Review by Matt S. Zanki Zero: Last Beginning wants you to believe that it’s different to the Danganronpa series, despite being made by the same narrative and creative team. It positions itself as a dungeon crawler; something a lot more active and game-y than the aforementioned visual novel torture trilogy.…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Steampunk isn’t just an aesthetic. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. Without the “punk” running through its theme and design, all “Steampunk” is, is an attempt to cynically cash in on a popular alternative culture and ideology, and far, far too many “Steampunk” games feel incredibly…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The Etrian Odyssey series of dungeon crawlers, which has been kicking around on Nintendo handhelds since back with the original on the Nintendo DS, faces something of a problem for its future. These are rare games that absolutely have to be played across two screens and could…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The Keep is a real-time dungeon crawler with a very old-school sensibility to it. It revels in the simplistic, retro B-grade narrative and design that it brings to the table, and is just self-aware enough to have fun with it. It’s the kind of game that…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. There’s no development house out there that quite understands the fairy tale aesthetic like Nippon Ichi does. Its habit of playing up the darker side of the Grimm Brothers aesthetic, with a healthy dose of anime exaggeration, was what made earlier efforts like Witch and the…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Hyakki Castle is one of my favourite dungeon crawlers in recent years. It plays much like a modern western dungeon crawler (think Legend of Grimrock rather than Wizardry), but has an unmistakably Japanese aesthetic, theme, and tone. It’s an eclectic blend, to be sure, but it…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. Labyrinth of Refrain is a Nippon Ichi-developed dungeon crawler that melds that company’s love of fairy tales (think Witch and the Hundred Knight) with the first person dungeon crawler (think Wizardry). Think enough about that combination and you’ll quickly realise that this is one exciting prospect.…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. This is really great news. One of the better western-style dungeon crawlers (think Grimrock rather than Etrian Odyssey) is coming to console. Hyakki Castle which, despite being a western-style dungeon crawler mechanically, is very much a Japanese game, launches on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on…
Read MoreReview by Harvard L. Every time I review a Compile Heart game I can’t help but analyse how it fits into the company’s now well-established formula. Its penchant for stat heavy JRPGs with fiendishly complex combat systems and trope laden anime stories makes it a love-or-hate company, but it’s hard…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The Lost Child is an incredibly poor take on Lovecraft. H.P Lovecraft is associated with a very specific tone of horror. It’s one of elditch nightmares from the cosmos, and things better left unseen. Indeed, Lovecraft’s very finest stories never even show you the creatures of…
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