Anyone interested in a title that is charming and rewarding to spend huge quantities of time exploring should most assuredly check it out, and while the narrative won’t blow people away, it’s also not constantly forcing itself into the forefront. This may not be for everyone, but it most assuredly clicked with me.

For those looking for a unique, dread-filled experience in the RPG realm, Vampyr offers a type of game seldom seen. But much like the streets of 1918 London, expect a few bumps along the way.

Provided the rest of the game keeps up with its strong opening, Phantom Doctrine is very well set up to be one of this year’s pleasant surprises and one that strategy fans be will happy to sink many hours into throughout multiple campaigns.

Shining Resonance Refrain pivots between enjoyable and very dull moments. For every good aspect, there is another that undoes it, while everything else is strictly mediocre. If players are in desperate need of an action JRPG and have somehow managed to exhaust all other options, then Shining Resonance Refrain may fill part of the void. However, it certainly isn’t the glorious return that series fans have been hoping for.

I enjoyed my time with Strange Journey Redux, and the many things its dungeons offered will stick with me. Its narrative is also interesting and should be applauded for what it attempts, even if the story’s reach is not quite what it can attain. I was also ready to be done by the time the credits rolled and uninterested in starting the whole thing again to see another ending or reach the heretofore-forbidden areas, which keeps Redux from being among the crowning achievements in my RPG experience. It was a worthwhile title to encounter though, and should at least be tried by anyone curious.

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.

Cosmic Star Heroine doesn’t quite match up with the best of the 16-bit era’s RPGs but is definitely worth the attention of anyone today who was at all interested in the project during its long genesis, which is a lot more than many deliberate throwbacks can say.

I think the largest issue with Pro is its price point. Those who have played Dragon’s Crown in the past will not find anything new here other than it being on a different console. While it’s a solid game through and through, it’s hard to recommend given this game released in 2013 and it’s essentially the exact same title from before.

Chamber of Time is an incredibly uneven experience. It’s an amazing recreation of the Little Witch Academia universe with impressive art and fantastic voice acting. However, that accomplishment is squandered by how tedious the navigation of the academy becomes, bland fetch quests, poor AI, bad boss design, and sub-par combat. This could have been a good game with better choices, but instead it’s difficult to recommend to even the most rabid Little Witch Academia fan, much less the broader RPG-playing public.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with its focus on button-mashing action; in fact, the addition of the calculator to bribe enemies into joining you is a welcome idea that has merit. But each time the game hits its stride and lets the player feel a sense of fun, it’s quickly dashed by repetitive gameplay, dull story, or another crushing difficulty spike.

Asymmetric Publications has created a highly entertaining title in West of Loathing. The game provides an excellent mixture of humour and exploration that is very easy to get sucked into. Switch owners — and those on PC, Mac, or Linux who haven’t done so yet — would do well to check it out.

With the game’s narrative failing to cash in on its dramatic tension, I just wanted to finally be freed from having to keep playing.

While Galaxy of Pen & Paper doesn’t push any boundaries, it stays true to its 16-bit roots, offering a fun exploration into outer space, and a great excuse to hang with your friends, eat some pizza, and roll some dice.

The combat requires a combination of both strategy and real-time execution that will keep players at the edge of their seats in tougher encounters. Its simple approach to presentation is enjoyable and light-hearted, and will generally engage players throughout. Unfortunately, with frustrating combat controls, multiple underdeveloped combat encounters, and limited scope of the narrative, characters, and other facets of presentation, the game’s full potential is never realized.

Yonder doesn’t have quite the same lasting power that other crafting-focused games may have, but makes its experience notable with great presentation. It’s a game that welcomes players into its laid-back and relaxing atmosphere. For those just wanting to spend some time chilling out and exploring in a great-looking world, Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is certainly one to recommend.

The repetitive gameplay cycle, taken to its extreme by asking the player to clear the game a total of five times before the true ending is even unlocked, won’t win everybody over. But fans of the genre should find the game more than worth checking out, provided they know what they’re getting into.

For all the ways The Alliance Alive seems like a pleasant throwback RPG early on, it features too many frustrating design decisions and gameplay systems that have little impact until the endgame. It all adds up to a game experience that elicited very little satisfaction, ending with a variety of negative emotions and an unpleasant lasting taste.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 is the worst gaming experience I’ve had in recent memory. The longer I played the game, the more negative my opinions became. While it started out as a harmless, bland action RPG, it beat me into submission with repetitive dungeons, bad combat, and poorly-designed boss encounters. While there may be a few interesting ideas in the story, it’s not worth suffering through the dungeons and needlessly verbose scenes to experience them.

Its friendly difficulty options cater to all abilities, providing strong challenges to those who want it and not getting in the way of those who don't, while the humour and vibrant graphics provide a great first impression. Its combat and gameplay loop can become a bit stale towards the end, with the kingdom building only playing a bit part and there being a few UI and control issues to overcome, but there's still plenty to like and no reason whatsoever for the developers' dynasties to end here.

I never felt short-changed by Minit; I simply wanted to play it more, which is a testament to the game's design. It's such a simple, tight formula, but is executed so well that it just feels perfect.

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon is still fantastic, especially since the original was a major shake-up to the decades-old Pokémon formula. The update may be overly samey to someone who has already played Sun & Moon, but it does improve upon the base game in several ways. The new version is a must for newcomers to either this current generation or to Pokémon in general.

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon is still fantastic, especially since the original was a major shake-up to the decades-old Pokémon formula. The update may be overly samey to someone who has already played Sun & Moon, but it does improve upon the base game in several ways. The new version is a must for newcomers to either this current generation or to Pokémon in general.

I feel that the way SEGA completed Kiryu's saga was done with so much class, and the investment I felt throughout was constantly there. While the changes to the combat were somewhat of a letdown, I won't deny that every other aspect of the finale wowed me and left me an emotional train wreck. Long time fans of the Yakuza series will likely find The Song of Life to be a satifying conclusion.

The vast amount of content to explore and multitude of game systems to experience make for a great game throughout that doesn't get stale. However, this variety comes at a cost of some of its systems being simplistic and underdeveloped. By focusing on a smaller set of deeper and better integrated systems, the experience could have been even better. But with its attempt to boil the ocean, Ni no Kuni II falls just short of being truly amazing.

While it does have its flaws of being repetitive, I found myself constantly picking it up every night before bed and just powering through sections at a time because it was just a blast to play. Miitopia isn't going to turn heads, nor grab the hardcore RPGamer crowd, but it's a fun little romp for those who want a much more compact and simple RPG experience.

Parts of the game are genuinely impressive: the voice acting makes the story a delight, the character and party customization is deep and involving, and I wish every turned-based RPG would include the option for battles to move so quickly. However, the graphics are sub-par, the music can't carry such a lengthy experience, and there are occasional difficulty spikes that can only be solved by extensive grinding. Overall, Demon Gaze II is still a strong and enjoyable dungeon crawler, albeit not without some flaws.

The game's overarching plot is a little derivative, the main conflict less impactful the more abstract the story gets, but it's grounded by likeable characters with personality and a satisfying abundance of actual story-telling. Topped off by a beautiful presentation, in particular an amazing musical score, and a combat system that offers a lot of player choice, and it's easy to become captivated by the charms of classic RPGs all over again.

While notably simpler than The Ilvard Insurrection, Zwei: The Arges Adventure still manages to hold its own as a short, enjoyable RPG experience. Clocking in at just under twenty hours, the game is brief, but there are a number of optional dungeons for players who want to explore the world a bit further. Although its simpler story and combat keep it from matching last year's game, that's also what you would hope to expect from seven years of innovation and technology.