I’m a latecomer to the Atelier series. I played dabbled briefly with Atelier Iris 3 back in the day, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago with Atelier Firis that I really got into Gust’s heartwarming JRPGs. From that perspective, going back to Atelier Rorona—which first came out …
Nintendo Switch
Originally released for PC in 2014, Astebreed is an attempt a more cinematic take on the scrolling shoot ’em up. That doesn’t necessarily mean more narrative-focused, but in lieu of the genre’s usual static side-on or top-down camera, Astebreed dances between different perspectives and employs camera cuts in a way …
At a glance, Pokemon: Let’s Go looks like a very different take on Pokemon. The removal of random encounters and a new catching system based on Pokemon GO have been a source of skepticism for many, to the point of widespread review bombing at online retailers. (That hasn’t dented the …
Pianista: The Legendary Virtuoso is a celebration of classical music. A lot of rhythm games have a handful of classical tracks, but they tend to be few in number, limited to the most well-known stuff, and in genre-bending arrangements that fit the tone of the game but don’t quite have that …
There’s been a lot made of the control scheme for The World Ends With You: Final Remix, with many suggesting that the use of touchscreen or mobile inputs (depending on whether you’re playing in handheld or docked mode) ruins an otherwise great experience. At worst, though, the controls are a …
Rhythm games tend to stick closely to a similar format: a series of note markers fly across the screen, mapped to the accompanying track, and you have to press buttons to match. There’s been a lot of variety in terms of different input mechanisms, from regular controllers to Dance Dance …
With Save me Mr Tako: Tasukete Tako-San, developer Cristophe Galati set out with a clear goal: to recapture the experience of playing games on the original Game Boy, complete with a monochrome display that belies a colourful adventure. He’s not the first to do so and he won’t be the …
I’m honestly surprised it’s taken Ubisoft as long as it has to jump onto the toys-to-life bandwagon. But that’s for the best: they’ve had time to look at what worked in games like Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions, and, more importantly, what didn’t. Enter Starlink: Battle for Atlas, a toys-to-life …
“When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau Black Bird is one of the most enthralling shoot ’em ups I’ve played in a long time. There are no space ships, aliens, shrine maidens, here; rather, Black Bird casts you as a …
It took a while for Warriors Orochi 4 to really click with me. Recent games in the Warriors series have gone in wonderful new directions, be it the open-ended nature of Warriors All-Stars, the increased focus on characterisation in Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, or the brilliant use of an …