Review by Harvard L. The Cotton games were novelties even on their original release in the 90’s, and now with their re-release on the Nintendo Switch, a new generation of players can experience these rarities for themselves. The series, created by little-known Japanese team named Success, rarely left its home…
Read MoreThe concept of a puzzle game built around moving into a new house and unpacking boxes is a neat one. The process of finding just the right spot for every little object, piece of clothing, book, and so on is oddly soothing—especially in the context of a game, where you…
Read More“Frivolity” and “humour” are not usually things that you associate with Otomate’s otome visual novels. Whether it’s classics like Hakuouki and Amnesia, or more modern games like Piofiore: Fated Memories and Olympia Soiree, with Otomate, you expect some pretty powerful romances with some very dark edges (especially if you wind…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Mario Party Superstars is exactly what I want my Mario Party experience to be. It offers simple, well-designed game boards, dozens of fun mini-games, and all that Nintendo sheen that we love. Could this have been something more than it is? Yes. It really should have…
Read MoreProject Zero is the most Japanese of horror properties. Capcom’s Resident Evil series is developed by Japanese artists and is great fun but closely intertwined with western B-grade horror traditions. Konami’s Silent Hill is (for the most part) intelligent and artful, but it was heavily inspired by western psychological horror…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Dungeon Encounters is quirky and different enough that it’s easy to overlook or put to the side. Square Enix almost forgot it was even making it, announcing it at TGS about a month from release. I joke (I’m sure the timing of the announcement was deliberate),…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. A good card game, whether that be a trading card game like Magic the Gathering, a deck-builder like Dominion, or a classic game like Poker or Bridge, needs to get just one thing right to be worthwhile: it needs to take the randomness inherent with card…
Read MoreReview by Harvard L. I wanted to like Starlight Alliance, I really did. It’s a hybrid RPG and Third-Person Platform Shooter, kind of like if Ratchet and Clank had an EXP system, or if NieR was all gameplay and no existential navel-gazing. It’s the combination of two things I like,…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Experience Inc. is a developer with mastery over two genres in particular: the dungeon crawler (Stranger of Sword City), and horror (Death Mark). Combine the two and you get Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi. This is a grim and sublime dungeon crawler, which really sells the idea…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Lyrica is one of the better rhythm games available on the Nintendo Switch. It might not be as well-known as the Taiko the Drum titles, or Hatsune Miku’s Switch outing (of course), but Lyrica had something different and compelling going for it: it offered culture. The sequel…
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