If even just a few more features had been implemented into Legna Tactica, I would find myself singing a different song at the end of this review. It is by no means a poor effort, but the main element RPGamers will expect from a TRPG — the tactics promised in the actual title — just never feel very engaging. By the time the scope of battles offers an enjoyable challenge, the game is already nearing its end and fatigue is setting in; it's too little, too late. Narrative, graphics, and music all clock in somewhere around average, with some facets, like the soundtrack, having a slight edge over others. As budget titles go, players can do much worse. Legna Tactica may satisfy some bite-size appetites, but don't expect it to scratch any Final Fantasy Tactics-sized itches.

While Oninaki had its fair share of ideas that could have potentially made it a gem, it is ultimately undone by weak storytelling that doesn’t do its heavy subject matter justice and combat that is enjoyable at times yet held back by design flaws that hinder the experience. It never quite executes its best ideas in a wholly satisfactory way, resulting in a game that I tried my best to open my heart to, but the game refused to open its own.

Ultimately, Dark Alliance is a flawed game that provides a perfunctory single-player experience that fails to dazzle or delight. While there is some depth and enjoyment deep within the heart of the multiplayer experience, Dark Alliance fails to provide the engrossing gameplay experience that is required in order to sustain the sort of long-term community clearly desired by the game’s creators. The developers are already planning to implement changes based on player feedback, on top of a planned expansion and fifth playable character, but the question then becomes how many will still be waiting in Icewind Dale?

There is fun to be had in Divinity II, especially in terms of exploration and customization. Unfortunately, the game's poorly plotted story and uneven difficulty will challenge the patience of most players, even those who enjoy parts of the game.

The problems that The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics has don’t automatically make it a bad game, it just doesn’t have enough pros to let them be overlooked. While the combat has the potential to be great, it’s dragged down by foolish AI, artificial resource starvation, and a lack of interesting music tracks. There will be some fans who will find content here to enjoy, however, with the vast breadth and depth of the Nintendo Switch library, those looking for quality games can no doubt find better candidates elsewhere.

There were many times when I started to become invested in this game's world, and enjoyed what it had to offer. Then one of the issues unfortunately present in the Vita version would stop me in my tracks. After about the twentieth crash that forced me to restart the game and endure its beginning load times once more, all the mercy had left my system. Dex is an interesting title that ought to interest many — just not with the Vita version.

The list of things that I had yet to unlock after going through the campaign show that Absolver is intended to have some long legs. Unfortunately, during those first few hours it doesn't provide anywhere near enough reason to actually stick around. The single-player feels mostly meaningless and the few flashes of interesting aspects are quickly lost in the labyrinth that is Adal.

The 3rd Birthday is a difficult game to recommend. There are aspects of it that really shine and make it an enjoyable experience, but others features, particularly the game's tortuous story, will surely disappoint those who were expecting the game to be in the vein of the previous Parasite Eve titles.

There’s a lot of love in the story presentation of Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader. It is a blast to see how dark and depraved the world can get and how each of the companions build their journey. There’s just a ton to do, with an exhausting 100+ hour experience made longer with glitches and ridiculous loading times. These issues are constantly undercutting the core experience and making even the joyous parts feel like a chore. Maybe there’s a day where the chores are only a distant memory. That time isn’t now though.

Pandora's Reflection has some flashes of enjoyment, but these aren't strong enough to hold up the game without support, which is sadly lacking.

There’s a lot of little pieces that work in Blade Prince Academy, mostly on the combat side. Characters have snappy designs, but the fast-forward plot makes their personalities feel stilted. The game is ultimately a passable, but not fully realized, experience with the novel gameplay the only element that stands out. It is likely worth a look for those with whom the style resonates, just be prepared for fast thinking or copious use of the pause button.

Paranoia offers a unique premise with a ton of potential and under which many interesting scenarios can unfold. The balance between oppressiveness and humor is executed well, giving a very unique feel to this particular dystopian setting. Unfortunately, the developers are unsuccessful in using these to flesh out the world and narrative or to create characters that feel alive. While there are some cool ideas like termination booths, treason level, and cloning, they are executed a bit too close to the letter of the source material and don’t translate to a fun experience in a CRPG. The game is an interesting experience purely for its world and general atmosphere, but ultimately it fails to come together due to the lack of depth in its mechanics, character development, and world lore.

While the game has a lot of potential and is shiny on the surface, it lacks the depth and accessibility that prior puzzle-bending titles have offered and serves up a game that's ultimately a Bejeweled Twist variant done up pretty.

Azur Lane: Crosswave doesn’t harbour ambitions to be more than it really is and, though it may be a bit underwhelming, it at least doesn’t outstay its welcome. It’s perfectly happy to just provide some hours of mild entertainment without trying to reinvent the wheel and that may be enough for some, but certainly not all.

Overall, The Huntsman: Winter's Curse comes off as an interesting little title that fills a spot for those wanting something fairly short and easy to get into.

For a series that sparkles with personality, MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is a hard game to recommend when it feels like an inferior cut-and-paste job of Neptunia U.

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.

Agarest 2 is a definite step in the right direction for the series, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Some time spent focusing on creating a more engaging world and story, as well as to streamline some of the game's unnecessarily complex systems should help in getting Agarest to rise up the rankings. The series is beginning to show promise, however, and its pre-existing fans will find much to like in this entry.

Despite a great localization and plenty of solid aspects, Akiba's Beat's strengths never manage to overshadow its glaring problems. Its copy-paste combat system, constant revisiting of dungeons, and other minor problems all add up to a bland and occasionally irritating experience.

While hardly the greatest dungeon crawler ever produced, exploring this labyrinth is worthwhile for a certain audience. Falcom has plenty of other series that have gone without new iterations for many years, though the length of time since Brandish was remade seems to indicate that it unfortunately didn't start a trend.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard manages to provide some fun for those who know what they're getting into. Simple yet serviceable combat and a competent graphical presentation make for a game that is as easy to handle as it is to look at. Its multitude of extraneous features, however, fail to add much engaging and compelling to the mix; resource management and town-building, multiple skill trees, repeatable hunt maps, and a rage combat ability can all safely be ignored. Though it has a lengthy campaign and relatively low challenge, it never really manages to rise past the basic thrill of its combat, and will disappoint those looking for a deep, satisfying story or anything beyond the hack-and-slash loot-a-thon it is.

Despite the issues, River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next will appeal to and satisfy the right people. Its chaotic take on The Romance of Three Kingdoms offers some good amusement as its larger-than-life cast threatens to push it off the rails, and there is some small satisfaction in being able to just blow away all comers at times. However, those looking for some more finely-tuned combat and challenge, or any real in-depth gameplay, will need to search elsewhere.

It was always going to be tough to follow-up Golf Story in an interesting manner, and one certainly can’t say there was a lack of ambition in what Sidebar Games was trying to achieve in Sports Story. However, fulfilling that ambition is another matter entirely, and ultimately the game leaves a sense of what could have been. Sports Story still has its moments and those who enjoyed Golf Story will be able to find some enjoyment at least. The game ultimately overshoots the green, but hopefully useful lessons will be learned in time for the next approach.

Black Sigil's unpleasant combat is truly a shame, because just about everything else in the game successfully emulates the feeling of playing a great lost Super Nintendo RPG.

ICLA had an opportunity to transform Pokémon Shining Pearl into a much more memorable experience. Having played the original, it’s disappointing to see that the Shining Pearl is the same game I played back in 2006, with nothing more than a pretty coat of paint. None of the balancing issues are fixed, the backtracking is still as much of a slog as ever, and the roaster of Pokémon is far from impressive. As much as I love Bidoof, even my favourite loaf of beaver bread couldn’t save the experience for me, and my hope is with the next remake is that it receives meaningful adjustments, instead of rehashing a mediocre Pokémon game that isn’t memorable in the slightest.

I am struggling to fully reconcile my feelings about Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties. I have nostalgia for the original game, even if it’s not rated highly within the series. However, while I enjoyed some of the changes made, such as the side content with the Morning Glory Orphans and the silly Okinawa Girl Gang, those rose coloured glasses come off when I realized that the story feels quite messy, content from the original has been removed for questionable reasons, and everything in the game feels bloated. Coupled with following some of the worst characters in the series, it’s hard for me to say with confidence that this is the definitive version of the game, because it’s honestly a substantial step backwards.

Those with a more retro mindset will find some enjoyment, but are also likely to discover that not everything trying to evoke the best of a former era does it successfully.

For a first foray into a new type of action game, Steelrising is an okay attempt. The skeleton of a good game is there, but all of its aspects need various levels of tweaking to get the recipe just right. Some things like combat just need a fine tune to be more reactive and smoother. Others like the level design need a firmer foundation to allow for more engaging and palatable exploration. It’s far from the worst game and won’t eat up too much time, but it’s not the most solid entry into the genre.