I like a lot of what I've seen in Endfield. The combat system seems really engaging and the visuals are some of the best I have seen for a gacha game. While the story does seem quite promising so far, I am not sure if I want to fully commit to the game with a gacha system this predatory as someone who enjoys a lot of gacha games. I've always hated the gacha system that HoYoverse games have popularized, but with so many games copying the system and Endfield's own spin on it somehow feeling even worse, it is hard for me to want to get inviested here. [Impressions]

In its current state, I don't recommend buying Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader on Switch 2. While the first big update brought in some improvements and mouse controls, it was very much a one step forward two steps back patch. Not only was it disappointing that Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader hit Switch 2 with no DLC available or included, but this is by far the worst port I've played on Switch 2 since the console's debut last June.

The gameplay is a mix of Let It Die and Deathverse, but honestly, I don't even care to get into the specifics of it. Yeah, it has a somewhat interesting-if-simple roguelite/survival gameplay loop, and yeah, competing with other reviewers on the scoreboard was kinda interesting for a few nights, but I refuse to give any more of my energy to a game that uses generative AI to undermine the good work the other developers spent on this. I don't know if Supertrick leadership or Gungho leadership mandated the AI usage, but they need to get thrown out with the trash. I am beyond disappointed, not just as a game reviewer, but as a Let It Die superfan.

Varlet left me disappointed and bewildered. Despite some curious and evident narrative themes of adolescence in the social media age, Varlet's battle & social mechanics are stale at best and broken at worst. I went into Varlet with the best of intentions, but I came out weary and indifferent.

Reynatis is, unfortunately like many other titles in FuRyu's catalog, an underwhelming RPG. In fact, FuRyu has continued to provide a good case study on why we probably shouldn't solely deify individual creators without acknowledging the full ensembles required to make beloved games. But as it is, we're left with an RPG that is average at best, messy & forgettable at worst. I've played most of FuRyu's output, continuing to look for a game that I can easily recommend to fans of the genre. While some games have been better than others, Reynatis doesn't break through the mediocrity. Maybe next time.

I was excited to see my country represented properly in a video game, and that did happen. Sadly the game itself isn’t worth a damn, it’s a classic style RPG but none of my choices matter and I can hardly make any of them. Many systems and choices are just odd and make it unfun to play. They have a roadmap to change some issues I had, and some minor odd design decisions have already been fixed, but we’ll have to wait and see if that really fixes the poor story. The only real redeeming quality this game has is the art.

Enshrouded is undeniably a game to play with friends, as I struggled a bit playing by myself, but the way the world is crafted, and the way the expansive environments are filled with interesting points of interest is wonderful. The crafting and building system could use some work, but they are minute changes and quality-of-life fixes that only detract from the experience a little bit. Despite this, the detail put into the world and environments was enough to convince me that there's something magical going on here, and I could personally see myself losing days of my life to exploring Enshrouded's wilds. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]

Loop8 is a game full of great ideas that never come together. The most fascinating hooks in the premise fall flat upon execution, and I can imagine how much better of a game this would have been if it didn’t even try to be a time loop game at all. I can see a hypothetical RPG in this setting that hones in hard on the vibes, but that is not what we got here. There are few things I like less than a boring game with no substance and a lack of respect for the player's time. Loop8 is the epitome of this.

I come away from Batora: Lost Haven greatly disappointed. With tedious dialogue, a mediocre narrative, and thin gameplay structure, Batora is only salvaged by its adequate combat, respectable art, and a mercifully short runtime.

In my preview from PAX West, I described Lost Eidolons as “if Dragon Age and Fire Emblem had a child” and after sinking a lot more time into it, I still stand by that remark. It’s an impressive first foray for indie Ocean Drive Studio that has resulted in a title that will speak to SRPG fans and intrigue those who are more allured by more gear and stat-forward RPGs. While it may not land all the time with too many loading screens, a weaker narrative, and character models lacking emotion, thanks to the richness of its mechanics and solid tactical experience, the experience is still one that will appeal to tactical diehards. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]

I really wanted to like The Outbound Ghost. Usually, even with disappointing games, I find one feature or facet to rally behind even if the whole package is ultimately underwhelming. However, in this case I struggle to find a single thing to highlight. The Outbound Ghost is a pale imitation that I don't recommend playing.

I really wish The Good Life wasn’t a constant tug of war match. A series of steps forward, and equal steps back. I frequently would find myself loving the richness and detail of the setting, only to be taken out of it by an annoying gameplay mechanic. It overstays its welcome, and rides what it does well out thin. If you can get it on sale or on Game Pass, I’d say you might as well give it a shot. It’s not devoid of positives, but it ends up being painfully average at best. While I hope Swery’s supposed collaboration with Suda51 will be good, I don’t think I will be returning to Rainy Woods.

When it comes down to it, Poison Control fails to do anything interesting in any manner. There's nothing about the game that is outright broken, but there is just no substance to anything at all. A forgettable nothing story, forgettable gameplay, tedious maps, all lead to an experience that is an easy skip.

Neptunia Virtual Stars is largely unsuccessful at being a captivating product meant to represent Vtubers. The story is bland. The gameplay is boring. The character interactions are largely uninteresting. Some of its environments and storytelling bits shine momentarily, then drag players back to the reality that it is a repetitively dull experience. Compile Heart and Idea Factory tried to throw so many components and ingredients into Neptunia Virtual Stars that the resulting stew has no flavor at all; no single aspect or element quite stands out and is ultimately forgettable.

Honestly, Best Friend Forever feels like it's having a constant identity crisis. Mechanically and story-wise, everything feels incredibly disjointed. It feels like developers were throwing things at the walls to see what stuck, but then decided the pile of thrown stuff now sitting on the floor was good enough. There's no way I can recommend this title in its current state, and even if it was bug-free, Best Friend Forever still wouldn't be worth your time.

When Element Space is bad, it’s bad to the point of having to fully close the game and lose anything from a few minutes to a few hours of progress. When it seems good, I began to wonder if it only felt that way because almost every other part of the port feels unfinished. Overall, I appreciate parts and pieces of Element Space, but it cannot hold its own within the genre. Element Space has potential, but potential often isn’t enough.

I wanted to love YU-NO, I truly did. It had a lot of great ideas, and for its time was undoubtedly impressive in revolutionizing visual novels as a medium. The problem with genre-defining works is that they sometimes don’t hold up as well as the games inspired by them. YU-NO had just as many glaring flaws in its story as it did innovative ideas, and this remake does nothing to fix or improve them. This was out of respect for the original author and I get that, but it is still a shame.

Poor performance is bad enough, but let me put it as simply as possible - the port in this state should not have been allowed to release. It's an embarrassment and Idea Factory clearly knew what a stinker the game was with the haphazard axing of the game's originally planned English dub and NA physical releases. Arc of Alchemist is the worst game that I have ever reviewed, and I sincerely hope that Idea Factory takes the time to really consider how this game came out the way that it did. I know they can do better than this.

Shenmue III is a game of half-measures. It ultimately delivers on its promise of the continuation of the Shenmue story for fans that have been waiting on it for years, but that doesn’t mean it delivers on that promise well. Shenmue III could have been so much more, or at least tried to wrap up Ryo’s tale, but instead, we are left with another cliff-hanger. Deep Silver and Ys Net delivered a game that works but is as unambitious and dull as Ryo’s dialogue.

It’s close to being greater than the sum of its parts, yet it falls apart in its execution.

I really wanted for this series’ first worldwide release to be great, but unfortunately, Sword and Fairy 6 is just a bad game. It’s difficult to recommend the game to anyone with its myriad of issues, and that’s a shame. Let’s hope that this doesn’t discourage the developer and publisher into trying again, though, as there’s a lot the Chinese Paladin series has to offer. Maybe next time.

Outside of the narrative issues, the VN itself is... fine. The art is nice, the music is alright, and the UI is actually surprisingly impressive - one of the most striking UIs I've seen for a VN. It's a shame that the actual story and characters drag the rest of the product down.

As it stands, I finished the game feeling like I had accomplished and done absolutely nothing. It's almost impressive how hollow The Princess Guide feels.

YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a game that falls under the weight of its own ambition. Sloppy storytelling, bad pacing, poor characters, and some questionable (and potentially offensive) writing undermine what could have been an interesting story about young adults in the late ’90s, and the gameplay can’t carry the rest of the experience on its own. Even if it looks and sounds good, it’s just not enough to make its 25 hours an enjoyable time.

New Gundam Breaker is a tremendous disappointment on many levels. Newcomers to the Gundam Breaker series should be wary that this latest entry is not representative of how awesome the series can get. I love the Gundam Breaker series, but this is one of the saddest attempts to reinvigorate a franchise into a new direction. Even if the delayed PC release of New Gundam Breaker were to eliminate all the performance issues, it can’t fix the fundamental flaws that have been embedded into its core systems.

Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time is truly a terrible video game. There are signs of mediocrity between the seams, but it operates on such a fundamentally flawed level that it turns into a wrestling match between my sanity and its systems. I don’t know if it runs noticeably better on a PS4 Pro or the PC version, but an increase in technical performance does not excuse it of all the flaws in its design. I consider myself a fan of Little Witch Academia and Chamber of Time sometimes made me wish that I wasn’t.

Not only did the uninspired (and downright boring) maps dull my senses, but the glacier pacing left me fighting the urge to take multiple breaks during my coverage. I hate to say it, but you should stay far away from this one - there is very little that is redeeming about The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2.

Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon is a very disappointing follow-up to the first game. Its reliance on constant repetitive stage runs quickly become boring. Combat is marred by fickle AI partners on top of horrid framerate drops. Its characters are serviceable, but its unimpressive plot does little to make them memorable. If you’re curious about Gust’s ongoing forray into action RPGs, just play (or replay) the first Nights of Azure.

I do genuinely think that the story itself is serviceable, but its presentation absolutely destroyed my interest in it. There’s some merit behind constructing a band of characters manipulating an entire nation for their own purposes. It’s a nice change of pace from typical RPG protagonists and though all the story beats aren’t all that good, there were intriguing ideas behind it all. It’s difficult to recommend Valkyria Revolution if you’re looking for an enjoyable game. This was an ambitious direction to take the series to and I don’t think it was the right call.

Across its campaign of forty to fifty hours, Dark Rose Valkyrie tries to be many things and fails to excel or be memorable through any of those attempts. Perhaps it would have worked better as either a traditional RPG or as a visual novel, but it simply doesn’t work as a combination of the two. The story seems promising at first, but it’s average and marred by significant pacing issues. It stars a cast that is likable but not one that you will remember as anything groundbreaking in terms of characterization or development. Its battle system is restrictive and feels unbalanced, and as a result it makes battles have little enjoyment. The voice acting and character designs are great, but those positives aren't enough to compensate for the flaws this game has.

The Caligula Effect is a functional game, and some of the Japanse vocal music is fun to listen to. But it's actually difficult for me to give praise to much else the game has to offer. It's a diluted experience on a potentially interesting concept with some gameplay mechanics that are better off ignored. I can only recommend this to diehard Vita fans who are simply curious about the game, regardless of quality. Otherwise, this one is easily skipped.