Eric Ace

“Some of the art, like the background scenery and the character portraits, is a sight to behold in Astral Ascent. Unfortunately, this is in stark contrast to how the actual characters look, which is distractingly bad. Anyone wanting a Hades-like experience will be happy. With the typical dopamine hits of new moves and upgrades, the complexities of the spell system distracts from some of the simple fun of its progenitor, so if you are looking for an anime-like platformer, this will fit the bill. Astral Ascent is worth checking out, but is not going to blow anyone away.”

“Days of Doom had a lot of potential, but an utterly unforgiveable amount of hard crashes 'doom' much of its hope for a decent experience. Even when it is not crashing, there were just too many things that really should have been different. Classes are far too boring, plenty of missed opportunities for more weapons, any skills, or any sort of depth. For people looking for a game that had good potential, but blew it so badly, this is a good example to study.”

“The somewhat random nature of the AI in combat, along with the linear story and the short gameplay might sound like turn-offs. However, the feline-heavy adventure is oddly fun despite these issues. Seeking upgrades and winning levels makes this low price sci-fi release more enjoyable than some longer AAA titles, proving how strong the indie scene can be. You don't have to be infected with toxoplasmosis to enjoy Space Cats Tactics.”

“Arcadian Atlas had some solid concepts, the sprites in particular deserving serious commendation for being a highlight of the game that sprite fans will love. Unfortunately, from there the quality really slips; unreadable text, a lacklustre class and skill system, and disjointed art to name a few of the multiple little issues that drag the game down. there are too many little issues that drag the game down and prevent it being fun. The developers seem responsive and some of these issues may be addressed in future updates, but given that the game is being sold for a mid-range price, players should expect a better package.”

“The graphics and the base structure of Bravery and Greed are pretty good. The issues really come down to simple things like the entire point of collecting gold being almost useless, and the unlock systems leaving so much to be desired. The online is dead short of finding someone through Discord. It's sad because the game actually has the potential to be really good, but just needs a few overhauls to get there.”

“The Gunvolt series was one of the better, and cooler, platformer series in recent history; unfortunately, the most recent games have just been entirely mediocre. Much like the previous Luminous Avenger, all the pieces are there for an absolutely fantastic game, but it never comes together. Regrettably, the story in Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 is the weakest in the series, and the two main characters are far more annoying than entertaining.”

“The Valiant's story is actually pretty interesting, but the gameplay (one of the core aspects of strategy titles) is just very middling. Unit issues like pathing and not all of them fighting, the fact that there's not much to really do, and the very "samey" combat unfortunately side-line the story. This feels a little too unpolished to have been released yet.”

“Ixion perhaps could be used as an example of flying so high... and then missing the mark and falling pretty far down. There is so much to recommend and enjoy about the game, especially if only checking the first few hours. But the more you play, the flaws, difficulty, unravelling story, and pretty much everything else frustrates to such a degree that many players are not going to finish the game, either due to the difficulty, or simply not wanting to do the same thing for five hours and hoping their ship doesn't blow up randomly.”

“In the end, there are too many substantial knocks against the game to really recommend it at large. For a very specific type of gamer who wants a super deep, complex series of systems to dive into and a world free-form exploration system, they will enjoy this game; but the majority of players will be put off by the unnecessary complexity at so many levels, the lack of a clear progression, and many other small knocks that really take out what could have been cool.”

“If this was a fan game you were showing to your friends (like it originally was) it would be much easier to recommend. Given that this is a full release and at almost full price it simply does not stack up to the plethora of other better titles. The music is weak, the difficulty annoying, and the platforming so badly controlled there is little to talk up - even to fans of Touhou.”

“Frozenheim doesn't do enough to stand out; furthermore, it suffers from some severe problems. The camera controls, unit controls, and just its overall feel makes it seem far more like an alpha build than something ready for release. While there are some small interesting things like finding free resources on the map, the game is not one to recommend.”

“Paradoxically, Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars is both too long and too short. The ingredients are there to make a surprisingly awesome game, such as a type of sphere grid, tons of different moves and equipment. However, in reality it is largely a button masher that needs far too much grind which artificially inflates the length. Overall, it was surprising how good it actually was, and there is hope they make a second one.”

“There is little in Magnum Lord that stands out as good or interesting. The story segments are mildly amusing, as well as a few of the characters, but the plot goes nowhere fast, and the rest of the game is hard to enjoy. Combat oscillates between two second stomps to five minute plus long slogs, all the while being far more boring than it might look. The entire other 'half' beyond the visual novel segments is laughably bad in the design and the game does little to separate itself from either better or more unique JRPGs currently out.”

“Clearly a budget title, even looking past some of the obvious flaws like the laughably bad voice acting or the older console generation looking characters, the core game itself - fighting - leaves a lot to be desired. Enemies largely are punching bags with annoyingly large HP pools, but the game is unforgiving with how long there is between being able to save. Ultra Age had some clear potential but it really needed its quality spread across all aspects, the bad parts drag the rest of it down making it largely passable.”

“It is sad to give a rating this low to a game with this much potential. The UI in Hero's Hour is often problematic, and the graphics are just too basic to understand what is happening. Furthermore, there is a very heavy 'rush' element to the game rather than the more plodding pace of older games. If the graphics were better, some balance problems ironed out, and the UI was fixed, this would be an easy game to recommend to strategy players by a wide margin.”

“The tactical part of Reverie Knights Tactics is mildly interesting in its 'puzzle' nature, if it does not wear out its welcome through heavy RNG outcomes. However, severe loss of quality elsewhere really drags the experience down, the levelling/stats system is fairly boring, the character design is bad, and the story is utterly forgettable for how long it drones on between combat sections. There might be something here worth salvaging, but it would need to be hacked up and pasted back together first.”

“Zettai Hero Project is one of the best JRPGs you are likely to play if given the chance. Its unassuming nature belies an incredible plot of growth the player actually feels, unlike nearly every other RPG. Makai Kingdom is simply a bonus for how good ZHP is. While NIS missed a little of the mark with zero actual updates, upgrades, or anything similar, this itself still stands largely on its own as one of the best games one can ever play.”

“For Sci-fi strategy fans Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is a pretty good hit, even without any exposure to the lore. There is just a lot of good things to say about mowing down aliens hordes. There are some small, but ever-present issues that drag down an otherwise really good experience. The UI is particularly abysmal, and some parts of the game really drag on and bog down, but overall it's a pretty fun deal.”

“AI WAR 2 is the type of game that would normally be very good. The concept and guerrilla warfare are both interesting ideas. However, this just doesn't really click or feel that interesting. Given players have access to so much stuff from the beginning, there is no sense of progression which might be the largest killer, if not the steep learning curve. Some might really enjoy it, but general strategy players won't want to hop through all the hoops.”

“There are some rough spots with the UI, a bit of repetition with some overworld aspects, but nitpicks aside Trials of Fire was actually highly enjoyable both as a strategy game, and a deck builder. The fact the game has some strong Heroes of Might and Magic vibes going on is icing on the cake. The problem comes through that a single play (~2-4 hours) is about all it takes to get most out of the game. After that players likely won't be back.”