When I think of Idea Factory otome games, much of what comes to mind is as cute and colourful as the upcoming Cupid Paradise: Sweet and Spicy Darling. Don’t get me wrong, those are wonderful and creative games – but what if an otome visual novel decides to go dark with a supernatural theme? You end up with 9 R.I.P.,…
I do not understand Sker Ritual. At all. It seems that at every opportunity the developers took what was great about Maid of Sker and do the exact opposite to it, and so now, across just two games in the “Sker” property, we’ve got a confused mess across the “franchise”…
It was only a couple of weeks ago that I wrote about…
The Corpse Party series is a bit confusing if you’re a newcomer.…
CASCHA Games’ Concealed caught my attention for several reasons. The game has gorgeous art direction for one thing, and the promise of a horror visual novel set in a school is always a good way to catch my attention. Those two things go together beautifully. Unfortunately, this is going to…
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If you’re into horror and haven’t checked out the Amnesia series, you really should! It’s quite beloved, especially considering how scary the games can be. The latest instalment is Amnesia: The Bunker, described as a pivotal point in the series. For the first time, players are given a high level…
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I don’t believe that games “age,” as new things come along to replace them. It’s a silly thing to suggest of an artwork. Is the Mona Lisa no longer relevant because people have Wacom tablets? Of course not. Is Shakespeare “dated” because Disney’s Marvel films are made on a bigger…
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Square Enix Collective has published some phenomenal indie titles, from Tokyo Dark to PowerWash Simulator. In August 2022, it announced Little Goody Two Shoes, a narrative adventure game that is 90s anime meets horror meets fairy tale. It is certainly visually inspired by PlayStation-era RPGs and 90s/00 anime. And what…
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Last month, I wrote about a Stray Souls trailer that (I thought) stated it would be available Halloween 2023. I mistakenly believed this meant it would launch on Halloween, but that’s not the case as it was announced today that the game would actually launch a week prior to that.…
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Back in 1982, Atari released Haunted House. Now, over 30 years later, it’s getting a “reimagining” courtesy of developer Orbit Studio. The game pays homage to the original survival horror adventure by seamlessly adopting roguelite elements while incorporating stealth-based gameplay and haunting boss battles. While there’s no release date yet,…
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Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth, and have to admit that I’m wrong. Now is one of those times. Just yesterday, in the catch-up, I was musing over whether or not Layers of Fear would be delayed since it was due out in June but there was no…
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If you haven’t played Resident Evil 4 before, the game follows Raccoon City disaster survivor turned government agent, Leon S. Kennedy, on his mission to [undisclosed Spanish-speaking European country] to rescue Ashley Graham, the daughter of the US President, who has been kidnapped. Leon explores a village, a castle, and…
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It was a surprisingly strong week for horror games this week, with an excellent remaster of a Project Zero game joining the spectacular visual novel by Square Enix, Paranormasight. In reading some of the reviews of these games I was reminded that far too often people treat Japanese and Western…
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It’s a rare treat when a major publisher like Square Enix produces a visual novel like Paranormasight. I can imagine how it happened, though: A small team within the publisher had a cracking idea for a spooky story and, after seeing just how great the concept really was, Square Enix…
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