Frankly, this is not a great visual novel. There definitely are noticeable flaws, and overall, the script needs one or two solid overhauls. But the game contains some potential, and it managed to hold some of my interest. While I cannot recommend Part 1 as a stand-alone entry, Perseverance may be able to reach its missed potential in Part 2.

When all is said and done, the negative headwinds are too strong for Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire to navigate successfully. The earnest story and varied, if simple, setting assets can’t make up for the obtuse systems and vapid, repetitive combat. The raft of graphical glitches and plotting bugs only adds to the terminal altitude loss. For the very committed, there may be enough content and exploration for a week or so. But with many better retro RPGs available, from indie to triple-A, the turbulence on deck is too great to warrant a recommendation to hire Glenn and his crew this time.

I always like to support indie developers and stand up for the little guy, but I can't when a product is as unsatisfying as The Curse of Slate Rock Manor. The one silver lining in this unsatisfying haunted house trip is the professional quality voice acting from non-professionals. But seriously, 125% completion in a mere two hours? Shallow plot and characters? Mismatched visual styles? No skin-crawling creeps or jump-out-of-your-seat startles? Sorry, I'm not buying it.

There are better visual novels and better RPGs out there than Fate/Extra, and with similar themes to boot, so skip this title and play The World Ends With You; Chaos Rings; or 9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors instead.

Play this if you love the setting and are prepared to sift through repetition for what looks like a diamond. But I’ll warn you now: when you finally dig it up, you’ll realize it’s just a rock. That’s the feeling this game leaves you with. The Outer Worlds 2 is not Obsidian at their best; it might be the worst Obsidian game I’ve ever played. For now, it is a sprawling failure of focus and pacing, a game that is often interesting by accident rather than by design.

So Disney published an RPG with some innovative mini-games utilizing the DS to its full extent. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was garbage.

All-in-all, A Witch's Tale is not only just average aesthetically, but absolutely destroyed by one of the worst battle systems I've encountered in a long time.

If I weren’t playing Robotics;Notes DaSH for review, I would have thrown in the towel on my relationship with the SciADV series about an hour in. The overstuffed run time mixed with the distasteful interactions with the cast leaves me leery of continuing the series. Of course, if Mages can get back to what they do well, with mind-bending plots and intriguing characters, they might get me back. Maybe.

Most of us, however, will find Two Worlds II boring, mindless, and dull, requiring (and consisting of) such little thought that it should have a warning label.

Most of us, however, will find Two Worlds II boring, mindless, and dull, requiring (and consisting of) such little thought that it should have a warning label.

While Episode 3 improves on Episode 2 in terms of plausibility and points of interest, this is likely due to the structure of the script, and less about any conscious improvements Telltale has made, especially with regard to how quickly they put out Episode 3.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is a harrowing combination of unimaginative, tired game design and stale writing. I hate tearing the game down because I believe the developers worked hard on it, but this is a League of Legends game that is going to attract fans of the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA). While this $30, 15-hour game feels like 45 hours to complete, that’s $2 per hour of pain. I couldn’t wait for the game to be over, and if I weren’t reviewing it, I would have quit by the fifth hour. I don’t care how much of a League of Legends fan you are, attractive pixel art and decent boss battles aren’t enough to justify this investment.

While Venetica is completely playable, I never would have beaten it without a review assignment. Gamers deserve a little more incentive than the bare pleasure of leveling up and hoarding loot to no real end. Even if that's your only ambition, there are much more attractive and fun venues for it. The developers seem to have infused Venetica with at least a portion of their hearts, and I hate to see passion so wasted. Then again, I could be wrong, and Venetica is the dreary result of pure industry.

While Epanalepsis succeeds at being thought provoking, most players will be left feeling empty, even after multiple playthroughs.

Coridden, while lacking polish, also shines like a diamond with its wealth of ideas, theming, and creative setting. Almost better as a proof-of-concept, my intention isn’t to steer the developers away from success, but to highlight that the hard part’s been done: good game design. All that’s needed is some QA. For you, reader, you may enjoy seeing what’s being chewed on here, but don’t go in expecting a crisp experience.

Fallout 76 is an underwhelming and disappointing mess, but may have the potential for greatness if Bethesda chooses to support it long-term.

Warriors of the Lost Empire is a game you'll want to like, but only hardcore fans of the hack & slash genre will have a very easy time forgiving its flaws.

Might & Magic Heroes VI's entire experience is driven by repetitious, mechanical tactics; it should be reserved for those with masochistic tendencies. The average gamer should definitely pass this up.

Once again, I find myself disappointed in a Neptunia spin-off. I always appreciate Compile Heart trying different things with the series, but many don’t turn out well. I have a sudden urge to replay Producing Perfection, the other game in which the CPUs become idols. At least that game was over in three hours and had a lot of fun moments. The terrible combat ruined most of Neptunia Virtual Stars for me, and when I’m not enjoying a Neptunia game, it just makes me sad. The wait for another good Neptunia spin-off continues…

With so many high-quality mainstream and indie titles on the gaming landscape this season, PSP RPG players would be best advised to skip Mimana Iyar Chronicle in favor of something better like Valkyria Chronicles 2 or Hexyz Force.

I truly wish Freedom Wars could live up to my expectations. Stories about authoritarian forces with absurd standards of criminality are more necessary than ever. I think we could also use more action games emphasizing vertical environments and mobility. But as it stands, I don’t think I’ll be returning to the Panopticon or working off my sentence any time soon. The prospect sounds more like a prison sentence than a fun time.

Though quirky, The Cave took an opportunity to revive a beloved classic and squandered it. I have to wonder if Schafer and Gilbert were active participants in this game's development, because the final product does not match what the gaming community has come to expect from these original thinkers.

Layton Brothers: Mystery Room wants to be a point-and-click adventure game, but since you can never do anything incorrectly, it feels less like an adventure and more like a hidden object game.

Opening the time capsule that is Baten Kaitos reveals a hodgepodge of gameplay ideas, story beats, and even visual styles from island to island that reaches for the stars but doesn’t land among the clouds. Instead, it crashes back into the earth with the rest of the mortals. Although it is more fallen angel than god, there are definitely parts that shine, such as Mizuti meeting with her family—but they would have shone even brighter if they weren’t lost amidst the game’s weaknesses.

So would I recommend Starfield? It depends on what you want out of it. If you’re chasing that perfect, seamless space fantasy, the kind where you lose yourself in the stars and never see the boundaries, this won’t get you there. If you’re here for the Bethesda loop, the busywork, the side quests that turn into five more, the slow creep of “one more thing” turning into another hour, this might help pass the time, though there are far better games for it. It barely gives me enough reason to keep going. It almost works, and then it crashes again.

Blue Reflection's combination of suggestive imagery with childish, performative femininity makes it difficult to ascertain just who its audience is meant to be; it reads like a game about women by someone who's never spoken to a woman before. In short, it's boring, unambitious, and in a year filled with outstanding RPGs, your time is best spent elsewhere.

Cyanide obviously care very much for the source material, and their earnest desire to do right by the Sisyphean task of a celebratory Lovecraft adaptation is hard to fault. I may have struggled with the poor stealth segments, but I did feel compelled by its campy cast and cosmic intrigue to see the game through to completion — something that can't be said of Infogrames' or Bethesda's attempts. Cyanide's take on Call of Cthulhu is undoubtedly the best yet, for better or worse.

Valhalla Knights lacks soul.