By far one of the best Yakuza games released. Immaculate vibes, aesthetics, humour, minigames, gameplay, and characters. To me, it felt like a loveletter to Y3 which is my personal favourite game so that makes this one even more charming. I hated Y7s turn-based gameplay but they improved it so much here where I found it just as engaging as any other Yakuza game. It really got me sucked back into everything Yakuza-related. I became so attached to all the character dynamics and groups because of how enjoyable it was to see them interact. The way the body language of all the characters was so incredibly well thought-out and unique in cutscenes had also blown me away. The story was definitely a story though. I enjoyed this game for a lot of things but the story just never grabbed me lol... But overall the game makes up and more for it's boring story with everything else it has to offer. Infinite Wealth you will always have a special place in my heart...

Before this game came out, the game's director (Dion Koster) wrote out a short blog post talking about how great of an experience he and the rest of Team Reptile had making this game. While reading it made me happy to see this little team of devs I had been following for almost a decade doing so well for themselves, the one part that really stuck out to me was where Koster said, "regardless of reception, I would like to formally announce we will be creating more of these type of games after Bomb Rush Cyberfunk."

That little statement alone pretty easily defines what I love so much about this game. They don't care if other people don't like it. This was the game THEY wanted to make.

At the end of the day, that's the kind of game I want more of, and I'm happy because it seems in recent years we're getting more and more of them. Give me more games where I can FEEL that the devs were having the time of their lives making it.

While this game isn't perfect, for reasons others have probably talked about in way more depth than I care to, it's still one that I loved getting to see out from its first teaser all the way to its full release. I thoroughly enjoyed Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, its fun, fresh, and vibey self, and I honestly can't recommend it enough.

Pleasant little yuri game.

Sometimes I think there's a pattern in yuri where a lot of it is really... soft? Not even soft per se. Toothless. Dramaless. I think there's something really compelling in where this game centers its narrative. The game starts with the girls dating and then picks up a year later after their break-up. Working within that trick framework of knowing so much about each other but unsure where to rebuild from there. What do you do with all the useless information you have of someone who isn't in your life anymore?

This hook kind of falls to the wayside as the details of their goals and their break-up sort of end up too neat and tidy. Its not really anyone's fault, the year of tension can get solved with one more day on the town. The cause of the break-up isn't really as a result of their decisions as a couple, its outside factors causing problems and leading to hurt feelings. No real villains except unnamed characters with faces obscured to represent general bullying. Neat. Tidy. Sweet and no sour.

But its cozy, you know? Endearing. Girls liking girls. That's what it sets out to do and that's all it needs to be.

There really is nothing quite like slipping into the flow state of a rhythm game, and Kovox Pitch's dedication to Russian post-punk music and lonely concrete afterglow lent me a solid hour of melancholic bliss. Not the most varied or challenging game in any sense, the setlist is noticeably small, songs tend to blend into one another, but it's fine - you're here for a very specific purpose; to vybe. Never before have I tuned the ambient stage audio to be exactly as loud as the music, the game really does have a special atmosphere with thanks not having too many moving parts. As much as I like overly glitzy and dazzling Bemani-grade rhythm games, they don't LEAVE me with much - Kovox Pitch's brief story mode ties the experience w/ a lovely bow akin to an emotional gutpunch and I'll carry the experience with me for a good long while I think!!!!!! Very sweet thing. Don't be mean to the voice acting.