I wish I liked The Outbound Ghost more than I do, but I am glad games like it exist. There will always be genres and ideas that big publishers and developers don’t see as viable, and the indie space is a perfect place to explore them. I don’t recommend The Outbound Ghost at this time, but I hope the developers continue to improve it with patches and continue to make games in genres they care about. While there is a lot of promise here, The Outbound Ghost just doesn’t reach its potential.

Hammerwatch II is stuck in the past, which is a shame, because with some added niceties or more thoughtful design, it has the potential to be as impactful as its predecessor. An unoriginal premise doesn’t have to kill a game’s narrative, but with text walls and inconsequential, filler phrasing, caring about this world is nearly impossible. Being a fan of Hammerwatch, I found this review hard to write. For the first time I can ever remember, I actually put off writing a review, because the idea of hammering (heh) this out brought discomfort. I take no joy in the negativity of this review, but I feel like would-be consumers need the information to make wise purchasing decisions and the developers need the feedback.

I was honestly really let down by The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, but it's not a terrible experience by any means. The artwork is really gorgeous and with a bit more work and in a different medium, I think the story can be enjoyed by many. As it is now, though, Liar Princess is an easily forgettable experience. As an experiment from Nippon Ichi, it's definitely different and more appealing than some of their other properties, but even style can't hide a lacklustre and undemanding bore.

A disappointing and boring fantasy romance game that has potential but fails to fulfill the most basic expectations of a visual novel.

I don’t ever want to be frustrated or overwhelmed with a game like Alchemic Cutie, and I applaud the amount of content that’s available here, but it feels like this jar is jam-packed to the point where the glass is cracking. While other contemporaries offer a variety of activities that benefit your progression, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to carry on in Alchemic Cutie once you’ve beaten the story. Unless you really like that pink-coloured jelly with the bear ears and you want to keep them forever.

I really came into this game wanting to like it. As I said in my preview of the alpha version, it showed promise. That promise just never seems to be realized in the final version of the game.

That pervasive feeling of emptiness more or less encapsulates Egglia in a nutshell — er, eggshell. Lovely art and localization aside, it just feels like there isn't much game here. I have an aversion to mobile games precisely because so many are built around waiting for things to happen (or worse, paying money to make them happen faster). I hoped Egglia, backed by an experienced team of talented creators, might buck that trend. It doesn't. I was right to be wary.

The tired jokes, excessive grinding, high battle encounter rate, laborious progression, and unappealing graphics became unbearable after one weekend. I also have nothing to say about the utterly forgettable music and sound effects. A clever concept can only take a game so far, and unfortunately Healer's Quest lacks the accoutrements to rise beyond mediocrity.

Yet another game to add to the pile of mediocre, free-engine made RPGs.

While I can’t say I’m invested in Coop’s tired journey through his senior year in high school, I may be enticed enough to take the next episodes for a spin. But that would only be the case if the second half of Freakpocalypse maintains its quality in my memory. For all I know, I was lulled into a stupor or a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. One of the costs of reviewing for a site like RPGFan is that we try to finish every single game we review, and this one put me to the test.

Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters is pretty, but it's not the next Steins;Gate.

Wanderlust has few redeeming moments and is ultimately hard to recommend.

Episode 2 is a short, disappointing excursion into what's shaping up to be an arduous five-episode series. I can't decide if Episode 2 is worse than Episode 1, or if the formula is wearing on me already.

Fallen Legion has some innovative ideas that shake up the action RPG formula a bit, but the lackluster execution fails to capitalize on its promise.

The interminable length of the game, the halting progression, and the deluge of in-game items and resources caused me fall to my knees and wail to the heavens, "Is this necessary!?" Ultimately, Langrisser for mobile is utterly and thoroughly unnecessary.

There were a few times where I genuinely enjoyed Dissidia Final Fantasy NT — the online mode can be great, the game looks amazing, and I loved getting to grips with new characters. But at the same time, I've never come away from a game feeling as vexed and frustrated as I did with this one. I kept pushing through battles trying to find something to hook onto, something that I'd really fall in love with. This makes Dissidia NT an exasperating experience; so much of the game sounds good on paper, but in execution, it falls so far short that it left me feeling angry rather than satisfying the Final Fantasy and fighting game fan in me. If Square Enix are serious about making this truly competitive in the world of esports, they've got a long way to go to make this an enjoyable romp. I'm keeping my hopes up, but I'll be much more cautious if I return to battle.

Being a budget eShop title, Knights of Justice clocks in between 3-6 hours, but I'd had more than enough of it long before I completed its (incredibly frustrating) final battle. And that's a shame: I adore River City's cartoonish sprites and unique action RPG spin on the beat 'em up genre, and I genuinely enjoyed much of Knights of Justice's combat when I wasn't battling its inventory system or making up for lost time from unfair deaths. What could've been a breezy send-up is instead hampered by multiple terrible systems. Skip this one and wait for River City: Rival Showdown instead.

At its core, Gomo is best suited for young adventurers who lack the experience to take on badder aliens and higher ransoms.

I think those looking for a great RPG will find one in Tales of Symphonia. However, for those looking to play it via Tales of Symphonia Remastered, I just cannot recommend it in its current state on Nintendo Switch. For fans of the original, or Tales fans in general, this “remaster” will likely be a stack of disappointment, from framerate inadequacies to performance issues to audiovisual hiccups. Newcomers may find value in this “remaster” on PS4 or Xbox because the original Tales of Symphonia has heart, and Tales of Symphonia Remastered is its most readily available version. However, it is the unfortunate truth that they will still be playing a compromised version. This “remaster” does not cut it by modern standards, especially when it looks worse, sounds worse, and plays worse than a game 20 years its senior.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like RPGFans are stuck waiting a little longer for a killer app on the Vita. Conceptually sound but riddled with technical flaws and a lack of polish, this game is a perfect example of the adage "good idea, bad execution."

I really, really wanted to love New Genesis. It has a solid and fun core, but the game fails to build on it and falls flat in the end. Those problems are compounded by the horrid lag and issues at launch, but what MMO doesn’t have issues at launch? I can’t totally fault them for it, but it seems they were unprepared. This game feels like it needed another 6 to 12 months in the oven before it was ready. In short, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is a potentially incredible and enjoyable MMO that is ruined by archaic gameplay systems, poor monetization practices, and a total lack of content. Hopefully, in the future, a lot of these things will be fixed, but at launch, New Genesis is what it is: a game released in 2021 that’s stuck in bad practices from 2012.

When divorced from that context, the mechanics of Super Mario RPG just aren’t engaging enough on their own to carry an entire game. If Another Crusade had the creative worldbuilding and lovable characters of a game like Bug Fables, it could get away with copying familiar gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately, Another Crusade‘s world is bland and the characters don’t have enough time to shine amidst all the hackneyed attempts at humor that undercut any opportunity for narrative intrigue or personal pathos. There is a solid foundation here to build a truly great RPG, but Another Crusade fails to realize that potential.

While I didn't have huge expectations for Destiny Connect, I feel like the game has settled for simply being average. For a sub-15 hour RPG, revisiting the same places over and over again while posing no challenge struggled to hold my attention for even a third of the time, and the charming art is severely let down by the Switch version's quality. There are so many better examples of beginner RPGs out there that allow kids to customise and experiment much more and give them a robust world to explore. Think Fantasy Life on the 3DS, or any Pokémon game, and you've already got something much more engaging and exciting.

What's frustrating about Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is that it's a game with a good concept and a battle system that has the potential to be fantastic if refined. What it ends up being, though, is a game with the smallest bit of quality at its core, surrounded by a suite of atrociously subpar elements.

Conception II overrelies on eccentricity to mask its unexciting game mechanics.

In the end, Daggerdale is a passable hack and slash that seems like it needed another few months in the oven before release.

A very rough attempt at a survival stealth game that squanders an exciting setting and intriguing cast of characters.

An uninspired sequel that feels like it was rushed out the door.