Latest Reviews
When I find that my complaints largely have to do with wishing there was more content in a game that is already perfectly sufficient, I know that I’ve had a good time. It feels strange to call Pac-Man World a “classic,” but the numbers don’t lie. The original game sold...
The sense of shallowness is impossible to shake, and over the course of a reasonably long brawler/RPG gets tiring. Dusk Diver 2, much like its predecessor, has all the potential in the world, and most of its individual elements are really competently made. It just doesn’t come together in execution,...
If you can handle the corners that were cut due to the budget, then Thymasia’s combat system is worth it all on its own. The game’s intriguingly dark setting and the exquisitely dark theme are more than good enough to pay attention to as well. There are certainly things that...
Play length is not, and should never be seen as a value indicator in games, but for whatever it’s worth, I made my way to the game’s conclusion in around 16 hours of real-world gameplay time. However, it’s a title I absolutely will return to, because it’s entirely feasible to...
There’s not much else to say about Coromon. However you slice it, you’re ultimately getting a slavish homage to the early-era Pokémon games, but one that can’t get anywhere near their quality. Coromon is let down by having even fewer monsters to collect than the very first Pokémon, and some...
Nonetheless, this is a profoundly effective game. Digimon has always pushed a little harder than Pokémon to actually spin a meaningful story around the property, and Digimon Survive is not the first time the series has flirted with darker material. Thanks to excellently-flawed characters, clean tactical combat, and an eclectic...
Dark Alliance II is an excellent way to spend some time and a game that, in its vinyl vintage years, continues to be entertaining for reasons beyond nostalgia. If you’re looking for a “Diablo-like” with some interesting level design, a streamlined and efficient approach to questing, and some great water...
Dark Alliance II is an excellent way to spend some time and a game that, in its vinyl vintage years, continues to be entertaining for reasons beyond nostalgia. If you’re looking for a “Diablo-like” with some interesting level design, a streamlined and efficient approach to questing, and some great water...
Bright Memory: Infinite doesn’t waste time. It goes in, gives you a hell of a time, and then ducks out before it has the chance to overstay its welcome. I hope the developer isn’t done from here, as I’d love to see more of Bright Memory (and Shelia!) in the...
Taken by itself, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a spectacular example of an epic JRPG. Yes, the combat system is a little too overcooked for its own good, but the developer holds your hand nicely so that by the 40th hour the explosion of numbers, flashy attacks, and intertwined systems somehow...
The passage of time can sometimes be kind to classic games. Where Klonoa was once compared unfavourably to the far more “innovative” platformers that were doing the rounds, perhaps now it can be judged on its own merits instead, and while neither of the two Klonoa games are especially flashy...
I realise this is a pretty short review by my standards for the JRPG genre, but there really isn’t much else to say about Live A Live; this is a quirky and fundamentally experimental JRPG that in many ways remains out there on its own. The chapter-based approach to simple...
