Displaying items by tag: RPG

Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City brings exactly what the series needed drawing to a close. This installment does feel like "just another Souls game, " but it's a good one that capitalizes on what FromSoftware does best.  Pick up this DLC if you already have Dark Souls 3. If you are new to the franchise and are into nail-biting, heart-pounding, blood-rushing, sword-slashing experiences, you won't be disappointed.

Although it succeeds in both maintaining familiarity for fans of the genre and introducing novelty, Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy fails to deliver engaging combat or efficiently introduce players to its unique mechanics. It boasts a solid and engaging story that starts with strong momentum, but suffers from distractions which ultimately hold Operation Abyss back from capitalizing on its strengths, resulting in a title that is simply good, despite clear potential to be great.

Andromeda is robust and delivers effectively on the key elements it advertises, and then goes above and beyond regarding play style tailoring and experienceable customization. That said, the characters look more at home in the Sims 3 era, and the dialog fails to be more than lackluster - cringe-worthy at times. Nevertheless, while Mass Effect: Andromeda proves a quality example of its genres, diehard fans of the Mass Effect universe and its original story should wait until BioWare patches the technical bugs, and the price point lowers.

For the King is a strategic RPG that features procedurally generated maps, so each playthrough is palpably different from the last. However, the randomness dampens appeal as the results are frequently unforgiving or unjust. The hit to replayability is a shame, as this title has much to offer to the patient – or the masochists. Diehard RPG strategists, however, will appreciate this title.

NieR: Automata contains twenty-six different endings, which inevitably incentivizes those who want to see all possible conclusions. But, the apparent lack of story, which drops off for a good while after the introductory level, is stinging, and you must have enough commitment to see past this.

Without a doubt, few things are more appealing than a good excuse to log online and murder random opponents with my friends – and, typically, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) variety is preferable to salty, overly-competitive strangers. Streets of Rogue is a refreshing, action-RPG-adventure-stealth-shooter conglomeration developed by Matt Dabrowski, and it's a title that promises to be an excellent addition to the line-up of hits from tinyBuild Games. Released on March 10th, 2017, this Early Access title stresses that it is all about choices – but will gamers choose it, when there are so many other chaotic, anarchic alternatives?

Clunky combat provides shallow gameplay and limited tactical variety, quests are few and repetitive, and progression brings nothing other than higher numbers on your screen. The world builder might be MyWorld’s saving grace, but in its current state, The Game Creators have yet to deliver on their basic premise. Keep an eye on as the game is in its early stage of Early Access, but the jury is still out.

Atelier Firis is a great addition and continuation to the Atelier series at large. The series may not appeal to players who prefer nearly non-stop action and combat, though if you enjoyed previous Atelier titles, there is a high chance you will come to relish Atelier Firis. The drive for pushing through the story builds slowly, but, once you reach this point, it's unlikely you'll be able to put this game down.

Given the current state of the stat system, there is a definite need for some tweaking; and this is desperately needed in light of Chaos Drift’s description on Steam, which specifically mentions this customizable stat system. This feature drew me in, but high expectation quickly gave way to disappointment as my head began to spin, trying to make sense of what was going on with the incorrigible stat system.

As of now, Quarantine doesn’t do enough to distinguish itself from others in the strategy genre, but the potential is there: Quarantine could easily polish up and add more content to boost replayability, creating a much more fulfilling gaming experience.

The writing team, led by designers Adam Heine, Colin McComb, and George Ziets, show their chops throughout this engaging experience, as shown by the way everything comes together, like a rubik's cube of moral dilemmas. Discover the treasure of TToN, rich and rewarding for lovers of the RPG genre, new and old alike.

Atelier Sophie offers a fantastic experience, with a refreshing motivation behind the story and the ultimate goal of the main character. Good character depth and development pairs well with a playful yet intricate alchemy crafting system to guarantee hours upon hours of great gameplay for Atelier fans and newcomers alike.

All in all, The Wild Eight is a relatively inexpensive addition to the Survival genre, and it's one that comes with a lot of potential. Even as it stands, The Wild Eight is an excellent choice for players who want to face the wilderness with a group of friends, and watching your loved ones’ avatars get gored to death by wild boars certainly breaks up the monotony of foraging.

With an intricately crafted world, innovative and engaging battle system, and delightful array of scenery and music, this game is a splendid and true tribute to the SNES JRPG.  The bugs one might encounter in beta versions are overshadowed by pure awe and captivation—a relentless desire to play more and more.

While it's commendable that a two-man team set out to create an adventure of relatively broad scope, I can't recommend Hero, especially not at its current price point. It does have decent music and sound effects, but the lackluster graphics, lack of polish and uninspired gameplay are too glaring to ignore.

Disagea 2 is a fantastic release that plays quite smoothly and has a tremendous amount of depth and playability to offer. Granted, the combat mechanic can seem repetitive, but there is a staggering number of classes to recruit, along with new abilities to unlock and level up, and new maps and aspects to explore. As a Prinny might say: download the demo and check it out, dood!

One of the best virtual introductions to a new language I have ever seen. Thanks to Learn Japanese To Survive!Katakana War, one could be well on their way to learning the Japanese language while immersing themselves in a genuinely fun game.

XenonValkyrie is a project that held many promising ideals.  It sought to be the synchronized combination of a platforming shooter, rogue-like, and Metroidvania game, but couldn't quite live up to its potential.  It had too much on its plate, and the result was a disjointed and buggy mash of disconnected aspects of many genres.  Pile that on top of balance, design, and control issues and you get a game that is unfairly difficult and lacks truly elaborate content.  Nevertheless, the game is still somewhat enjoyable, if you have a knack for the brutally challenging and are willing to invest a lot of time and tolerance to unravel what it does have to offer.

A House of Many Doors is a terrifying trek through the unknown, a disjointed story with startling descriptions of lost memories and slow declines into madness. It is beautiful, haunting, gripping… and boring. It is simply hard to identify with it, and complicated to understand, which prevents it from truly capitalizing on its amazing elements which would otherwise stand alone so well.

Diluvion tugs at the soul of the land-bound adventurer who longs to experience the mysteries of the deep. It ties together RPG elements, resource management, combat, and the salty appeal of a marine environment in a brilliant blend of whimsical and exciting.