Evan Norris

“Majogami is the best Inti Creates game in a while, it turns out. The art direction is stunning, the music and voice-over work engaging, the combat system deep and flexible, and the boss battles riveting. With a crisper narrative, less repetition in the post-game, and greater connectivity between platforming stages and boss encounters, it could have been the best ever.”

“While it succeeds in moment-to-moment action, character customization, and production design, it's too repetitive and monotonous to recommend. Still, it's a decent Rogue-lite that will scratch the itch between bigger, better releases.”

“Spindle is a satisfactory Zelda-like, in the final analysis. It tackles difficult topics with grace and empathy, features multiple engaging boss battles, introduces several atypical tools to solve puzzles and outmaneuver enemies, and provides rewarding content even after the credits have rolled.”

“Thanks to Shujinkou, I know more Japanese than ever before. I have a basic understanding of sentence structure and logic, and can call upon a limited vocabulary. More importantly, though, I can say I've played a legitimately great RPG.”

“The straightforward combat hits the spot, particularly with a friend along for the journey, and the ancillary modes aren't half-bad. That said, it's hard to overlook the general clumsiness of the game. Stages are generic, enemy patterns are sloppy, and boss battles are slow and undemanding.”

“Earthion is a beautiful love letter to the Sega Genesis and the 16-bit era in general, co-authored by someone who helped define its greatness — Yuzo Koshiro.”

“Shuten Order may be Kazutaka Kodaka’s most ambitious work, but it’s not his best. Its multi-genre experiment, while bold and brave, doesn’t work as intended, resulting in an uneven adventure with several shallow, overlong vignettes.”

“It suffers from some flaws, mostly related to narrative and visual components, but it delivers where it counts: mechanics, systems, and gameplay. If you can power through its lackluster story and forgive its dated assets, you'll find a remarkably deep, daring mech action game.”

“Metal Eden owes a lot to games like Ghostrunner and Doom, but it's far from a slavish clone. Thanks to its far-future setting, dystopian premise, core-ripping mechanic, and bold production design, it feels like its own thing.”

“It may not be the best game of its kind — its uneasy relationship with the weekly bazaar makes sure of that — but it provides the comforting, enriching, reliable farming and life simulation you've come to expect from the Story of Seasons franchise.”

“A solid action-platformer with likable characters, irreverent writing, rewarding backtracking gameplay, and lovely art and music. With greater mechanical depth, a mapping system, and more to do and explore, it could be even better.”

“If you anticipate another twisting, branching murder mystery from the brilliant mind of Kotaro Uchikoshi, you're going to end up disappointed. If, however, you expect a less consequential, more comedic side story that places beloved characters in new, deadly escape room situations, you'll emerge after 15 hours quite happy with your experience.”

“By retaining the core components of the franchise — farming, fighting, and flirting — and infusing them with addictive town planning and people management aspects, deeper tactical and strategic combat options, and more meaningful romance pathways, Marvelous has pushed the franchise forward in a bold new direction.”

“Survival Kids on Switch 2 is a middling game — not because it doesn't follow the template of the Game Boy original exactly, but because it fails to leverage its rules and mechanics in interesting, engaging, and dangerous ways. As it stands now, it's fine for younger and less experienced players, but not ideal for those seeking something more involved, challenging, and long-lasting.”

“If Fast Fusion featured online multiplayer, better image quality, and 6 or 7 more race tracks, it would enter the game-of-the-year conversation. Even without those things, it's yet another gem from Shin'en Multimedia. The Munich-based studio has once again punched above its weight, delivering a blisteringly fast, mechanically nimble futuristic racer with outstanding track design and excellent music.”

“Going into Deliver At All Costs, you would understandably assume it was mostly about driving, destruction, and Grand Theft Auto-esque high jinks. And for its opening hours — its best hours — it is. But the game quietly and gradually moves away from open-world mayhem toward a more focused, intimate narrative adventure, gaining emotional heft but losing some ingenuity and player freedom in the process.”

“Last Defense Academy has a lot of disparate parts working simultaneously, but it never creates any sort of disharmony. If anything, the visual novel, turn-based strategy, resource collection, and relationship management aspects complement and reinforce each other, creating a product far greater than the sum of its parts.”

“While this remake introduces many worthwhile additions — remade sprites, remastered music, helpful quality-of-life upgrades, and a brand new co-op offering — it doesn't do anything to remedy the original's balance issues or elevate its rudimentary scoring system.”

“Shooting Insight is a remarkably solid space shooter, both for Macross fans and shoot-'em-up players without any allegiance to the anime.”

“If you're looking for a low-stakes, relaxing life sim to carry you over to 2027, or whenever Nintendo decides to release the sequel to New Horizons, you could do a lot worse than Hello Kitty Island Adventure. It's colorful and cozy, and packed with things to do and discover — as long as you can overcome its faults.”