Square Enix recently announced that it was cancelling some $150 million worth of games that had previously been greenlit as it shifts to more proven quantities and a strategy of being more selective in what it develops and publishes. What that means is that you should all enjoy SaGa Emerald Beyond, because it’s going to be the last one in…
Endless 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.…
Epyx is one of those old publishers that commands a fearsome reputation…
Sand Land became an unfortunate curiosity on account of Akira Toriyama being…
Nobunaga’s Ambition has finally landed on the Nintendo Switch. To celebrate the series’ 40th anniversary, Koei Tecmo has gone all out to make this latest entry in the venerable series assessable, story-driven, and interesting, and the team there has comprehensively succeeded. Related reading: Our interview with the producer and director…
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My review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie is going to be quite different, because it’s largely pointless to actually review it. If you’ve never experienced a Legend of Heroes title before, then do not bother starting with this one. It’s only going to confuse the daylights out…
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In recent years (thanks largely to the success of the Ryza trilogy), Gust and Koei Tecmo’s Atelier series has grown from being a very niche and micro-budget JRPG property to become something that, while not exactly mainstream, holds itself well in the market and can find an audience beyond genre…
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It has been 13 years since the last The Settlers title. The Settlers: New Allies is also the first time the series has ever made its way to a home console. Until now, this venerable, hugely respected and beloved simulation/strategy series had been exclusive to PC (with a couple of…
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I’ve run out of patience with the Richman series. I want to love them, but the feeling is clearly not reciprocal. This is the third game that developer/publisher, Softstar, has released on the Nintendo Switch, and not only does it demonstrate that there is little interest in improving the series,…
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Of all the major sporting events, the Tour de France must be one of the most challenging concepts to adapt to a video game. After all, you’re looking at courses that are hundreds of kilometres long, and take hours to cycle across, with the scenery changing up and down mountains,…
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I’m not exactly a farming sim aficionado but I’ve definitely played my fair share of them, ranging from terrible to phenomenal. More recently, there’s been several titles that include a magical component; Wylde Flowers is a great example of this. So when Everdream Valley popped up, I was pretty excited…
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What happens when you blend the otome visual novel sub-genre with death games like Danganronpa or Squid Games? Essentially, you get Charade Maniacs. This is Idea Factory’s latest to make its way out west and it’s an intriguing and eclectic thing. I don’t know if this particular fusion of ideas…
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A full disclaimer here: I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. I respect the contribution that the series has made to the history and development of video games, but I do find the characters aggravating, and the aesthetics garish. More simply, I just prefer slower-paced platformers that…
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Rain is a common motif in noir. Whether it be the grim, dank, and hostile urban decay of Se7en, or the neon-drenched dystopia of Blade Runner, water is so common to noir that there is, to quote Paul Schrader in his book Notes on Film Noir “an almost Freudian attachment…
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