All in all, Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is an exceptional and mechanically dense roguelike filled with many small pieces that fit together especially well.

The unique approach to genre staples may not be for everyone, but for anyone looking to check out one of Square's legacy franchises, I’d recommend Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven in a heartbeat, or at the very least check out the free demo that’s out and see for your self. Regardless, it’s great to see new life being breathed into the franchise, and I hope Romancing SaGa 3 receives a similar remake treatment one day as well.

For a certain type of player, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment will be the single game you'll end up sinking the most time into on your Switch 2. If it wasn't for every other RPG I've yet to play this year, I might have ended up in those shoes. Age of Imprisonment isn't just a great Zelda spinoff, but confidently stands among some of the singular best games in the entire Zelda series. I simply can't recommend it enough for anyone who is a fan of the Warriors' genre.

Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection is a comfortable and light Action RPG with charm. While it doesn't offer then strongest narrative or the most interesting combat mechanics, it's still an enjoyable romp through a colorful world that's worth a look.

SRW 30 is a great starting point for newcomers to the series; it is also a milestone for veteran SRW players due to how it has revamped its narrative structure to be more open-ended and non-linear. If there is one common thread throughout every single SRW game, it has always been to form your giant robot dream team and have fun breaking the game in half with them. SRW 30 is no different.

Ultimately, when I finished Nioh 2, I was more than ready to head into New Game+ after the lengthy campaign. Yet with Wo Long, clocking around half the playtime to reach the credits I had already had my fill. Other aspects, like the state of the game's PC port - unfortunately, this is yet another game plagued by what appears to be the now dreaded shader compilation stutter - certainly contributed to matters, but while Wo Long was certainly worth the time spent finishing it, and a great game in its own right, somehow I doubt I'll be returning to it in the same way as Nioh 2 in the months and years ahead.

I cannot overstate how glad I am that Eiyuden Chronicle exists, and I adore its excellent presentation & nostalgic charm. Not everything landed for me as well as I hoped it would, but there's room to grow, and I truly hope Rabbit & Bear Studios gets the opportunity to continue with these characters in this world.

It might seem like I’m harsh on this spin-off, but I think I’ve grown more fond of the title the longer it sat with me. To get the most out of No Sleep For Kaname Date, you need to align your expectations in advance. The story isn’t devoid of emotional pay-offs, but it’s hardly going to hit things out of the park as hard as the previous games did. What it sacrifices in the typical mind-bending mystery, it makes up for with excellent comedy writing. This game knows it can’t meaningfully advance the plot of the main series, and it blatantly doesn’t try to. It wants you to have another go with characters you grew fond of throughout two really special games. It wants to make you laugh over the most ridiculous jokes, and applaud as Date powers up with his signature porno mags. As an AI fan who didn't need this to be the next big thing, I can’t help but appreciate what this offers.

At first, I wasn't completely sold on MHStories, but the longer I played the more that the game's heart shone through. The story might not have much depth, but what the game might lack in narrative it more than makes up for with its charm.

Druidstone is a perfect entry point for RPG fans that are interested in this style of tactical game without having to invest several dozens of hours in a longer experience that they may not enjoy. It doesn't offer a lot in terms of unique themes or robust storytelling, but it's balanced out by an impressive variety of encounter designs and flexibility for different playstyles. On top of these strengths, it also offers some surprisingly good musical scores and environmental art. It's a strong overall package that, while brief, was a joy to play through.

I wouldn’t be surprised that, when the dust settles, Crimson Desert’s evolution is looked upon in similar ways that No Man’s Sky and Final Fantasy XIV are. There is a lot to love, and a lot to still be let down by in the lands of Hernand and beyond, but it’s still a game that lets me ride a dragon and jump in a mech suit, so that is reason enough to keep it installed on my PC and console! Who knows what other goodies lie hidden still in the desert sands that I will be digging up for months, if not years to come?

Xanadu Next is a treat - a well crafted package that blends addictive combat, fun progression systems, pleasant exploration, great music & atmosphere along with a compelling story that doesn't get in the way. The whole experience is simply delightfully satisfying. Sometimes, good things come to those who wait.

Othercide is an interesting twist on the tactical RPG genre with a striking artstyle, adding in roguelike elements to questionable effect. Not everything comes together well mechanically, it's a little bit repetitive, and I think the narrative elements could have benefitted from just a tad more outward direction. It's certainly a unique game, which may be worth checking it out if you like trying new and different styles even if the execution is spotty in places.

Indivisible is extraordinary. It’s a very focused game that cuts out a lot of the fluff in RPGs. There’s no skill trees, no crafting, no mundane ‘kill 10 of this monster’ type of stuff, no weapon or armor system, and not even money to spend things on. There’s one basic currency you collect to upgrade your attack or defense. I think this works in Indivisible’s favor in an era filled with games full of massive checklists, endless progress bars, and so forth. Lab Zero has an admirable vision of where it wanted to take Indivisible; it may be a streamlined experience, but it’s a damn good one.

Shin Megami Tensei Liberation Dx2 is worth playing especially if you’re a series fan. If anything, it’s a good way to satisfy our cravings as we await the release of Shin Megami Tensei V. Even if you have never played a Shin Megami Tensei game in your life, but the idea of a very mechanically-driven mobile game interests you, you may find a lot to appreciate here.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity isn’t revolutionary, but I can’t deny that the Breath of the Wild touches to the formula leads it to be one of the better musou games on the Switch. Writing this review has been a bit challenging, because a good musou game is pretty self-explanatory. Most of the time, it even tends to be a great one with a staggeringly large amount of content. Outside of performance issues, the design is overall very tight and enjoyable, but the cast of characters and the gameplay truly shine for this genre. I’m hoping that the rumored Switch Pro is real, because I’d love to see how this looks and runs with better hardware. If you enjoyed Breath of the Wild’s story and characters, and like musou games, this is a great combination of the two that’s worth checking out.

That energetic feeling in the first game of swinging around buildings and taking out Titans with a well-placed strike is still incredibly satisfying. Complemented by a solid PC port, and you have yet another highly entertaining licensed product by Omega Force well worth checking out. This is how a sequel should be treated.

Atelier Lulua is one of the more new player friendly titles of the series yet, tweaking mechanics to be more intuitive than previous entries. Also, as a long-time fan of the series, it was great to return to Arland and learn more about the world and characters. Atelier Lulua is one of the better Atelier titles in recent years, and it’s worth picking up for any fan of the series.

I feel mixed on Grand Kingdom because I want to like it, but it just seems lackluster on its feedback loop of repetitive mission design; there is nothing that significantly caught my attention outside of the intricacies of battle from constantly building parties of different classes. Its story is severely lacking, and the War mode has a few neat quirks that overstayed its welcome rapidly. Grand Kingdom is an entertaining experience that presents neat, unconventional approaches to the genre, but there are so many aspects of its infrastructure that just seem haphazardly unrealized.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel and I wouldn’t say it’s genre-defining, but it still manages to be unique in some aspects. End game pacing issues aside, the game tells a great story and offers enough choices that I never felt slighted. Even the small option of choosing which werewolf form to shift into was nice. Heart of the Forest is a simple and easy to follow addition to the World of Darkness games but still manages to avoid becoming boring or repetitive. It’s a fun, uncomplicated game and honestly, that’s all I want sometimes.

Despite an underwhelming conclusion, Drova: Forsaken Kin is an incredibly fun and challenging game in many ways, and it likely would have made my personal top five last year had I played it when it released. It utilizes a smart integration of challenging environmental exploration, rewarding player progression, and intricate world design to create one of the most engaging RPGs I've played in a while. Only some shortcomings with writing and storytelling hold it back from being recommended without hesitation.

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]

It's hard to gauge how much of these technical hurdles are down to a rushed launch, poor optimization or simply the results of a game that hasn't been designed to run on last generation's hardware - but it takes what is undeniably a game of the year contender for me, and makes it difficult to fully recommend to anyone without either the hardware to back it up. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an excellent game, and an especially fantastic sequel; it's just a shame that most players will ultimately have to compromise when they decide where and how to play the game.

Outside of the unorthodox pairing of gameplay and presentation, Battle Chasers: Nightwar isn't that remarkable of a game on paper. Many of the mechanics are largely borrowed from other games and the narrative merely exists to move the party from one dungeon to the next -- practical but not altogether captivating. That stated, Nightwar is a game that ends up slightly more than the sum of its components, partially due to the novelty of the package as a whole, and (admittedly) somewhat due to the nostalgia of the turn-based rpg at its core.

I’m supposed to care about the drifters, which would make the ending of the episode all the more harrowing, but I never got enough time with them to care. Still, Episode 4 will be sure to strain some heartstrings, and in hindsight will probably make this episode a bit better, when it releases.

I come away from Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden endeared to its characters and storytelling, but disappointed in the game's world structure and combat. Antea and Red are captivating characters, and I applaud the game's narrative style & direction, but mundane world exploration, tedious combat, and average questing pull down a game that I had higher hopes for.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen plays extremely well both docked and undocked, with no frames dropping at any instance.

Despite my unearned misgivings at the game's initial announcement, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader somehow became likely my favorite title so far from Owlcat Games. Likely due to a combination of well-designed turned-based gameplay, a better focus of gameplay systems that don't needlessly detract from the core experience, and simply waiting for a few additional layers of polish to give the title a chance to be represented in the best manner possible. While still a little uneven in terms of gameplay progression and technical proficiency, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an engaging game that's brimming with things to discover and a uniquely compelling narrative that is at times both hopeful and poignant.