Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Review

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II follows the story of Senua from the original Hellblade. She begins her journey in a slave ship, going to who knows where. She aims to find and kill all the slavers, so step one is complete.

As with most things in Senua’s life, this doesn’t go to plan. The ship encounters a dreadful storm that slams it into the rocks and spreads its inhabitants into the sea. Exhausted and defeated, you are flung onto the shore, looking for rest.

Sadly, there is no rest; the waves crash into you and threaten to drag you back to the sea if you don’t get up and move. You drag yourself out, then make it off the shore and start looking for survivors. 

The beginning section of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is agony for Senua, and the player feels every part of that. There are no markers, tutorials, or prompts; just fog, rain, and the voices in your head.

It is very frustrating, and I can see a lot of players getting turned around and even outright lost despite the size of the map being pretty small. On top of that, you are thrown into combat with no tutorial or button prompts, just the voices in your head telling you that you need to hit harder or dodge quicker.

The whole section felt like moving through mud, and Senua’s frustrations matched my own as I slowly made my way off the beach. 

It turns out this was all by design.

During the production of The Godfather, director Francis Ford Coppola was adamant that Michael needed to go to Sicily. We needed to see Micheal return to a normal life before having it ripped out from under him. We needed to see, just like Micheal, that there was no going back.

The studio kept saying there was no room in the budget. Luckily for us, Crazy Joe Gallo was gunned down, and the money was suddenly found. Sicily would be the catalyst for Michael to accept his role in the family, from being an outsider to the Don. I don’t know if this island has a name, but the island is Senua’s Sicily. 

Before we go any further, though, let me explain the combat because even after beating the game, I still don’t fully understand it. The combat is intense and hectic, with the voices telling you what will happen if you lose.

“They will eat you,” one of the voices told me. Such close and visceral combat would likely feel like that, the constant threat of what happens if you lose—the manic swinging of a person trying desperately to survive against a creature of darkness.

One word comes to mind: RAGE. Unfilited and pure, you feel the struggle and the anger bubbling inside you as you desperately try to find an opening against your opponent. 

The aura, attitude, and essence of true combat are there, but it doesn’t always make for fun gameplay. Thankfully, there’s an easy mode if you are struggling.

That may be the point. Maybe the developers want you to understand that the battle isn’t easy. Whether it’s combat in the arena or combat in your mind, the fight never truly ends. All you can hope for is a moment of respite from the constant storm bashing you against the rocks. 

Outside of combat, you have exploration and puzzles. There are a couple of side objectives to find, like the totem poles that talk about the land you are in. There are also these special trees that light up and bloom if you find them, but I found three the whole time.

The puzzles start out very frustrating because there are no prompts or indicators. There is one early one where you need to light a torch with your torch. Sounds simple, right? But when you walk up to it, there is no prompt, so you hit the button at the wrong spot, and it doesn’t work.

Well, what do I do now? Obviously, after figuring it out, you know, for the rest of the game, but the first time might leave you confused.

Something unexpected happened to me about halfway through the game. I was going through a cave and had to give up my light at certain sections. A strange sort of calm came over me as I walked through the pitch-black cave towards my goal. I realized that this whole struggle and journey had been about one thing: acceptance.

Not only accepting your fate but embracing it and becoming the person you are meant to be. Everything clicked after that cave, and I fell in love with the journey, even if the combat was still a train wreck. I’ve beaten the game now and am still unsure if I am bad at parrying or if it is only meant to work at certain spots.

The Stoics speak of the lower and higher self, about raising above the lower self to be who you truly are. Watching Senua ascend from her lower self to the higher self, to accept her place in the world—not just accept it but embrace it—was truly a sight to behold.

During one of the earlier sections, I was walking through a broken-down village, and one of the voices said, “Life is just endurance here.” Life is just endurance everywhere, which is what the game is trying to tell you. Yes, things suck for you, but they suck for everyone else also. It’s through the struggle that you become who you are meant to be. 

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a classic example of the old mantra: get past the start, and you’ll love it. If you have Xbox Game Pass, you have no reason not to try this game.

Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER Review

Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER provides a fantastic futuristic experience that we were all too eager to dive into. While we would have appreciated more runway with its brief tale, ES88’s hunt for the Golden Butterfly is well worth a trip down memory lane.

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Sand Land Review

Sand Land’s vehicular combat is entertaining from start to finish, but bizarre progression pacing and the repetitive nature of the side content makes this a hard sell for those approaching the series for the first time.

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Lunar Lander Beyond Review

While Lunar Lander Beyond requires a delicate touch, the feeling that comes from mastering a perfect run and ship-shape crew cannot be beat.

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Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Review

Eiyuden Chonricle: Hundred Heroes is another Kickstarter project from an old-school development team. Is the game worth checking out, or should you sit with more modern games? Check out our review and find out.

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Spirit City: Lofi Sessions Review

Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is a fantastic (and pun-tastic) tool that dishes out good vibes as players knock out their tasks. While the title could use more customization options, we enjoyed getting down to business in its cozy world.

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Contra: Operation Galuga Review

The soldiers of Contra: Operation Galuga have the right moves for this mission, but the steep cost, short length, and awkward perspectives lead to a less-than-perfect execution.

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Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Review

Eiyuden Chonricle: Hundred Heroes kicks off with a young man named Nowa, who eagerly joins the local town watch. The Watch, always open to new recruits, welcomes him with open arms and assigns his first mission.

Nowa, along with a few other Watch members, embarks on an expedition to investigate some ruins, accompanied by Imperial officers from a neighboring region. Seign, the commanding officer of the imperial presence, and Nowa quickly form a strong bond.

They fight side by side, clearing the ruins and retrieving the Magic Lens Seign was seeking. As the mission concludes, they part ways, but their camaraderie remains strong. We then fast-forward six months.

Things have gotten tense with the empire and the region Nowa lives in. War is on the horizon, but for now, the Watch focuses on recruiting and defeating bandits. Eventually, you discover that these “bandits” are imperial agents, causing chaos and giving the empire a reason to invade.

At this point, Nowa is in charge of the Watch as an intern leader. When war strikes, you do your best to protect your city but are ultimately pushed back. You retreat to an old castle and start to rebuild and form an army to fight back.

Calling this castle a base is a huge stretch, but you have some walls and a few buildings to start with. It doesn’t take long for your allies to give you missions to get more allies, build up certain buildings, or get more materials.

Honestly, it’s a rough start since you don’t have any of the shops, the blacksmith, or even a way to switch skills at first. On top of that, you don’t just need materials for upgrades; you need the correct characters as well.

I love the system, but since certain characters are missable, you might miss out on some key upgrades for your base. Again, it’s not an issue for me, but it might turn some people off to the game.

Since Hundred Heroes is an old-school JPRG, the combat is turn-based. However, unlike most games in the genre, you have six characters in your party at once. The front line is three deep, and the back line is also three deep.

Certain characters can only hit at short distances, like right in front of them, while others can sit in the back and drop magic or arrows from afar. There are basic attacks, skills, and magic attacks, and each hero has a defense move.

Most of the defense moves are dodge or block, but some get power-ups or even a counterattack. You also have to factor in damage types and resistances of the enemies you face for the most damage.

Being a JRPG, grinding is a thing, and oh boy, can you get overpowered. In a game where you search every nook and cranny for allies, you inevitably get into a ton of trash fights.

Thankfully, 100 Heroes does have an auto-battle feature, and it works very well, almost too well. I’ve got about 50 hours in the game and can auto-battle nearly every encounter, even the bosses sometimes. I like it, it means easy money and extra gear for me.

Those who don’t want to take out the trash can let the enemies flee, but you still have to load into the fight, so I don’t see the point in doing it. I enjoy the grind, though, so these features were nice to me.

Bosses are a little different from the main enemies. You get some basic mini-bosses that are just tank and spank. Some of the bosses have a bonus feature during the fight.

For instance, when recruiting Mellore, you face a giant beast in the desert. Mellore uses her magic to spawn two huge hammers that can club the beast.

During combat, you can use the hammer, but the beast is hidden until you pick your hammer. So you have a 50/50 shot to do enormous damage or nothing at all.

Others include hiding to avoid lasers, crane games, stopping enemy regeneration, and many others. Ultimately, though, since I was so highly leveled, I only had any real challenge with the first few bosses.

There is one other combat mode you enter from time to time: tactical combat. Here, you don’t have direct control over the troops; you just have to decide which direction they go in.

Think of it more like Fire Emblem or even the recent Unicorn Overlord. You usually have to defend a certain spot to defeat the enemy’s command to clear it.

The more units you have recruited, the better your army will be, but it is only for skills and abilities. Tactical combat is more about positioning and using your skills correctly to win.

I come from the Total War series, so flanking and hammer and anvil tactics come naturally to me. You will be fine if you can avoid running face-first into the enemy.

Outside of all the exploring and recruiting, there are also side quests and mini-games to do. Side quests are generally related to recruiting characters or building up more of your base.

As for mini-games, there are quite a few. Fishing is the first on you get, which lets you cook up some fish and bring back supplies to town. Eventually, you can go on a cooking battle and help your chef become one of the best in the world.

The big mini-game is called Beigoma, and I didn’t spend much time with it. You and an opponent toss a spinning top into a ring and have to bash each other until one falls out or falls over. I’m sure it’s more complex than that, but I only did a handful of matches.

I ran into a few bugs and texture glitches. One was really bad, though. A certain area of land is near an ocean, and the land and water do not play well together.

If you move your camera angle a certain way, the screen becomes unusable, meaning you can see nothing but torn textures. Move the camera again, and you will see fine.

It sticks out like a sore thumb. I also read about an issue with a bug regarding a character you can recruit. If you miss the char, that’s it; you have to restart it to get them.

Not to be that guy, but when the crux of your game is recruiting characters, you best get that part right.

Eiyuden Chonricle: Hundred Heroes is exactly what Suikoden fans have been asking for. Fans of old-school JRPGs or games about recruiting characters shouldn’t hesitate to check it out.

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South Park: Snow Day Review

South Park Snow Day follows the exploits of the New Kid during a mysterious snowstorm. The New Kid is the same character from The Stick Of Truth and The Fractured But Whole. Since you got so overpowered in the last two games, the gang decides to start a new game with everyone at zero. This time, it is a fight between the various factions that inhabit South Park. You team up with Cartman to fight against the elves and Kyle. From there, you take on the rest of the kids until you collect the whole crew.

The story isn’t very deep, but you get some good South Park humor, and Cartman always takes a chance to poke fun at your mistakes. That is really how you get most of the story, anyway. While you are on your missions, they will contact you on the radio and tell you what is happening—more than once, I had to stop and chuckle at what they said.

For a game called Snow Day, you might expect it to be a snowball fighting game; it is not. It’s more of a brawler since you mostly use melee weapons and wands. The combos are simple but effective; just don’t expect a ton of depth. When you start a level, you and three other players(or bots) take on a series of stages to try and make it to a boss. To win a stage, you typically need to kill all enemy units. If you do win, you get an upgrade at the end of the stage, making the next one easier.

Outside of your basic attacks, you can also bring a couple of skills into a match. I liked to bring the fart escape, which leaves a fart cloud as you jet into the air. From there, I would upgrade it to linger longer and start it on fire. The bull rush was another fun one. Hitting enemies into the wall did a ton of damage, and it felt great to use. The only one I never turned off was my healing banner. If you get the right skill upgrades, it can have an increased radius and even revive downed allies. I’m sure there are other good combos, but combine the fire, poison gas, and my sword bleed damage, and I didn’t need to try much.

While in the match, you collect a few different things. Sometimes, you get lucky and get a skill card to boost a random skill. There is also toilet paper, which acts as currency due to the blizzard. You use this in between rounds to get stronger upgrades or shuffle which ones you can purchase. The big thing you will want to collect is the Dark Matter. You can find this off certain enemies or even in chests that drop down into the match. You can return to your hub with Dark Matter and get character upgrades. The skill tree is pretty simple, but if you want to fill it, you’ll have to play for quite a bit of time. Platinum coins are another currency, but that’s just for cosmetics.

Outside of the campaign, there is a wave defense mode. This mode allows you to grind more Dark Matter and unlock new cards. You get new cards by making achievements, like using moves several times, defeating certain enemies, and so on. One other thing in play is the BS cards. You can use these to get laser eyes and other superpowers. The enemy also gets them, and it will generally buff the baddies. They can be very annoying in survival mode since they happen nearly every round. Still, they add a bit more of a challenge to the battles.

As far as bugs are concerned, I ran into a blank card bug. So when I was going to pick an upgrade, nothing showed up, but I could still click to get an upgrade. It’s only a minor annoyance but a noticeable one. I didn’t have any crashes or notice any frame drops, but I was on my PC. Not sure how the consoles fare.

South Park Snow Day is a fun game that is a perfect fit for Game Pass or PlayStation Plus. I’d wait until it hits one of those services before checking it out.

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The Thaumaturge Review

The Thaumaturge follows the story of Wiktor Szuliski during early 1900s Russian-owned Warsaw. Wiktor is a Thaumaturge, a person who the game calls a “miracle worker,” but who is more of a spiritual detective. Being a Thaumaturge means seeing people’s thoughts and intentions, makes you great at solving people’s problems. The other benefit of being a Thaumaturge is that you get a Salutor. When the story begins, Wiktor is sick and can’t connect with his Salutor well. He searches for another miracle worker and stumbles upon Rasputin, known for his healing abilities. Rasputin helps you unlock your powers and aids you in befriending new Salutors.

After getting help from Rasputin, you receive a telegram from your sister that your father is dead. With your new friend in tow, you return to Warsaw to say goodbye to your father and collect your inheritance. The city was under the Tsar’s rule, and treason was not tolerated. Citizens and miracle workers can be targeted for no reason at all. Thankfully you have family here and a house to stay in. After saying goodbye to your father, you are left with a task: Find his Black Grimoire. Your father was also a Thamuterge, and his book will help you become stronger. With that in mind, you stay in Warsaw and try to find the Grimoire.

While the Tsar’s army controls the city, that doesn’t mean the streets are safe for you to stroll. Corrupt cops, drunkards, bandits, and countless others all want a piece of you. Wiktor can talk his way out of fights sometimes, but his main flaw is pride, and all of those answers typically trigger a scrap. Combat is turn-based, but certain attacks go quicker than others. So, for instance, you can do a quick light jab twice before an enemy does their heavy attack. On top of that, you need to take focus into account. Focus is sort of a shield for characters, and if you break it, you can make a strong attack with yourself or a Salutor.

You see Wiktor fights side by side with his Salutor, even if normal people can’t see them. Upyr is your first Salutor, and it can heal and deal huge damage to enemies with full HP. Lelek, on the other hand, has moves that drain focus from enemies, opening them up to your power attacks. Then there are the upgrades. All of your moves have slots on them, and you can put your upgrades from the skill tree on your attacks. All of these upgrades have their uses; you can build your Wiktor how you want. Mine was a powerhouse with debuffs and self-buffs, so it would one-shot most enemies when I made a strong attack. Plus, if you don’t like a particular upgrade, you can change them before any fight.

You get your attack upgrades through the skill tree, which gets bigger as you get more Salutors. The other things you get there are the HP, focus, and skill buffs. I talked about Wiktor being a sort of spiritual detective earlier. When you use your Thamuaterge vision, you can discover clues and secrets people leave behind. Some people have a stronger will than others, so you can’t tap into the secrets directly. That’s where your stat points come in. Certain clues will be locked because you don’t have the right level for your skills. To upgrade, you need to fight, do side quests, and find lore in the world.

Warsaw is a big place that is divided up into districts that you can visit. As you get further into the story, more districts open up with new activities and quests for you. Most of these have you using your powers to find something or someone, but you get good experience and can use your flaws to get into more fights. With Wiktor’s power, he can find out things others can’t. In the game, this is done by showing you a red mist. You follow the mist to an item and then check it out to learn more about the person it is attached to. You find enough clues, you make a deduction, and you can unlock new dialogue options for people.

The other thing that affects your dialogue and story choices are your flaws. Wiktor starts with pride as his main flaw and gets new ones as he unlocks more Salutors. Pride gives you options not to be pushed around, get a bit more aggressive, or just have a straight-up fight with people. Picking it in certain conversations will lock other choices later in the same conversation. The other benefit of these flaws is that they give you stat boosts. So, on top of getting a new ally for combat, you also get stronger Thaumaturge abilities. The downside is that sometimes you get yourself killed using those choices.

Tech-wise, I did run into a few bugs and had a couple of crashes. You get wonky animations and T-poses from time to time as well.

Anyone who is a fan of playing a supernatural detective will enjoy The Thaumaturge. Its dark atmosphere, engaging story, and tactical combat will keep you coming back for more.

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Granblue Fantasy: Relink Review

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Granblue Fantasy: Relink follows an airship captain (your character) and their crew as they search for the Promised Land. There’s just one thing: The skies on the way to the island they are searching for aren’t safe. Your tutorial fight is with some Wyverns, and eventually a Bahamut summoned by your ally Lyria. For some reason, this summon briefly turns on the team, but Lyria eventually gets him back under control. With the ship in rough condition, Lyria slips and falls overboard, with your character trying to catch her. You both fall to the land below and somehow manage to survive. You find Lyria, save her from monsters, and reunite with your crew.

Your ship in shambles, players will then head to a local village to find some new transportation. A captain named Rolan agrees to take you all on his ship if you help him out. Naturally, the first island you go to is under attack by goblins, putting you to work. As it turns out, it is also being affected by strong, unnatural winds that make it hard for ships to leave. The goblins aren’t a big threat, but the Primal Beast rampaging concerns your character. You set out to calm the beast, and hopefully secure the island. The story is very quick, clocking in at about 15 hours for me. That being said, the story is a tiny portion of Relink.

During the game, you can take on quests at a quest board. Think of it like Monster Hunter World. You pick a quest, and you can set out with your party to do the objective. If you play online, you can have three other allies or do them offline with your NPC party. After you beat the game, these quests open up a lot more. You get the more difficult missions, bosses, and other modes you didn’t have during the main story. I might have beef with the boss fights in the main story, but online quests immediately put players in action. And with Quick Quest, you can join a team in seconds. The main story is a slow burn, but the post-game is quick and snappy.

Relink is a character-action RPG, and the combat is excellent. First, there are over a dozen characters, and they all play differently. As overwhelming as that sounds, it also helps ensure you find a character you like. Everyone has the same button layout with basic attacks and strong attacks, but some have stances or other mechanics that help power them up. Where things get tricky is your special skills. You can only bring four of them with you, meaning you need to be picky. Do you want more damage, an AoE spell, heals, buffs? Whatever you choose, choose wisely; you can’t change mid-fight, and only having three good moves really hurts your chances of being the highest scorer online.

The other way you power up your characters is by weapons and sigils. You can craft new weapons with various elements and upgrade them for more damage and effects. I play Yodarha, a fisherman who uses katanas as his weapon. I stacked my blades with crit chance and ripped enemies up with him. My Percival, on the other hand, hits like a truck, so I just stacked damage on him. Sigils are similar to accessories, buffing you in various ways. The most common sigils will give you more damage, more HP, and things like that. Other, more rare sigils might give you a skill buff, earn you more cash, or provide you with life steal. My point is that you can make the type of character you want if you are willing to put in the effort.

During your downtime, you can visit the towns and do side quests or trade with Siero, a traveling merchant who likes to trade in treasure and sigils. The side quests always involve killing or retrieving something, but the rewards are worth it. You can go to him for crafting parts and new characters. The prices can be a bit steep on certain materials, so be sure to save your coins. As for the characters, the game isn’t a Gacha, so you can pick who you want and spend a voucher to hire them. You can only test them after you get them, which is a bummer. You can recruit them all eventually, so you don’t need to worry about missing anyone.

Just be warned: Granblue Fantasy: Relink was in development for a long time, and it shows. The areas and zones are very small, but there is no map. It isn’t needed online because most of the fights are arenas, but the towns should have them present. The boss fights during the main story can also be annoying; players can have a boss on the ropes, only for them to suddenly stop losing HP. When this happens, you’ll have to sit there for a move or cutscene to go off. These story boss fights disrupt the rhythm of a game with such quick-paced combat. You have to wait to leave lobbies between online matches until everyone agrees, or the timer runs out. I hope they can at least fix the online issue.

While it takes a while to get going, Granblue Fantasy: Relink is well worth the wait. Fans of quick-paced co-op action RPGs shouldn’t hesitate to check it out.

[infobox style=’success’ static=’1′]This review of Like Granblue Fantasy: Relink was done on the PlayStation 5. A digital code was provided by the publisher.[/infobox]

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Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review

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Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth follows the story of Ichiban, a former Yakuza member and the hero of Yakuza Like A Dragon. Ichiban’s life is riding high right about now. He has a sweet job helping out former Yakuza, he’s respected around town, he has friends and drinking buddies, and he even has a date coming up. Anyone who has played a Yakuza game before knows how this ends, with everything crashing down around you. A Youtuber reveals secrets about your shady past, which cost you your job, and most of the former Yakuza you’ve helped out get fired, too.

So you take a new job from an old friend and head to Hawaii to atone for past sins and to move on with your life. Sadly, things do not go much better here. You are mugged, drugged, and left on the beach naked. Eventually, you gather some new allies and set out to try and figure out what is going on on this island. The game is the longest in the series, and as of writing this, I have 91 hours in it with plenty left to do.

The Like A Dragon series has turn-based combat but still has the Yakuza flair. Your basic attacks feel heavy and impactful. Your special skills have you breathing fire, using cheese graters on enemies, or tossing dynamite at them. You can pick up weapons mid-battle and smash them into enemies, knocking them to the floor. My point is that even though it is turn-based, it is still entertaining, and you still have to think to succeed. There is an auto-battle option, but the AI does some silly things during combat so I rarely used it. Also, if you are at a high enough level, you can one-hit entire enemy groups, which feels good.

It’s vital that combat feels satisfying to play because there is a ton of it. I don’t know how much actual crime is in Honolulu, but this game makes it seem like you’ll be attacked on every street corner. Since I enjoy the combat, I’m fine with that; some players might not be. Another way they help keep fighting fresh is via the class system. Most characters can switch between five or six classes after you unlock them. Each of them has their own skills, stats, and weapons. That alone would incentivize players to try new classes, but the skill inheritance makes it even more juicy. Grinding up a character to an incredible skill and bringing it to a new class really encourages you to try everything. Honestly, all the classes were good, and I enjoyed playing each.

When you aren’t fighting, you have lots of choices of side activities to do—the arcade returns, with Sega Bass Fishing being the big game this time. The crane game, darts, Shoji, Majong, and a few others also return. One of the new, somewhat passive side activities is called Aloha Links. All you do with this is walk around the island, waving at people with green faces over their heads. Do this enough, and you become friends with them and get a stat boost to your personality. As you’ll see, the game constantly encourages you to explore the island and find hidden treasures and secrets. You can tell the devs are confident in their game world, and that confidence extends to nearly all avenues of the game.

Before I forget, let’s talk about the personality traits. Ichiban has six core stat that rise as he does things in the game. For instance, fighting enough bad guys will raise your Passion skill. As that skill goes up, you get more and more passive buffs like sleep and fear resistance. It’s not just fighting that earns you points for your personality. It’s almost everything in the game. Your challenge list details how to get more points, but here are a few examples. Eating at restaurants, riding taxis, spending money, swimming, playing mini-games, and chatting with random citizens are all things you can do to raise those stats. Again, go out and do something, and you’ll be rewarded.

The meat and potatoes mini game of Infinite Wealth is Dondoko Island, an Animal Cross lite mode. When you start working at Dondoko Island, it is a trash heap with hardly any value. You clean it up and turn it into a resort for tourists. When you start, there are two or three buildings on the island, and it is up to you to create and place more. You mold this island in your vision and slowly raise the rating of the resort. Eventually, you invite some customers in and start making a little scratch on the side. These customers will all have their wants and needs, and you can give them gifts to raise their happiness. The more happy a guest is, the bigger your tip will be. It is simple to understand and a blast to play. My only complaint is that you can get to the max star resort pretty quickly if you focus on it.

I want to mention a few other things before we wrap this up. There is a pizza delivery mini-game that is very much like Crazy Taxi, and it is very fun. I lost hours to it and still want to play more. You can upgrade and craft weapons, making the game easier for you. There are fewer dungeons, but there is a dungeon area where you can farm mobs and materials. The game has choices, but they only affect your personality, and drinking with your buddies is a great way to raise your bonds. And lastly, cars will hit you if you get punched into them.

As for annoyances, the game is turn-based, and you can always see who is next but not the whole turn order. When fighting certain bosses, they would skip the turn order and get multiple turns in a row. I’m not sure if it was based on agility or what, but that got me killed a couple of times. The game has an English dub, but certain characters are not great, and they stick out. Also, I still don’t understand Majong or Shoji and don’t know if I ever will.

Tech-wise, the game ran great, and I didn’t see any frame drops, bugs, or crashes.

2024 picks up right where 2023 left off with a banger of a title in Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth. Anyone who likes big, meaty RPGs should give this one a whirl.

[infobox style=’success’ static=’1′]This review of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth was done on the PlayStation 5. A digital code was provided by the publisher.[/infobox]

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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review

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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown follows the story of Sargon, one of the seven Immortals that are the strongest fighters in the kingdom. Sargon and his allies stop the invading forces of Kushan to protect Persia and its ruler. For Sargon’s part in defeating the enemy general, he is awarded a Royal Sash, which are only the best of the best warriors. After the ceremony, you meet up with your friends and celebrate into the evening. At some point, there is a ruckus, and the prince is kidnapped, leaving you and the Immortals to try to rescue him.

Before you get a chance to save the prince, he is slain, and you are blamed for his death. You soon realize there is some sort of time distortion issues in this place as you face off with another version of yourself. Once you beat him, you are told you can still save the prince if you learn to master time. To do that, you’ll have to collect all the relics and powers that are scattered throughout the game world. In all, you’ll probably spend 15-20 hours getting through the game.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a 2D metroidvania, which means a lot of backtracking, a lot of death, and a lot of platforming. At first, this isn’t a problem because it’s simple jumps and dashes, but it gets tricky fast. One of the more annoying platforming obstacles is these platforms that switch depending on which way you are looking. For example, one platform might be out for you to jump on if you look right, but it goes back into the wall when you look left. It forces you to fight that instinct to correct yourself midair and instead rely on faith that you won’t fall off. It threw me for a loop quite a few times, but players looking for platforming challenges will find them here.

Combat in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is fast-paced and simple, bringing with it a solid counter and dodge system. Similar to the platforming section, you’ll have to fight smart to survive. With trash mobs, you can spam your combo attacks and get through, but bosses and mini-bosses will put you in the dirt if you try that strategy. Watching the enemy tells and correctly reacting makes the game much more manageable. Deflecting the enemies and landing a huge attack only to then dodge them and land another slash on their back feels great. You also get a bow and a chakram for ranged weapons, which help add to the variety. It also means they can add flying enemies, which are always annoying.

All this fighting and platforming exudes cool, but you need upgrades to avoid dying often and losing A LOT of progress. There is only one currency in the game and it is used for weapon and skill upgrades, new amulets, hints, and general buffs. Weapon upgrades make you hit harder but you can also get more arrows or get extra amulet slots. These upgrades come at a high price, making the economy very balanced. Amulets are stat boosts and other buffs, like revealing hidden treasures or adding extra temporary HP. Hints are also nice because you don’t have directions, just markers on where to go. I always had something to work towards to get myself slightly stronger or more durable.

Speaking of secrets, the game is flooded with them. Breakable walls, invisible chests, hidden areas – you’ll find them all. If you pre-ordered, you get a bird that helps you find the secrets; otherwise, you’ll have to smack every wall to test them. These areas are necessary for you to find the crafting materials needed to upgrade your gear to higher levels. Lore items and side quests can also be found hidden throughout the game world. These are typically basic fetch quests or smash-and-grabs that help give you more reasons to explore. Just note that some of the hidden areas and side quests have some of the most challenging platforming sections in the game.

There are a couple of things I don’t like about the game. The fast travel system is very inconvenient. You need to find a statue and then warp from there to another warp point statue. The problem is there aren’t very many in the game, and you can’t warp to them from the map. This means you are doing a lot of needless backtracking. I also think the check points could have been more generous. You lose a lot of time dying to one-hit death spikes and pits.

Tech-wise, I didn’t have any bugs or run into any crashes.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a beacon of hope for a franchise that’s been gone for far too long. Fans of the series will be happy with this series’ new direction.

[infobox style=’success’ static=’1′]This review of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review was done on the PlayStation 5. A digital code was provided by the publisher.[/infobox]

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Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader Review

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My knowledge of the Warhammer 40k universe is limited, but Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader taught me a lot.

Things kick off with you making your character, picking your class, and becoming a Rogue Trader. In the Warhammer Universe, Rogue Traders act as explorers, conquerors, and even merchants under the authority of the God Emperor. Put simply, you are a VERY big deal in the game. Still, you are meant to be taught the basics before being sent out into the universe. It ultimartely becomes a trial by fire, and you need to figure it out as you go.

The ship you start on is attacked, your Rogue Trader teacher is slain almost immediately, and you need to rally the troops and reclaim the ship. After you take back the ship, the crew looks to you for the next command. Your first job is to rebuild the ship, get a new navigator, and contact the nearby imperial settlement. Things quickly erode as the enemy of humanity (the Xenos) steals the system’s sun, and you are forced to flee to another sector of the universe. I’m not sure how long the main story is, but I have over 100 hours and still haven’t done all the side content I want to do.

As the Rogue Trader, you do get to lay claim to settlements and planets throughout the galaxy. However, doing so then has them falling under your protection. If they fall, you will then look weak to the other Rogue Trader houses – and weaklings do not last in the Warhammer 40K universe. Still, the benefits of having multiple settlements add up quickly. You get to make buildings, claim resources, get new weapons and armor, and sometimes even get permanent stat boosts. The best part is that you can do it all from the start menu, so you rarely need to go back to planets. You just hit the settlement manager, pick your project, then play as it completes – EZPZ.

One downside to landing on these colonized planets is that you are almost always ambushed when you land or meet the governor. The game mentions a couple of times how we expect to be attacked when we land for the first time. It wouldn’t be so bad, but you are always outnumbered, and the AI allies are pretty bad – even when it comes to shooting you. I get that the universe is chaotic and dangerous, but I have heavy flamethrowers, a Psyker who can call lightning down, and a dude in heavy armor with a huge sword. I have a feeling the dagger-wielding bandits might stand down after seeing us.

Since Rogue Trader is a tactical RPG, the combat is from the top-down perspective and is turn-based. If you’ve played that series, you can think of it like X-Com because the 95% to hit shots still miss. What starts off as a simple game of finding cover and taking potshots quickly evolves into a profoundly satisfying combat system that sometimes takes too long to finish. You level up so fast that you constantly get new abilities and tools to use for battle. It can get overwhelming, but if you focus on key traits and skills, you can wreck the dozens of enemies the game will sometimes throw your way.

Ship combat is another part of the game, but overall it isn’t that complicated. Once you learn how the cannons and torpedoes work, you can easily take on five or more ships yourself. The most difficult part of the whole process is figuring out where to park your ship each turn so you don’t get hit with missiles, and the bad guys don’t run away. Thankfully, your ship also levels up and can get new moves, such as a 180 flip, which makes the enemies behind you less annoying. Along with leveling, you get new parts, cannons, shields, and engines for your ship. If you can’t tell by now, there is a ton to upgrade and do in the game.

Naturally, as a Rogue Trader, you will also be doing some trading. The economy is unique in the game, and it grew on me very quickly. Instead of gold or credits, you get Profit Factor. Your Profit Factor is your total wealth as a Rogue Trader and only goes down if you pick choices that make it go down. So if you have 12 Profit Factor and the merchant has five items for 12 or under, you can buy everything and your Profit Factor will remain the same. Instead, you donate loot to certain factions, and they give you Rep. The higher your Rep, the more gear you gain access to. It was nice not needing to make choices on what items to buy because I could get them all.

Exploring the universe itself was similar to Mass Effect. You scan planets, see if there are any resources or outposts, and then land or head to the next system. The only downside to jumping from system to system is the fact that the Warp is unstable. The further you jump, the more you risk your ship being damaged or, even worse, Chaos Forces invading the ship. You can calm down the Warp with Navigator powers, but sometimes you just need to risk the jump.

One last thing I want to hit on is the class customization. The base classes are pretty easy: melee fighter, gun user, support officer, or a debuffing operative. While each class has its skill list, you can easily make an officer into a melee guy if you want. However, at level 16, you unlock the more advanced classes. My sniper character was pretty dangerous until I made him into an assassin, and he became downright lethal. My critical hits keep doing insane damage, and the chance to get them increases. If you like a particular play style, this game will let you buff it up as much as you want.

Now for the bad; this game is very buggy at the moment. Crashes, frame drops, no text during conversations, T-poses, items under the floor, and me under the floor – among other minor annoyances – plague the game. I could fight through most of it if not for the crashes and lockups. They have done a ton of work in the couple of weeks I’ve had it, but I still crash occasionally. I don’t know how bad it is on PC, but the PlayStation 5 version could have used a few more months to cook.

Even with the bugs, Warhammer 40K fans will enjoy Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader immensely. If you are a tactics RPG fan looking for your next fix, this is your game.

[infobox style=’success’ static=’1′]This review of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was done on the PlayStation 5. A digital code was provided by the publisher.[/infobox]

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Like a Dragon Gaiden The Man Who Erased His Name Review

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Like a Dragon Gaiden has you playing as Kiryu after he has “escaped” his former life. Hoping to protect his foster children, he joins up with a group called Daidoji and becomes one of their secret agents. Still, being this close to home can only end one way, as someone figures out who Kiryu is and forces him back into the Yakuza line of work. Maybe a name change to something other than Joryu and a disguise better than a pair of glasses would have helped him stay hidden.

Now that he is back in the Yakuza, he finds out the boss of the Omi Alliance was looking into Kiryu’s death anyway because he didn’t believe it. With that info, Kiryu is put back to work and tasked with finding a woman named Akame; a jack-of-all-traders fixer, as they put it. She gives you missions, helps you stay hidden, and is your way into the Coliseum, where you can prove your strength. If Kiryu does as he is asked, he will be reunited with his foster kids again. You’ll be done in around 10-15 hours if you rush the story.

Since this is a Kiryu Yakuza game, you will be doing real-time combat with thugs on the streets. One thing the series never gets wrong is how satisfying the impact of fighting is. You truly feel as powerful as Kiryu, and when you take out ten thugs in under a minute, you feel like you can take on the world. With the new easy mode, you can spam attack buttons and look like an expert, which is an excellent addition. The reality is, though, because the game is so short, they force fight after fight after fight on you. It’s fun, but getting a breather would also be nice.

While Like a Dragon Gaiden is the smallest Yakuza game, it still brings some new tools for you to use. Being a secret agent, Kiryu gets access to some new weapons and gear. You have the spider shot, a string that can bind enemies up or grab weapons from a distance—the hornet, and a drone that crashes into targets. The firefly is a cigarette you can use as an explosive, and finally, the serpent shoes that make your shoes into jet shoes for ramming over enemies. Each of these adds to your combat skills and combos, helping you find an opening for your heat attacks.

The main reason I play Yakuza games these days is for the big minigame, and sadly, Like a Dragon Gaiden is kind of a stinker on that front. You do have the Coliseum, which is fun, but like I said earlier, you get more than enough fights in the streets. You do get to build up a team that can fight alongside you as well for specific battles, but I felt I did most of the work in those. Pocket Circuit makes a return for the masochists who enjoy going through that time and time again. Akame gives you plenty of side quests, from beating thugs to delivering food. And, of course, you have the arcade, cabaret clubs, gambling, and other minor minigames. It is fine, but you can easily get all that and more in another Yakuza game.

Let’s talk about the economy real quick. By now, Kiryu has been a multi-millionaire multiple times over multiple games. Like a Dragon Gaiden is very similar; you get rich quickly. The difference is they learned to make the skills for upgrades cost more, so the cash has more value. You also need Akane points to get specific skills, meaning you must grind. They tied to two currencies to each other, so most of the time, completing a side quest will reward both. So now you can get a skill, complete a quest, get a new skill, and satisfy your dopamine need.

As for bugs and crashes, I had none. The dub is horrible, but I’m sure everyone knows that by now, so just play in Japanese with subs.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is the quickest Yakuza game ever, and in 2023, that is exactly what is needed. Fans of the series can pick it up and breeze through in a weekend.

[infobox style=’success’ static=’1′]This review of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name was done on the PlayStation 5. A code was provided by the publisher.[/infobox]

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Achilles: Legends Untold Review

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Achilles: Legends Untold follows the story of Achilles directly after the Trojan War. You begin at the shores of Troy, fighting your way up to through the city to take back Helen. Even the mighty Hector is no match for you at this point, as you cleave him down as well. When you reach the top of Troy, Prince Paris kills you, and you awaken in a land you don’t recognize; you’re not even sure if you are alive or dead.

Eventually, you find out you are somehow back in Greece. Your former home runs rampant with bandits, beasts, undead, and otherworldly monsters. The only way you will find out what happened is by fighting your way through. You even get to face off with heroes from the Trojan War, like Menelaus and King Agamemnon. Capturing the feel of the era, this helps Achilles: Legends Untold truly feel authentic.

The game is a CRPG like Diablo, but it’s more akin to the old-school Champions of Norrath with only one character. Combat is pretty simple, with a quick attack, a heavy attack, and a few special attacks. While you won’t pull off any crazy combos, you’ll quickly master your weapon strikes as a result. Special attacks vary, but include damage buffs, area-of-effect attacks, crowd control, and heals. You can only have two equipped at any time, with the third skill always being your shield toss. It helps add to the variety for combat, but I think most people will find a build they like and stick with it.

The lands of Greece are full of treasures, side quests, and other events to find. Clearing out enemy camps will give you access to the chest inside. You get rare materials, new weapons, and new skills like this. Weapons will scale based on your stats, not unlike the Dark Souls series. I found a two-handed sword that went off strength and wrath early in my adventure and used that most of the game.

Also like a Soulslike, enemies will reset if you die or rest. Outside of that, though, most of the game is much easier than the genre is known. You get plenty of healing potions and other healing items. Consumables like fire pots, poison pots, throwing knives, and other projectiles can keep enemies at bay. There are even landmine-type traps you can craft to debilitate your foes. All of this combines with the skills and basic strikes to make a robust combat system that anyone cane enjoy.

Side quests vary from area to area, but mainly involve killing bad guys, breaking objects, or finding something. Sometimes, you get new gear from these quests, but mostly, you earn EXP and materials for crafting. There is a huge skill tree you can spend points on. Most of it is more stat boosts like more strength or HP, though there are some passive skills also. Combine that with weapon and armor upgrades, and you really start to dish out some damage.

Dungeons are scattered throughout Greece that you can explore and conquer. You can think of them as the tiny cellar dungeons in Diablo 4, consisting of a quick fight with quick loot. Other events you can find include mini-bosses, prisoners in need of rescue, and puzzle chests. The puzzle chests initially confused me, because you don’t have the shield toss when you use a two-handed sword. Basically, you need to find the symbols for the chest, break them with the shield or strike, and then get the loot. Sounds easy, but sometimes those symbols are hidden well.

When it comes to Achilles Legends Untold’s boss fights, they are challenging but not overwhelming. What I mean by that is that you will be beaten, but you’ll only have to die a few times before winning. After defeating your foe, you are typically given a choice to spare or kill them. I’m unsure what happens if you spare them, but killing the boss will net you their weapon or skill. Also, if you like history, it is fun to face the heroes of Greece.

Another type of boss in the game lurks in the overworld and can kill you in a shot if you aren’t careful. They are fought under special circumstances, though, so I don’t want to spoil much there.

While there were a few frame drops in the game’s later areas, there were no bugs or crashes during my playthrough.

Achilles: Legends Untold brings history’s strongest warrior to video games in epic fashion. Fans of Soulslikes – or action RPGs in general – shouldn’t hesitate to pick it up.

[infobox style=’success’ static=’1′]This review of Achilles: Legends Untold was done on the PlayStation 5. A digital code was provided by the publisher. The Editor also received a Physical Press Kit, but this was not opened until the review was published.[/infobox]

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