Stellar Blade very much wants to be a merger of NieR: Automata and the Soulslike formula. It’s a flashy science fiction romp through a decrepit, decaying world, and the ambience is certainly going to be familiar to NieR fans. It’s also undeniably well-made. However, for all the comparisons people have been making to the likes of NieR: Automata and Bayonetta…
Type-Moon’s Fate series was right up there with the franchises I wanted to see Koei Tecmo apply its Musou formula to. In fact, I raised it with the developer several times when I’ve had interview opportunities, so I’m claiming the existence of Fate/Samurai Remnand as my victory (which also bodes…
I wasn’t expecting Armored Core VI to be a Soulslike, but I…
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is simultaneously excellent B-grade action fun, and an utter…
Polish off those game of the year trophies, because God of War: Ragnarök is almost certainly going to win a bunch of them. Whether it deserves them, though, is another matter entirely. People are going to love it because this is a massive, visually stunning, and viscerally entertaining game. However,…
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It feels almost ironic that Bayonetta, one of the most grandiose action properties in gaming (if not the series that takes the crown), would somehow end up being exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. This is a series where the action, creatures, humour, narratives and setpieces are so fundamentally big on…
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Mad Head Games has been around since 2011, and it has been a wild ride that led to its acquisition by Saber Interactive and, through that, becoming a part of Embracer Group in 2020. Now the team is gearing up for its first big game under its new owners, and…
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Here’s a free tip for developers and publishers: “Souls” means something in video gaming now. We may or may not like it, but people see that combination of letters and think something very specific. Soulstice is not actually one of these games (blessedly, given that this year has already been…
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Almost a decade ago, Sony published The Last Of Us on PlayStation 3. The sheer hyperbole that the game got was, in retrospect, silly. Empire even went as far as to say that the very cinematic game was comparable to Citizen Kane. Of course, since then, Sony alone has published…
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One of the challenges I have with Koei Tecmo’s Warriors franchise is determining the pecking order of the various games within the series. If you asked me to rank the Final Fantasy series, for example, there’s a clear upper echelon (Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VIII), but…
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Lollipop Chainsaw is one of the best games ever made. A collaboration between Goichi Suda, James Gunn (yes, the Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy director), and producer, Yoshimi Yasuda, the game is a subversive grindhouse brawler about a cheerleader taking on an army of zombies, and it is…
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We all know wuxia, right? The beautifully elegant form of Chinese martial art cinema (and other forms) that have dance-like, gravity-defying choreographed fights? Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and all the rest of them? That’s what Code: To Jin Yong is looking to capture and… well I hate to nosedive into…
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There aren’t many combinations that are more specifically “me” than Fire Emblem and Koei Tecmo’s Warriors (Musou) formula. One is my favourite tactical JRPG series of all time. The other is my favourite action brawler formula. Both series’ love their fan service and beautiful people, and both have persisted on…
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Touken Ranbu is a game about pretty boys. Who are swords. And travel around time, Quantum Leap-style. I’ve got to be honest with you, if you had told me that at some point in my life I’d be playing an anime boys game whose closest direct comparison is an ‘80s…
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