It’s a shame precisely because Amnesia’s cast and setup are gripping to the point where players want to explore all the endings, to take in as much as they possibly can. Its drawbacks may reveal its age, but it’s clear that Amnesia’s renown is well-earned. While some plot elements, character tropes, and simple mechanical components also serve to date it, its story and cast make everything worth it. It’s a must-play for any otome fan, with a legacy and cast that rightly won’t be forgotten.

PSP owners who want a solid, fun, long-lasting, no-nonsense, traditional turn-based RPG will be served quite well with Crimson Gem Saga.

Muramasa is a fun game, but it's not for everyone. If you are bothered by minimal story, repetitive fighting, and a fairly short length, then it's not for you. For all other action RPG fans, Muramasa succeeds in delivering pure fun factor that's addicting and highly accessible with excellent aesthetics to complement it.

Checking off the seemingly endless number of quests and challenges on the world map is just as satisfying as scrubbing out all the waves of red representing enemies on each level’s mini-map, and I found myself unwilling to set the game down even when the going got rough. Thankfully, all you really need going into Age of Calamity is a love of cleaving through armies and the patience to see its more monotonous segments through to their end. So long as you know what you’re getting into, it’s far more exhilarating than sluggish — and prior knowledge of Breath of the Wild isn’t among the necessities.

Although a weak ending and a frustrating lack of tutorials up front limit Pope's latest release, the vast majority of his work more than makes up for these setbacks. Whether you're looking for something truly unique, thick vibes, or an excellent mystery, Obra Dinn is for you.

Sometimes brutal, but always fun, Overfall will give you hours worth of roguelite enjoyment.

There’s a wealth of single-player content in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, not only with the extensive story mode but various other modes such as Arcade, Versus, and Golden Arena Mode, where you fight through dungeons and build stats. Unfortunately, the Switch port is lacking in the online compartment as it doesn’t offer the rollback netcode, unlike the other releases. I’m also hard-pressed to recommend the title to anyone who isn’t a fighting game fan and who isn’t familiar with both Persona 3 and Persona 4. But those who happen to fall under both umbrellas will undoubtedly find an entertaining, solid fighting game experience with some surprising RPG undertones in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax!

I love the main cast of characters and many of their allies, with every new scene featuring a particular character making me want to know them just a little more. The fact that the routes themselves skew more towards heartwarming, non-problematic stories is also a nice touch. Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights is a sentimental romantasy VN I can easily recommend to fans of the genre!

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV has been a long time coming. Not just because of the cliffhanger Cold Steel III ended on, but because it’s the conclusion to the Cold Steel arc and a convergence point for all three arcs. The game is truly at its best when it’s resolving long-standing plot threads and nodding to previous events and characters in the series. Unfortunately, it spends a lot of time spinning its wheels, and this can be frustrating given how long we’ve waited for this conclusion. It’s not a bad experience, though — just an unnecessarily long one. If you’ve come this far and want to know how it all ends, then settle yourself in for the long haul and keep going forward, relentlessly.

As excellent a conclusion as we could hope for.

We Are OFK came out of nowhere and immediately captured my attention. While the game’s concept has been done before on TV, this is, to my knowledge, the first time a video game has told the story of a fictional (or perhaps I should say, virtual) band that makes and releases real music. Really good music that I may or may not be listening to as I write this review. The plot has a few pacing issues and the gameplay is limited, but the art style is undeniably attractive, the writing is great, and I love the cast. If a future sequel — shall we say a season two? — means more time with these messed-up goofballs and more great music, I’m all for it.

Episode 4 manages to up the ante in modest ways, and continues to indicate that Telltale knows what they're doing.

Switch is definitely not the best platform for it, but the gameplay is still good and the Obsidian writing team is still top-notch.

The Oracle has shown me that Phoenix Online is in it to win it, and is working to make this series something special. Therefore, I feel no compunction whatsoever in recommending it to any discerning adventure fan.

Although their intentions may have been to reach a wider audience, Daedalic has created a children's game, and there's nothing wrong with that. Most children's games are far too innocent and insultingly dull — commercial characters giving teacherly instructions for inane tasks involving 1-2-3 and A-B-C — but The Night of the Rabbit teaches curiosity, the benefits of exploration, environmentalism, and the importance of stories: all virtuous lessons.

The content is fantastic, though the timing between episodes holds the game back.

So in the end, Laxius Force III provides a satisfying conclusion to this epic trilogy, and fans of Aldorlea's grand-daddy series will certainly be hooked for days, weeks, maybe even months.

It’s still an enjoyable romp: a world filled with brutal combat encounters, a slew of arcane mysteries, and diverse sights that can be achingly gorgeous, powerfully harrowing, and even bizarrely psychedelic. But in the course of my playthrough as Feivor, I feel that I’ve received Valhalla as it should have been. My previous praises are kept intact, and the experience is only enhanced by a narrative that subverts Norse mythology while slashing the tether that binds executive misogyny to a world where supposed viking culture has been adopted by an ahistorical, androcentric right-wing. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla can be great, but if you want an inferior experience, don’t worry: Ubisoft has you covered.

Its trio of heroes is memorable, truly standing out in a compelling and detailed narrative. In particular, this fifteen-plus hour game’s last few entertaining hours just flew by. I give the title credit for being an unexpectedly enjoyable gaming experience.

Episode 2 affirms my confidence in Telltale's ability to respect the source material.

I was happy to have the chance to revisit Ys SEVEN with fresh eyes. Falcom and XSEED have pulled off an excellent port that runs like a dream even on my (far-)below spec laptop. As far as Ys titles available on PC, we're spoiled for choice, and this is an especially fine one to revisit.

The game presents a unique mix of visual novel and puzzle gaming, with a distinctive puzzling setup supported by a fair learning curve.

In the end, Sakuna left me aglow with a warm nostalgia reminiscent of PlayStation 2 favourites like Okami, Odin Sphere, or Dark Cloud. Sakuna is a solid title with a lot of fun to be had. It has ambition, charm, and a whole myriad of interlocking systems to dive into. Despite some tedium in the early game and a dearth of content in the late game, the overall package is strong. The rhythm of the gameplay loop never loses its ability to calm and easily leads to a state of video game zen. One part beat ’em up RPG and one part farming sim, Sakuna truly excels in how well it blends these two genres. As far as I am concerned, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is worth playing not just for those interested in either genre, but for people who want a taste of what indie titles can be.

Harvestella is ambitious as hell and punches way above what I suspect was a limited budget. Yes, I wish Quietus would feel like more of a threat during the game or that time management offered more of a sense of urgency than it does, but this game is going to linger in my mind. It is undoubtedly one of my favourite games of the year and gets bonus points for running perfectly on Steam Deck!

Danganronpa fans should still love this entry, even with some subpar elements.

Fate/Samurai Remnant is an all-around great game, and I can only hope we see more fantastic collaborations like this from Type-Moon and Omega Force. My imagination is already running wild as I consider what this duo might achieve with a Fate game focused on heroes such as Jeanne d’Arc, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Fans of Fate, action RPGs, samurai games, or Japanese history in general should give Fate/Samurai Remnant a look. It’s well worth the time and serves as a rewarding experience through and through.

If you enjoy action RPGs and seeing the different ways a story can play out based on your experience, Stories: The Path of Destinies is an easy choice.

If you liked "Aria of Sorrow," pick up DoS. If not, steer clear.