CtheIronblooded
Revisiting Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate for the first time in almost 10 years and honestly I somehow dislike it EVEN MORE then back when I first played it.
Speaking as both a huge Castlevania AND Lords of Shadow fan...I don't like this game, I wish I did, but I just don't. The game was legit a chore to play through and considering it is super short and I completed it in one 8 hour sitting that honestly says a lot. I think if your game fails at the simplest form of enjoyment it's just not a good game.
Mirror of Fate is a game that at its core has an extreme identity crisis. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a 2.5D spectacle brawler like God of War or the original Lords of Shadow or a classic metroidvania style Castlevania experience and these two things are just so vastly different from each other that the design philosophies are constantly at odds and clashing with one another and it fails miserably at both. It sucks as a Lords of Shadow game and it sucks even more as a Castlevania.
The combat is a simplistic, shallow, pale imitation of the combat in the original Lords of Shadow. You'd think since you play as 3 different characters throughout the game it wouldn't be, but all of them play the exact same minus their different side weapons so the gameplay gets extremely boring and monotonous, so much so that in the final 3rd of the game I just started running past enemies because I wasn't having fun fighting them and honestly just wanted the game to be over. To make matters worse the controls of the game are some of the most unresponsive I've dealt with in awhile and that makes platforming segments just horrendous to go through.
Shout out to the awful level design of the castle as well which just does not feel coherent making backtracking feel like a complete chore and if I don't want to backtrack on your metroidvania you're doing something VERY wrong, not like it matters though because there's such little incentive to backtrack in the first place due to the very minimal secrets to find.
Also I'll be the first to say the OST in the original Lords of Shadow is spectacular, but this game's OST is extremely lacking because there's only really a couple new tracks, most of it is rehashed from the OG Lord's of Shadow and personally the bombastic film score style does not fit this type of game, it worked so well with Lords of Shadow thanks to how adventurous and cinematic the game was, but here it just sounds out of place.
I can give it 2 compliments and that's really all. It's a very pretty game especially for one that was originally a 3DS title and also I actually appreciate the story more nowadays and like how it brings Trevor, Simon and Alucard into the Lords of Shadow canon, it was an interesting take on the lore that helped to make Gabriel's character even more tragic.
However at the end of the day having pretty graphics and a solid story pale in comparison to the fundamentally flawed design of the gameplay for a game that is primarily focused on its gameplay and I could not in good faith ever recommend this game to anyone aside from hardcore Castlevania completionists who want to play every game in the series because it simply can't hold a candle to any of the classic Castlevania games on the GBA/DS or either of the 2 mainline Lords of Shadow games. This is honestly one of the worst Castlevania games ever made and I would rather play the N64 titles.
P.S. Anyone who thinks this game is the best of the Lords of Shadow trilogy simply for being a "Return to classic Castlevania formula" and "Actually taking place at a castle" is delusional because I'd much rather have a sprawling 3D adventure with well crafted linear levels than a downright awful, incoherent attempt at a metroidvania.
Speaking as both a huge Castlevania AND Lords of Shadow fan...I don't like this game, I wish I did, but I just don't. The game was legit a chore to play through and considering it is super short and I completed it in one 8 hour sitting that honestly says a lot. I think if your game fails at the simplest form of enjoyment it's just not a good game.
Mirror of Fate is a game that at its core has an extreme identity crisis. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a 2.5D spectacle brawler like God of War or the original Lords of Shadow or a classic metroidvania style Castlevania experience and these two things are just so vastly different from each other that the design philosophies are constantly at odds and clashing with one another and it fails miserably at both. It sucks as a Lords of Shadow game and it sucks even more as a Castlevania.
The combat is a simplistic, shallow, pale imitation of the combat in the original Lords of Shadow. You'd think since you play as 3 different characters throughout the game it wouldn't be, but all of them play the exact same minus their different side weapons so the gameplay gets extremely boring and monotonous, so much so that in the final 3rd of the game I just started running past enemies because I wasn't having fun fighting them and honestly just wanted the game to be over. To make matters worse the controls of the game are some of the most unresponsive I've dealt with in awhile and that makes platforming segments just horrendous to go through.
Shout out to the awful level design of the castle as well which just does not feel coherent making backtracking feel like a complete chore and if I don't want to backtrack on your metroidvania you're doing something VERY wrong, not like it matters though because there's such little incentive to backtrack in the first place due to the very minimal secrets to find.
Also I'll be the first to say the OST in the original Lords of Shadow is spectacular, but this game's OST is extremely lacking because there's only really a couple new tracks, most of it is rehashed from the OG Lord's of Shadow and personally the bombastic film score style does not fit this type of game, it worked so well with Lords of Shadow thanks to how adventurous and cinematic the game was, but here it just sounds out of place.
I can give it 2 compliments and that's really all. It's a very pretty game especially for one that was originally a 3DS title and also I actually appreciate the story more nowadays and like how it brings Trevor, Simon and Alucard into the Lords of Shadow canon, it was an interesting take on the lore that helped to make Gabriel's character even more tragic.
However at the end of the day having pretty graphics and a solid story pale in comparison to the fundamentally flawed design of the gameplay for a game that is primarily focused on its gameplay and I could not in good faith ever recommend this game to anyone aside from hardcore Castlevania completionists who want to play every game in the series because it simply can't hold a candle to any of the classic Castlevania games on the GBA/DS or either of the 2 mainline Lords of Shadow games. This is honestly one of the worst Castlevania games ever made and I would rather play the N64 titles.
P.S. Anyone who thinks this game is the best of the Lords of Shadow trilogy simply for being a "Return to classic Castlevania formula" and "Actually taking place at a castle" is delusional because I'd much rather have a sprawling 3D adventure with well crafted linear levels than a downright awful, incoherent attempt at a metroidvania.
Revisiting Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate for the first time in almost 10 years and honestly I somehow dislike it EVEN MORE then back when I first played it.
Speaking as both a huge Castlevania AND Lords of Shadow fan...I don't like this game, I wish I did, but I just don't. The game was legit a chore to play through and considering it is super short and I completed it in one 8 hour sitting that honestly says a lot. I think if your game fails at the simplest form of enjoyment it's just not a good game.
Mirror of Fate is a game that at its core has an extreme identity crisis. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a 2.5D spectacle brawler like God of War or the original Lords of Shadow or a classic metroidvania style Castlevania experience and these two things are just so vastly different from each other that the design philosophies are constantly at odds and clashing with one another and it fails miserably at both. It sucks as a Lords of Shadow game and it sucks even more as a Castlevania.
The combat is a simplistic, shallow, pale imitation of the combat in the original Lords of Shadow. You'd think since you play as 3 different characters throughout the game it wouldn't be, but all of them play the exact same minus their different side weapons so the gameplay gets extremely boring and monotonous, so much so that in the final 3rd of the game I just started running past enemies because I wasn't having fun fighting them and honestly just wanted the game to be over. To make matters worse the controls of the game are some of the most unresponsive I've dealt with in awhile and that makes platforming segments just horrendous to go through.
Shout out to the awful level design of the castle as well which just does not feel coherent making backtracking feel like a complete chore and if I don't want to backtrack on your metroidvania you're doing something VERY wrong, not like it matters though because there's such little incentive to backtrack in the first place due to the very minimal secrets to find.
Also I'll be the first to say the OST in the original Lords of Shadow is spectacular, but this game's OST is extremely lacking because there's only really a couple new tracks, most of it is rehashed from the OG Lord's of Shadow and personally the bombastic film score style does not fit this type of game, it worked so well with Lords of Shadow thanks to how adventurous and cinematic the game was, but here it just sounds out of place.
I can give it 2 compliments and that's really all. It's a very pretty game especially for one that was originally a 3DS title and also I actually appreciate the story more nowadays and like how it brings Trevor, Simon and Alucard into the Lords of Shadow canon, it was an interesting take on the lore that helped to make Gabriel's character even more tragic.
However at the end of the day having pretty graphics and a solid story pale in comparison to the fundamentally flawed design of the gameplay for a game that is primarily focused on its gameplay and I could not in good faith ever recommend this game to anyone aside from hardcore Castlevania completionists who want to play every game in the series because it simply can't hold a candle to any of the classic Castlevania games on the GBA/DS or either of the 2 mainline Lords of Shadow games. This is honestly one of the worst Castlevania games ever made and I would rather play the N64 titles.
P.S. Anyone who thinks this game is the best of the Lords of Shadow trilogy simply for being a "Return to classic Castlevania formula" and "Actually taking place at a castle" is delusional because I'd much rather have a sprawling 3D adventure with well crafted linear levels than a downright awful, incoherent attempt at a metroidvania.
Speaking as both a huge Castlevania AND Lords of Shadow fan...I don't like this game, I wish I did, but I just don't. The game was legit a chore to play through and considering it is super short and I completed it in one 8 hour sitting that honestly says a lot. I think if your game fails at the simplest form of enjoyment it's just not a good game.
Mirror of Fate is a game that at its core has an extreme identity crisis. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a 2.5D spectacle brawler like God of War or the original Lords of Shadow or a classic metroidvania style Castlevania experience and these two things are just so vastly different from each other that the design philosophies are constantly at odds and clashing with one another and it fails miserably at both. It sucks as a Lords of Shadow game and it sucks even more as a Castlevania.
The combat is a simplistic, shallow, pale imitation of the combat in the original Lords of Shadow. You'd think since you play as 3 different characters throughout the game it wouldn't be, but all of them play the exact same minus their different side weapons so the gameplay gets extremely boring and monotonous, so much so that in the final 3rd of the game I just started running past enemies because I wasn't having fun fighting them and honestly just wanted the game to be over. To make matters worse the controls of the game are some of the most unresponsive I've dealt with in awhile and that makes platforming segments just horrendous to go through.
Shout out to the awful level design of the castle as well which just does not feel coherent making backtracking feel like a complete chore and if I don't want to backtrack on your metroidvania you're doing something VERY wrong, not like it matters though because there's such little incentive to backtrack in the first place due to the very minimal secrets to find.
Also I'll be the first to say the OST in the original Lords of Shadow is spectacular, but this game's OST is extremely lacking because there's only really a couple new tracks, most of it is rehashed from the OG Lord's of Shadow and personally the bombastic film score style does not fit this type of game, it worked so well with Lords of Shadow thanks to how adventurous and cinematic the game was, but here it just sounds out of place.
I can give it 2 compliments and that's really all. It's a very pretty game especially for one that was originally a 3DS title and also I actually appreciate the story more nowadays and like how it brings Trevor, Simon and Alucard into the Lords of Shadow canon, it was an interesting take on the lore that helped to make Gabriel's character even more tragic.
However at the end of the day having pretty graphics and a solid story pale in comparison to the fundamentally flawed design of the gameplay for a game that is primarily focused on its gameplay and I could not in good faith ever recommend this game to anyone aside from hardcore Castlevania completionists who want to play every game in the series because it simply can't hold a candle to any of the classic Castlevania games on the GBA/DS or either of the 2 mainline Lords of Shadow games. This is honestly one of the worst Castlevania games ever made and I would rather play the N64 titles.
P.S. Anyone who thinks this game is the best of the Lords of Shadow trilogy simply for being a "Return to classic Castlevania formula" and "Actually taking place at a castle" is delusional because I'd much rather have a sprawling 3D adventure with well crafted linear levels than a downright awful, incoherent attempt at a metroidvania.
Bare with me, this is a very long review because this game is very special to me. If you take the time to read it all I greatly appreciate it, but if you don't that's fine too.
Over the last couple days I played through this game for the first time in almost 10 years since it is now available through PS NOW PS3 streaming. I'm probably one of the few hardcore Castlevania fans to have this opinion, but I have a deep love for Lords of Shadow (Just the first game, we don't talk about the sequels) and it has always been a personal favorite of mine so I wanted to see how well it holds up and even 12 years later it is still better than most games that come out nowadays as far as I'm concerned.
The setting of Lords of Shadow takes place in the year 1047 during an apocalyptic event known as "the end of days" where the Earth's alliance with the Heavens has been severed by a malevolent order known as the Lords of Shadow who have casted a dark spell which has trapped the souls of the dead in limbo and stopped them from reaching paradise while also conjuring evil creatures to lay waste to the Earth and its people.
We follow the story of Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light, a holy order of elite knights who protect and defend innocents against the supernatural creatures of the night. Guided on his journey by his recently murdered wife Marie who is trapped in Limbo and Zobek the oldest member of his order who acts as his mentor and friend, Gabriel sets off to defeat the Lords of Shadow to claim the God Mask, an ancient relic with unfathomable power said to even be able to resurrect the dead which Gabriel hopes to use to bring back his beloved Marie.
I can not express how much I love the story of Lords of Shadow into words, it is a tragic epic that really evokes classical literature in its timeless philosophical "balance between light and darkness" themes and its emotional core. This is a dark and mature story that is all about the sacrifices one is willing to make all in the name of love and the depths they will go to for the sake of revenge and if they can still be redeemed when all is said and done and I just think it's a very beautiful and relatable story.
A big part of what makes the narrative for Lords of Shadow so convincing and compelling is the incredible voice acting from an all star voice cast of big Hollywood actors which I still consider to be one of the absolute best among all video games to this day. From the one and only Sir Patrick Stewart as Zobek and the narrator to Jason Isaacs as the literal biblical fallen angel Lucifer himself and the show stealing performance from Robert Carlyle as Gabriel which really adds this extra layer of humanization to his character this is just some of the best voice acting around. The cast themselves even made their own contributions to the characters while recording due to their love of the script and it really shows in their performances.
When it comes to gameplay Lords of Shadow is well known for being a God of War-like and I won't deny it, it definitely has a lot in common with God of War. They're both third-person action-adventure games with fixed camera angles, focused around gory combo-based combat featuring a vast variety of upgradable weapons and skills, platforming, puzzles and cinematic boss fights that utilize a gratuitous amount of QTEs, but like...It does everything God of War does and it does it just as well so I really don't care that it is a copy.
However I will say Lords of Shadow adds in some unique flavor of its own with the Light and Dark Magic system which is both symbolic and fitting for the overall themes of the game, but also just an incredibly fun gameplay mechanic which adds an extra element of strategy to the fights since your primary healing source is your Light Magic and your Dark Magic is a damage buff and your main source of replenishing them is the focus meter which only increases if you don't get hit in combat. Therefore you have to learn when to use or when to save magic and this system constantly tests your reflexes, especially on the harder difficulties. One other thing Lords of Shadow differs in from God of War is how it is structured into a replayable mission based format much like Devil May Cry.
Visually Lords of Shadow is a breathtaking game with impeccable art direction that really captures the grandiose adventurous style the game goes for, from lush fairytale like forests to snowy mountains, gothic castles and deserted lands of the dead you'll visit a variety of unforgettable vistas on your journey which still look graphically impressive even 12 years later.
The bombastic cinematic score composed by Óscar Araujo utilizing a 120-piece orchestra really gives me vibes of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score and it perfectly captures the feeling of travelling across the world on an adventure. While Michiru Yamane is one of my fave composers in all of video games and her tracks are much more individually memorable I just can't picture her type of baroque/neoclassical music over this game due to its cinematic nature and I think the film score style OST fits much better and helps with the epic atmosphere Lords of Shadow conveys.
What Lords of Shadow lacks in originality it more than makes up for it with a truly beautiful story alongside a top notch voice cast, tight and addictive gameplay with tons of depth plus stunning visuals and a bombastic score that enhances the atmosphere and when all is said and done that makes it stand side-by-side with the best the action-adventure genre has to offer and it still outclasses most games made even 12 years later.
P.S. The only reason this game gets shit is because it did something from the norm of Castlevania, if this would've been a new IP and didn't have the Castlevania title attached to it, I think it would've been a massive success...Or it would've flopped because the whole reason the Castlevania name was even attached was for marketing reasons and it clearly worked since Lords of Shadow is the best selling game in the series regardless of the reception it got from fans.
Over the last couple days I played through this game for the first time in almost 10 years since it is now available through PS NOW PS3 streaming. I'm probably one of the few hardcore Castlevania fans to have this opinion, but I have a deep love for Lords of Shadow (Just the first game, we don't talk about the sequels) and it has always been a personal favorite of mine so I wanted to see how well it holds up and even 12 years later it is still better than most games that come out nowadays as far as I'm concerned.
The setting of Lords of Shadow takes place in the year 1047 during an apocalyptic event known as "the end of days" where the Earth's alliance with the Heavens has been severed by a malevolent order known as the Lords of Shadow who have casted a dark spell which has trapped the souls of the dead in limbo and stopped them from reaching paradise while also conjuring evil creatures to lay waste to the Earth and its people.
We follow the story of Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light, a holy order of elite knights who protect and defend innocents against the supernatural creatures of the night. Guided on his journey by his recently murdered wife Marie who is trapped in Limbo and Zobek the oldest member of his order who acts as his mentor and friend, Gabriel sets off to defeat the Lords of Shadow to claim the God Mask, an ancient relic with unfathomable power said to even be able to resurrect the dead which Gabriel hopes to use to bring back his beloved Marie.
I can not express how much I love the story of Lords of Shadow into words, it is a tragic epic that really evokes classical literature in its timeless philosophical "balance between light and darkness" themes and its emotional core. This is a dark and mature story that is all about the sacrifices one is willing to make all in the name of love and the depths they will go to for the sake of revenge and if they can still be redeemed when all is said and done and I just think it's a very beautiful and relatable story.
A big part of what makes the narrative for Lords of Shadow so convincing and compelling is the incredible voice acting from an all star voice cast of big Hollywood actors which I still consider to be one of the absolute best among all video games to this day. From the one and only Sir Patrick Stewart as Zobek and the narrator to Jason Isaacs as the literal biblical fallen angel Lucifer himself and the show stealing performance from Robert Carlyle as Gabriel which really adds this extra layer of humanization to his character this is just some of the best voice acting around. The cast themselves even made their own contributions to the characters while recording due to their love of the script and it really shows in their performances.
When it comes to gameplay Lords of Shadow is well known for being a God of War-like and I won't deny it, it definitely has a lot in common with God of War. They're both third-person action-adventure games with fixed camera angles, focused around gory combo-based combat featuring a vast variety of upgradable weapons and skills, platforming, puzzles and cinematic boss fights that utilize a gratuitous amount of QTEs, but like...It does everything God of War does and it does it just as well so I really don't care that it is a copy.
However I will say Lords of Shadow adds in some unique flavor of its own with the Light and Dark Magic system which is both symbolic and fitting for the overall themes of the game, but also just an incredibly fun gameplay mechanic which adds an extra element of strategy to the fights since your primary healing source is your Light Magic and your Dark Magic is a damage buff and your main source of replenishing them is the focus meter which only increases if you don't get hit in combat. Therefore you have to learn when to use or when to save magic and this system constantly tests your reflexes, especially on the harder difficulties. One other thing Lords of Shadow differs in from God of War is how it is structured into a replayable mission based format much like Devil May Cry.
Visually Lords of Shadow is a breathtaking game with impeccable art direction that really captures the grandiose adventurous style the game goes for, from lush fairytale like forests to snowy mountains, gothic castles and deserted lands of the dead you'll visit a variety of unforgettable vistas on your journey which still look graphically impressive even 12 years later.
The bombastic cinematic score composed by Óscar Araujo utilizing a 120-piece orchestra really gives me vibes of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score and it perfectly captures the feeling of travelling across the world on an adventure. While Michiru Yamane is one of my fave composers in all of video games and her tracks are much more individually memorable I just can't picture her type of baroque/neoclassical music over this game due to its cinematic nature and I think the film score style OST fits much better and helps with the epic atmosphere Lords of Shadow conveys.
What Lords of Shadow lacks in originality it more than makes up for it with a truly beautiful story alongside a top notch voice cast, tight and addictive gameplay with tons of depth plus stunning visuals and a bombastic score that enhances the atmosphere and when all is said and done that makes it stand side-by-side with the best the action-adventure genre has to offer and it still outclasses most games made even 12 years later.
P.S. The only reason this game gets shit is because it did something from the norm of Castlevania, if this would've been a new IP and didn't have the Castlevania title attached to it, I think it would've been a massive success...Or it would've flopped because the whole reason the Castlevania name was even attached was for marketing reasons and it clearly worked since Lords of Shadow is the best selling game in the series regardless of the reception it got from fans.
2021
Tormented Souls is a retro throwback to classic survival horror and the first game from Chilean developers Dual Effect and for a low budget project made by such a small team it is a really damn impressive game!
You play as Caroline Walker, a Canadian girl in her 20s who one day receives a mysterious letter from the Wildberger Hospital with a picture of twin girls and the message "Do you think you can just simply abandon us here" on the back of the picture. Looking at the picture Caroline gets a sharp pain and she can't get it out of her head causing her to suffer from nightmares, so after 2 weeks she finally decides to go and investigate just what's going on at this hospital for herself. The story is mostly told in that classic survival horror method of drip-feeding the player information through various documents you find while exploring and while the actual plot wasn't bad despite being quite predictable, I was still always fully engrossed because reading all about the background of the setting and characters was often more interesting than the plot itself.
As I previously stated, Tormented Souls is a classic survival horror game and if it wasn't for the more polished and pristine graphical look everything from the tank controls and fixed camera angles to the resource management, exploration based puzzles, limited saves (Like RE's ink ribbons only tape reels instead), setting (It's a damn mansion that was remodeled into a hospital which is the perfect mix of both RE and SH), oppressive atmosphere, droning and unnerving OST, story and of course especially the campy, robotic voice acted dialogue could trick you into thinking you're actually playing a long forgotten gem from the PS2 era and I mean that in the best way possible.
I also want to make a special mention to the puzzles themselves because the developers went all out on them. These were some of the most clever, unique and at many times very confusing and cryptic puzzles I've experienced in quite some time. One of my favorite things about the game is how inventory items are used because most have multiple uses throughout the entire game and aren't just something you pick up, use on one specific puzzle and then it just dissolves from your inventory like in most games. There's legit an item you get at the very beginning of the game and it just chills in your inventory until almost the very end and that's so cool to me. The puzzles really make you use your brain and felt more akin to something you'd see in a point and click adventure game than a survival horror and while some might complain about them being a bit too cryptic or convoluted at times, I personally loved them.
Tormented Souls is a game made by fans of the classic survival horror genre with masterful knowledge of exactly what made the iconic 90s hits like Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Alone in the Dark as great as they were and why they're still regarded so highly today and while Tormented Souls is not accessible to newcomers of this genre in the slightest and it is a very (deliberately) dated game that is only going to appeal to hardcore genre fanatics, that doesn't change the fact it is one of the best survival horror games I've had the pleasure of experiencing in years and I can only hope we'll see more from Dual Effect in the future.
You play as Caroline Walker, a Canadian girl in her 20s who one day receives a mysterious letter from the Wildberger Hospital with a picture of twin girls and the message "Do you think you can just simply abandon us here" on the back of the picture. Looking at the picture Caroline gets a sharp pain and she can't get it out of her head causing her to suffer from nightmares, so after 2 weeks she finally decides to go and investigate just what's going on at this hospital for herself. The story is mostly told in that classic survival horror method of drip-feeding the player information through various documents you find while exploring and while the actual plot wasn't bad despite being quite predictable, I was still always fully engrossed because reading all about the background of the setting and characters was often more interesting than the plot itself.
As I previously stated, Tormented Souls is a classic survival horror game and if it wasn't for the more polished and pristine graphical look everything from the tank controls and fixed camera angles to the resource management, exploration based puzzles, limited saves (Like RE's ink ribbons only tape reels instead), setting (It's a damn mansion that was remodeled into a hospital which is the perfect mix of both RE and SH), oppressive atmosphere, droning and unnerving OST, story and of course especially the campy, robotic voice acted dialogue could trick you into thinking you're actually playing a long forgotten gem from the PS2 era and I mean that in the best way possible.
I also want to make a special mention to the puzzles themselves because the developers went all out on them. These were some of the most clever, unique and at many times very confusing and cryptic puzzles I've experienced in quite some time. One of my favorite things about the game is how inventory items are used because most have multiple uses throughout the entire game and aren't just something you pick up, use on one specific puzzle and then it just dissolves from your inventory like in most games. There's legit an item you get at the very beginning of the game and it just chills in your inventory until almost the very end and that's so cool to me. The puzzles really make you use your brain and felt more akin to something you'd see in a point and click adventure game than a survival horror and while some might complain about them being a bit too cryptic or convoluted at times, I personally loved them.
Tormented Souls is a game made by fans of the classic survival horror genre with masterful knowledge of exactly what made the iconic 90s hits like Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Alone in the Dark as great as they were and why they're still regarded so highly today and while Tormented Souls is not accessible to newcomers of this genre in the slightest and it is a very (deliberately) dated game that is only going to appeal to hardcore genre fanatics, that doesn't change the fact it is one of the best survival horror games I've had the pleasure of experiencing in years and I can only hope we'll see more from Dual Effect in the future.
2010
Unpopular opinion, but this has been one of my favorite games of all time ever since I was a teenager. God of War rip-off or not it still had so much charm and passion put into it, the sheer amount of detail that went into crafting the depiction of the 9 circles of hell is amazing, the bosses are incredible, the enemy design is grotesque and creative and the combat can easily stand up to God of War in terms of complexity and enjoyment. While it clearly takes many liberties with the source material it was a thoroughly entertaining action-fied take on The Inferno and one of the greatest gaming tragedies of my lifetime is how we never got the full trilogy. I'd kill for at least a remaster on modern platforms.
2022
Soulstice is the first game made by developers Reply Game Studios and for a first effort it is a very impressive Devil May Cry styled character action game that has a nostalgic feeling to it which harkens back to the 360/PS3 days.
Soulstice is a nihilistic, dark fantasy tale heavily influenced by the manga/anime of Claymore and Berserk and tells the tragic story of Briar and Lute, two sisters that have had their souls joined together in a sacred ritual to be reborn as a hybrid warrior called a 'Chimera', Chimeras are super human warriors that fight for a holy order of knights against corrupted demonic creatures called 'Wraiths' which can corrupt a human with a single touch and come from another dimension through tears in space-time itself, Briar and Lute are sent on a mission to close one of these tears in one of the 3 sacred cities and that is where our story begins. The narrative is a bit slow and mostly sees our heroines traversing through a destroyed city trying to reach the center, but as they traverse this desolate city they unveil tragic truths about themselves and mysteries about the order they serve and the world around them, building into a truly epic finale which perfectly sets up a sequel as well. I was pleasantly surprised that the narrative and world were a lot more fleshed out than I expected from a game of this type, there's even an in-game codex with a bunch of lore to read up on for those interested.
While they might not be the deepest characters, I found Briar and Lute to be very charming with well developed character arcs and I was quite endeared to them and their bond by the end of the game and I know part of that is thanks to the wonderful voice performance Stefanie Joosten gives playing both characters. There are a handful of other characters throughout the 20hr adventure which are memorable and charming in their own way like the mentor figure Donovan, the mysterious merchant Layton and a few eccentric antagonists as well, however none of these characters get as much focus as our protagonists so they don't feel nearly as fleshed out.
The combat despite being rough around the edges takes clear influence from DMC, but has its own unique flair with the player essentially controlling 2 characters at once and 1 of those characters being tied to a unique counter system making the combat have a bit of a learning curve, but once you get it down it is very satisfying, the weapon variety and how you can swap through all the various weapons on the fly reminds me of DMC 4 and all the weapons from a standard greatsword to a whip and tonfas that turn into cannons are utilized well having specific enemy types they counter. There is a very dated color coded mechanic where Lute activates blue and red forcefields and you can only damage the enemy of the corresponding color to the forcefield currently active, some might hate this, but I enjoy it and it adds an extra level of strategy to the gameplay since if you have the forcefield up for too long Lute overheats leaving you defenseless for a few seconds, timing is the key and it feels very satisfying once you get the timing of everything down. Oh yeah there's also a super power Devil Trigger type mechanic because what DMC style game would be complete without that, right?
Another thing I want to note is that Soulstice also has a fantastic sense of progression. When you first start the game you only have your basic weapon and it can certainly be challenging, but as you complete stages and unlock new weapons and skills both the player and Briar and Lute feel like they're getting stronger and that fits so perfectly with the theme of synergy that the game has going on. When you face a boss early on and Briar and Lute are like 'We're not strong enough we can't do this!' and they have to run, but then you come to that same boss later and they say 'We're strong enough we can finally do this!' I also really felt that. Just thought it was something worth mentioning.
All in all while it can be rough around the edges and dated at times Reply Game Studios' Soulstice is a very fun action game with fast paced and stylish combat that's easy to pick up, but hard to master alongside a surprisingly well written narrative and fairly detailed world and though it might not re-invent the wheel and sticks to a tried and true formula, it certainly adds a few of its own special touches while doing so and for fans of stylish action games like DMC and Bayonetta that don't mind a bit of a budgeted indie title Soulstice is one of the best games to scratch that itch in years.
Soulstice is a nihilistic, dark fantasy tale heavily influenced by the manga/anime of Claymore and Berserk and tells the tragic story of Briar and Lute, two sisters that have had their souls joined together in a sacred ritual to be reborn as a hybrid warrior called a 'Chimera', Chimeras are super human warriors that fight for a holy order of knights against corrupted demonic creatures called 'Wraiths' which can corrupt a human with a single touch and come from another dimension through tears in space-time itself, Briar and Lute are sent on a mission to close one of these tears in one of the 3 sacred cities and that is where our story begins. The narrative is a bit slow and mostly sees our heroines traversing through a destroyed city trying to reach the center, but as they traverse this desolate city they unveil tragic truths about themselves and mysteries about the order they serve and the world around them, building into a truly epic finale which perfectly sets up a sequel as well. I was pleasantly surprised that the narrative and world were a lot more fleshed out than I expected from a game of this type, there's even an in-game codex with a bunch of lore to read up on for those interested.
While they might not be the deepest characters, I found Briar and Lute to be very charming with well developed character arcs and I was quite endeared to them and their bond by the end of the game and I know part of that is thanks to the wonderful voice performance Stefanie Joosten gives playing both characters. There are a handful of other characters throughout the 20hr adventure which are memorable and charming in their own way like the mentor figure Donovan, the mysterious merchant Layton and a few eccentric antagonists as well, however none of these characters get as much focus as our protagonists so they don't feel nearly as fleshed out.
The combat despite being rough around the edges takes clear influence from DMC, but has its own unique flair with the player essentially controlling 2 characters at once and 1 of those characters being tied to a unique counter system making the combat have a bit of a learning curve, but once you get it down it is very satisfying, the weapon variety and how you can swap through all the various weapons on the fly reminds me of DMC 4 and all the weapons from a standard greatsword to a whip and tonfas that turn into cannons are utilized well having specific enemy types they counter. There is a very dated color coded mechanic where Lute activates blue and red forcefields and you can only damage the enemy of the corresponding color to the forcefield currently active, some might hate this, but I enjoy it and it adds an extra level of strategy to the gameplay since if you have the forcefield up for too long Lute overheats leaving you defenseless for a few seconds, timing is the key and it feels very satisfying once you get the timing of everything down. Oh yeah there's also a super power Devil Trigger type mechanic because what DMC style game would be complete without that, right?
Another thing I want to note is that Soulstice also has a fantastic sense of progression. When you first start the game you only have your basic weapon and it can certainly be challenging, but as you complete stages and unlock new weapons and skills both the player and Briar and Lute feel like they're getting stronger and that fits so perfectly with the theme of synergy that the game has going on. When you face a boss early on and Briar and Lute are like 'We're not strong enough we can't do this!' and they have to run, but then you come to that same boss later and they say 'We're strong enough we can finally do this!' I also really felt that. Just thought it was something worth mentioning.
All in all while it can be rough around the edges and dated at times Reply Game Studios' Soulstice is a very fun action game with fast paced and stylish combat that's easy to pick up, but hard to master alongside a surprisingly well written narrative and fairly detailed world and though it might not re-invent the wheel and sticks to a tried and true formula, it certainly adds a few of its own special touches while doing so and for fans of stylish action games like DMC and Bayonetta that don't mind a bit of a budgeted indie title Soulstice is one of the best games to scratch that itch in years.
Played the game for the first time 2 years ago with a fan patch, but since it is now officially out in the west (After 12 long years nonetheless!) I figured I'd post a review here again.
What a ride Trails from Zero was. It started off probably slower than any other Trails game, but when it picks up, it REALLY picks up.
The main story of this game is great and mostly grounded in reality and pretty unique for a J-RPG. You play as Lloyd Bannings, a young detective who's goal is to help improve the image of the Crossbell Police Department in the eyes of the public due to them losing faith in the police and becoming more reliant on a peace keeping, civilian protection agency known as the Bracer Guild, so Lloyd and his team do odd-jobs while also taking on the corruption of Crossbell's shady criminal underground world, which revolves around an Italian mafia like organization, an organization similar to the Chinese triad and the war for power going on between the two organizations plus a grand conspiracy that lurks in the shadows, there's also 2 minor delinquent gangs that you interact with as well. Crossbell basically has a lot of parallels to real world New York or Hong Kong, which is pretty cool. Plus there's some returning characters from the Sky trilogy and getting to see them again and how their story tied into this game has some major payoff if you played the Trails in the Sky trilogy beforehand.
I didn't mind the slower almost 'slice-of-life' parts at all though because it served to flesh out and immerse me into the setting of Crossbell since even the most seemingly pointless side quest or NPC interaction helps give more depth to Crossbell, its citizens and all their interpersonal relationships and this also gave me time to get to know the Special Support Section squad very well. I really came to love the SSS by the end of the game because the 4 main characters and their diverse personalities have such great synergy with one another from the flirty jokester playboy Randy to the sarcastic super genius Tio to the sweet, but serious Elie and Lloyd the hot-blooded and confident leader with a strong sense of justice and the glue that holds the whole team together. Trails from Zero is set in a span of 4 months and the SSS really become like a family by the end of those 4 months, it is really heartwarming
Gameplay is basically the unique turn-based tactical hybrid system of Trails which we have all come to know and love with a couple extra gimmicks (Like Team Rush attacks and Combo Crafts) and QoL improvements thrown in, while the soundtrack was nothing short of a masterwork that you would expect from Falcom JDK Band with plenty guitar driven battle tracks to hype you up alongside beautiful and peaceful themes to help set the atmosphere of all the various locations both in and surrounding Crossbell and the dungeon design was always enjoyable to explore as well.
In short Trails from Zero deserves every bit of praise it gets. From the detailed and immersive setting to the masterful character development and sprawling interconnected narrative that becomes crucial to the story of later entries in the series. This is a game that no J-RPG fan is going to want to miss.
What a ride Trails from Zero was. It started off probably slower than any other Trails game, but when it picks up, it REALLY picks up.
The main story of this game is great and mostly grounded in reality and pretty unique for a J-RPG. You play as Lloyd Bannings, a young detective who's goal is to help improve the image of the Crossbell Police Department in the eyes of the public due to them losing faith in the police and becoming more reliant on a peace keeping, civilian protection agency known as the Bracer Guild, so Lloyd and his team do odd-jobs while also taking on the corruption of Crossbell's shady criminal underground world, which revolves around an Italian mafia like organization, an organization similar to the Chinese triad and the war for power going on between the two organizations plus a grand conspiracy that lurks in the shadows, there's also 2 minor delinquent gangs that you interact with as well. Crossbell basically has a lot of parallels to real world New York or Hong Kong, which is pretty cool. Plus there's some returning characters from the Sky trilogy and getting to see them again and how their story tied into this game has some major payoff if you played the Trails in the Sky trilogy beforehand.
I didn't mind the slower almost 'slice-of-life' parts at all though because it served to flesh out and immerse me into the setting of Crossbell since even the most seemingly pointless side quest or NPC interaction helps give more depth to Crossbell, its citizens and all their interpersonal relationships and this also gave me time to get to know the Special Support Section squad very well. I really came to love the SSS by the end of the game because the 4 main characters and their diverse personalities have such great synergy with one another from the flirty jokester playboy Randy to the sarcastic super genius Tio to the sweet, but serious Elie and Lloyd the hot-blooded and confident leader with a strong sense of justice and the glue that holds the whole team together. Trails from Zero is set in a span of 4 months and the SSS really become like a family by the end of those 4 months, it is really heartwarming
Gameplay is basically the unique turn-based tactical hybrid system of Trails which we have all come to know and love with a couple extra gimmicks (Like Team Rush attacks and Combo Crafts) and QoL improvements thrown in, while the soundtrack was nothing short of a masterwork that you would expect from Falcom JDK Band with plenty guitar driven battle tracks to hype you up alongside beautiful and peaceful themes to help set the atmosphere of all the various locations both in and surrounding Crossbell and the dungeon design was always enjoyable to explore as well.
In short Trails from Zero deserves every bit of praise it gets. From the detailed and immersive setting to the masterful character development and sprawling interconnected narrative that becomes crucial to the story of later entries in the series. This is a game that no J-RPG fan is going to want to miss.
Danganronpa S features no real story content aside from the basic premise of a peaceful alternate universe where no killing games ever took place and every main character from the series went to Hope's Peak together and became friends. Danganronpa S takes place durning the summer break before everyone's graduation and as a celebration they use the virtual reality program of Jabberwock island to have a party and cultivate their ultimate talents more before leaving Hope's Peak.
Danganronpa S is an expanded version of the Ultimate Talent Development Plan mini-game from Danganronpa V3. Now featuring 60 characters (Including some from Ultra Despair Girls which didn't make an appearance in the original mini-game), new sprite designs of all the characters in beach attire, new CGs, new encounters and over 1000 different character events making Danganronpa S the definitive way to experience the UTDP.
Danganronpa S is made only for the most die-hard fans of the series, this is a pure fan-service game and unless you care about seeing your favorite characters get to interact with each other in much more wholesome ways that they never got a chance to before, the game offers very little else aside from an addictive, seemingly endless, cylindrical grindy gameplay loop of developing characters in the board game mode, fighting enemies and completing missions in the turn-based dungeon crawler battle tower mode while farming for materials to make better equipment for your characters and Monocoins to unlock new, stronger characters and upgrades from the gatcha machines (You can pay real money as well, but there's no reason to when everything is unlockable through just playing the game) to go back and develop them through the board game mode and then just rinse and repeat. So if all that grinding doesn't sound enjoyable to you it's probably best to stay away and just look up the character events on YouTube, but If you loved the UTDP mini-game from V3 enough to put hours upon hours into it like I did than this is the game for you.
Danganronpa S is an expanded version of the Ultimate Talent Development Plan mini-game from Danganronpa V3. Now featuring 60 characters (Including some from Ultra Despair Girls which didn't make an appearance in the original mini-game), new sprite designs of all the characters in beach attire, new CGs, new encounters and over 1000 different character events making Danganronpa S the definitive way to experience the UTDP.
Danganronpa S is made only for the most die-hard fans of the series, this is a pure fan-service game and unless you care about seeing your favorite characters get to interact with each other in much more wholesome ways that they never got a chance to before, the game offers very little else aside from an addictive, seemingly endless, cylindrical grindy gameplay loop of developing characters in the board game mode, fighting enemies and completing missions in the turn-based dungeon crawler battle tower mode while farming for materials to make better equipment for your characters and Monocoins to unlock new, stronger characters and upgrades from the gatcha machines (You can pay real money as well, but there's no reason to when everything is unlockable through just playing the game) to go back and develop them through the board game mode and then just rinse and repeat. So if all that grinding doesn't sound enjoyable to you it's probably best to stay away and just look up the character events on YouTube, but If you loved the UTDP mini-game from V3 enough to put hours upon hours into it like I did than this is the game for you.
I am not an MMO guy in the slightest, a friend talked me into playing this and it was fun for a couple days, but I tried coming back to it after not playing for a few days and I was already bored, now I honestly have no desire to ever go back to it. Really all I can say about the game is that the combat is stylish and cool and it looks pretty, I only put 10 hours into it so I can't speak for the story, but it certainly didn't grip me at the start. If you're like me and do not enjoy MMOs this game is definitely not going to change that and if you do like MMOs I'm sure there's plenty of better ones out there because this game just felt completely bog-standard.
Xenoverse 2 is probably the best Dragon Ball fan-fiction you'll ever experience. I loved the story and how it dealt with time travel and different timelines so it could incorporate non-canon fan favorite characters from various DBZ movies or GT. The combat is fun and has decent depth to it thanks to all the customization options for various skills. Creating your own character and training with iconic DBZ characters to learn their moves is a cool concept. The biggest thing that holds the game back for me is the MMO-like design because I am not really an MMO fan and also how ridiculously grindy it can get and how later challenges are nearly impossible to complete on your own without friends (All of this could tie in with the MMO complaint tbh). I'm sure the MMO style design and grindy gameplay won't bother a lot of people as much as it does me, but even with that in mind this whole game is just really good fan service for Dragon Ball fans and worth playing for that reason alone.
2005
There is nothing redeemable about this game, the combat is the most slow, clunky and genuinely unfun combat of any beat 'em up, not to mention the game is so cheaply made that they just reuse footage from the anime itself for cut-scenes. It also skips massive parts of the story and only even goes up to the Cell Saga. If that all doesn't explain how awful this game is the fact that the Kamehameha is a ball and not a beam should tell you how much the developers gave a shit when making this game.
>Sandbox world design
>Wacky sub-quests
>Random encounters on the map
>Beat 'em up combat
>Boss fights with multiple health bars
>RPG elements
>Skill tree that uses multiple kinds of experience to unlock special moves
>Eating meals gives you stat buffs
>Mini-games
>Fishing
This game is literally just Yakuza: DBZ edition.
Ok, but for real Kakarot was an incredible game. Arguably the best Dragon Ball Z game I've ever played. Yeah it tells the same old story we've experienced time and time again, but it does it in the most fresh and complete way to date. Kakarot does a perfect job of adapting the DBZ story from start to finish and captures all the most iconic moments with gorgeously animated cut-scenes. The combat, the boss fights, the music etc. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about Kakarot and even just flying around the world collecting things and doing side quests was very immersive and though the side quests are typical 'go here, collect item/fight thing' they're totally worth doing just for all the character interactions especially the ones with characters you hardly ever (or even never) saw in Z. If you're even somewhat a fan of Dragon Ball Z and its characters and world I strongly recommend it because I'd say it's the best way to experience this story and world outside of the anime.
>Wacky sub-quests
>Random encounters on the map
>Beat 'em up combat
>Boss fights with multiple health bars
>RPG elements
>Skill tree that uses multiple kinds of experience to unlock special moves
>Eating meals gives you stat buffs
>Mini-games
>Fishing
This game is literally just Yakuza: DBZ edition.
Ok, but for real Kakarot was an incredible game. Arguably the best Dragon Ball Z game I've ever played. Yeah it tells the same old story we've experienced time and time again, but it does it in the most fresh and complete way to date. Kakarot does a perfect job of adapting the DBZ story from start to finish and captures all the most iconic moments with gorgeously animated cut-scenes. The combat, the boss fights, the music etc. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about Kakarot and even just flying around the world collecting things and doing side quests was very immersive and though the side quests are typical 'go here, collect item/fight thing' they're totally worth doing just for all the character interactions especially the ones with characters you hardly ever (or even never) saw in Z. If you're even somewhat a fan of Dragon Ball Z and its characters and world I strongly recommend it because I'd say it's the best way to experience this story and world outside of the anime.
2022
After about 35 hours I finished my first playthrough (I went for the Harmonious ending) and I have to say that Digimon Survive has become one of my favorite pieces of Digimon media now and I look forward to completing the other story routes as well.
Let's get this out of the way first, you may or may not know this already, but Survive is about 75% visual novel or more accurately put 75% ADV which is a kind of visual novel that utilizes point and click adventure game elements that let you explore and investigate your surroundings, Digimon Survive is closer to something like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney than Steins;Gate or Fate/Stay Night.
Digimon Survive features a sorta Shin Megami Tensei morality system where players dialogue choices will increase one of 3 stats Moral, Wrath or Harmony and these stats influence both the direction of the story (There's 4 different story routes) and the character's partner Digimon and their digievolution process. There are also 'Free Action' segments in each chapter where you'll have a limited number of actions to talk to your party members and build up affinity with them in a Persona-like manner.
Now as for the narrative of Survive the developers promised a uniquely dark and gritty take on Digimon and they weren't kidding, I don't think anyone was expecting Survive to be this dark. We follow a group of teenagers on a camping trip who visit an ancient shrine that honors the legend of creatures known as Kemonogami and soon after are spirited away to another world filled with these strange creatures, some want to help and become their partners and others want to use them in ritualistic human sacrifice. This is a tale of how friendships can be tested under extreme stress and trauma and a horrific tale of survival in a mysterious, unforgiving environment. Survive has a very dark and foreboding horror/thriller atmosphere almost right from the start and it really makes you fear for the characters lives. Danger is waiting around every corner and you never know who could meet with an untimely death next. I will say the plot can get a little formulaic and repetitive at times in the way it is told and the pacing starts out a bit slow, but once it picks up it really doesn't relent and there's a few good twists to the mystery that will compel you to the end.
While the characters all have their tropes and archetypes most of them also feel incredibly well written and quite realistic too. These kids all have their own personal issues and on top of that have to deal with extreme stress and anxiety, they have mental breakdowns, they develop PTSD and severe trauma, they witness death and horrible acts happen to their friends. The way the cast deals with everything reminds me of a horror movie cast because they're inexperienced, immature and often times let their fear cloud their judgment and because of that a lot of the time they don't make smart decisions, there's tons of interpersonal drama and mistrust between everyone, but how they develop and come to terms with these problems and still work together as a group is what makes them such great characters to me.
Graphically the game is undeniably out of date and could pass for something you'd see on the PS3 or a very high end mobile game, but despite its graphical setbacks the game still looks visually beautiful thanks to killer art design and very expressive character models. The OST sets the tone and helps enhance the atmosphere at all the right moments as well.
So as I mentioned in the beginning the game is 75% VN, well the other 25% is tactical RPG combat and it is mostly very standard tactical RPG gameplay. If you've played something like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics you already know what to expect. Although the tactical gameplay is very barebones and nothing special battles are few and far between (Only a few in most chapters), but they provide just enough of a challenge that they never feel like a chore and the Digimon sprite work is gorgeous. For those who want more battles there is a 'Free Battle' option that unlocks where you can grind and get new Digimon to join your team with a Shin Megami Tensei styled interrogation mechanic. There's only a little over 100 Digimon in the game to collect and it mostly focuses on each of the character's partner Digimon much like the actual anime does.
I do need to mention my one biggest gripe with Survive and that is the localization and translation. There's a lot of typos or calling certain Digimon the wrong pronouns (like how Renamon is referred to as 'she' in one sentence and then in the next right after 'he' which just didn't make sense) and even improperly used words that don't correlate with what the Japanese voice actors (Who all do a marvelous job btw) are saying at times. It just makes me wish they would've paid for a full on English dub instead so what is being said at least translates to the words I'm reading.
At the end of the day Digimon Survive is not a monster taming/catching game and the tactical combat itself is definitely not even the selling point. You're mostly playing Survive for its story so if visual novels aren't your thing you should probably stay away, but for those who don't mind the extra reading and want a compelling Digimon mystery with a dark thriller twist I can't recommend Digimon Survive enough. It might not be the game a lot of people expected and its translation and localization definitely feel rushed and shoddy at times but that doesn't stop Digimon Survive from telling a compelling story and being a journey well worth experiencing.
Let's get this out of the way first, you may or may not know this already, but Survive is about 75% visual novel or more accurately put 75% ADV which is a kind of visual novel that utilizes point and click adventure game elements that let you explore and investigate your surroundings, Digimon Survive is closer to something like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney than Steins;Gate or Fate/Stay Night.
Digimon Survive features a sorta Shin Megami Tensei morality system where players dialogue choices will increase one of 3 stats Moral, Wrath or Harmony and these stats influence both the direction of the story (There's 4 different story routes) and the character's partner Digimon and their digievolution process. There are also 'Free Action' segments in each chapter where you'll have a limited number of actions to talk to your party members and build up affinity with them in a Persona-like manner.
Now as for the narrative of Survive the developers promised a uniquely dark and gritty take on Digimon and they weren't kidding, I don't think anyone was expecting Survive to be this dark. We follow a group of teenagers on a camping trip who visit an ancient shrine that honors the legend of creatures known as Kemonogami and soon after are spirited away to another world filled with these strange creatures, some want to help and become their partners and others want to use them in ritualistic human sacrifice. This is a tale of how friendships can be tested under extreme stress and trauma and a horrific tale of survival in a mysterious, unforgiving environment. Survive has a very dark and foreboding horror/thriller atmosphere almost right from the start and it really makes you fear for the characters lives. Danger is waiting around every corner and you never know who could meet with an untimely death next. I will say the plot can get a little formulaic and repetitive at times in the way it is told and the pacing starts out a bit slow, but once it picks up it really doesn't relent and there's a few good twists to the mystery that will compel you to the end.
While the characters all have their tropes and archetypes most of them also feel incredibly well written and quite realistic too. These kids all have their own personal issues and on top of that have to deal with extreme stress and anxiety, they have mental breakdowns, they develop PTSD and severe trauma, they witness death and horrible acts happen to their friends. The way the cast deals with everything reminds me of a horror movie cast because they're inexperienced, immature and often times let their fear cloud their judgment and because of that a lot of the time they don't make smart decisions, there's tons of interpersonal drama and mistrust between everyone, but how they develop and come to terms with these problems and still work together as a group is what makes them such great characters to me.
Graphically the game is undeniably out of date and could pass for something you'd see on the PS3 or a very high end mobile game, but despite its graphical setbacks the game still looks visually beautiful thanks to killer art design and very expressive character models. The OST sets the tone and helps enhance the atmosphere at all the right moments as well.
So as I mentioned in the beginning the game is 75% VN, well the other 25% is tactical RPG combat and it is mostly very standard tactical RPG gameplay. If you've played something like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics you already know what to expect. Although the tactical gameplay is very barebones and nothing special battles are few and far between (Only a few in most chapters), but they provide just enough of a challenge that they never feel like a chore and the Digimon sprite work is gorgeous. For those who want more battles there is a 'Free Battle' option that unlocks where you can grind and get new Digimon to join your team with a Shin Megami Tensei styled interrogation mechanic. There's only a little over 100 Digimon in the game to collect and it mostly focuses on each of the character's partner Digimon much like the actual anime does.
I do need to mention my one biggest gripe with Survive and that is the localization and translation. There's a lot of typos or calling certain Digimon the wrong pronouns (like how Renamon is referred to as 'she' in one sentence and then in the next right after 'he' which just didn't make sense) and even improperly used words that don't correlate with what the Japanese voice actors (Who all do a marvelous job btw) are saying at times. It just makes me wish they would've paid for a full on English dub instead so what is being said at least translates to the words I'm reading.
At the end of the day Digimon Survive is not a monster taming/catching game and the tactical combat itself is definitely not even the selling point. You're mostly playing Survive for its story so if visual novels aren't your thing you should probably stay away, but for those who don't mind the extra reading and want a compelling Digimon mystery with a dark thriller twist I can't recommend Digimon Survive enough. It might not be the game a lot of people expected and its translation and localization definitely feel rushed and shoddy at times but that doesn't stop Digimon Survive from telling a compelling story and being a journey well worth experiencing.
The World Ends With You is truly a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. I wish I would've played this game years ago on the DS, but better late than never. I've been playing RPGs for over 2 decades now and I was just blown away by the sheer amount of creativity this game has to offer, I've never played anything else quite like it and I loved absolutely everything about it.
In The World Ends With You we follow the narrative of an anti-social teenager named Neku Sakuraba who finds himself in the Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo, but it isn't the Shibuya he knows, no, this is an alternate plane of existence ran by mysterious beings known as Reapers who are forcing everyone here to play a deadly death game known as the Reapers Game where your only means of survival is to work together with a partner and clear daily missions set by the Reapers themselves, those who fail face the threat of being erased from existence itself. There's one major problem though, Neku has what I call 'J-RPG protagonist syndrome' meaning that he's come down with a bad case of amnesia and is about as clueless as to what's going on as we the player are ourselves. How did Neku end up in this plane of existence? Just who are the Reapers and what is their end game? This and many more questions will be answered as you progress through the 25 hour main narrative and what a narrative it is too! I'm a sucker for a great mystery and that is exactly what TWEWY is, a compelling mystery with many unexpected twists and turns and I was thoroughly captivated from start to finish.
Aside from the plot itself, one of the most important things about a great J-RPG is equally great characters and thankfully TWEWY excels on this level as well. Neku meets many colorful characters during his journey and though he is reluctant to open up to them at first, he has incredible development and slowly learns to trust and work alongside his new friends and partners. All the main characters are complex with fleshed out personalities and relatable human struggles.
Combat can be experienced in two ways, 1) playing the Switch in handheld mode which uses the touch screen or 2) playing docked which utilizes the Switch's motion control features and though it has a bit of a learning curve and takes some time to get used to I really ended up loving it. Neku and friends engage in combat by using abilities called 'psychs' which come from collectible pins that can be activated in various ways like tapping, scratching, slashing and pressing the screen, the enemies on the screen and sometimes Neku himself. The sheer variety in the abilities and how you can fastly chain them together made the combat system continuously fresh and fun. I also liked how all the pins have brands attached to them and attacking with different brands in different areas of the map will increase their power.
Another major thing that defines TWEWY is the art direction and music. TWEWY has a very big urban/street aesthetic to it in everything from the character designs to the backgrounds, hell even all the fashion brands the characters wear in game and the OST as well which is full of hip hop and R&B tracks (Which are bangers btw). All of this combined gives TWEWY a very distinct and one-of-a-kind style that stands out from all its other J-RPG counterparts.
When all is said and done I never got to play TWEWY back on the DS so I have no nostalgia for this game and everything I'm typing right now are 100% my honest thoughts and those thoughts say that this game is simply an incredible J-RPG unlike anything else I've ever played before that is just dripping in distinctive style, utilizing a super fun combat system, featuring a compelling narrative full of mystery and suspense alongside a well written cast of eclectic characters and an absolutely banging OST making it a must play for any J-RPG fan.
In The World Ends With You we follow the narrative of an anti-social teenager named Neku Sakuraba who finds himself in the Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo, but it isn't the Shibuya he knows, no, this is an alternate plane of existence ran by mysterious beings known as Reapers who are forcing everyone here to play a deadly death game known as the Reapers Game where your only means of survival is to work together with a partner and clear daily missions set by the Reapers themselves, those who fail face the threat of being erased from existence itself. There's one major problem though, Neku has what I call 'J-RPG protagonist syndrome' meaning that he's come down with a bad case of amnesia and is about as clueless as to what's going on as we the player are ourselves. How did Neku end up in this plane of existence? Just who are the Reapers and what is their end game? This and many more questions will be answered as you progress through the 25 hour main narrative and what a narrative it is too! I'm a sucker for a great mystery and that is exactly what TWEWY is, a compelling mystery with many unexpected twists and turns and I was thoroughly captivated from start to finish.
Aside from the plot itself, one of the most important things about a great J-RPG is equally great characters and thankfully TWEWY excels on this level as well. Neku meets many colorful characters during his journey and though he is reluctant to open up to them at first, he has incredible development and slowly learns to trust and work alongside his new friends and partners. All the main characters are complex with fleshed out personalities and relatable human struggles.
Combat can be experienced in two ways, 1) playing the Switch in handheld mode which uses the touch screen or 2) playing docked which utilizes the Switch's motion control features and though it has a bit of a learning curve and takes some time to get used to I really ended up loving it. Neku and friends engage in combat by using abilities called 'psychs' which come from collectible pins that can be activated in various ways like tapping, scratching, slashing and pressing the screen, the enemies on the screen and sometimes Neku himself. The sheer variety in the abilities and how you can fastly chain them together made the combat system continuously fresh and fun. I also liked how all the pins have brands attached to them and attacking with different brands in different areas of the map will increase their power.
Another major thing that defines TWEWY is the art direction and music. TWEWY has a very big urban/street aesthetic to it in everything from the character designs to the backgrounds, hell even all the fashion brands the characters wear in game and the OST as well which is full of hip hop and R&B tracks (Which are bangers btw). All of this combined gives TWEWY a very distinct and one-of-a-kind style that stands out from all its other J-RPG counterparts.
When all is said and done I never got to play TWEWY back on the DS so I have no nostalgia for this game and everything I'm typing right now are 100% my honest thoughts and those thoughts say that this game is simply an incredible J-RPG unlike anything else I've ever played before that is just dripping in distinctive style, utilizing a super fun combat system, featuring a compelling narrative full of mystery and suspense alongside a well written cast of eclectic characters and an absolutely banging OST making it a must play for any J-RPG fan.
2022
First of all the game made Ultra Instinct Shaggy a reality, how can you not love it for that alone?
Ok, on to the real review.
MultiVersus is easily the most fun, polished and fairly balanced Smash alternative I've ever played. There is just so much depth and variety to the gameplay, it has all the platform based fighting game staples you can imagine alongside some new mechanics of its own to keep the gameplay fresh and I especially love the addition of classes and perks to the characters and how it adds an extra level of strategy to the battles.
Also the game is very friendly to free players and it is easy to earn rewards simply just by playing the game which will let you unlock new characters plus speaking of the characters the roster is fantastic with tons of iconic WB characters both new and old and to make matters even better most of them have their original/fan favorite voices like Kevin Conroy as Batman, George Newburn as Superman, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark or Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and I love how the characters all have fun unique interactions and conversations with each other during battle. WB certainly didn't skimp out on the budget and it shows in both the high production values and the smooth and fluid gameplay and animations.
Naturally this is still an open beta so there are some bugs and network issues plus limited content in terms of game modes and stages, but so far the game shows tons of promise and potential and I look forward to seeing where the devs take it from here because if it is updated properly it could be a strong Smash competitor especially since it already has better net-code than Smash and is crossplay across multiple consoles and PC.
Ok, on to the real review.
MultiVersus is easily the most fun, polished and fairly balanced Smash alternative I've ever played. There is just so much depth and variety to the gameplay, it has all the platform based fighting game staples you can imagine alongside some new mechanics of its own to keep the gameplay fresh and I especially love the addition of classes and perks to the characters and how it adds an extra level of strategy to the battles.
Also the game is very friendly to free players and it is easy to earn rewards simply just by playing the game which will let you unlock new characters plus speaking of the characters the roster is fantastic with tons of iconic WB characters both new and old and to make matters even better most of them have their original/fan favorite voices like Kevin Conroy as Batman, George Newburn as Superman, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark or Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and I love how the characters all have fun unique interactions and conversations with each other during battle. WB certainly didn't skimp out on the budget and it shows in both the high production values and the smooth and fluid gameplay and animations.
Naturally this is still an open beta so there are some bugs and network issues plus limited content in terms of game modes and stages, but so far the game shows tons of promise and potential and I look forward to seeing where the devs take it from here because if it is updated properly it could be a strong Smash competitor especially since it already has better net-code than Smash and is crossplay across multiple consoles and PC.