Minimalistic adventure game focusing on the exploration of a constantly changing environment as its main appeal.
+ well-designed and pretty world with a neat blend of nature and abandoned technology
+ satisfyingly hidden secrets everywhere
+ very simple but competent controls
+ understated ending that may provoke some reflection
- barely noticeable soundtrack
- little guidance on progression
- no particular feature that stands out beyond the setting

Appealing conclusion to the original "Mysterious" trilogy that strikes a good balance between conservatism and experimentation.
+ well-designed main character duo with a cute sisterly dynamic
+ heartwarming story centered around family
+ very intricate but never confusing alchemy system that makes for engaging puzzles of optimization
+ constant stream of events involving the stacked supporting cast of alchemists
+ bright hub city with an elegant solution for diverse maps
+ ample post-game featuring several new areas and challenges
+ decently streamlined gear crafting
- ridiculous necessity of repeated backtracking through long areas
- basic quality of life features removed (area maps, sorting & display options in menus)

Potentially fun open-world gacha game that currently lacks the polish to be seriously enticing.
+ pleasant tone set by the vibrant soundtrack and art style
+ nice variety of activities, abilities, and tools to play around with
+ practical character creator (even if results tend to look similar)
+ solid combat foundation
- typical monetization schemes being shoved in your face and hindering gameplay
- uninspired yet persistent story about cartoonish characters
- bothersome time gating of basic mechanics
- frivolous and artificial world littered with the same few collectibles everywhere
- unintuitive UI making features hard to find

Intriguing story in visual novel format that is hard to get through due to the poorly made gameplay segments.
+ mysterious and fairly dark narrative
+ adequately written and often amusing characters
+ unique aesthetic that creates a particular ambiance
+ emotive voice acting blemished by the sound mixing
- fundamentally interesting but extremely unbalanced combat system
- atrocious level design with joyless environments
- tedious and frequently obfuscated path of progression

Short and sweet action adventure that makes for an engaging experience in the superhero universe:
+ very fun cast of characters
+ innovatively empowering combat system that feels fluid if unpolished
+ great pacing facilitated by the small setting and minimal backtracking
+ immersive atmosphere blending comedy and horror
+ surprisingly good graphics outside of cutscenes
- for the most part badly designed boss fights
- poorly implemented detective vision (almost indispensable yet makes everything look worse)
- ultimately unsatisfying narrative with many unfinished plot threads

Highly competent spin-off game whose biggest points of contention are almost inherent to the beat 'em up genre.
+ vastly improved hub area compared to Three Houses wasting less time
+ solid action combat with strategy elements that can be made straightforward or involved by choice
+ great new character designs in both personality and appearance
+ many quality of life improvements simplifying menu tasks
+ high replayability encouraged by an early branching narrative and various gameplay mechanics
+ no more mute protagonist
+ great batch of new support conversations that rely less on single tropes
- very quick and often shallow relationship developments
- mediocre story writing
- a lot of padding in the form of generic side battles

Competent Zelda entry with obvious flaws but high-quality gameplay nonetheless:
+ more deliberate action combat
+ well-made dungeons in terms of puzzles and length
+ great character writing for the series
+ consistently good visuals and sound
- questionable control schemes
- very low difficulty accentuated by trivial boss encounters
- mediocre overworld that disincentives exploration
- bothersome companion who frequently interrupts gameplay with useless comments and doesn't impress with her awkward singing or dancing, either
- a lot of tedious backtracking in the second half

A fun-to-play if shallow stealth action adventure:
+ smooth movement mechanics
+ atmospheric presentation most of the time
+ barely passable narrative
- simplistic and unvaried gameplay
- unrealistic and cramped environments harming both strategy and immersion

Well-rounded JRPG with several outstanding elements:
+ a unique setting that inspires a sense of awe with its grand scale and imaginative environments
+ incredible soundtrack in both variety and impact
+ competent story driven forward by a likable cast
+ appreciated character customization
+ solid visual presentation particularly in action cutscenes
+ worthwhile epilogue DLC included
+ enjoyable if simple combat system
- grinding required even on normal difficulty
- significant time spent walking only
- numerous exclusively uninteresting side quests

Classic Pokémon entry that doesn't do anything special except for being feature-rich and polished.
+ well-balanced first playthrough experience
+ solid post-game and side content
+ mostly great Pokémon designs
+ interesting story and lore
+ likable rival and champion as well as a charismatic antagonist
+ pleasant soundtrack
- tangible imbalance in available Pokémon types
- barely any innovation to be found

Decently fun series entry that appears to be a nice evolution at first but ultimately makes few decidedly good changes:
+ interesting commercialized competition as the main plot thread
+ justified removal of random encounters
+ memorable if sometimes overbearing soundtrack
+ distinctly beautiful cities that lack incentives to stay for long
- incredibly easy gameplay due to shared experience, frequent healing, and bad AI
- inefficient menus counteracting the few quality of life enhancements
- annoying rival
- repetitive fights against the same people
- even worse narrative than previous games that largely plays out in the background

Charming collect-a-thon platformer that was polished to near perfection:
+ visually beautiful and fun-to-explore locales that don't overstay their welcome
+ nice variety of intuitively designed creatures to control
+ solid creativity at display in most parts
+ a lot of optional content
+ understated soundtrack
- very little difficulty preventing frustration at least
- a couple promising worlds wasted on poor bosses
- always formulaic and sometimes even repeated boss fights

Spectacular reinvention of the series whose many flaws don't stop it from capturing a unique sense of freedom, adventure, and solitude.
+ vast and beautiful open world with numerous things to discover
+ diverse soundtrack that enhances immersion
+ excellent art style
+ fun free climbing (aside from the horrible rain slips)
+ few but well-designed abilities that make good use of the robust physics engine
+ compelling (optional) story bits
- unsatisfying conclusion even with the missable extra scene
- easily exploitable food mechanic making fights trivial
- incredibly divisive weapon durability that has clear merits but could have been implemented less frustratingly
- simplistic replacements for past dungeons
- little variety in rewards among the countless secrets
- largely forgettable side quests

Adventurous departure from the usual Atelier formula with partial success only:
+ surprisingly large open world containing much more impressive environments than previous entries
+ interesting prologue with actual character struggles
+ relaxed time limit to reach the first goal with a little pressure
- hardly any incentive to keep playing afterward
- scarce interactions underselling the characters
- less homely atmosphere due to a decentralized setting
- needlessly tricky and grindy additions to an already great crafting system
- ridiculous amount of asset reuse particularly noticeable on NPCs

A competent game that brings just enough innovation to breathe life into the conservative franchise formula.
+ easily the most interesting story in a main series entry (which isn't a high bar) due to the antagonists
+ relatively involved cast of supporting characters
+ still premature but mostly positive 3D visuals
+ tonally diverse if slightly unnatural setting
- frustratingly low Pokémon variety with often hideous designs