Despite my gripes with the lack of closure in its narrative, and referential writing, Harvest Island can be a fun horror RPG/farming sim hybrid. The gameplay loop is simple, perhaps to a fault. However, the character writing and moment-to-moment story beats evoke the vibe of classic RPG Maker games, such as To The Moon, The Witch’s House, or Ao Oni. While Harvest Island is a flawed game, it shows a lot of promise in developer Yobob Games, particularly when the game is focusing on telling an original story, and exploring a detailed and engaging environment.

After spending time with Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia, I can see where WayForward tried. It attempted to create a world for players to inhabit, one alive with both Bakugan brawls and more common activities. It tries to offer customization options, both for our avatar and the characters in the party. It even attempts a competitive scene with online matches. I’d imagine fans of the anime adaptation or toys in general might be really pleased with this direction, especially if they’re on the younger side. Like Pokemon, but Bakugan could be a thing fans would eat up. But it isn’t for people who are older or aren’t involved in the scene.

Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is far from perfect. It doesn’t look great and you’re constantly running into annoyances that result from bringing a budget PSP game in 2021. But I suspect that the people who might pick it up will be willing to overlook that. This is about completing a set and seeing the inspiration for other titles. If anyone would want to experience this particular series at its best, I’d point them to Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed in a heartbeat. But this release, flawed as it is, does give people who enjoy the series a way to see how it all started.

As Redfall lacks any actual depth in terms of narrative or gameplay loop, it’s a hard game to recommend. But who knows, maybe six months to a year down the line, it could be a completely different and more engaging game. That’s just the time we live in.

Despite iffy monetization choices and the general feeling that the game might not last long enough to become a permanent part of your rotation, Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a frantic and fast-paced interpretation of a genre otherwise saturated in horror movie tropes. Steeped in fun Dragon Ball in-jokes and goofy humor, there’s there’s a lot of slapstick joy to be found in the game, so much so that it wouldn’t be out of place if the Benny Hill theme kicked in every so often.

Isn't quite the RPG it originally promised to be. However, the great fighting engine and deep character customization makes Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation [Virtua Quest] stand above the average 3D brawler. [JPN Import]

Overall, Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos is a strange game, and not necessarily in a good way. The concept is fun but poorly executed thanks to muddied visuals and unsatisfying driving mechanics. Fans may enjoy the character interactions but may still be put off by how much of a departure it is.

I was streaming the game, and it wasn’t until someone came in and told me what I needed to do to find the keys to the exit that I could eventually make my way to safety and the end of the game. And honestly? It was worth it. Silent Hill: The Short Message isn’t a game about retribution like Silent Hill 2, and maybe that’s what people wanted or were expecting. Instead, it ends with a tearful conversation between Anita and Amelie that lends itself to the final sentence of the content warning you will see time and time again.

The gameplay can be summed up in two words "hit square". The bulk of the game has you hacking and slashing your way though one faceless enemy to the next. [JPN Import]

A horrible fighting system, PS1 like graphics and horrible computer controlled characters ruin this title. [JPN Import]

A mindless brawler with shoddy control... An interesting experiment with the Tekken franchise. Too bad it plays like a train wreck.

All of the story is forgettable. Maybe it's the flat voice acting or that it's so convoluted. Thankfully this doesn't deter from the game's strongest point, which is sheer action. [JPN Import]

There is just a lot to do in The Good Life, which means that players can potentially sink upwards of forty-plus hours taking pictures or running mundane, everyday tasks. And while I like life simulators, I don’t like them when they can barely run at over 3 FPS. With a story that lacks focus and with these elements largely feeling like padding, The Good Life doesn’t stand out in any significant way.

A joyless experience.

Loop8 squanders its goodwill. This is a game Marvelous and SIEG Games clearly want to be poignant and important. However, its frustratingly obtuse, the pacing is problematic, and it wears out its welcome with tedious interactions. I love the concept and the idea of wandering around Ashihara. Some characters are memorable too! But after a few loops and constant Musasa intrusions, I was tempted to let the Kegai win if it would shut that squirrel up.

Varlet suffers from a lack of originality and meaningful activities, and the JRPG relies too heavily on concepts from Persona 4. It’s so bland and hollow compared to other Furyu games, with even The Caligula Effect titles doing a better job of telling a story, offering engaging gameplay, and showing off original characters and concepts. The battles are boring and involve repeated types of enemies. Most characters feel like folks we’ve seen before. There’s no real sense of exploration, as the SSS activities are basic, and I didn’t feel like I connected to anyone in its version of “social links.” Even if you enjoy Furyu JRPG releases, this might be one you may want to skip in favor of replaying one of The Caligula Effect games again instead.

Drawn to Life was, at best, a game of mediocre quality to many but it did resonate with some. Writing this review feels like delivering bad news to this latter group, which has had to wait over a decade for a new game. They had to weather the collapse of THQ, the now defunct publisher of the original Drawn to Life games. On the plus side, the game released at the low price point of $9.99 and there is, arguably, ten dollars’ worth of solid content hidden amongst the more questionable choices. Unfortunately though, Drawn to Life: Two Realms lacks the freedom and novelty of its predecessors, and even though it takes strides to create a satisfying new experience, the end result feels unimaginative.

Dragon Takers is an RPG that is aggressively okay. The story is serviceable, but offers no surprises or interesting twists.

If all you wanna do is smash buttons and beat up spirits from the anime, Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash is serviceable. That’s about it. If you’re looking for any more depth in any way, the game simply does not have it. Combat is overly simple, and when you try to make it anything more, you just get thumped for your efforts. The support characters actively hinder you. The story is doled out in the worst way I can think of. The online is barren when it’s not lagging horribly. It’s just a flat, tiresome game that is only good for some mindless action for those absolutely itching for anything to do with the anime.

It isn’t necessarily that Tamagotchi Plaza is bad, as I do think it could be fun for kids or someone who really loves Bandai Namco’s virtual pet line. There are just some awkward decisions made that make it a little uncomfortable to play at times. And even if you do overcome that and work things out, it can feel like there’s not too much to do. Especially since you can’t even bring it out as “the early Switch 2 multiplayer minigame collection” due to how few games actually involve more than one person. For the right person, it could be fine, but it caters to a very specialized (and probably forgiving) audience.

Tokyo Scramble is a mess of a game, and it’s not even a situation where it is so bad that some element of it is in some way enjoyable. The story is bad. The script is terrible. The stages can involve areas that are poorly designed or feature massive difficulty spikes. The multiplayer basically makes it impossible to survive. I wasted about five hours on this game that I will never get back.

It’s a game that seems like it’s for hardcore The Lord of the Rings fans, considering its playable character and the lack of recent releases for the franchise, but even diehard fans couldn’t enjoy this unexpected journey.

Since the game does provide some laughs and is fun when a friend is over $20 isn't too bad for the game.

Balan Wonderworld is not comfortable or fun to play. It isn’t memorable. If you want to understand everything happening, you have to buy the ebook and go to that outside source for an explanation. It is bland, repetitious, and has design choices that are the opposite of ensuring a good quality of life. It is a clear example of a situation where you should read the book, rather than play the game. There are times when it feels like a fever dream, something too weird to actually be true, as it fades from your mind. But then you look at that icon in your system’s Home menu and know it really happened.

Since the game does provide some laughs and is fun when a friend is over $20 isn't too bad for the game.

I haven’t played any otome game like Palais de Reine before. It is a wholly unique and fascinating experience. I very much appreciate that it not only exists, but is available in English. And yes, once I finished an initial (disastrous) run and came back better prepared, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There’s an incredible amount of depth and nuance. However, getting to it involves an investment only the most dedicated might commit to.

Gothic Murder: Adventure that Changes Destiny is the sort of adventure game you play when you need a break between massive games. It’s a reprieve that will make you think, but isn’t terribly taxing. Its story is also interesting enough, with a heroine who exhibits both common sense and intelligence.

Robotics;Notes Elite is an immersive visual novel that does its best to bring you into a world where it really feels like a group of teenagers can not only build an impressive mech, but make a difference in the world. We have characters who are well written and dealing with all sorts of challenges, while still occasionally getting chances to occasionally be teenagers. It’s continuing the Science Adventure tradition of having subtle means of guiding the story, unexpected takes on the floundering school club genre and twists into territories you wouldn’t expect. The only downsides are it really does require some prior knowledge of the series’ world and formula, but odds are anyone interested more known understands what they’re committing themselves to.