When you want to be able to read our thorough breakdown on a game because you just can’t stand our voices, this is the place to go! Rich (and sometimes the other guys) get into the meat of a game and give you a recommendation on whether or not it’s worth purchasing.
Stray could’ve coasted and likely succeeded on gimmick alone. A game where you play as a stray cat was enough to get me and many others in the door on day one, but Stray is firing on all cylinders from the moment it starts. It would’ve been easy to phone it in on this one, and while I usually start a review by posing whether or not a game delivers on its premise, I’ll let you know ahead of time that Stray exceeds expectations at every turn.
A product of its time, Monster Rancher was a transient phenomenon in both the US and Japan during the 90s. From the first release in 1997, the series has amassed 14 video games across multiple gaming platforms and an anime that ran for two seasons.
When Koei Tecmo announced a remaster collection of Monster Rancher 1 and 2 earlier this year, my childhood self was immediately giddy while also perplexed how it would work in 2021. While the remaster offers little in terms of a visual upgrade, some quality of life changes makes this release fit in with an ever-growing market for life simulation games if you are in the market for a new one.
Sports RPGs seem to be back in vogue the past few years suddenly. The Early Mario Golf games were the first to bring my attention to the genre, but more recent games like Golf Story and Mario Golf Super Rush, even if the latter is way less of an RPG than its predecessors, have proven the genre can still hit. Dodgeball Academia takes the sports RPG mentality, packs it with anime trappings, and tops it off with Pokemon references for a pretty impressive final product.
Do you know what would be a fun topic right now? The Bubonic Plague. Yes, I’m a bit late to the party on A Plague Tale. It was always a game I had planned to make time for but what with a plague currently sweeping the globe it seemed like poor timing. Despite all of that I’m glad I finally did. This heart-wrenching tale of Amicia and Hugo, two siblings forced on the run by the Inquisition amidst a plague riddled France might have made my top ten in 2019 had I made the time.
