PS Vita

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows review

Growing up in the U.S., I was habitual visitor of haunted house attractions. But, after inching my way through dozens of these scare shacks, I was able to distinguish a formula. Moments of calm frequently ...

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Bad Apple Wars review

Japanese writers are especially adept at allegory, crafting eloquent and often evocative metaphors when tackling provocative subjects like animism, environmental abuse, or war. With the release of Bad Apple Wars for the PS Vita and ...

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Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle review

Pugnaciousness doesn’t have to rooted in quarter-circles and z-motions. While the finger gymnastics required by the Street Fighter, Guilty Gear and BlazBlue franchises are an apt substitute for conveying martial art mastery, they’re not the ...

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Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony review

In one of Hollywood’s best meta-analyses, Scream 2 explained the difficulties of crafting a slasher film sequels. Identifying larger body counts, more elaborate and gruesome death scenes, and the apparent immortality of the franchise’s bad ...

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SteamWorld Dig 2 review

As an indie title that captured the polish and effervescent charm of a first-party Nintendo game, 2013’s SteamWorld Dig was a rarity. For a follow-up, Image & Form crafted SteamWorld Heist, which was based in ...

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Mary Skelter: Nightmares review

Following the success of 2010’s Hyperdimension Neptunia, developer Compile Heart’s output drifted toward the formulaic. Beyond a structure split between visual novel-based storytelling and turn-based combat, the Toshima-ku based studio integrated a copious amount of ...

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Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana review

There’s the tacit expectation that franchises will evolve over time. But occasionally, the pressure to advance can spoil an otherwise splendid series when rash ideas or slipshod mechanics are needlessly shoehorned into a sequel. In ...

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Drive Girls review

Although disregarded by Sony, the PS Vita survives thanks to a steady stream of niche software. Sure, support from big third-party publishers like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts dried up years ago, but thanks to a ...

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Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth review

When Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception was released last May, we gave the title an affirmative review; albeit with a major caveat. Box art and promotional screenshots made the game look like a strategy role-playing game, ...

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