#reviews
#reviews
by Omar (@siegarettes)
With this year’s Fatal Frame being kind of a wash, it felt fortunate that I stumbled across DreadOut, a low key horror game by the small Indonesian developers Digital Happiness, with heavy influences to the series. The transplant of Fatal Frame’s signature mechanic from a traditional Japanese setting into an Indonesian one, had my attention. Could the efforts of a smaller team translate the atmosphere of Fatal Frame to Indonesia? I’ll tell you once my hands stop shaking long enough to write this.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
When I first saw the Wii U’s GamePad I knew Fatal Frame would be the perfect fit for the console. I mean, who doesn’t want to swing around the GamePad like a fool trying to chase down ghosts?
By: RJ (@rga_02)
Second Opinion By: Omar (siegarettes)
Have you ever imagined what would if feel like to pin Akira
from Virtua Fighter against Kirino? Or
Selvaria from Valkryia Chronicles
against Mikoto? I didn’t. If you did however, your dreams can come true in Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax. A 2D fighting
game featuring everyone’s favorite characters from various light novels under
the Dengeki Bunko label with a few SEGA characters sprinkled in. Sounds like an
otaku’s dream game. What about the rest of us though? Who doesn’t care about
the Sword Art Onlines or Accel Worlds. Would this game appeal to
the people who just want to play a fun fighting game?
By: Ryan (@Henchman34)
At first glance, Steam Marines might be mistaken as the table top classic Space Hulk, fused with the pixilated charm of games like Starbound and Terraria. Yet Steam Marines walks a fine line between retro and murderously infuriating.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Second opinion by Marie (@rlpte)
Death Ray Manta (hereto referred to as DRM) is a game that undoubtedly owes its existence to at least a handful of 80’s arcade shooters. Its most obvious debts is to Eugene Darvis’ seminal twin stick shooter, Robotron 2084. Its in the designs on the enemies, the obstacles, and their unrelenting onslaught. Enemy placements are consistent from level to level, however, so forward progress becomes a game of slow familiarity and a push for space. It initially threw me off, but I began to appreciate it as I started to acclimatize to the environment it was throwing me into.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Of all the things I expected from Persona 4 Dancing a deep, detailed story to set it up was not one of them. What initially started as a collaboration with the developer of the Hatsune Miku games eventually moved onto a new team. Just as well, as tonally Dancing is less Love Live! style candy colored idol celebrations and more Perfect Blue. Well, maybe with a little less ultra-violent murder.
by Dante (@videodante)
Single Press is a series of short writings on small games.
I could probably count the games where you play as a mother on one hand. There aren’t many, and for this alone, Little Party should be valued. But more than that, it takes a great deal of care in crafting a small, low-poly world that feels comfortable and warm. The house that the game centers on is quickly adjusted to and feels lived-in. Cramped but cozy.
Games often fetishize routine, but do it shallowly. Routine is used to justify movement, to make movement important, to progress the storyline or get you to the next level faster. There is a sanctity in small movements, in little things. This is where Little Party lives. In the routines, the small things crafted lovingly, the stories that we tell between giggles at sleepovers.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
In 2013 Compile Heart decided to branch out and create the Galapagos RPG label. Under that label they would produce a variety of games targeted towards the Japanese audience with a more serious tone than their usual Neptunia RPGs. Fairy Fencer F was the first game to be produced under that moniker. With industry veterans such as Nobuo Uematsu and Yoshitaka Amano (both known for their wonderful works on the Final Fantasy series) working on this project and with a more toned down plot than the usual Compile Heart game, this game seems like it was geared towards the gamers who have been avoiding CH due to their Neptunia notoriety. Did Compile Heart achieve that goal? Let’s find out.