Plot - 3.5/5

World of Horror doesn't necessarily follow a full narrative, but the worldbuilding and individual pieces of character lore we get are pretty satisfying for anybody who likes psychological and eldritch horror. I was stuck between a 3 and a 4 for this, but I think the lack of substantial depth within the overall cast brings it down a bit for me, despite my love for the genre and how it's used. The individual mysteries presented in the game are all pretty great little stories with most of them having multiple endings, ranging from bad to worse. Some standout mysteries for me are Eerie Episode of Evolving Eels, Restless Rumors of a Residential Recluse, and Bloody Brief of a Beckoning Bulletin, which all creeped me out in different ways that I was really pleased with. I hope that in future updates to the game (if we get more, who's to say) we get more unique character events, as each character currently only has one or two and they're a bit all over the place. Yumiko and Haru's character events are interesting and relate to their pasts, but Aiko and Yashiro's events generally fall flat for me, feeling rather bland and don't pull me to them.

Gameplay - 3.5/5

Though the gameplay of World of Horror can be a bit repetitive and simple, the gameplay loop is incredibly satisfying when you get into it. Once you get the hang of the system, a run will take you about 20-30 minutes on average, which is what I generally find to be the perfect length for any sort of roguelike. I again was stuck between 3 or 4 for this, as there are some issues despite the overall fun gameplay. The balancing between characters is pretty poor, and certain characters feel like they are free wins even on the highest difficulties. Ayaka and Toshiaki in particular feel incredibly overtuned (but don't nerf Toshiaki I'm his biggest fan) in a way that makes me feel less motivated to play other characters. Characters such as Aiko and Kirie aren't even bad, with Aiko even being considered one of the better characters in the game, but their kits are rather basic and boring. The achievement system and challenge runs in the game help alleviate this a bit, rewarding you for trying out each character and background, but once you've completed them I find it hard not to gravitate towards the stronger characters in subsequent runs.

Presentation - 4/5

This is where I can confidently say the game excels the most. The retro graphics work incredibly well, and the option to change the game's color palette is a really nice touch, mixing things up visually when you get sick of the same colors every run. Not every art in the game looks perfect, but I feel it adds to the offputting feeling the game wants to exude. The character designs are mostly simple, but they're all nice and there are some cute details with them, such as the teenage idol character, Mizuki, being the only character to not visually wear mask equipment, instead holding them aside her smiling face. The music is similarly nostalgic feeling, and sets the atmosphere of the game really well. My only real issue with the presentation is that some of the things in the game can be kind of unintuitive, such as text boxes being stuck on screen while you can still click things underneath them, or the removal of injuries needing you to sometimes use an item from that item screen or other times needing you to go to the injury screen to remove it. There are a lot of things to press and it can get messy even though the game is overall fairly simple.

Extra Bonus - 0/1

Though I love this game a lot, $20 is a large asking price for something that I'd argue doesn't feel entirely finished. If it was a game that actively was being updated and patched, it would be a different story, but this game is notorious for having huge gaps of time where no changes are made. Overall, that makes it tough to recommend as I have no clue if or when any of the issues I have will be remedied.

Overall - 3.5/5

Despite what may seem like a lot of complaining in this review, I do really love World of Horror. In this case, I complain because I care! It pays great homages to a genre I adore, and I hope that it gets some updates that can help me more readily recommend it in the future.

Plot - 2/5

Xenoblade 2 has the most frustrating story and cast I've ever had to deal with. The general plot isn't entirely bad, and there are a lot of interesting ideas and concepts presented, but it's impossible to take half of it seriously due to its presentation. Half of the playable cast, including the main character, feel so out of place in what seems to be a serious story, and it really ruins the experience. More than that, the game is so packed full of fanservice and pandering in a way that feels incredibly demeaning to its female cast members. There are definitely great plot moments and some great characters, but it feels like for every scene I appreciate and enjoy, the next three scenes are packed full of tone deaf dialogue that makes me want to cringe. Even past these frustrations, though, the plot progression is pretty fine. The concept of blades and drivers is something really cool, and they play with it a lot more in the DLC story. In true Xenoblade fashion, the end is convoluted and confusing, but the resolution of the story feels pretty natural and satisfying, though to be fair by the end of the plot I just wanted to be done with Rex.

Gameplay - 4.5/5

Where the game falls short in story, it makes up for it in terms of gameplay. I think that the gameplay system of Xenoblade 2 is genius, and it's absolutely the highlight of the game. Fusion combos are such a great way of making both team building and actually strategizing during battle fun, and it's absurdly satisfying to fire off a huge chain attack after stacking up a few combos for massive numbers of damage. Arts cancelling makes the battle feel almost rhythmic, rewarding players for acting quickly and adapting during battle without punishing players too much if they aren't keeping up with it. In terms of quests and collection of items, it's much more toned down compared to Xenoblade 1, which is probably a good thing for most people. The biggest weakness in Xenoblade 2 is the balancing of blades, especially those who you receive in DLC. Blades like Crossette, who you receive earlier with the DLC bought, absolutely dominate the early game and can keep up even in post game content. This can even be an issue with blades that are not from the DLC, since acquiring rare blades is done through a gacha system. If you receive a blade like T-elos or KOS-MOS really early, you're going to sweep through the early game way faster than someone who only received blades like Floren and Kora. Even still, most of the rare blades are at least usable, and most of the story blades are pretty good, meaning you won't get stuck with blades like Mythra and Brighid always available to you.

Presentation - 4/5

The game looks pretty good! The environments are good and the UI feels pretty natural to navigate. More than that, the soundtrack of the game is phenomenal, and I'd argue it's the best in the series. Many of the rare blades are illustrated by different artists, which is a cool way to portray different art styles in the game. My biggest issue with the presentation of the game tends to be the character designs for some of the characters, particularly the women. A lot of the designs for female characters in this game are grossly sexualized, clearly designed for the male gaze. It's frankly disappointing to see in a series that has some great examples of strong female characters, such as Melia in Xenoblade 1, Mio in Xenoblade 3, and even Morag in this very game. Getting past that, there are still some great designs in the game, such as the aforementioned Morag, Adenine, Azami, and Kasandra.

Extra Bonus - 0/1

It pains me to say it, but I struggle to suggest this game to people. It's incredibly fun, but there are a lot of problems with the game that make me hesitant to. I don't think I can give this game a bonus point and feel entirely happy with it.

Overall - 3/5

The game is incredibly fun and has one of my favorite combat systems in any JRPG I've played. Despite that... The story and characters leave a lot to be desired, and fall short in comparison to many other JRPGs, including the other games in the Xenoblade series.

Plot - N/A

Holocure has the bare bones of a story concept, but you're certainly not playing the game for the plot. I don't think a plot rating is applicable for this game.

Gameplay - 4/5

The game is in the style of a "Vampire Survivors" game, where you must survive hordes of enemies over the course of 20 minutes, collecting experience to upgrade different items and weapons. The variety of items and weapons in the game make runs feel varied and interesting, but the game still provides you tools to help with consistency when attempting difficult or challenging runs. There is a gacha element to the game, but it's entirely self contained without any real purchases, meaning that you'll easily get every character with the surplus of money you'll get after some successful runs. There aren't many stages in the game yet, but there are a good number of characters to play and achievements to collect that the game can keep your attention for awhile. The only complaint I have about the game is minor, which is that the balancing for some characters and items are a bit skewed. This is to be expected with most games, so it's not a huge issue, but it can make some characters or builds more frustrating to play than others. The game is still getting updated every few months, and the creator has put a lot of effort into balancing, so this is definitely an issue that only gets better with each update.

Presentation - 5/5

The game looks cute and the references to Hololive are really fun! The 8-bit art style gives the game a simplistic charm, and all the designs feel very faithful to the original designs of the idols. The music is similarly charming, based off of various Hololive songs in a chiptune style. Where the game really shines in presentation is it's clear love for Hololive. Every weapon and item is some kind of reference to the company and its streamers, and its clear that staying faithful and representing the idols is the focus of the game. If you're even remotely a fan of Hololive, I'd say its worth to give the game a shot just to see the cute references and representation.

Extra Bonus - 1/1

The game is entirely free, which is incredible. It's a huge passion project and the creator, Kay Yu, intends to keep the game free even as it updates and expands. It's clear a ton of love has gone into it and I love that.

Overall - 4.5/5

A really fun game packed with a lot of love for Hololive. It's free to play and still updating, so I'd highly suggest just giving it a try. The gameplay is even fun enough that I'd suggest it to people who aren't interested in Hololive or Vtubing in general.