Review: Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

Review: Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

If you’ve absorbed any content on this website before, you probably know that I’m a big fan of the Suikoden series of JRPGs. I bought in on day one when Rabbit and Bear studios launched a Kickstarter campaign for Eiyuden Chronicle: 100 Heroes, a spiritual successor to that phenomenal series.

Born from the success of that Kickstarter was Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, a prequel action RPG that sets up the world of 100 Heroes. What Rabbit and Bear craft here is a great action game with beautiful artwork that doesn’t feel beholden to being the appetizer for a bigger adventure, and I couldn’t help but explore every inch of the city of Nevaeh.

Rich's Top 5 Games of PAX East 2022

Rich's Top 5 Games of PAX East 2022

It feels like we’ve been in a pandemic forever, so when PAX East finally returned this year, I was eager to Vax up, mask up, and hit the show floor. After the time off, the show was understandably smaller than previous years, but with no gaming giants like Sony, Nintendo, and Blizzard present, this year's PAX was a place for the indie scene to shine.

So, in no particular order, here are my five favorite things I saw at PAX East 2022:

Tunic Manual - Translated

Tunic Manual - Translated

Tunic is a game following in the tradition of Fez, The Witness, and The Outer Wilds. Knowledge is your greatest asset in these games, and as such, the translated text here represents an end-game level of information not meant for someone just starting out.

You can complete Tunic without being able to read the text translated in this guide, and I would suggest as much. The pages of this manual are filled with information that can be intuited from the pictures and keywords and maps, and handwritten notes. The translation here should be an end cap to your first playthrough if you don’t have the time or desire to translate it for yourself.

Review: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Review: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The original Lego Star Wars was something special. It packaged the robust story that billions love in a cute and hilarious format and spawned what was basically a genre all its own for developer Traveller’s Tales. The format of Lego games hasn’t changed much over the years, but with Star Wars being the very first entry in the now long-running series, it was the most deserving of a fresh coat of paint.

The latest entry in Traveller’s Tales Lego games attempts to cram all of those Star Wars you love into a single game and mostly succeeds even if it has to resort to cutting a few corners.

Review: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Review: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Kirby thrives on reinventing himself; back when Masahiro Sakurai first introduced us to the pink ball of destruction, he aimed to make a platformer that anyone could enjoy where the player could make their own challenge. Kirby and the Forgotten Land may have the outward appearance of another game reinventing the Kirby formula like Planet Robobot. Instead, they take the classic Kirby formula and attempt to move it into 3D.