For veteran Actraiser players, Renaissance brings to the table more of everything great about the original, and the new content creates an engaging gameplay cycle that, while not perfect, still recaptures the ephemeral fun of the original release in a way no other god-sim hybrid has done since. There’s a little something for everyone, including adjustable difficulty, improved RPG elements, a deeper storyline, and competent combat. It’s great to see a beloved classic recaptured with much-needed modern updates while ensuring the charm of the original never loses its place.

Dragon Star Varnir is exactly what it wanted to be: a safe game. Most of the ambition went into the combat system, where it succeeded. There are moments where players can lose themselves in the story, only for the presentation to bring the excitement to a screeching halt. Most annoying is how it feels like it punishes the player for spending too long exploring through the frustrating little sister system that creates some tension, but is much more tedious than it’s worth. These time constraints make the playable cast feel much smaller due to an inability to use them all consistently. Dragon Star Varnir has it’s positives: witches are all heartwarming and interesting in their own way, while combat is also fun, with devouring dragons for cores a notable perk. It is just not enough to take this game higher than being adequate.

I’d like to be able to say that aside from the bugs, Monster Harvest is a great game, but that’s just not true at this point. The game is just missing too many staples that other farming sims feature. There is little main story, no NPC interaction, a near featureless battle-system, no side quests, and barely any small intermediary goals throughout the game. Even beating the final boss is greeted with a single line of dialogue and zero fanfare. Publisher Merge Games has repeatedly claimed additional content will release when debugging is complete. It would be worth RPGamer’s time to wait for both of those events to occur.

Tales of Arise includes the trademarks of the franchise and shows that twenty-five years of experience help to strive for perfection. Just like a good wine, the franchise has managed to get better with age. The battle system, anime-inspired visuals, and a story full of lovely characters are the stars of the show, which ultimately make a game that shouldn’t be overlooked. Tales of Arise is an entry that will satisfy die-hard fans and convert newcomers to the series with its awesome experience.

This year has already been a strong one for RPGs, and NEO: The World Ends with You just adds to that case. The opportunity to return to Square Enix’s take on Shibuya has been far too long coming, but now that it’s here, it’s immensely pleasing to say that NEO: The Worlds Ends with You does everything I was hoping. Despite some repetitive combat, the rest of the experience more than makes up for it, with the narrative, audio, and visuals combining excellently to make the game enthralling for the length of its forty-plus-hour runtime.

On the whole, Black Book is a fun adventure that does enough to stand out from the crowd. The combat and card play are different enough from its contemporaries that those looking for a more traditional entry point into deck-building can give it a shot, even if the game begins to wear out its welcome by the end of its thirty or so hours. The real reason to stick with it is the great attention to detail regarding Slavic folklore and how it weaves into the gameplay in ways that can make the player feel clever. It won’t be the flashiest game anyone plays this year, but there is a good time to be had.

Disgaea 6 ticks many worthwhile boxes for series veterans looking to chase that next stat fix; however, newcomers may find the sweet relief when the final boss is at last vanquished by the auto-battle system to be the only high worth noting, and for all the wrong reasons.

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is a solid game all around, with a fun and always evolving combat system, a well-crafted world with tons of secrets to find, and a sober soundtrack accompanying its traversal acting as the title’s highlights. A word of caution should be given regarding the difficulty, since both regular enemies and bosses can prove to be quite hard to beat, especially during the final act. The story doesn’t shine for its originality but still manages to be well worth uncovering thanks to its characters and setting, making this bleak but ultimately endearing Metroidvania a strong recommendation for anyone that is up for the challenge.

Dodgeball Academia breaks off at an appropriate point and leaves a good feeling behind; there’s enough about the game to enjoy its content. It successfully evokes the feelings that come from watching fun cartoons, though on the gameplay side it feels like it would benefit from having more standout and extended matches as regular encounters towards the end because it felt like they were mostly making up the numbers. There’s definitely scope available for Pocket Trap to build on what it has created here, and I’d be very happy to see it do so.

Cris Tales is a joyous love letter to JRPGs, but limits itself to imitating the classics instead of attempting to elevate the genre. A plodding battle system ultimately causes the game to suffer. Cris Tales falls short of its lofty aims, but the zeal and indelible spirit of the game make it more than the sum of its parts.

What’s hard about WitchSpring3 is that there is so little in it that is enjoyable. There is no personality in the game, and everything that is happening in the story or the gameplay feels so unremarkable. I appreciate how short an experience it was and that it was very direct in its approach, but there was so little in it to explore and engage with. This is a hard game to recommend as it can be welcoming for some gamers, but this port feels as though very little effort was put forth. WitchSpring3: Re:Fine is a boring and hollow experience that cannot be recommended at a $39.99 price point.

The Vale offers a unique and touching experience in which sighted players will learn the unique abilities of blind people and how they “see” the world. Just as the princess encourages her companion to help as many people as they can, the game itself encourages mainstream games to make themselves more accessible to people who need assistance. The Vale: Shadow of the Crown appreciably widens the definition of video games and is not only a very welcome boon for blind and low-vision gamers, but a worthwhile title for those who seek a fresh and unique gaming experience. So close your eyes and use your ears to understand your surroundings because this game is absolutely worth the time.

Wildermyth has a lot going for it from its great enemy designs to the calamity structure making each playthrough unique. As enjoyable as each playthrough is, the unbalanced story structure prevents it from being amazing. This can be mitigated by gathering some friends and playing through a scenario with them. The game is a very fun roguelite tactical RPG that introduces some very creative choices, such as the entire Mythic class and transformations. With simple combat that does not get boring even after many sessions, replayability is very high.

While the gameplay provides a strong loop that makes it easy to jump in, it’s the immersive atmosphere that grabs hold and keeps players engaged for multiple runs. The emotional struggles of the characters resonate, and there are important messages about how helpful the support of others can be. Reaching its proper conclusion may require more work than is warranted, but the overall experience of Dreamscaper is such that it remains a strong recommendation for those looking for an atmospheric hack-and-slash title.

It’s difficult to say if Chernobylite is worth someone’s time or not. At about twenty hours, the game never overstays its welcome and none of its composite elements are major detractors. There’s a pleasing amount of fun to be had executing the heist at the end and in interacting with the cast. However, it is a game that sets out to do a lot of little things, none of them deep or meaningful. As an RPG it’s a fairly light endeavor, but the workmanlike quality and some cool decisions will do enough to keep plenty interested throughout its whole runtime.

Scarlet Nexus is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for an exciting action RPG. Though the narrative is varied in its effectiveness, it still complements the rest of the game effectively. Dazzlingly stylish with a superb combat system, Scarlet Nexus is a memorable new title that is huge fun to play throughout. As a new IP, Scarlet Nexus should be considered a great success with lots of potential going forward.

Mario Golf: Super Rush provides some of the gaming experience expected from Nintendo, with a sleek presentation and tight gameplay. There is no disputing this is an enjoyable, albeit brief, single-player golf game that provides the framework for a compelling gameplay experience. The lack of content — number of courses, weak online play, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Adventure mode — is the real problem here. Mario sports and golf fans alike will find something to like, however briefly. RPGamers looking for a proper golf-RPG hybrid are still stuck on their old courses.

Despite not everything going off without a hitch, and some systems sure to appeal more to certain kinds of gamers, Chicory’s emotional core is so strong, so impactful that it eclipses all other shortcomings and just leaves the player with an overwhelming feeling of pathos.

While not perfect, especially when it comes to combat in Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is still a gem. Most of the changes were put into Mass Effect 1, and the effort made it far more replayable than the original. Mass Effect 3 holds up the best of the three, proving that regardless of the controversial ending, it is still one of the best gaming experiences BioWare has made to date. Mass Effect 2 could’ve done with some more tweaking to bring it up to 3’s combat. Legendary Edition gives hope for the future of the franchise.

There’s a lot of things in Tainted Grail: Conquest that show the developers knew what they were doing. It is rare to see a game so fully embrace the type of game it wants to be, as the roguelite nature symbolizes the growth of the protagonist to fully understand their surroundings. The game has a forgiving nature as it does not punish players for dying too often and in turn makes it accessible to pick up and play. All the tinkering options with classes and deckbuilding make it daunting at first glance, but after getting the hang of it, each playthrough feels unique even when using the same class. The realm of Arthurian legend has never quite been explored this way before, and seeing the psychological wear and tear on the denizens of this trapped world is addicting. Get ready to dive into the Wyrdness, just make sure to have enough Wyrdcandle ready to light the way.

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?

Astalon: Tears of the Earth has just about everything a fan of Metroidvania-RPGs could want in the sub-genre. The plot is simple but flexible, the characters are well presented, and the tower is a meatgrinder. There is challenge enough to be found for the average gamer, though of course mileage may vary. Personally, this game presented an interesting and difficult twenty hours to complete, but what a feeling of satisfaction as the final credits rolled. I am looking forward to seeing where things go from here.

Death end re;Quest is one of those games wherein I wavered as I played through it. The story was engaging overall despite my issues with the game’s use of violence for shock value, the unnecessary fanservice, and a combat system that made parts of the game a chore to play. The Switch port is also probably not the ideal way to play the game due to the poor optimization though it is serviceable if players can’t access it on either the PS4 or PC. Despite the issues, I would have a hard time denying that I was compelled by the experience more often than not. If asked whether I like the game or not, my answer is yes…but not without some serious caveats.

While it seems a little contradictory with the criticism above and the scores below, I did really enjoy this game… for about eight hours. There is a lot of fun to be had with the class systems and the humor the game provides. Unfortunately the game lasted thrice the length I was willing to smile through and boredom set in for long stretches. I’d encourage anyone with a passing interest in this title to download the demo available on Nintendo’s eShop. It’s quite lengthy, and shows all the game offers. If that gameplay loop with almost zero deviation and zero challenge is something you’re willing to endure, it can be a relaxing break from serious RPGs.

The Yakuza games are very much their own thing, and are so densely packed with content that they may require some palate-cleansers in between. But for those who don’t mind doing some serious homework in the form of three mandatory amazing-in-their-own-right prequels, this collection is easily a must-play.

Fans of the Mana games will enjoy many staples of the series developed in original ways in Legend of Mana Remastered, and newcomers will encounter a beloved classic that includes an unconventional adventure and a remarkable soundtrack. I love the game and recommend it without hesitation, but there’s always going to be a sense of a missed opportunity for Square Enix to have given it the full remake treatment, with the voice acting, 3D visuals, and a more-polished battle system that Trials of Mana received.

The final word to describe Deiland the game is one that has been used several times already in this review: charming. Chibig has captured some of the charm and emotion to be found in the work of Antoine de St.-Exupery, mixed it with a blend of RPG and cultivation elements, and given the world another, smaller world to enjoy. Could it have been bigger? Yes. Could it have had more to it? Indubitably. But for what it is, Deiland is a nice diversion from heavier experiences in the genre, and that may well have been what the developers were aiming for.

In two highly competitive genres, this crossbreed may go unnoticed, but its difficulty system should be taken into account. It’s advisable to embark on the campaign of this shooting RPG since Outriders offers tons of hours of fun, invites players to play with friends, and has appealing visuals. Fans of both RPGs and shooters can get a lot out of it, but they shouldn’t expect a revolutionary game, for it is a mixed bag of interesting features and cliches. Even though the journey is enjoyable, Outriders is neither a strong contender in the RPG elite nor in the shooting universe.