I’ve been excited for a return to Forgotten Valley since Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life was announced; I remember playing the original, though barely. At that point in time (2003) it was still branded as Harvest Moon. Of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons titles, it stands out for one reason: characters age, so you follow the farm through generations.…
What can I say about GoldenEye 007? It’s more than a cult classic – a cult obsession maybe? Either way, since it was released in 1997 it’s been a beloved game for literally millions of people. Back in September, it was announced that the game would be coming to Nintendo…
I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering…
SteamWorld has, over the past decade, built up to become a highly…
I’ve lost count of the number of times The Pokémon Company has released information for the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. This one stands out, though. First, learn about the Scarlet Book and the Violet Book, each appearing in the title of with the same colour in the name.…
Read More
Doraemon’s second crossover outing with the Story of Seasons/Harvest Moon formula isn’t as impressive as the first. The basic game is the same, but while the first comes across as an inspired effort to bring two of the most wholesome Japanese properties together, now we already know it works, so…
Read More
Paradigm Paradox has a smart idea behind it: This is a magical girl story where most of the girls are, in fact, boys! The boys (and love interests) in this otome story magically turn into women when they are out there saving the world, before shifting back to male form…
Read More
The people at Bandai Namco have a good problem with their Taiko no Tatsujin series of rhythm games. They’ve created something that is mechanically perfect. Their cute drum mascot is immediately recognisable and endlessly versatile, and whilst other rhythm games require abstraction and concentration, Taiko is easily understandable and a…
Read More
It’s getting so close now! Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (known as Fatal Frame in America) was the fourth game in the series, but previously only available in Japan for the Wii. Koei Tecmo is finally remedying that, and you’ll be able to play it on PS4, PS5,…
Read More
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly catch-up news feature, the catch-up coffee. With each issue I will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!…
Read More
Japanese horror tradition is more about tragedy than violence. Whether it’s the yurei (ghost) stories of old, the modern horror of The Ring or Ju-On, or games like Yomawari here, the focus isn’t on giving you big monsters to slay bloodily. Nor is it torture porn, and focused on inflicting…
Read More
Taiwanese publisher/developer, Softstar, is best known for being a rising global force with its RPGs. Sword & Fairy and Xuan-Yuan Sword are rapidly gaining prestige worldwide (and with good reason, too). There’s more to the “Square Enix of Taiwan”, though. Softstar is also the company behind the Richman series of…
Read More
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…
Read More
Cotton16Bit Tribute is a perfect example of a recent influx of collection-style projects attempting to market as tributes for arcade classics from many years ago, whether it’s primarily for archival purposes, or to capture the success that these games of old had previously relished in. This specific release comes from…
Read More