An improvement over the first, particularly with its characters. The cast in general is more endearing than Prelude, as most of the game is spent just seeing them interact and gradually getting attached to them. This felt more slice of life in comparison, but I was actually more into it. And the new protagonist Haku is especially likable compared to Hakuowlo.

There’s more effort poured into the world-building too, with its very specific details about the setting’s culture, regions, history, etc. It comes together in a way that makes the world feel believable which is impressive.

And production wise it’s really well made. The art style, variety of backgrounds, voice acting, music, and battle scenes are all great. And dialogue flowed very well due to a strong localization. Combat was basically the same aside for some expanded mechanics, but it’s serviceable enough. Great VN.

I liked this mainly for the setting, which was pretty extensive with its world-building and lore. There’s a lot of interesting places, people, and terms to learn about and opened up some intriguing plot threads throughout. And the SRPG gameplay was fun enough, if really simplistic.

But the characters aren’t really memorable, especially the villains who weren’t fleshed out much at all despite how lengthy their segments can be. And a lot of the game was bogged down by pretty dull scenes that felt more like filler, making it a bit of a drag to get through. It picks up a bit in its final hours and has a good ending, but the game isn’t paced very well overall.

A good entry. RE Engine continues to impress with some of the most detailed looking interiors in an RE game to date, a graphical showcase coupled with some great locations like Castle Dimitrescu.

Village definitely leans far more on action than 7 did though (especially in its second half), which felt less suited for first person to me. But it does strike a fair balance with those set-pieces and more tense environments. Combat is solid enough with improved weapon and enemy variety, but as usual for the series the boss fights are kinda subpar at best

Way more mixed on this than I thought I’d be. I played Automata first and adored it, so I couldn’t wait to try the original with this remaster. And it’s definitely enjoyable overall, but there’s a lot of tedium attached that took me out of it.

My favorite thing about Replicant was the characters, who I found more charming than Automata’s cast (love Weiss and Kaine’s banter). The gameplay is fluid and controls really well, and while I haven’t played the original version to compare the two, I would assume the combat is significantly improved here. The mixing of different gameplay genres also added a lot of variety throughout. Also its ethereal OST is still amazing of course, though tracks were rearranged for the remaster which some may not prefer.

But man does this get repetitive after a while since you have to replay basically the same content multiple times, like having to run through the monotonous Junk Heap for the 5th time which nearly made me lose it. And the side content is not good, while some quests give a lot of money for weapons or let you hear more banter between the characters, most aren’t really worth doing.

And the backtracking! Most of the game is spent running back and forth through the same areas, with only a limited fast travel option that unlocks later on. It’s still worth pushing through it all for its great ending, but things like this just made it harder to sit through for me.

I liked this, though can see why it’s not talked about as much as other BioWare games. The idea of a kung-fu RPG with fantasy and steampunk elements sounds really cool on paper, but you can tell this was their first attempt at a more action oriented game since it felt like a prototype for Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

The story and characters are fine, but not as noteworthy as others from BioWare. The companions were pretty forgettable, ranging from a cook who might as well be a random NPC you come across to a generic arena warrior archetype. But I did like the direction of the main story even if it was short, plus most of the side quests are pretty good and worth doing.

The combat, while interesting with the different fighting styles you can use, was mostly just clunky to control. And there’s a flight mini-game that didn’t need to be there, but it’s optional at least. That said, weaker combat usually isn’t an issue for me if the other aspects of the game hold up, which this mostly does. Visually it’s not bad at all though (mainly thanks to BC enhancements).

All in all, it’s solid if one of their weaker titles. It’s a shame that BioWare never revisited it, cause there could’ve been a lot more potential in a sequel.