The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (PS4) Review

March 26, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Trails of Cold Steel is an acclaimed series of RPGs under the larger Legend of Heroes banner. The original two games are being remastered with a bunch of presentation and quality of life improvements in preparation for the upcoming English language release of the third in November of this year. Number One releases here in March, with Number Two in May. They show a bit of age by default but are integral to the enjoyment of number 3, which will take full advantage of the PS4 platform.

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categories / Ryan's Reviews
tags / RPG, PS4, Legend of Heroes, Trails of Cold Steel

Eternity: The Last Unicorn (PS4) Review

March 21, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Eternity: The Last Unicorn does exactly what it sets out to do: recreate the feel of a classic 3D RPG, complete with fixed camera angle. Unfortunately it drags back some of the parts of early RPGs we’d rather leave behind.

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tags / Classic RPG, Eternity: The Last Unicorn, Fantasy, Viking, RPG

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (PlayStation 4) Review

March 12, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection blasts onto the PS4. A carbon copy of the previously released Switch edition, there are a couple differences that are worth your attention if you have a choice. A compilation of games from SNK’s pre Neo-Geo history, the collection offers a lot of history for a value price.

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tags / retro, crystalis, athena, retro gaming, classic, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, Ikari Warriors, chopper, SNK

Dungeon Stars (Switch) Review

March 11, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Dungeon Stars takes some of the addictive premise found in a Free-to-Play game and injects it into a fair paid game, allowing you that short-burst addictive “one more time” gameplay without the nagging of advertisements. A fun rock-paper-scissors style game with some actual depth!

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tags / Dungeon Stars, Level UP, Nintendo Switch, Runner

12 is Better Than 6 (Switch) Review

March 07, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

A little bit Hotline Miami, a little bit Super Meat Boy, a little bit Sunset Riders, and a lot of artistic revenge, 12 is Better Than 6 tells the tale of a Mexican slave escaping to his freedom and taking as many of his captors down as he can along the way. He’s merciless and willing to do anything to survive, as it’s better to be judged by 12 than to be carried by 6.

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tags / 12 is better than 6, top down, shooter, twin stick shooter, indie, old west, Nintendo, Switch, Steam

Beat Cop (Switch) Review

March 04, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Beat Cop's premise is unique, with it's highly 80's run-down aesthetic. It evokes the feeling the developers are trying to recreate of the classic 80's procedural crime show. However, new feelings and attitudes have crept in. While some quality of life issues make it a better game than if it had been made in the 80's, there's a few of the more modern bits that maybe should have been left out.

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tags / indie, time management, Beat Cop, Steam, Xbox One, Switch, PlayStation 4

>observer_ (Switch) Review

February 27, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Bloober Team continues the work done in Layers of Fear by creating another compelling story with a sense of dread. Set in a cyberpunk dystopia, >observer_ holds a stronger bond on the player, and keeps this particular reviewer going despite an aversion to scary stories in the hopes of seeing what happens at the end.

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tags / cyberpunk, xbox one, bloober team, observer_, layers of fear, observer, nintendo switch, horror, playstation 4, review

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (Xbox One) Review

February 20, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles has been out for a while on PlayStation and Steam, and recently released on Switch. Xbox gamers will be able to play by the end of the month. Yonder is a peaceful game that offers many different ways to play with no risks whatsoever. A good deal of the game ends up being fetch quests, but it can also be a cathartic experience and a lot of fun just zoning out and gaming. Yonder is a great way to introduce young ones to the massive open world experience.

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tags / Open World, Xbox One, Yonder

Wargroove (Steam) Review

February 13, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Wargroove has been getting rave reviews ever since it’s release at the start of February. While it easily earns it’s accolades, there are a few issues that need to be ironed out in order for the game to achieve classic status. Hopefully Chucklefish will listen to it’s players and update the game, giving it the final coat of polish it needs to be a timeless masterpiece.

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tags / Strategy, Steam, Fire Emblem, Sony, Turn based, Nintendo, Xbox, Microsoft, Playstation, Tactics, Switch, Advance Wars, Wargroove

Tangledeep (Switch) Review

February 08, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Tangledeep is a deep tangle of options. Within the game you can customize the ruleset, control scheme, and fight style to make it play right at the difficulty level you want. It provides a fun combination of action and strategy.

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tags / Action, RPG, Tangledeep, Real Time, Turn Based

The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince (Switch) Review

February 08, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is a puzzle platform game that tells a wonderful fairy tale of a wolf with the power to morph into a human princess as she tries to right the wrong she did that caused the optimistic prince to go blind. Together, they head through the woods to find the witch who could heal the prince.

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tags / story, narrative, liar princess and the blind prince, puzzle

JackQuest: The Tale of the Sword (Switch) Review

February 03, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

JackQuest: The Tale of The Sword is a fun little indie game with a few flaws. It can be brutally hard to overcome the initial leveling system, and the story is barebones simiplistic, but it can be a fun and challenging time ideal for someone in the speedrunning community.

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tags / JackQuest, indie, Action, Switch, Tale of the Sword, Action RPG, RPG

The Raven Remastered (Switch) Review

January 31, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

The Raven: Remastered is a Switch port of a PS4 remaster of a PS3 episodic title itself originally released on Steam. The developers are rereleasing it to a new audience. Unfortunately, it is simply a port with no new bells or whistles. While it is a base port, the transformative nature of the Switch makes it the best way you can get into the game.

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tags / Switch, The Raven: Remastered, Nintendo, point'n'click, The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (Switch) Review

January 28, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is a 16 year old game being ported over to the Switch (and recently Steam, currently for half the price). While it wears it’s age on it’s sleeve thanks to quality of life improvements in the decade plus since, Sphinx still provides a quality game at a budget price.

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tags / Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, THQ, Nintendo, Switch Tax, Switch, Steam

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force (Switch) Review

January 17, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is a traditional RPG story that feels right in line with Hyperdimension Neptunia, mainly because it is from the same developers. While it is a quality game, it is a two year old port of a PS4 game itself a port of a two year prior PS3 game, so it shows it’s age. The portability of the Switch allows some of the deeper elements that hindered it (long story sections, very involved character stat modifications) more manageable and therefore worth the unfortunate “Switch Tax.”

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tags / RPG, Switch, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Nintendo, Switch Tax, Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force

"Forever Games"--A Gamer's Lounge Community Question

January 15, 2019 / Ryan Johnson

The Gamer’s Lounge asked it’s Facebook community what they find to be the games they constantly come back to. No matter what, these games hold a special place in that they can be fun, win or lose, no matter how much we’ve mastered them. Also included are some bonus answers from previous questions that didn’t make the cut to an article.

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categories / Community
tags / Forever Games, Community

BELOW (Xbox One) Review

December 28, 2018 / Ryan Johnson

Below is a new game that tasks a team of adventurers, one at a time, to explore the depths of a mysterious cave. Unfortunately, it tries a lot and achieves not much, thanks to the fact that the game plods along and doesn’t really care to explain itself.

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tags / Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, Below, PC

Solar Flux (Nintendo Switch) Review

December 28, 2018 / Ryan Johnson

Solar Flux is a nice little gravity-based puzzler, albeit a straight port of a title that’s been out for five years on other platforms. The Switch is the definitive version though, offering players multiple control schemes thanks to the system’s unique off-screen gameplay.

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tags / Puzzle, Gravity, Nintendo, Solar Flux, Switch

The Council: Episode 5-Checkmate Review

December 28, 2018 / Ryan Johnson

The Council wraps up with Episode 5: Checkmate. Sadly short and a little too quick to tie ends up, it’s rather rough on it’s own. When seen as a wrap up to a series though, it is satisfying and gives you the feeling that your choices over the last year really meant something.

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tags / The Council, Episodic, PC, Xbox One, Episode 5, PlayStation 4

What's Your Most Anticipated Title of 2019? A Gamer's Lounge Community Question

December 28, 2018 / Ryan Johnson

What are you looking forward to in 2019? The Gamer’s Lounge asked their community what they want to see most in the coming year.

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categories / Community
tags / Devil May Cry 5, Three Houses, Fire Emblem, cyberpunk 2077