Lonely Mountains: Downhill manages to be both incredibly chill and exhilarating, both relaxing and tense—not just in equal measure, but at the same time. I can’t remember ever playing a game that made me feel, at once, so on edge yet so at peace. A lot of this comes down …
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch will soon get another classic shoot-’em-up to add to its library, with SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC set for release in the West on May 28 (May 29 in New Zealand). First released in December 1990, Thunder Force AC was an arcade port of Thunder Force III for …
Despite JRPGs being pretty much my favourite genre, I’ve somehow never played Xenoblade before now (or any Xeno games, for that matter). That’s not for any particular reason; it’s just a series that’s always sat in the back of my mind as a “well, that’s something I should probably check …
It’s easy to overlook just how influential Chunsoft’s Mystery Dungeon series really is. Beginning life as a Dragon Quest spinoff heavily inspired by Rogue—yes, that Rogue—the series has gone on to see collaborations with everything from Final Fantasy to TwinBee, not to mention plenty of original works. With that sort …
Few games are quite as relaxing as farming simulation RPGs. Growing crops, raising livestock, and getting to know—and eventually marry and settle down with—charming townspeople is such a soothing way to pass the time, especially in a medium that’s so obsessed with grand adventures and saving worlds. That’s what made …
Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl should, on paper, be a clear winner. Take a hack-and-slash RPG with randomised dungeons, throw in a dash of monster collecting, and set it all in an offbeat, humorous world where the towns and dungeons are based on snacks. That should be a recipe for …
Vertex Pop describe their work as “feel-good action games”, and I can’t think of a more apt description. They’ve mastered high-energy, combo-centric arcade action and the endorphin rush that comes with that, while keeping frustration to a minimum, and coupled that with bright colours as whimsical designs. So it was …
I wish more crossover games took the Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE approach. Typically, when a game wants to blend multiple different properties, there’s some sort of very contrived incident that quickly smashes two universes together so that we can get as quickly as possible to the fan-service that arises from …
The original release of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE on Wii U didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserved. The people who loved it loved it—myself included—but it didn’t make a huge splash when it came out, even by Wii U standards. As the latest in Nintendo’s ongoing effort …
I don’t have any interest in the competitive side of Pokemon, yet I’ve spent much of the past month breeding and training to raise the strongest team I can in Pokemon Shield. Even without multiplayer battles as the end goal, there can be something inherently satisfying in the grind to …