Kyle Bradford
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GameSpew Latest Reviews
Warriors Orochi 4 will not turn a non-believer into a believer. If you are already uninterested in the Warriors franchise, or musou games in general, Warriors Orochi 4 isn’t going to change your mind. Yet, I imagine that for most fans, they’re merely looking for more of the same. Despite being formulaic and repetitive, you know what you’re getting with a Warriors game. And if that’s your thing, you’ll no doubt have some fun with Warriors Orochi 4.
What remains, even still, is a sense of contradictory emotions. I do love Valkyria Chronicles 4 for many reasons. Its characters are more endearing than any I had encountered in the series thus far and its systems and mechanics are still as engaging as ever. However, there is still plenty going against even its most positive attributes. Unable, or simply refusing, to acknowledge its own identity as a product of anti-fascist ideals, I can’t help but find its story underwhelming. More concerned with its own past than its future, I also can’t help but find its systems simply more of the same. That even at its best, I’m still reminded of how it could have been better. Though, to be clear, that doesn’t make Valkyria Chronicles 4 bad. All it does is force me to admit that we can all sometimes become prisoners to our own nostalgia.
Like most games, how good of a time you have with Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle will ultimately depend on what you bring to the experience yourself. If you’re hoping for the next great dungeon crawler, then you most likely will be disappointed. While its many mechanics and structure are a valiant attempt at the form, the game ultimately stumbles where it should succeed. However, if you’ve found its artwork online and are more interested in its exploration of yokai than anything else, you’ll probably enjoy your time quite a bit. For myself, as much as I enjoyed the various takes on the many cursed spirits of the game, I’m still left wanting more.
Yet even still, its central conceit looms over it ominously. Its inability to show you the agency you may or may not possess robs the experience of the satisfaction it so desperately wants to give you on its final scene. As its ending is seemingly one of many – however differing they may or may not be – it all feels inefficacious. Like the cast over your broken leg from the long jump you weren’t able to finish, no matter how good the rest of the experience is, that is what people will remember.
After all, the gap between the original and its imitation is measured in feet, not inches. For many, the difference between the two is so obvious that you can tell from a distance which is which. Like a Mario game playing opposite your average mascot platformer, there’s plenty of nuance and subtlety lost in the translation from one to the other. The same is true for Dragon Quest, perhaps even more so because of its irregularity. Because, at the end of the day, nothing is ever going to match up against the original that inspired it. In an age where countless games are trying to imitate the past, there’s nothing like having Dragon Quest back where it belongs. It is indeed one of the best games in a series of greats, and a JRPG that is without a doubt an instant classic. One I will undoubtedly cherish for many years to come.
For someone like me who lost interest in the Shining series long ago, Shining Resonance Refrain is an absolute delight. Although it doesn’t resemble anything like the strategy RPGs and dungeon crawlers I first fell in love with back in the 90s, Shining Resonance Refrain is a charmingly sweet JRPG with an engaging combat system that hides hundreds of tricks up its sleeves. With a cast of characters I won’t soon forget, Yuma’s personal story of dealing with the Shining Dragon is a tale I’m glad to have been apart of – even if there are some missteps along the way.
Yet at the end of the day, NieR: Automata was never defined by its technical issues. Instead, it’s a game that feels uniquely stylised by those that made it. In the same way that an Ingmar Bergman film feels unmistakably his, or how a Hideo Kojima game is filled with small, recognisable touchstones, NieR: Automata is a product of auteur game making at its finest. A sombre meditation on the essence of existence, it’s also a weirdly hilarious adventure that will have you hacking and slashing your way through mountains of robots often with a smile on your face. A miracle that it exists at all, the fact that Xbox One players can finally see it for themselves is even more so. There’s no more excuses. You should play NieR: Automata.
MotoGP 18 is a game that hardcore fans will most likely enjoy. Its impressive handling mechanics and physics systems will surely support a lifetime of online play. The MotoGP ID addition, that tracks your progress across every mode in the game, also acts nicely for those who’d like to boast of their prowess in the track. Yet, despite its serviceable content offerings I can’t help but feel let down. Visually identical to its predecessor, the additions made in this outing are more like scrapings than noticeable steps forward. With Ride 3 just around the bend most casual fans might be better off waiting. Anyone returning to the perennial racer may not be able to help but have a sense of déjà vu.
If Mulaka is proof of anything, it’s that there is a definitive impact when games are made by more diverse voices. Mulaka feels deeply personal. A true passion for the Rarámuri culture shines through, as does an equal appreciation for games like Ocarina of Time. Yet what matters most after I’ve put the controller down is that Mulaka is a showcase of something I wasn’t already familiar with. So often are we treated to games that tell the same stories from the same types of people that we begin to feel like we’re simply playing echoes of our own pasts. In a time where people want to build walls, Mulaka chooses to create a bridge. One between us and the Terahumara people. I can’t help but be thankful, but on top of that, it’s a damn fun game in its own right.
This different take on your typical fantasy world is part of the Atelier series’ charm, even 20 years in. Other games as of late may tout their unexpected diversion from norms like these, but Atelier has been doing it for years. In Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings, there’s a charming story and intricate systems that help make it one of the best entries to date. I can’t think of a better way to help celebrate 20 years of this long-running series.