The single greatest oversight in this game, aside from the controls, is the inability to interact with your bird. You can inject it with mutagens to power it up but you can’t pet it? If I had been given the opportunity to interact with my warbird, customize its gear and coloration, and build a real bond with it, I would have enjoyed this game much more than I did. As is, I found The Falconeer to be a compelling but frustrating experience.
Overall, Batbarian: Testament of the Primordials is a simple game, but a very good one. I heartily recommend it to anyone who’s willing to put up with a bit of trial-and-error.
Overall, I had a great time with Loop Hero. I just wish I’d been able to unlock the Necromancer class sooner. Smashing my enemies with an army of summoned skeletons is amazing.
SaGa Frontier Remastered is a nostalgic trip back to the 90s that encapsulates the best and worst of retro JRPG design. There’s a ton of fun to be had here, but don’t be afraid to pull up a walkthrough if you’re stuck–and it is very easy to get stuck.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is a potent mixture of cosmic horror, religious horror, JRPG action, and pitch-black comedy. As long as you’re prepared to embrace your inner monster, it’ll be a hell of a time.
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a solid remaster and a fun action-platformer. Its protagonists are incredibly endearing and its simplicity is very charming. I recommend it to anyone with a craving for tough retro gameplay wrapped in a cute package. Just don’t go in expecting anything particularly long or deep.
All in all, Stonefly is a fun experience that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys action-adventure games. I would not, however, recommend it to people who just want to fly around a peaceful environment. While you can spend a lot of time gliding from tree to tree and mushroom to mushroom, there’s always a risk of tripping an encounter that will force you to battle bugs in surprisingly intense combat, and even the exploration sequences can be stressful if you can’t figure out how to advance.
Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a great reminder of what small developers can achieve with simple graphics and simpler controls. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who craves some old-fashioned platforming action and isn’t afraid to die a lot. Just remember to turn off the flashing lights and screen shake if you’re sensitive to that.
Edge of Eternity is almost brilliant. The writing is great, but the graphics, gameplay, and especially the camera angles drag it down. If you crave some dark JRPG action and are willing to put with questionable combat mechanics, by all means, check it out. However, if you hate the idea of trying to plan out a strategy when you can’t see half the enemy forces or you get motion sick easily, maybe give this one a pass.
If you already love Disgaea, you’ll probably love Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny. You’ll definitely get the most out of this game if you’re already familiar with other SRPGs, but this is a fine place to enter the series–or the genre, for that matter. In the end, all that Disgaea 6 truly demands of a player is the willingness to learn its mechanics, an appreciation for its zany sense of humor, and a fondness for cute anime demons causing problems on purpose. As long as you can give it that, you’ll have a good time with this game.
All in all, NEO: The World Ends with You manages to escape the pitfall of being a period piece by taking the Heathers approach to youth culture and focusing more on capturing the feeling of youth than trying to accurately portray the ever-shifting trends. It has a fun cast, an interesting story, and a much more straightforward battle system with room to spend ages gathering collectibles and getting your pin load-out just right. Unfortunately, its cast is generally more well-adjusted than the original game’s traumatized teenagers, meaning that this game doesn’t hit quite as hard as the original The World Ends with You.
All in all, Tormented Souls achieves what it set out to do: recapture the magic of old-school fixed-perspective survival horror games with modern technology. However, this extends to having a lackluster story and underwhelming voice-acting, both of which plagued early survival horror titles. While the game’s tension, atmosphere, and environmental storytelling are top-notch, the controls can be difficult without a controller and some decisions are downright tasteless. In the end, this game will probably appeal most to people who already love classic survival horror rather than bringing in new fans.
All in all, Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1 is two classic games in one visibly aged package. If you’re interested in seeing what else the people behind Disgaea have been working on, this will be a real treat. However, I wouldn’t recommend these games to people who aren’t already fans of NIS titles. And if you’re a Soul Nomad fan, then what are you waiting for? Not only did NIS finally port the game to a new console, but it also threw in a free second game.
If you like weird games, play El Shaddai. If you like games with incredibly creative visuals and great music, play El Shaddai. If you like games where half-naked men beat the crap out of each other for very poorly explained reasons, play El Shaddai. The only reasons you should skip this title are if you hate platforming or you need the plots of your games to actually make sense.
All in all, BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites is a solid title for anyone who’s into hack ‘n slash.
All in all, I had a great time with Steel Assault and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes action platformers, especially retro ones. However, it is modeled directly off of old-school arcade games, with all the difficulty and strategic planning that entails. If you don’t enjoy replaying levels over and over trying to get everything just right, or games that challenge you relentlessly, Steel Assault probably isn’t for you. You’re supposed to struggle. That’s the point of the game.
All in all, Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is a tough but rewarding exploration of a grim fantasy world populated by ruthless immortals, mindless constructs, and weary civilians whose lives have been horrifically twisted by forces beyond their control. The revamped movement options made traversing the expanded world a treat, though I would’ve liked a fast travel system that didn’t clash with my hoarding instincts. If you like Metroidvanias and Soulslikes and always wanted to know what it would be like if the two genres fused, then Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is for you.
All in all, Inscryption is a great–and spooky–game that is constantly expanding and re-inventing itself, and I recommend it to anyone who loves horror. As long as you approach it with an open mind, a strong stomach, and the willingness to keep trying, you should have a great time with this title. Just remember: if you think the game is over in the first few hours, it’s time to hit the New Game button and see what you’ve unlocked.
Shin Megami Tensei V is an incredible achievement. While it comes off as less of a horror game than previous entries in the series, its sheer scale and eerie presentation more than make up for the lack of dedicated scares. In some ways, I feel that gaming technology has finally reached the point that it’s able to convey the tone and feel that Shin Megami Tensei has been trying to capture since the 80s. There’s a lot packed into this game, especially if you play on a higher difficulty, which I definitely recommend doing. If you’re allergic to grinding, there is an optional Safety difficulty that will let you focus on the story instead, but you’ll still probably spend a lot of time exploring the expansive game world and getting lost between buildings.
All in all, Demoniaca: Everlasting Night is a heavily flawed game, but still very enjoyable. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into with both the game’s mature content and its platforming elements.