Pulling the combat of Chrono Trigger and the plot of Final Fantasy X, this game should be fantastic. However, it only pulls from these games in a very half-hearted manner. The combination techniques do make an appearance but they are based on which moves you have slotted into your characters. So depending on the way you've built your team, you might not have any, going against the premise of mimicking Chrono Trigger's combat. The story has so many shades of Final Fantasy X that it could be considered its Heartless, as there are a lot of similarities but due to the short runtime, the bonds feel underdeveloped and lack any soul. Its biggest sin though is that it doesn't properly explain what its fundamental mechanics are or how to use them, requiring research online. On the artistic side. characters have no feet, just stubs on the bottom of their legs. While it shouldn't bother me, I found myself negatively fixated on them, especially during cutscenes.

This proves that some games are not greater than the sum of their parts. The combat is probably the strongest part, feeling almost like a game of Chess. The controversial card system plays a part in this by making you think about having the most efficient turn with the tools at your disposal. While half of the game is combat, the other half is a Persona-like social sim, with your custom character making friends with the other Marvel heroes making up the team. The main issue is that the game is far too long, each story mission is unnecessarily bloated due to the fact you have to do a random mission between each one. This doesn't factor in all the exploration and light puzzles scattered around the area surrounding your base of operations. Personally, a much more focused game would have made it perfect.

This has got to be one of the best Star Wars games I've ever played. It improves on the first game in almost every way. There are fewer planets overall, but the ones that are there are packed with a lot more to explore and do. The extra stances mean you can tailor Cal Kestis to fit your preferred playstyle. The combat and story are both fantastic, along with all the traversal skills you are constantly unlocking throughout the campaign. With so many options available, I could spend hours changing the appearance of my lightsaber. The only thing I would have liked, which kept it from a 10, is the ability to save anywhere rather than at specific save points.

The creators of this were smoking and eating something, probably simultaneously. The gameplay is non-existent, with trivial platforming and constantly moving right, holding down the dedicated Shred button. What you are treated to, though, is an absolute deluge of sights and sounds. There are regular sections in the game where you must follow button prompts, but luckily, these don't require rhythmic timing. You never know what to expect or how everything will react to your sci-fi riffs from the space opera of your soul.

Initially released in 1996, it's gotten a new lick of paint this year. It's excellent, albeit quite basic, but that's not surprising considering when it was first made. It's one of those situations where developers have built on this game's foundation. It's the same affair as the original, with Triple Attacks and Super Enemies added to spice things up. The Triple Attack is an Ultimate Attack unleashed once you've filled a meter, whose effect depends on your party composition. The Super Enemies are stronger enemy versions that sometimes appear in random encounters. This is an excellent way to break up the monotony. The game is definitely easy, but that's sometimes a good thing. It's a little strange having such cheerful battle music, though.

The setting for this is certainly a unique one for me, in a building where the walls shift to block and open up different areas when it's cleansed. Not that many enemies or weapon types but the combat can be fast-paced, especially you unlock more abilities like the dash or fly. The side quests are interesting, some even grant new abilities. The game offers no direct waypoints to your objective, requiring you to read the in-world signs to get around the building. While this heightens immersion, it can make it frustrating trying to get to where you need to go. You only have one weapon in the game but much like the building it can shift into different modes to behave like a pistol, shotgun, SMG, etc. Overall the game is great but slightly too long, especially with the two additional DLCs, one of which adds story that really should be in the main game.

This improves on the first game in every conceivable way. The writing, characters, story, everything is better, leaving a much bigger impression than before. One handy addition is that your companions, outside of your little brother, each have a unique ability to help you navigate through the various puzzles and enemies. The puzzles and areas themselves have been improved upon, requiring more trial and error to figure out how to get through and survive. Although, I did have to resort to using the Photo Mode as a way to scout the area to figure out where I actually needed to aim towards in the first place.

I was not prepared for how emotional this game was going to be, where one scene in particular nearly made me cry. They've somehow made a game that is way better than any of the GotG MCU films. I've come to understand and love these characters so much more as a result. There is so much great dialogue, from the constant quips being thrown around to deep conversations spurred by discussing the collectables you find. It's refreshing to have a team go from initially not liking or trusting each other to developing a deep bond over the common history of tragedy and loss. The old-school soundtrack is stellar with songs being expertly put in the right places. Despite having some odd facial animations, this is a flarking amazing game.

Going into this I was expecting a lot of environment manipulation designed to make you question what's real or not and if you saw something in the corner of your eye. Instead what I got was a stealth-heavy game with "zombies". The story wasn't very compelling, which goes nicely with the bland, uninteresting characters. Far too much wasn't explained, leaving you to wonder if certain things were an afterthought. The main character has a serious case of "how did that not kill you?". In the end, I wanted more of the Horror and less of the Survival.

The graphics are way more "realistic" than it ever needed to be, it simply looks fantastic. My main gripe with how it looks is that the camera feels too close to the character. Annoyingly, every time I went idle for a long period of time, the game would sign me out and I'd lose all progress since the last checkpoint. This happened on numerous occasions and took a while to get back to where I was. I'm not a fan of the challenges they added to each level, it's another checklist where you have to play the level in a certain way in order to achieve. Some of these force you to replay levels multiple times to get them all. Any game that has more than 1,000 collectables is too much and could certainly be streamlined, sometimes less is more. My favourite part of this is that a lot of the voice actors from the shows and movies come back to voice their characters, which really helps as it makes the characters familiar with those we love and remember.

My playthrough was done solo as a Summoner Necromancer, granting me a horde of Skeletons to do my bidding. While the gameplay is fun, it can be repetitive as you rely on the same handful of skills during every fight. There were even times when I felt myself falling asleep. I think this is a game best enjoyed playing co-op with friends to help keep yourself engaged. The low-toned music is kept very much in the background, which doesn't help keep you immersed. There are more cutscenes this time around, which shifts the perspective from its isometric default, allowing you to see the character models in more detail. Although, it would have been nice to have more of them. I will likely continue chipping away at the extra content and difficulty levels unlocked after beating the story.

I didn't think it would be possible for Atlus to make me fall in love with another cast of characters as it did with Persona 5, especially for an earlier game, but here we are, they achieved it. At first, the game felt aimless as you were just going through the motions without a central plot tying it together. However, it didn't last long for the threat to be established. The game largely revolves around ascending the mysterious tower known as Tartarus, with segments blocked off until you've progressed in the main story. Tartarus itself is very mundane, as it's the same process of walking through procedurally generated hallways, fighting enemies and collecting loot for over 200 floors. As with the other games, the characters and your interactions with them are where it excels. Spending time with the various NPCs and understanding what drives them never gets old. These games are always very long but at the same time, you never want them to end as it means giving a bittersweet farewell to those you've come to know and love.

The art style is truly captivating, taking inspiration from Tim Burton to give a dark feel that looks hand-crafted. This is countered by the narrator's comedic flourishes sprinkled across the story. I enjoyed the premise of the world, where everything is decided by "random" chance, even where people live. The action-based combat is fun, with fluid action that's broken up by throwing Dicey, your dice companion. In doing so, time is stopped and you select random cards from your deck to help you in battle. My only gripe is that while there is an in-game map, it doesn't tell you your exact location, just the general area you're in. I was truly lost in the world of Random, and I loved it.