I am genuinely surprised by the launch of the two Quintessential Quintuplets games in this “double pack” (Memories of a Quintessential Summer and Five Memories Spent With You). They’ve been published by MAGES, one of the legends of visual novel development. They’ve also been published by Spike Chunsoft, one of…
Read MoreI have a particularly strong attachment to the original Cupid Parasite… indeed I think that it is that game, above and beyond any of the others that I’ve played, that convinced me that “hey, I have to make my own one of these visual novel things.” The result may not…
Read MoreSometimes, games don’t need to be remade. When the creative vision was already fully realised the first time around, simply making the thing available again is all that’s needed. That’s what Nintendo has done with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and it’s as good now as it was ever. Related…
Read MoreSpike Chunsoft knows its way to my heart. Put pretty anime girls in swimwear and, well, I can’t help but buy the thing now, can I? It’s actually a requirement that I do so. So that’s what the Spike Chunsoft team is doing to me in collaboration with MAGES with…
Read MoreMy impatience for, well, anything is well-documented at this point. Waiting five years for a game seemed completely unfeasible but I have done it! I have waited half a decade for Read Only Memories: Neurodiver (ROM: Neurodiver), the sequel to 2015’s 2064: Read Only Memories. When I was offered a…
Read MoreJust in time for the Game Boy’s 35th anniversary, Nintendo has quietly dropped three more classics on to the Game Boy app on the Switch Online service. The headline of the three is Super Mario Land, the first time Mario appeared on the console. Today, this game comes across as…
Read MoreOne of the things I’ve learned in making my own visual novel is that scope can very easily blow out. Every new scene, character, idea, and story beat that you add in means more backgrounds, CGs, character costumes and music. Then it all becomes very expensive. And so, in most…
Read MoreOne of the finest examples that I can think of that highlight the differences between Western and Eastern game development, and some of the weaknesses that we as a collective industry have in critiquing video games, is to look at Dante’s Inferno and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron side-by-side.…
Read MoreOf all the ways to use the mighty Demon Slayer license I honestly did not expect a Mario Party clone to be one of the first. And yet, that’s what has happened. Following hot on the heels of the perfectly reasonable slash-em-up from from a few years ago comes Sweep…
Read MoreEndless Ocean Luminous is a rare treat. We live in a world where the games industry is steadfastly committed to speed. Often it’s done through violence and combat, but not always. Even puzzle game developers are on the hunt for ways to make their ideas flow as snappily as possible.…
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