RYAN JOHNSON
Dragon's Crown Pro Review
Dragon’s Crown returns in glorious HD with a new orchestral soundtrack five years after it’s original release on the PS3. With a PS4Pro and 4K TV, the game can look and sound like you’ve never experienced it. Ryan Johnson at The Gamer’s Lounge shows you the differences and helps you decide whether this classic is worth the double-dip.
City of Brass Review
City of Brass takes the first-person shooter back to coin-op style gameplay with a rougelike twist. In this fast-paced Arabian Nights tale, you infiltrate the infamous city looking for wealth beyond measure. Will you make it out alive, or succumb to the curse yourself?
Megadimension Neptunia VIIR Review
Megadimension Neptunia VIIR may sound like a sequel to a game from two years ago, and chronologically that would make sense. Instead, it’s a rehash of the previous game with some bonus VR support and a little bit of tweaking to the base battle system. It is improved, but is it enough for someone who’s mastered the original release to double dip?
Bombslinger Review
Bombslinger tries something new with the Bomberman formula by taking it back to the Old West. While it adds a few new things like some unique weaponry, a few glitches and the simplistic startup of a Bomberman title pushed onto a storyline mode make it a little harder to recommend.
Super Daryl Deluxe Review
Daryl: a normal high schooler in a perfectly normal multidimensional school. This "RPGVania" tasks our hero with making friends, finding textbooks, riding sharks into battle, picking flowers, and overthrowing a giant conspiracy. You know, normal teenage stuff. Super Daryl Deluxe is an interesting mishmash that looks like it was drawn in the edges of a high school notebook. It's witty humor mixed with some interesting leveling skills makes for a fun little downloadable title.
The Alliance Alive Review
The Alliance Alive is a new title with a lot of old heritage. Coming from a place of love for classic RPGs. A fan of oldschool turn-based combat and strategy will feel right at home, while someone raised on modern RPGs may find a difficult learning curve. Either way, this is a must-play for RPG fans and a wonderful title for the 3DS's twilight years.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 Review
The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 continues in the theme of the first, an attempted marriage between strategy and action RPG. At times, this works, but a lot of the game turns into micromanagement that doesn't feel like it's going anywhere important. Good for fans of the first, but newcomers should be aware of a few nuances prior to purchase.
The Raven: Remastered Review
The Raven: Remastered brings a four year old point and click mystery game up to snuff for modern consoles. While the art and animation upgrades are welcome and appreciated, it plays precisely like it's predecessor, which is both a good and a bad thing.
The Council Review: Episode One-The Mad Ones
The Council is a new narrative-based game that looks to upend the tropes that such games have falle into. With an emphasis on character development and choice permanence, it infuses the genre with some RPG elements. Depending on how the rest of the five episode series goes, The Council right now is shaping up to be a wonderfully intriguing title with more replay value than the traditional narrative videogame experience.
Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms Review
Hakuoki: Edition Blossoms is the second of the Hakuoki tale for PS Vita and Steam. It continues the tale of Chizuru as her quest to find her father leads her into relationship with several potential samurai “husbandos.” This visual novel is low on interaction but shares a compelling story.
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case Review
The Silver Case was released last year. An early work of the famed Suda51, it allows a peek into the start of his career, but it was plagued with issues inherent to it's origin on the original PS1. It's sequel, the 25th ward, works as a standalone title, but it's origin on 2005 era mobile devices creates it's own glaring flaws.
Bridge Constructor Portal (Switch) Review
Bridge Constructor is a simple game about crossing chasms by building a bridge. This is not that. Adding in the wit and sarcasm of GLaDOS and all the inventions of Aperture Science Laboratories creates a crazy, chaotic world full of flipping switches, death laser beams, gun turrets, and swinging pendulum bridges that adds a welcome layer of challenge and fun to a simple concept.
Aperion Cyberstorm Review
Aperion Cyberstorm is a retro twin-stick shooter with a major multiplayer twist, allowing up to five people to play through a campaign, horde-style mode, or versus. The multiplayer is both a pro and a con. It makes solo feel empty, but getting a full crew together makes the game feel so very right.
The Station (PS4) Review
The Station is a mystery sci-fi game set on a station circling an alien world. You are sent to investigate, as the crew has lost contact and you need to figure out why. While there are some issues that will hopefully be ironed out in patches, the game does provide an intriguing story that will keep you enthralled through it's short play time.
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (3DS) Review
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is a rerelease of a 2011 DS RPG with added elements. Within, you play as Stocke, a Special Intelligence officer in the middle of a war. During a critical mission, Stocke comes across an unwinnable scenario, but soon finds that the mysterious White Chronicle he carries will allow him to travel back in time and see what happens if things had happened differently. He must then use these powers to find the proper timeline and save the world. The new edition of the game for the 3DS offers more paths thanks to a new, mysterious character.
The Longest Five Minutes Review
The Longest Five Minutes is an RPG for those who may long for classic RPG styles but simply don't have the time to invest. As your protagonist faces down the final boss of his quest, he suffers from amnesia. Afraid and unknowing of how or why he got here, he relies on his friends and key points in the battle to jog his memories so he can regain his power, stop the evil, and save the world.
Beholder: Complete Edition (PS4) Review
Beholder is set in a horrible country where a totalitarian regime sets down rules that must be strictly followed or you risk being beaten or killed. As a simple landlord, you are secretly tasked with making sure everyone falls in line. You can choose to help your tenants, who may break a rule simply trying to survive, but is it worth the risk?
Vesta (Switch) Review
Vesta is a puzzle platformer where you control Vesta, a young human seemingly alone in a facility with a bunch of robots and artificial intelligence. Teaming up with DROID, you are tasked with exploring the labyrinth and finding out the true story as to why you are all alone in this mechanical world.
Energy Invasion (PS4) Review
Breakout, but with missiles. Sounds like a cool concept. Unfortunately, Energy Invasion by Sometimes You attempts to do something that needs a bit more support than a $2.99 budget title. If anything, just a better tutorial screen, and a few more beeps and boops over the techno soundtrack.
The Deer God (Switch) Review
The Deer God gets ported to the Nintendo Switch. With no extra frills, gamers who have seen this title on many different platforms before won't get anything new short of natural Switch portability. Gamers who have yet to try this title, however, are in for a treat, as the simplistic 3D pixelated style and smooth music lead to a relaxing, enthralling experience.