Why the Hell is Everyone so Nice Here? Great, I’ve died and gone to hell. But waking up in the demon world isn’t all that bad. Instead of the charring flames and unspeakable torture that ...
Read More »Etrian Odyssey Nexus review
Always a Tough Act to Follow Technology is often used to automate simple tasks. It’s engineered to remove tedium, so users can focus on more interesting elements. But 2007’s Etrian Odyssey cleverly challenged this assumption. ...
Read More »Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk review
With a rich history that spans almost four decades, dungeon-based role-playing games (or DRPGs) have been especially prevalent across the last few years. Standout titles like Stranger of Sword City, The Lost Child, Ray Gigant, ...
Read More »Mary Skelter: Nightmares (PC) 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 ...
Read More »The Lost Child review
For Switch owners, the wait for Shin Megami Tensei V might seem intolerable, with the Setagaya-based team providing scant information on developmental progress. Fortunately, there’s a viable, albeit derivative alternative, with Kadokawa Games’ The Lost ...
Read More »Hammerwatch (Switch) review
1985’s Gauntlet is often remembered for its in-game narration, where a Texas Instruments speech synthesizer would state the condition of each player. Notoriously, the announcer would also divulge which character inadvertently shot the health-replenishing food, ...
Read More »Hyakki Castle review
The first-person dungeon crawl is an remarkably fertile genre, typically extending engrossing interpretations of Dungeons & Dragons-inspired, party-based prowls. But occasionally, skulking through homogeneous hallways and battling the same fantasy-themed enemies culled from Monster Manuals ...
Read More »Demon Gaze II review
When Demon Gaze was released in 2014, the PS Vita had a scant number of dungeon crawls. But in the ensuing years, labyrinth-based skulking proliferated on the portable, with titles like Stranger of Sword City, ...
Read More »Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth review
Computer-based role-playing games have automated many of the analog-based labors of traditional pen-and-paper based games. That can be a beneficial, permitting players to concentrate on elements like storyline. But streamlining also obscures many of the ...
Read More »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 ...
Read More »