Absolum is what’s on the tin: a beat ‘em up with level progression, equipment, and spells. Runs can get samey, but Dotemu have done a commendable job of not overwhelming players, while adding just enough to runs to keep us from getting bored. Though not revolutionary, Absolum is worth any fan of the genre’s time.

Illusion of Itehari is a narrative-heavy otome VN with beautiful artwork, excellent voice acting, a good English script translation, memorable characters, and some phenomenally written romance. So far, it’s probably my favorite otome of 2025. I enjoyed it so much that I sincerely hope its fan disc might also see an English localization in the future. A perfect utopia floating through the clouds might be just an illusion, but the entertainment gleaned from playing Illusion of Itehari is very much real.

Lucy Dreaming represents an astounding achievement when you consider the size of the development team and the results they achieved. Playing feels like chancing upon long-forgotten memories of better days. Despite this, the game pushes forwards, making these narrative adventures no longer just abandoned nocturnes summoning dreams of the past, but hopes for what we might see again in the future.

Disgaea 7 is a mixed bag: while it addresses many of the issues present in its predecessor, it also fails to match the sereis’ best games it is trying to emulate. I enjoyed my time with the game, but I’m left wondering where the series can go from here. Disgaea 7 does what it needs to, but I feel the series has exhausted the concept and taken it about as far as possible without a significant shakeup.

Wander Stars proves to be a major delight, especially if you’re a fan of the classics that the developers obviously have a lot of love and respect for. Yet, being a phenomenal RPG with an innovative turn-based combat system and a found family of characters you can’t help but grow to love for their own merits makes it a worthwhile experience on its own. While I find the ending satisfactory, much like many classic anime season closings it honors, I wouldn’t mind seeing further adventures of Ringo and company either. The stars may be far apart, but given constellations and the like, they can always find each other again. The creative Wander Stars is one of the brightest video game stars I’ve played this year so far.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger has a lot to offer as a monster-taming RPG. A heartfelt story lies at its core, despite some dissonance regarding its target audience, and the gameplay mechanics are polished and thoroughly entertaining. You could find yourself spending hours and hours playing the game and experimenting with customization alone! I had a great time playing the primary story campaign in particular, and found myself growing to care about the characters. As far as an interactive Digimon experience goes, I think that sentiment proves just how much Digimon Story: Time Stranger ultimately delivers.

I’m still impressed by how at home Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feels in its new form two decades down the line. It’s the opening act of an epic, long-running narrative and yet manages to feel down-to-earth and personal. It maintains its tone while updating it to a modern standard of presentation, and despite the stumbles in its dialogue, its characters are relentlessly charming. It’s more than just a great game—it’s a great starting point for a celebrated series, and that’s an utterly invaluable quality for one as daunting as this.

So does Hades II live up to the original? Absolutely. It retains much of what made the first title great while offering a different kind of gameplay. With Hades II, Supergiant Games proves that even Zeus can’t claim a monopoly on lightning striking twice.

I could complain about how The Ivalice Chronicles doesn’t have a revamped soundtrack like we got with the Pixel Remasters, that the PSP content wasn’t included, or that it didn’t have new cinematics, but you know what? This is an outstanding remaster with a subtle touch to rebalancing that fans—and newcomers—will clamor for. Having Final Fantasy Tactics accessible on modern hardware with all the furnishings Square Enix was kind enough to bestow upon us—all I can say is “thank you.” In truth, while an updated soundtrack would have been my biggest ask, I still cannot believe how good this voice acting is. The localization team and actors have absolutely done us a service with this masterpiece, treating this title with the respect it deserves. This epic fantasy that tonally draws from different styles into one coherent, beautiful voice is available to all of us, and if communication from its creators is to be believed, we might see more of this world if we support Ivalice Chronicles. Do yourself a favor and enjoy what is, without question, one of the greatest tales ever told. One of the greatest RPGs ever created.

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.

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.

Strategic yet led by its narrative and decision-making, Sultan’s Game sinks its venomous fangs in, forcing addled players to say: just one more turn. I had several instances in which I wanted to set up my team’s positions so that I didn’t forget what I wanted to do before I quit for the day, but I was so curious about the outcomes that I clicked to end the day and see the events play out, telling myself that I’d save right after the stories finished. Then the next in-game day rolled around and four new events popped up with their dazzling clinging sounds. I hovered my cursor over just to see the titles. That title! I just had to see what that title meant for the event. Before I knew it, I was placing characters into a whole new set of events. That’s the kind of game this is. Of course, like any venom, a little bit over time builds a tolerance, and while the content in Sultan’s Game may feel endless, there is, indeed, an end. Two-hundred, in fact.

I have nothing but praise for Upwards, Rain! The Post Office of Farewells. If I had one critique, it’s that the game does such an excellent job building up its fantasy world setting and the characters who inhabit it that I simply wish there’d been more time with them! But I can’t say that the game doesn’t offer a satisfactory and heartfelt conclusion, despite its shorter length. Upwards, Rain! The Post Office of Farewells‘ underlying message is hopeful and healing, one that I hope many others experience for themselves.

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.

Suffice it to say, this game is a solid otome VN experience if you’re the right audience! Those who couldn’t get enough of the first Bustafellows will surely find something to enjoy here, and those who enjoy mystery crime dramas and romance should take a closer look. I certainly wouldn’t mind a possible third season in the future or even a localization announcement for the Nintendo Switch port of its connected Side Kicks! game. More of this story-verse would undoubtedly be a plus. Like the citizens of New Sieg, we can only stay tuned to find out what could be in the works!

Newbies to soulslikes may want to look elsewhere, as boss fights can feel extremely punishing, and even with all of the experience I have with these games, I found a few bosses absolutely brutal and ridiculous in their attack patterns. Another way of looking at Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is this: if a Souls game never existed and this hit store shelves, we’d all be clamoring about what a marvel and game-changer this is. Although extremely paint-by-numbers, fun is fun.

Quartet not only excels with its fantastic ensemble cast, eclectic music, colorful visuals, engaging gameplay, and engrossing story, but its intangible “x factor” made my twenty-eight-hour or so jaunt a special experience. I would love to see character-centric post-ending DLC in the future, because Quartet’s cast is too cool not to revisit. I have nothing negative to say about Quartet beyond its lack of an auto-save. If this review does not put Quartet on RPG fans’ radars, then perhaps the notion of adventuring with Juna—a sage, sassy, and supportive talking hippo—will.

There are some minor elements of Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar that feel like remnants from its outdated DS counterpart. But there’s so much more that is lovingly updated, elevating the experience to one that stands out among its predecessors. Grand Bazaar is a grand remake that’s easy to recommend to fans of the series and fans of farming sims in general. Just like the winds of change brought it richer character stories, an emphasized overarching narrative, and voice acting, hopefully Grand Bazaar’s eastward winds carry these new features and concepts into future Story of Seasons games.

The feeling of happening upon a village in your travels and discovering a whole questline that takes up hours of your time alongside a compelling story fraught with dicey moral dilemmas is truly unmatched, even now.

Cheers to you, System Shock 2, for living up to your own hype. And cheers to you especially, Nightdive Studios, for bringing it back in such a loving, passionate way so that others may experience such a titan of gaming once again, or for the first time.

As someone generally more motivated to complete a playthrough than get caught up in a cycle of experimenting and restarting, I’m not sure I’m the main audience for Caves of Qud. This makes me even more impressed by what a good time I had with it. Whether you’re signing up for one playthrough or one hundred, it’s hard not to be captivated by its depth and imagination once you get a sense of how the world works. And if I were the type of player who liked to invest the bulk of my gaming time in one single-player experience, this would be a rabbit hole worth falling into.

With its combination of rich character and ability design and the smooth way it integrates rolling and manipulating dice, it’s proven an addictive presence. The original Italian Renaissance art style is the finishing touch that drives home Dice Gambit’s unique style and approach, even if it does outstay its welcome. Excited as I am to see where the developers and the game go next, I’m off to try a new run where, whenever dice are spent, all remaining dice are rerolled. Crazy! But hey, this is the way Lady Luck dances; let’s roll the bones.

OFF deserves a lot of credit for its creative accomplishments. I’m pleased that this remaster gives us the opportunity to pay it its dues while acknowledging the ways it has been artistically surpassed. It’s the type of creative project that lights a torch for others to carry into even more daring places. Still, with its arthouse stylings that resist easy interpretation, OFF retains its own identity enough to make it well worth recommending to this day. Whether you’re more interested in the game out of historical curiosity or to bask in the dread oozing from its presentation, OFF still has a lot to (don’t do it man, don’t do it)… offer.

Persona 5: The Phantom X is a free-to-play traditional RPG Persona 5 spin-off boasting a surprising amount of depth in terms of gameplay, storyline, and characters. Besides some wonky PC controls, the “gacha wall” you inevitably run up against if you’re trying to play it for completely free is the only thing truly holding the game back. Nonetheless, in a lot of respects, it’s a strong Persona title and one of the better free-to-play RPGs I’ve tried out. I enjoyed my time with the game, and can see myself playing it for a while into the future too. For me, that speaks volumes as to how decent a game Persona 5: The Phantom X can be.

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster provides a definitive way to experience an excellent JRPG from yesteryear. Flawed though it is, I would still recommend it as a truly unique experiment, blending classic vibes with an innovative spirit that earns it the right to be revisited in this more polished form over a decade after its original release.

Chained Echoes felt like an obsession, a product of many, many years of careful labor and planning. Ashes of Elrant feels like a set of solutions to problems. It comes across as something Linda wanted to make, but didn’t have to make. After spending 18 hours uncovering every little secret and poking around in every corner, some of the sloppiness wore on me. Don’t get me wrong: there’s still more than enough of the base game’s DNA here to have a great time. Exploration is still a blast, it still looks good, and it sounds incredible, accompanied by some beautiful new tracks from composer Eddie Marianukroh that fit right into the already stellar OST. But, like the new Reward Board, Chained Echoes: Ashes of Elrant looks the same and often feels the same, but the payoff just isn’t as strong.

The Red Bell’s Lament is an odd otome in that the romance isn’t the main focal point of the game and arguably feels like an afterthought in some respects. However, the little romance there is works effectively. The main plot is compelling and thoughtful, but reaching the point where it comes together takes quite a bit of perseverance. Add in a wholly unnecessary gameplay gimmick in the form of “gameboard” missions, and it’ll take an exceedingly patient otome VN fan to appreciate the title’s apparent strengths. I enjoyed The Red Bell’s Lament when I reached its conclusion, but I also found it a struggle to continue playing after that initial bite.

Neon Hearts City is a tightly-designed adventure noir, with well-written dialogue and surprisingly heartfelt voice-overs. However, it struggles to make its voice heard in the vast continuum of cyberpunk futurism, and its systems are too familiar and simple to add any unique complexity to offset this. For those with a love of the subgenre, the honest graphics, thoughtful soundtrack, and nostalgic plot will grant a few sweet hours in a different reality. In the end, although all these moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain, it might be worth a visit to the City. Just remember to bring your raincoat, ramen noodles, and a healthy dash of cynicism.