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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a fantastic update to one of Bethesda’s most classic titles. Almost everything that needed to be revised or fixed has been, while everything else – every bit of goofy charm and jank – has been kept intact. This is a brilliant example of how to remaster a dated game, and I hope the same process is applied to Fallout 3 and New Vegas in the future.
StarVaders is a creative and polished fusion of roguelike, deckbuilder, and arcade-style mechanics. While it’s built on a familiar formula, the vibrant design, strategic depth, and sheer fun of chaotic, combo-driven gameplay make it an easy standout in the genre.
Nothing it does truly elevates itself to the greatness of the Southern Gothic look it’s going for, and in a lot of ways, gets in the way of truly enjoying the beautiful locales that are shown. There are only so many times you can enter a circular combat chamber and fight the same enemies over and over with subpar abilities before it gets droll. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the area outside of that arena is.
You clearly appreciate Moroi’s unapologetic weirdness and commitment to its aesthetic. The world-building, puzzles, and writing are engaging if you're on the game's wavelength. But the frustrating combat mechanics, occasional bugs, and unclear progression logic (especially with doors and puzzle gating) create a high barrier to enjoyment. It’s a fascinating mess, but it is best suited for players with patience and a taste for the bizarre.
Many Nights a Whisper offers a contemplative experience that acts as a meditation that might help you in your own life. Deconstructeam and Selkie Harbor have worked together to forge a masterpiece that can be experienced in a single sitting. Don’t pass this up.
Mechabellum is an onion with many layers, but once you get to the core of the gameplay, you really begin to understand what’s going on in every battle. And depending on the match you’re in, you can really start to see the pitfalls of its design. And even still, I cannot stop playing, warts and all.
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered lets the best parts of the original game shine, while sanding out some of the rough edges that can detract from the player experience. The story shines as one of the best ones in the franchise, and the addition of new types of combat keeps things feeling pretty fresh. This is a full featured remaster, and I hope we continue to see the SaGa series get this kind of love and care from Square Enix; it deserves it.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 not only deftly improves upon the idea of active turn-based combat, but delivers it in a gorgeous and realized world. The characters are incredible, it dodges some of the more grating aspects of turn-based RPGs, and delivers a mature, and at times haunting, story, without falling into the traps of too much violence for the sake of maturity. A big narrative turn flattens the experience, and a few too many rough edges keep it from masterpiece status, but it is still an incredible experience.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is an excellent mix of tactical RPG action and visual novel goodness from two of gaming’s most fascinating minds. From the extreme amount of content to the fascinating story, this is an impressive offering all around. If you want a truly unique story along with some flashy tactical combat, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a blast to play thanks to its intriguing mechanics and strong presentation. The singleplayer offerings can be a bit repetitive, but fighting feels great and provides plenty of depth to take advantage of. If you’ve ever wanted to break into Fatal Fury, this is a fantastic choice to start with.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with Repose and felt challenged by the enemy encounters. Especially since a lot of the time, you had to be quick with the inputs to kill the enemy, otherwise they’d kill you first. Then you’d have to make your way back to the area and hope that you beat them to it the next time. The story was curious and had my interest piqued. Despite that, I didn’t see it as a game that I would play long-term. It is unique and has a lot of charm, but it doesn’t have enough to bring me back for more than a few hours.
A puzzle platformer that takes clear inspiration from the classics and mixes that with crisp, modern animation, Bionic Bay is a brilliant platformer and well worth your time. Small issues like a poor story and sometimes obtuse puzzles cannot detract from the game’s fun.
In the deep well of narrative-driven adventure games, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a beacon of shining light that can never be snuffed out. Thank you for this.
Lunar Remastered Collection is the best way to play Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete. The updated translations, widescreen support, new dubs, and quality-of-life improvements make this somewhat impenetrable game series a very good option for people looking to experience older RPGs.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is a brilliant upgrade to what was already one of the best games on the Wii U. Minor snags have been fixed all over the place, making for a smoother and more accessible RPG, though fans of the original may be mixed on the narrative additions. I hope to see Elma and the gang return someday in the future, as this Definitive Edition is a reminder of how strong their world is.
Grit and Valor 1949 offers surprising depth, replayability, and content across multiple campaigns with clever systems like crafting and research. While it leans casual and gets a bit repetitive, the combination of giant mechs, Nazi-smashing action, and strategy-lite mechanics makes for a solid and satisfying experience, especially on portable platforms like Steam Deck.
Bleach: Rebirth of Souls succeeds as an anime fighter with a good deal of depth to it. The story mode and mission offerings are a bit bland, but the clear love for the series and multiplayer aspects stand out as impressive. If you’re a big Bleach fan, this is a solid title for some fun times with friends.
I enjoyed my time with Rosewater and its characters, although the narrative lacked the strong drive that would have really made it click. The presentation is great, the puzzles are challenging, and the multiple solutions add noteworthy replay value, but I didn't find myself as invested in the story as I had hoped I would be after playing Lamplight City.
The First Berserker: Kahzan features a fun combat system, an interesting world, and an enjoyable revenge tale, but tedious and overly long boss fights make what should be the most exciting part of the game too frustrating to enjoy. It's unfortunate, as the rest of the experience is a ton of fun, but when the main selling point of the genre is the weakest part of the game, it weighs down the entire experience.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land ultimately suffers from being too simple. While it does avoid making engaging with any of its systems frustrating, this creates a complete lack of depth, resulting in most aspects of the game feeling identical whether you are doing them in hour 1 or hour 50. It has tons to do, and if you want something simple and mindless, it does work in that mold, but I can't imagine wanting to play for more than a few hours, since you have seen everything it has to offer.