I was really surprised with how much I loved this game. It has some absolutely phenomenal writing. Every character is fleshed out and unique. Character banter never gets old thanks to some fantastic performances by all of the voice actors. There isn't a weak performance in the bunch.

The combat was simple yet satisfying. It gets more complicated and difficult as the game goes on. Later encounters were very engaging and fun. Boss battles were also very well done here.

There are just a few little things that prevent me from giving this a full 5 stars. For one, I did encounter a fair amount of glitches during my playthrough. Combat dialogue also repeats a lot and can be a bit annoying. There are also some pacing issues with the story, but thankfully I didn't mind it as much because of how good the writing is most of the time.

Overall, this game rocks. It's the best Marvel game since Spider-Man PS4, and a wicked good time in general. As someone who wasn't super into the Guardians movies, this game has made me a big fan of all of the characters. I really hope Square Enix makes a sequel with the same writing staff. Another game in this series with some improvements and new additions here and there would be an absolute masterpiece.

SMTV is an absolutely phenomenal JRPG. The game wastes no time throwing you into the action and the scale of everything is unbelievable.

The maps are big and do a great job showcasing the demons that are roaming around the map and they really give you a good sense of scale. At the same time, I feel like the maps ended up being just the right size too. Lots to explore, but nothing feels pointless - you're always rewarded with either a miman, a chest, a rare demon, or a vending machine.

The battles and their mechanics are as fun as ever and end up being just the right level of difficulty. A couple of times I lost some significant progress while roaming around; either due to carelessness or that terribly bad luck. Boss fights on the other hand thankfully never seem far from a save point.

I'll definitely do NG+ at some point to see at least one more ending and try to finish off my compendium. I've bounced off SMT in the past, but this is finally the one to make me fall in love with the mainline series. Hopefully the next one isn't too far off.

Superstars is as definitive as a Mario Party experience you can get. Not tied down by the new, simplified foibles of 9, 10, and SMP, Superstars recaptures the magic (see: nonsense) of many of the classic games with some excellent board choices. Lots of minigames to select from as well, and the addition of stickers is a level of BM I would not have expected from modern Nintendo so kudos to that.

Most of the remixed music is stellar, and the visuals are gorgeous. The levelling and unlocks are nice incentives to play more, and the online and handling of interrupts like disconnects is very well executed.

I would have maybe liked to see some more boards and characters (and if Nintendo is feeling extra psychotic, a 50 turn option as the current max is 30), but I have no doubt that at least some of that will get added in a future update.

Superstars shows that somebody at Nintendo is still in touch with what made Mario Party memorable in the first place, and I hope to see the next numbered title following suit.

It's been evident for a while now that the people at Frogwares are really big Lovecraft fans. Something that can be seen in the crossover they made with their long-running Sherlock Holmes series and the cyberpunk-infused Magrunner. The Sinking City stands as their deepest dive into the Cthulhu mythos yet, and right from the get-go you can see what a marked improvement it is over their previous works. Presentation is something the developer has often struggled with and for the first time a game of theirs actually looks pretty great. It also represents an evolution in their approach to gameplay as they branch out into the realm of open-world survival-horror, while still retaining the sleuthing mechanics they've built their reputation on.

There certainly isn't any handholding going on here. The title forgoes a lot of the comforts of modern day gaming in favor of a more realistic approach. The only way to restore your health or refill your guns is to craft first aid kits and bullets yourself, making searching every container you come across for supplies an absolute must. You also often have to figure out where your next objective is by looking up street names on the map and combing the area for the right building when you get there. It's decidedly old-school in a very charming way that also serves to up the challenge. You can even disable helpful icons in the character's journal to make things require further deciphering on your part.

Not all of the ways it hearkens back to the PS1/PS2 era of horror are great however. Expect a lot of backtracking to and fro between a few key locations without so much as a mini-map to help you get your bearings, forcing you to constantly bring up the pause menu. Fast travel points do alleviate some of the tedium, but they must first be discovered and even then there's still a fair amount of distance you have to cover on foot most of the time. The real annoyance with this though is that it reveals the game's technical limitations. You'll frequently run into random loads when walking around or entering a building. That's because sections of the city are regularly only spawning into existence as you approach them. The latter of which is especially surprising given how often the mere handful of interior layouts are reused.

I think the real dated aspect the majority of people are going to take the most issue with though is the combat. Just like protagonists from previous console generations, our leading man is slow and somewhat clunky to maneuver. This of course makes aiming at the fast moving enemies when shooting rather unreliable, and your only melee attack option is an awkward swipe of a shovel that also runs into trouble when foes begin to circle you. You're given tools like traps, molotovs, and homemade explosives to help out, but they take a second to use. As someone who's introduction to the genre largely consisted of the original Silent Hill titles none of this was too big of a problem for me personally, but at the same time I would be lying if I said there weren't a few tedious encounters as a result of all this.

Luckily, just about everything you do grants you experience that unlocks "knowledge points," which in turn can be spent on new abilities. I'm hesitant to call this a true RPG as while there are side-quests, story decisions that give a whole new meaning to the term "morally grey," and skills to invest in it honestly just never truly feels like one. You're not really increasing stats so much as you are just gaining the ability to carry more items or use weapons more effectively. So these systems come off as being implemented solely as a way of adding a little extra depth as opposed to anything else.

It's the writing and setting that ultimately make this worth playing. The team at Frogwares didn't just focus on the tales of the Great Old Ones alone, but actually pulled from the wider array of Lovecraftian fiction and the contributions made by other authors to the universe as well to create something truly unique. It contains all of the themes you would expect and implements them in interesting ways, such as the creative visual effects that appear onscreen any time your character's mental state begins to slip which I don't think I've ever seen another game try before. I don't know what it is about this mythos, but as with Cyanide's Call of Cthulhu before it I once again jumped right back in after completing it the first time to see all the other outcomes. The amount of freedom you have is genuinely surprising. There are some options tied to the trophies that you could only find out on your own if you were some kind of sadistic weirdo. Or CallMeKevin (kudos if you know who that is). Sure it's not exactly scary in the traditional sense and some of the original creature designs are more Silent Hill than Lovecraft, but faults aside this is a standout piece of cosmic horror that is sure to be a treat for anyone who knows their Dagons from their Idh-yaas.

8/10

Sometimes I wish the boys at RGG would let me down. Also this game is more of a Yakuza:LAD sequel than a Judgment sequel lol

All around great time, probably one of the more ambitious RGG stories with layers upon layers of plot threads and genuinely complicated morals clashing against each other.

Snake stance is a great addition to the combat system, parry has never been a bad addition to a game, and the game has the least amount of Really Annoying bosses I've fought in a RGG game. It feels harder than more RGG games but maybe thats just because the game gives you way less health items to work with, or maybe it's because I never noticed that I didn't equip a chest equipment slot item until the final boss.

And with it has all the other things you like from RGG, fun side stories and mini games, so much bonus content that you beat the game in 30 hours and found you only did 30% of the game, and the entirety of Virtual Fighter 5 for some reason.

If you like RGG don't miss it, lots of yakuza fans miss judgment for some reason and they really shouldn't.

If this is the last Judgment game, and with that, the last game Nagoshi is involved in, what a send off. This game trumps the first in every way and aside from a slow start engages you in ways I’ve never seen in a Yakuza game. A genuinely detestable antagonist and some major characters with actions that will make you constantly question yourself, this game will keep you hooked and then some.

And the combat, WOW. Best combat in an RGG game, and this is just the best game RGG have ever made

RGG MAKE MORE BRAWLERS PLEASE

Tales of Berseria is a JRPG that has the conflict between emotion and reason as its central theme, with the main protagonist, Velvet Crowe, being the human embodiment of emotion for large chunks of the story.

This brave choice allowed Bandai Namco to portray Velvet as one of the most mesmerizing central characters from any piece of media and create some of the most heartwrenching. most cathartic. most enthralling story moments I ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

Arguably the very best game in the series and one of the better RPGs overall to come out after the turn of the millennia.

Tales of Arise came in just shy of a 9/10. It just wasn't quite enough.

There is a lot of greatness here. All the characters are likable and interesting, the combat system is by far the best the Tales of Series has ever seen and the OST is as good as ever.

However, in the second half of the game, it drops off a little bit.
... I dunno. The pacing is not quite as good, the story is not quite as concise and one can find moments of Anime Dumb here and there that are just not for me.

It's still a really great entry in a great series though, and totally worth your time.