Tag Archives: RPG

The Caligula Effect review

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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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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