Those with any passing interest in dungeon crawlers should find a lot of enjoy in The Lost Child, though it’s certainly not perfect. Some may be tempted to write it off as an SMT knock-off, but this doesn’t strike as being fair given how its systems go a long way to stamping its own mark on everything and to make it stand out. Gameplay and the narrative both work well for the most part, though certain aspects could’ve benefitted greatly from just a little more polish. The Lost Child is a game that should find plenty of fans out there.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light may have been a decent game from 30 years ago, but even with the added quality-of-life improvements and a good translation, it has aged more like mouldy bread rather than fine wine. It still has a good strategy system and is playable overall, but there are loads of better games, including just about every other Fire Emblem game in existence. This is definitely not a game for newcomers, but die-hard fans of the Fire Emblem series may find enjoyment, along with gaming historians who simply want to experience a time piece of how the whole tactical RPG franchise started.

Empire of Sin is a good game held back only by a lack of variety in ways to win, leaving most forms of diplomacy and expansion feeling useless long-term. This makes it feel like the game is punishing the player for playing slowly and methodically as enemy factions will only get stronger as game continues, though it lets players keep each playthrough unique by varying how deep they go into the intricate systems the game provides. However, the combat system is lot of fun and prohibition era Chicago has never felt more alive, so many will find it worth their time diving into the unique setting.

For those who want to see how it all started, Ys I & II Chronicles is the way to experience it. Ys I lasts just over five hours and Ys II boasts a little longer playtime at around eight, but with the game's fast pace, it doesn't outstay its welcome.

Ultimately, Skyhill is best played in short doses, well past bedtime. Its psychological strengths are enhanced, while its more soporific mechanics become less vexing.

However, this is a game that will have great appeal to those who appreciate a decent, unimposing visual-novel style story and enjoy seeing new takes on tactical gameplay. Those looking for a series of entertaining tales and a different type of strategy to that commonly seen in RPGs will do well to check the game out.

Weapon Shop de Omasse boasts a great premise and for the most part it succeeds at its JRPG sitcom goals.

River City: Knights of Justice succeeds in many ways as a retro piece of nostalgia, but it fails at having enough variety to keep it engaging. It lacks the humour of the previous games in the series by instead amping up the cheesy factor, and while that's fine and dandy, I wish it hadn't been so straight-laced in its approach. While I am glad the game clocks in around six hours, I feel like the amount of repetition and padding is still a large issue in Knights of Justice. While it's fun to transplant a series into a new setting, it's hard not to expect that more be done with it. Knights of Justice is a simple, straight-forward title that is mostly unremarkable. There isn't enough here that makes it different from other River City Ransom titles and that really is the true shame in all of this.

I found myself truly struggling with how I felt overall while playing The Lonesome Guild. On one hand, it’s a game with adorable characters who build their own bonds to push back a very real threat in the form of loneliness. It wears its heart on its sleeve, and while a lot of what happens in the story is fairly cliché, there’s also a warmth and kindness that cannot be understated and is truly the focal point of the game. On the other hand, the combat is uninspired, the dodge mechanic is fussy, the puzzles are often so poorly explained, and the rewards offered to the player have no real value in the grand scheme of things. The Lonesome Guild is a game that will find its audience through its visual appeal, but those wanting much deeper gameplay and story may be disappointed.

Despite these flaws, the game as a pure tactical scenario actually manages to rise above more prominent choices on the DS such as the Luminous Arc series, delivering a unique and enjoyable tactical experience that should engross devotees of the genre.

Warsaw starts well enough. Its eye-catching premise and style do a good job getting players’ initial attention, while the brisk gameplay loop gets players up to speed quickly. However, the loop gets tiresome a short while in, with rather shallow depth and no narrative to support it, and so the experience of the game itself will not linger too long in the memory. But if nothing else, Warsaw still gives encouragement for others to learn more about one of the darker times in history and find further respect for those who fought through it.

Sometimes a game becomes a bit too ambitious for its own good. Poison Control is one of these games, as the anime-inspired story and musical accompaniment are well worth being held in high regard. Those can only take a game so far, however, and are brought down by the clunky gameplay and copy-and-paste visuals accompanying them. Depending on which aspects the player values more it can either be a fun and engaging romp through a wonderful world with unique characters that grow, or it can feel like a slog repeating the same thing over and over ad nauseam until the energy drains out of the player and the game is shut off. Ultimately it balances out to an average game with a few unique mechanics, an entertaining if niche story, and a stellar soundtrack.

Moco Moco Friends shines in a way that many games do not with its completely genuine approach to storytelling, and I loved it for that alone. While it may not be the most complex RPG I've played, it has a ton of heart, and sometimes that can go a long way.

Overall, Chantelise will tickle those who are gluttons for punishment, but with its unfriendly game design, it'll leave many newcomers starving for something more approachable.

There are many unique mechanics introduced here that have a lot of potential, but between the lack of interesting ways in which said mechanics are used and the terrible controls, they only work to hinder the game. The game is also one of the buggiest games I’ve played; its litany of bugs range from falling through walls, to abilities that don’t work correctly or unintentionally trivialize encounters and obstacles, and even bugs of the game-breaking kind. This is a game with great ideas but horrid execution, both from a technical and a design perspective, and it’s really a shame. Here’s hoping the developers will take what’s good here and execute better on it in the future.

Overall, Dex is a worthwhile game featuring a compelling, beautifully rendered universe and setting, a well-paced immersive story, and deep characters. It offers a very enjoyable experience that will keep players driven to explore its world and progress in its narrative. The core foundations of its gameplay styles are fun, and chock-full of potential, even if that potential isn't fully realized in some areas. In many ways, Dex's main flaw is that the game doesn't deliver more of the possibilities promised by its strong foundations, and that is not the worst flaw for a game to have.

Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers is a lot friendlier to players than many tactical RPGs, though some would argue too much so, and it's impressive how well it manages to evoke its parent series' formula of powerful warriors sweeping through opposing forces. The campaign doesn't take too long to get through and is balanced both in difficulty and experience awarding so that players won't have to spend ages getting their roster up to speed. Hardcore tactical fans will likely want more challenge than the game seems to provide, but for those looking for a lighter tactical experience, Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers fits the bill nicely.

Fans of games such as older Elder Scrolls titles and even Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will likely find this an enjoyable experience. While Outward lacks the polish of those titles, it shares the vision of making a harsh, open-world experience into something memorable. It makes every victory feel like an accomplishment, and it allows the player to write their own story in a new and unforgiving land. And, for some, that is all they need from their RPGs to feel happily satisfied.

At the end of the day, Dead Island: Riptide has a lot of good ideas, especially in its latter half. The combat, while repetitive and often frustrating with the annoying inventory management, still manages to provide exciting encounters. It just seems as if the developer didn't trust players enough to fully immerse them with the survival horror title suggested by the mechanics.

At the end of the day, Super Neptunia RPG does quite a few things differently than other titles in the series; a few that improve the experience, a few that make it more frustrating. For those who have previously enjoyed the tales of Neptune and her crew, it’s possibly worth a try, but for those uninitiated, this won’t create any new Nep Nep fans. While I went into this game excited to try a different type of Neptunia, it hardly held my attention for more than a half-hour at a time, requiring a lot more stamina and time than it should to complete a game that clocks in well under twenty hours.

Knights of Pen and Paper is a sweet little throwback to the days of pen and paper gaming, but its simple approach may not be enough to entice every RPGamer. Yes, the combat is simplistic, but it's fast and easy to roll with.

Moon Hunters is a gem, and deserves to be a memorable constellation in the indie games scene.

Ultimately, Torchlight III is a game of simple pleasures. Simple gatherings with friends to take out enemies for greater loot. A simple, easy-going story that helps the game flow along faster. Simply going through just one more dungeon to have fun in and use the hero created to rain destruction down for better gear, and do it all over again. If something simple and fun that can be taken in small doses is what players are looking for then Torchlight III fits the bill. However, many may wish to wait for some big patches to fix the issues with multiplayer before getting too invested, or just take a favorite hero through the single-player campaign or a Dun’Djinn until the game lives up to its full potential.

The overall feeling that endures throughout Conception II is that it's a game that is by no means bad, but also not great.

Ultimately, Conception Plus feels like its skating by on the curiousness of its premise rather than using it to build a strong experience. The Star Children are easily the most interesting thing about the game, but it gets bogged down with gameplay that doesn’t provide any reason to stick around longer than necessary. The characters are given nothing useful to do in a predictable and irreverent main plot, and though the dating sim aspects are more interesting, it’s still hard to call them any better than ok. Conception Plus works best as something to do while having something else going on at the same time, but it’s simply not strong enough to warrant full attention for long stretches of time.

For as simple as a game it is, the game runs fine on the Switch. The draw distances of the levels and the pop-in is noticeable but really doesn’t impede gameplay in any meaningful way. The music and sound design is as bland as they come, leaving so little an impression that all that’s left is the admittedly fun creature design. But engaging with enemies isn’t entertaining and the levels offer no fun secrets to explore. Hyakki Castle promises an interesting premise but can deliver on little else besides some pretty loading screen concept art.

Creature Keeper demonstrates a promising foundation, but it requires considerable refinement to truly realize its potential and become a consistently enjoyable adventure.

Mato Anomalies has some good moments but all have caveats. Many quality-of-life features that current turn-based RPGs have are implemented in odd ways, and what new things the game tries tends to fall flat. Combat is enjoyable, but a disjointed user interface and repetitive ability use make it stale sooner rather than later. This is a game that is very dense, with a time-consuming interface and a story that tries way too hard to be something grand, throwing strained dialogue and empty contrivances together to the point where most of the meaning is lost. There’s some fun here, but mostly it is an unintentional headache that is hard to take as seriously as it’s trying to be.