Overall, Mordheim: City of the Damned is compelling for strategy fanatics who enjoy a challenge, but doesn't offer much else to other players. Even with the setting of Warhammer behind it, limiting things to a single city with a handful of factions can make things feel small and repetitive. The gameplay is fairly deep, but the steep learning curve will potentially turn off a lot of players.

Despite some mechanics that didn't get the necessary fix they sorely needed, Yo-Kai Watch 2 definitely is stronger than its predecessor by leaps and bounds. While the recruitment system is still a sore spot, the wealth of content and freedom of exploration in Yo-Kai Watch 2 builds a much more solid foundation, making it a great sequel and a worthwhile purchase.

Despite some mechanics that didn't get the necessary fix they sorely needed, Yo-Kai Watch 2 definitely is stronger than its predecessor by leaps and bounds. While the recruitment system is still a sore spot, the wealth of content and freedom of exploration in Yo-Kai Watch 2 builds a much more solid foundation, making it a great sequel and a worthwhile purchase.

One Way Heroics is not for everyone, but it's been one of the most accessible roguelikes I've played and that's because it's far from a traditional one. It's not a game where players are punished for dying, but one where it's a benefit to do so. Play sessions can be short, so even losses aren't a waste of time. It helps that on longer runs there are occasional save options mid-run, but even those are strategic in their use. It's a solid experience that might not be one people ever finish, but getting the first ending isn't too tough. The others will take learning and patience, but are doable over time. One Way Heroics is a good long-term experience, albeit one best played in sprints rather than as a single marathon.

Final Fantasy XV offered a lot of surprises, some good, some bad. As you make progress, it eventually feels like you're playing through two different games merged into one. Some will be more forgiving than others, though it never ruined the experience for me.

If you crave an exploration-heavy, open-ended, lore driven game Serpent in the Staglands will satisfy that craving like few other games today. But take care to brace yourself for the jarring impact that will bring it all crashing down in the end.

This is not a revolutionary title that set the Japanese gaming world on fire and crossed the Pacific with spectacular expectations. Xanadu Next is instead a game that had to wait eleven years after its original release to cross the Pacific (unless the N-Gage release played by approximately seven people counts), but at least it's a solid title. Falcom tends to deliver worthy action RPGs, and this one is definitely worth experiencing for anyone interested in hacking and slashing to victory.

The Pokémon franchise is one that has been consistently good throughout its twenty year history, but Pokémon Sun & Moon aren't just good, they're fantastic.

The Pokémon franchise is one that has been consistently good throughout its twenty year history, but Pokémon Sun & Moon aren't just good, they're fantastic

God Eater 2: Rage Burst cements the series as the best alternative to Monster Hunter, and potentially surpasses it for those looking for a narrative within the gameplay experience both series offer. All of its parts work together to make enough improvements and updates on the previous entry, while keeping its flavour intact.

World of Final Fantasy is an easily misleading game. It appears to be nothing more than a Final Fantasy-flavored monster-collecting knock-off, but turns out to be much more than that. Beyond the appeal of collecting familiar monsters and creatures, the world features enough series characters, locations, and music to satisfy the most ardent nostalgic. There is a ton of content, and it is all wrapped up in a package that is as beautiful to look at as it is to listen to. Still, not everything is perfect. The combat system is skewed towards grinding, menus are unwieldy, and the main story takes an awfully long time to ramp up. However, there is very little reason for gamers to not give World of Final Fantasy a serious look. While it may resemble Final Fantasy Jr., it offers more than enough for veterans of the series to sink their teeth into.

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.

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.

Exist Archive is a game with a lot of potential that ultimately feels like it's missing something. The story starts with a heap of promise but ends up going nowhere with it, and the great combat is unfortunately marred by frustrating, lengthy level design. While I wouldn't go so far as to say the game is bad, it is disappointing in too many ways to really call it good.

I am frustrated with Criminal Girls 2, because on one hand it's a very solid dungeon crawler that most of the time doesn't outstay its welcome. It has the right pacing, the battle system has some neat little quirks to it, and yet the downside is that it becomes grindy in more ways than needed. While I didn't hate my time with Criminal Girls 2, I feel like it needed a much clearer direction to make the gameplay and story components more cohesive, and that's where it fails. If you liked the first game, this review likely won't sway you, but for those who are curious, just be prepared for a lot of scrubby brushes and goo flinging awkwardness.

In the end, there doesn't seem to be much reason to think of Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity as more than a left-field oddity. Newcomers to the established universe will be nonplussed by its cast of characters who lack all introduction and its fly-by-night story. Repeat visitors to Gensokyo will still be hard-pressed to locate any challenge or semblance of fun within its dreary gameplay and level design.

Those hoping for a solid all-around RPG experience will find Masquerada lacking. However, as a relatively quick narratively-focused experience — clocking in at a bit over ten hours, or more depending on how players approach the combat — the game does an entertaining job.

Dragon Quest VII is still not a favorite of mine, but this remake left me feeling much better than the original. Its storytelling is far from the potential it could grasp, but each of the scenarios presented manages to be interesting. It's not a good idea to have this be someone's first Dragon Quest, but anyone prepared for a serious commitment will find Fragments of the Forgotten Past to be a solid choice.

I've enjoyed a number of dungeon crawlers over the years, but never have I felt compelled to go back and experience the earliest renditions of the type. Stranger of Sword City gave me some uncomfortable flashbacks to The Dark Spire while I played it, and one deliberately-archaic title in that mold was plenty to last me a very long time.

While I certainly enjoyed being able to play through the game again, it's difficult to figure out whom Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs might be for. The option to have it on PlayStation 4 is welcome and if players missed the original game for whatever reason, this is the version to pick up. However, there's not enough new content for those who did enjoy the original to justify buying it again, and for those who did have issues, virtually all of the likely turn-offs remain.

River City: Tokyo Rumble came to me at a perfect time when I needed both a pick-me-up and a throwback, and it was successful for those reasons alone. While the game is quite easy, even on Normal, I still think it was a blast to play — repetition, silliness and all. River City: Tokyo Rumble feels like a safe game in every regard, but I don't feel like that should be held against it. There's nothing more satisfying than kicking some punk gangsters and chewing bubblegum.

Anyone who's interested in the strategic side of classic RPG combat and isn't afraid of the beat should give The Metronomicon a look.

A fun and entertaining roguelike with a few troublesome stumbles along the way. Fans of 16-bit style adventures will certainly enjoy its audio and visual style, and a number of post-game dungeons and challenges will keep players entertained for a long time beyond the game's initial running time.

While I think Apocalypse is much better than its predecessor, a part of me wishes more had been done to make this game feel a bit more fresh.

In spite of the irritations, I have a bit of affection for Dungeon Punks — it let me ride on a gorilla, after all. I can't overlook just how much time I spent waiting for its freezes to end though, and without a fix for that it's impossible to give a recommendation. No arcade cabinet which experienced constant technical trouble would have gotten enough business to justify its existence, and the ability to play online with friends doesn't help much when everyone will be cursing the constant dead space.

Hand of Fate is a rollicking good time that can be completed in under 20 hours.

In short bursts of play, I Am Setsuna ticks all the boxes one could want from a modern JRPG designed as a callback to the classics: a seemingly emotionally involving story, stirring music, pretty visuals, and a battle system that offers up nuggets of nostalgia like "ATB" and "tech combos".

Mankind Divided is a solid follow up to Human Revolution, but it does come at a price. While it definitely has the weaker overall storyline, and it left more questions than it did answer, it's hard to deny that the game will have its appeal for fans who love to explore environments to the fullest while also kicking ass and taking names.