I was ready to be done with Crystar after its first 15 hours and leave somewhat satisfied, but the last chunk of the game really soured the rest of the experience. I was willing to give a pass to the stiff combat and the average writing precisely because it was building up to be a tighter, more entertaining experience. However, by artificially extending the length of a game that didn’t even make good use of its extra time, Crystar’s faults end up being impossible to tolerate and very easy to loathe. I really wanted to like Crystar, but I guess I couldn’t find much light in its darkness.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order doesn't try to be more than it is, a fun romp with characters everyone has come to know over the past decade. While fighting with the camera can be frustrating at times, the game itself is extremely enjoyable especially if you’re a fan of Diablo-style RPGs. Additionally, it serves as a great stepping on point for anyone unfamiliar with the franchise and is accessible to any and all fans.

Despite some of my misgivings with the challenge available or the storyline itself, I still come away quite fond of Fire Emblem: Three Houses largely due to is characters and world. As I write this review, I am eager to return to the game to finish up the remaining routes as soon as I can get around to them.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is in every right a proper sequel. It takes the good from the original Builders title and improves upon its weaknesses. Sure, maybe the characters prattle on a bit too long, and maybe it takes forever to find the torches in the bag that I know I made, but at this point, these are minor complaints with a game so jam-packed with stuff to do and things to create. If you liked the original Dragon Quest Builders, this is a must-play. Otherwise, if you enjoy Dragon Quest and enjoy building, I’d recommend giving Dragon Quest Builders 2 a go.

Despite its numerous shortcomings, I can’t shake the feeling of how much I loved playing Bloodstained. It scratches an itch I didn’t think I necessarily had. It’s fun leveling up, crafting bizarre weapons, upgrading my spells, getting sidequests done, and filling out more of the map bit by bit.

I have done my best to avoid the inevitable comparisons to the genre-defining Diablo series, as, thanks to the developer staying true to the license, Warhammer: Chaosbane manages to stand apart and succeed in forging an identity of its own. Still, it's hard to ignore the regrettable fumbles and clear shortcomings that detract from the experience, even though I hope that the post-release updates will make some headway to address those in time.

Cadence of Hyrule is a fun time if you know what you’re getting into. This isn’t an average Zelda spin-off, so if you’re awful at keeping a beat and don't want to use the Fixed Beat Mode. But, Cadence of Hyrule is worth a try if you don’t mind going to the rhythm and dealing with a couple of rogue-like elements.

Super Neptunia RPG is a fun little game but leaves a lot more to be desired. I could see a sequel full of potential, but at its current state with all the technical hiccups, it really boils down to you being a Neptunia fan or not. The game lacks enough polish for it to be a great game, but perhaps a sequel down in the line or even using a fresh IP without Neptunia holding it back can make room for a more interesting project.

Judgment is perhaps, in my opinion, one of the best titles Ryu ga Gotoku Studio has to offer. If you’re interested in a narrative-heavy game that involves similar elements to many Japanese paralegal or noir films and dramas, this is absolutely for you. And for those that are familiar with the Yakuza franchise I would also heavily consider giving Judgment a shot as it retains all of the character and drama-heavy stories you’re already familiar with. While it does have its weaknesses and combat can be fatiguing at times, Judgment stands atop as perhaps one of the best narrative experiences yet to release this year.

Octopath Traveler was a pretty good game on Switch and a mediocre game on PC. It's so clearly tailored for Nintendo's portable system that plunking it anywhere else is just going to exacerbate the flaws that it has. Yes, this port "works" okay, but that doesn't mean it works best here. For all Octopath Traveler's promises of harkening back to JRPGs of yore, it forgets we loved those games because we loved to see their characters share the load.

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.

Persona Q2 is a solid entry to close out Nintendo's dual-screen handheld. It doesn't shake up any established formulas, but with a satisfying gameplay loop and charming presentation, this dungeon crawler fills that hole for those looking to get their Persona fix.

Trails of Cold Steel II is an incredible experience. Despite its unfortunate performance issues, this sequel is better than its predecessor in almost every way. Just like with its predecessor, it’s hard to think of a reason to not pick up this version of the game if you can’t play it on PC. Now that both games are available on a PS4, there hasn’t been a better time to play them if you ever had even a passing interest in them. And just like I said in my review of the PS4 version of Trails of Cold Steel: the Trails series is well worth your time.

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’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.

If you're going to play Death end re;Quest, then I suppose this port is technically the best version of the game as of right now - but that's by a very, very slim margin. You're not really gaining much from this port, other than the option to play it on your computer, and with keyboard and mouse if you can manage to memorize your mapped controls and can deal with the infuriating mouse camera. As a port it's incredibly disappointing, but at least PC only users can play it, and if you were only planning on playing it with a controller at 1080p/60FPS, you're probably not going to notice the ports glaring faults. The port performs well, and I'd wager for 90% of users the state of it will be enough. It's just disappointing that it launched in such a barebones state.

A Plague Tale: Innocence doesn’t nail everything, but it still manages to pull off the things it absolutely needed to succeed. For every clunky stealth section or awkward animation, there’s a heartfelt interaction between Amicia and Hugo. It’s a story about the inevitable end of all things and how tragedy makes people long for a time before innocence is stripped away. Amicia didn’t ask to become Hugo’s guardian--that’s just the way life panned out. Much as she would like to shield him from the brutality of their circumstances, it’s not possible if they want to survive. Innocence is akin to fire; neither lasts forever and, eventually, every flame fizzles out. However, if we stick with the people we love, it’ll burn for as long as we need it to.

Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is an easy game to recommend for those that are nostalgic for the Final Fantasy Tactics games but also want to try something new over simply revisiting that series. A competent game in its own right, I enjoyed my time with Fell Seal, though it's not likely one I would revisit over many of its contemporaries simply due to how derivative it can feel at times. Still, its a solid experience that strategy RPG fans should be able to find some enjoyment out of for the same reasons that left many of us wanting more games of this style in the first place.

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.

Dark Devotion is a beautiful game that borrows from several of the best aspects of its inspirations, but it ends up sampling too many ideas at once to make for a cohesive experience. The quest design and incentives for exploring thoroughly are hindered by the one-way nature of progression from room to room. Too many benefits in terms of skills, blessings, and gear are given to the player as a leniency for dying, but they also end up trivializing many boss fights which would otherwise be spectacles. The bleak environments and low-density narrative are absolutely a perfect fit, but several of the roguelike and Metroidvania elements just stand at odds with each other too often. Dark Devotion is fine, but fails to stand out.

VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is a perfect example of the fact that a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. Mixing drinks isn’t mechanically interesting, and it fumbles around with social commentary in questionable ways at times. However, those moments between Jill and Alma were enough to elevate the whole game for me. It truly does feel like you’re sat at the barstools with your friends, chugging some brewskis, shooting the shit, and (mostly) having a good time. You might be making out with a toilet come morning, but hey, in life there’s no reward without risk. So if you’ve yet to play VA-11 HALL-A, or if you just want to revisit it, prep your finest glass cleaning rag, because it’s time to mix drinks and change lives.

If you already own The Zodiac Age, I would still suggest getting the Nintendo Switch version purely for the new additions, which are also available in the Xbox One version. The ability to switch jobs is an invaluable one, and the New Game + feature creates a new level of replayability and grinding opportunities for Zodiac Age’s Trial Mode.

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

A delightful RPG experience. Though there are problems around its edges with prolonged battles and a weak overall narrative, its ability to maintain a deck-building card game inside a RPG in inventive ways continually is nothing short of awesome. Once it clicks with you, it’s hard to not stop theorycrafting, experimenting, and optimizing your deck.

It goes without saying that Final Fantasy X & X-2 HD Remaster is an incredible port of a pair of already incredible games. While both Final Fantasy X and X-2 have received numerous new releases over the past several years, it is apparent that the Nintendo Switch version holds up extremely well alongside the other available systems. If you’ve not already had the opportunity to give this series of games a try and are looking to dive into one of the essential Final Fantasy titles, or if you're seeking to rediscover Spira again, now is your chance.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun is a neatly packaged dungeon crawler with a nice style and satisfying gameplay loop. I found myself wishing that the combat was a little more robust or distinctive, or that the game challenged me a bit more throughout, but I enjoyed my time with it. I'm looking forward to seeing how Zen Studios might follow Operencia up in the future.

It's still a solid playthrough and unique enough to consider worth experiencing -- especially with a friend. The best case scenario is that Outward serves as a successful proof-of-concept that leads to an experience down the road that hits a bullseye where Outward just narrowly missed the mark.