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.