Thi Chao
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COGConnectedLatest Reviews
Arise: A Simple Story was originally released on the PC and consoles in 2019 and now has found a new home on the Nintendo Switch. It’s hard to tell a concise story without the use of words or dialogue, especially one that has a goal to invoke emotions in the player. But developer Untold Tales was able to do just that by weaving a beautiful tale told through only muted cutscenes.
If you’ve ever wondered and wanted to learn more about the world under the sea, E-Line Media has you covered. In collaboration with BBC Studios, Blue Planet II, Beyond Blue allows you to explore the depths of the ocean to learn more about sea life in this soothing, relaxing, and educational game. So let’s suit up and be prepared to go on a soothing dive with the whales and more on the PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and the Nintendo Switch.
The Atelier series has been a deeply loved series for fans of the alchemy JRPG genre for many years. But it wasn’t until Atelier Ryza’s release in 2019 that we saw some record-breaking sales and it’s no surprise that a year later we would see a sequel so soon. Unlike previous entries into the series, Ryza’s bright and bubbly personality returns to us once again. Instead of taking more of a support role, she returns to us as the main protagonist in this story. Atelier Ryza: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy brings us everything that we’ve loved in the first title and gives us more world exploration with an engaging story.
The idea of exploring foreign lands in search of new opportunities, finding hidden treasures and making new alliances for trade has always been deeply rooted in our history. In this rogue-like adventurer and expedition simulator, Curious Expedition, has us taking on the role of various famous explorers such as Chares Darwin and Marie Currie to name a few. Will your adventure end in fame and riches or will your expedition be stopped mid-way by various animals, the terrain or by your own comrades?
There’s something about the long-running Atelier games from developer Gust and publisher Koei Tecmo that always has the same consistency throughout each title. While most JRPGs focus on a greater goal to save the world from some bad mojo, the Atelier games have scaled it back for its players for a more laid back experience. While of course there will always be towns or kingdoms to be helped, it’s never as something so drastic and really more so focus’ on the characters and alchemy. Atelier Lulua: Scion of Arland is now the 4th game to the Arland Trilogy which originally premiered almost 10 years ago. It’s pretty rare to see an Atelier game to get more than three releases per title, so let’s just see how this game will hold up.
I don’t play many survival games and as much as I may love the thrill of a horror title, I’m actually a pretty huge wimp. Put me in a situation where I have to wander around in the dark equipped with nothing but a torch, or in this case, a lighter, and instantly my anxiety skyrockets and it’s from there I decide if I should continue or stop playing. The Forest certainly falls into that category and then some, but there was something about it that drew me into continuing on. Perhaps its the drive to survive and find your son, maybe you’ll find out the reason behind the crash. What intrigued me most was the ability to craft various structures, weapons and furniture and arrange it as you want. Oh, and also the cannibals.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is the final installment of the “Mysterious” series, also making it the 19th edition of the Atelier series. Published by Koei Tecmo and developed by Gust, the Atelier series heavily focuses on the use of Alchemy. With that and the combination of a wonderful cast of characters, set in a vividly bright world with your typical, but well played, JRPG tropes, we are given a great experience for lovers of the genre.
Oh were the days of my youth. If I wasn’t playing JRPGs or concocting an evil plan on how I should kill my Sims, I was playing Rollercoaster Tycoon till the wee hours of the morning. Though I haven’t really played this type of game for quite some time, I was presented with Rollercoaster Tycoon 3’s spirit successor Planet Coaster by Frontier Developments. While I’m not one anymore to play a lot of builder games, I couldn’t wait to jump right on this.
This is a game about space-faring pirate robots with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, whats not to love? SteamWorld Heist is the successor to 2013’s SteamWorld Dig and instead of expanding on that game’s mix of action and crafting mechanics, they have turned to a new approach that really capitalizes on engrossing mechanics and complex, nuanced system. These allow the experience to further outdo itself despite the lacking story and repetitive mission objectives.