Japanese role-playing aficionados know that allegory is a frequent storytelling strategy. Whether it’s Hyperdimension Neptunia’s spirted take on game console competition or the Persona series’ ruminations about our inner psyches, there’s something rather potent about ...
Read More »Persona 5 review
With a slew of sequels and spin-offs across its twenty-year legacy, the Persona series remains remarkably relevant. Much of this vitality is rooted in the franchise’s ability to balance tradition with innovation. Mirroring the characters ...
Read More »Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy (PC) review
As fans of fighting, platforming, and rhythm-based games likely know, genres can be curiously cyclical. Case in point: the first-person dungeon crawler, a type of game which rose to prominence during the ‘80s with the ...
Read More »Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey
Amid the indefatigable barrage of bombastic games that deliver adrenaline-soaked, white knuckle experiences, there’s Gust’s Atelier franchise. Far removed from the over-the-top action which dominates the industry, the Nagano-based developer has developed a succession of ...
Read More »Torment: Tides of Numenera review
Most contemporary role-playing games have digressed from their table-top roots. Modern narratives rarely reflect the type of bookish descriptions articulated by human game masters, extending oft-sterile cinematics for exposition. While combat might be turn-based, an ...
Read More »Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force review
With remakes, remasters, and ports comprise a significant portion of the game industry’s output, it’s natural to be a bit skeptical of the whole practice. Although a number of these reiterations are born from genuine ...
Read More »Tales of Berseria review
The twenty-first century ushered in a tonal shift for Japanese role-playing games. Previously, protagonists were habitually plucky and perpetually cheerful. They accepted their world-saving role without much opposition. But the tumultuous geopolitics of the new ...
Read More »Yakuza 0 review
Context is an oft overlooked constituent in gaming. While 2009’s The Saboteur replicated the familiar driving and destruction mechanics of the sandbox-action title, it was the colorful recreation of Nazi-occupied Paris which transformed the game ...
Read More »Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea review
Quite often, Western dystopia is rendered in a very distinct manner. Outdoor settings are often sun-beached and desiccated, dotted with the rotting remnants of a once-industrious society. Whether the context is Borderlands, Homefront, or the ...
Read More »Criminal Girls: Invite Only (PC) review
Veteran gamers might recall the industry’s puritanical era. It was a bewildering time when Nintendo tweaked RGB levels, converting Mortal Kombat’s bloodshed into a sweat-splashing romp complete with family-friendly finishing moves. Even the seemingly innocuous ...
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