Time is such a fascinating concept. Ever since its conception, it has been a fundamental aspect of our lives. But because of this, we also experience its crippling effects. How often are we shackled by the past? How often do we fear the uncertainty of the future? Maybe that's even why Atlus opted for a more definite ending. Despite my seemingly endless list of complaints, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is a better manifestation than the original of humanity's ultimate wish — a wish for more time.

There's a lot I really like about Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth — Hacker's Memory. The core game is still as solid as the previous entry, and the extra Digimon sometimes make all the extra grinding worth it, but this is another 60 hours of what is essentially the same game. Die-hard fans will love it, and it's still way better than most other Digimon games out there, but as a sequel it only just hits the mark, and that's mostly down to the great foundations laid by the first game. Hacker's Memory is more of a remix than a brand new release, and there's nothing wrong than that.

Though Farabel possesses quite a number of interesting ideas, the end product isn't as polished or complete as it could be. I enjoyed the short venture I had through its rewinding war, but I'm in no hurry to try again. Perhaps the developers will be able to take the refreshing concepts in Farabel and push it two steps further—I would love to play that game.

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.

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.

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.

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

Eselmir and the Five Magical Gifts is a good start for graphic adventures in 2018. Perhaps if enough people check this game out, it may open the gates for the Pirin trilogy of novels to be localized. Familiarity with the books would have more viscerally connected me to the game's world, characters, and lore. Regardless, it is clear that much love was put into this project, and I'm sure players will pick up on that when they play Eselmir and the Five Magical Gifts.

This HD remake brings all the beauty and fun of the original to several new platforms, and while there are a few issues (such as the camera and the annoying voices), the strength of the overall package makes it easier to ignore them in favor of all the things the game does right. Whether you're a fan of the original PS2 version or someone who has never played the game before, Ōkami HD is absolutely worth adding to your library.

Describing The House in Fata Morgana as "entertaining" isn't exactly accurate, as it's a much more introspective experience than its contemporaries. In that regard, more visual novels should take a page from Novectacle's book — The House in Fata Morgana eschews genre tropes in favor of a style of experimentation that is deeply literary, and the result is incredibly refreshing.

Assassin's Creed: Origins is the best game in the series, but it's a mediocre action RPG at its core. In this sense, it both succeeds and fails at being a much-needed franchise shakeup.

Misao may not be a filling portion, but sometimes all you need is a bite-sized parody.

Funny, sad, and with the sharpest teeth, Doki Doki Literature Club is one of the most pleasant surprises of 2017.

Abstraction Games have done a great job emulating Kemco's MacVenture ports, just know going in this is a package that knows its audience.

A sad but moving piece that will make you think for far longer than the time it takes to experience it.

Finding Paradise is a memorable experience that may last me a lifetime, like a good book or film. The care placed into each scene is one of the reasons why Finding Paradise is such a masterpiece. Each string of dialogue, each reference to other games, every joke, and every pixel — they all feel deliberate and labored over, yet also so smoothly executed, as if effortless.

You're getting a lot of game for your buck, and a great story to boot, but be prepared for some repetition.

In spite of its imperfections, I enjoyed playing Summon Night 6 because it displayed traits that reaffirm why I'm into this series. I'm not the biggest SRPG fan, but I've enjoyed playing Summon Night 5 and 6 enough to venture calling Summon Night my favorite SRPG series. Unfortunately, the charm that initially won me over couldn't completely save Summon Night 6's storyline from its dependence on nostalgia for something largely unfamiliar to Western gamers. That being said, spending time with Summon Night 6 makes me want to play the Summon Night games we did not get in the West more than ever before.

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.

Creeping Terror feels like your typical horror movie that one would watch to get a cheap, quick scare but proceed to forget about once it's over.

A charming throwback to 32-bit era JRPG aesthetics, Zwei's quirkiness and polish make it worth playing in spite of the repetition at its core.

The combination of engrossing story, fabulous music, expansive world, and complex yet rewarding battle system make XC2 one hell of a grand adventure.

If you must eat, you can eat a Big Mac. And if you must play a traditional RPG, you can play Galaxy of Pen and Paper. In both cases you are also likely to get your money's worth. What you are less likely to get is something truly memorable.

Probably best reserved for the most diehard fans, but even they should enter with caution.

The marriage between the Warriors and Fire Emblem franchises has yielded one of the deepest and most engaging games the Warriors series has done to date.

In my review of Chapter Two, I praised the developers for learning from what wasn't great in Chapter One, and I'm happy to see that they followed through in the final chapter. It took a long time for this story to finally see its conclusion, but I'm really glad that it did. Now that it's complete, I can definitely recommend this series to fans of point & click adventure games. If you haven't played Chapters One and Two, make sure to do so before you play Chapter Three; as of this writing, you can get all three for just $30, and that feels pretty fair to me.

Despite some pacing issues early on, The Fruit of Grisaia is an unforgettable experience, and a hallmark of romance visual novels.

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!