameplay that captivated me for many hours. Pixpil does an incredible job with gameplay and feel. While farming sim might seem like a far cry from action-adventure gameplay, they intersect really well. If I was disappointed by anything, it’s that there wasn’t any combat in Octopia, as it was quite fun in Eastward. Still, the finished package was better than I thought possible. The Octopia DLC is a must if you enjoyed Eastward or have any connection to the characters.

All in all, Valkyria Chronicles II will probably only appeal to a niche audience, due to its SRPG gameplay (and all the tiny little idiosyncrasies that come along with it), the anime-style production, and a reliance on preparation as opposed to being an FPS/3PS killfest or beat 'em up. However, for that niche audience, VCII provides all that you could want in terms of depth, and is a very polished outing for a portable device.

I was pleasantly surprised with the time I spent playing this SRPG. In many ways, it draws from classic heavyweights of the genre, but it also has more than enough substance to stand on its own. There’s certainly a lot to uncover and do throughout a playthrough, and it also has moderate replay value given the ways player choice alters certain narrative events. Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is an adventure fans of tactical RPGs might want to keep an eye on.

Urban Myth Dissolution Center resolves these cases well, with unexpected yet logical turns of events that never fail to surprise and delight me.

The price tag for this remaster may seem a little high, but considering the amount of effort required to overhaul this flawed classic into an enjoyable play experience amongst other games in the instant-gratification era, SaGa Frontier Remastered is appropriately priced at $24.99 USD on all platforms at the time of release. Any hesitation I had about recommending this game to JRPG fans in general, as well as SaGa fans, was washed away after spending time with it. Do not miss out: give this one a chance, take in the vast and strange world that is SaGa Frontier.

The story was engrossing, getting me engaged from start to finish, and the 2D styles on the characters and environments gave the game some charm.

The Layton series' formulaic approach to gameplay is a double-edged sword – it's still engaging and fun, but at the same time, the premise has begun to show some weathering. Still, the mix of point-and-click adventure and logic puzzles is something that few other games can offer, and Miracle Mask still does it well. For anyone who is deeply invested in the Layton series and jumps at any chance to experience a new Layton game, Miracle Mask is not a game to be missed.

An average playthrough of Arcadia Fallen II takes roughly eleven to twelve hours. I genuinely had a blast with mine. Despite a slow start, I find Arcadia Fallen II to be even stronger than its predecessor. It brings us back into an evolving fantasy world where your choices feel impactful. The ending is satisfyingly conclusive and sets the stage for future adventures in a colorful landscape full of memorable characters and heartfelt bonds. Arcadia Fallen II is sure to delight both visual novel and RPG fans.

There were moments where I was swept up in its brilliance and the open-ended design. Then there were moments where I was so sick of doing yet another variation of one of the game's three standard fetch quests that I wanted to cry. In the end, the positives outweighed the negatives.

After playing this game, and taking time to weigh out all the good and bad in this review, the only thing left for me to say is this: "I can't wait for Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie!" Let's hope Square Enix does another excellent job localizing that one as well, so we'll have a wonderful, complete trilogy for the Nintendo DS.

Ni no Kuni's whimsical world and aesthetic will pull you in with memories of your childhood anime and cartoons.

As Dusk Falls is a gripping tale of fate, chaos, and a storm of desire from several strong characters; everyone wants something, and not everyone is going to get what they want. Fortunately, you have the ability to steer the ship, but the thing about storms and ships is that sometimes the laws of nature have more sway. That’s how life goes — a reality which is expertly communicated in this solemn story.

Suffice it to say, this game is a solid otome VN experience if you’re the right audience! Those who couldn’t get enough of the first Bustafellows will surely find something to enjoy here, and those who enjoy mystery crime dramas and romance should take a closer look. I certainly wouldn’t mind a possible third season in the future or even a localization announcement for the Nintendo Switch port of its connected Side Kicks! game. More of this story-verse would undoubtedly be a plus. Like the citizens of New Sieg, we can only stay tuned to find out what could be in the works!