Dragon Quest Builders 2

Dragon Quest Builders proved to be quite popular with fans, but it felt a bit underfeatured, especially to those who had played Minecraft (and believe me, by this point basically everyone alive has).  So, in collaboration with Omega Force (yes, they do make other things besides Warriors games), a sequel was made, adding in features like flowing water, being able to build at greater heights, and even online co-op for up to four players, as well as slightly more sophisticated monster combat to add some spice.  It also comes with some slightly less savory design elements, though - namely, paid DLC.  Rather overpriced at that, as it just adds more things to build and the ability to fish (and build aquariums) at a pretty hefty price tag.  In fact, the PS4 version has even more as a "free" download, but only if you're subscribed to Playstation Plus.  There's still enough game and lore nods here to satisfy Dragon Quest fans, but if you're looking for a more complete sandbox building experience, just stick to Minecraft, which has plenty of amazing (and free) mods to change the game to whatever preferences you have.

Developer: Square Enix, Omega Force
Publisher: Square Enix, Nintendo
Released: 2019, 2021
Platform: Playstation 4, Switch, PC, XBox One

I've been informed that the PC and XBox One versions include all of the DLC content at  no extra cost, so you may want to grab one of those if the extras appeal to you.

YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG

 YIIK is a game that clearly wanted to be seen as something profound, but mostly just feels like a series of comically misguided mistakes.  Combat utilizes timed button presses and minigames akin to games like Paper Mario and Undertale, but ends up being so drawn-out and arduous (normal enemy fights can easily exceed twenty minutes in length, to say nothing of bosses) that you'll get tired of it very quickly.  Its protagonist, allegedly a "flawed person you'll come to like on his journey" does no such thing, mostly coming off as a manipulative sociopath who never even thinks twice about all the damage he does, let alone attempts to make amends or become a better person in the end.  The story is Persona 4 crossed with the worst kind of I-read-the-CliffsNotes-version-of-Nietzsche-and-now-I'm-above-it-all shlock, with droning walls of badly acted, redundantly worded purple prose that try so desperately to sound smart and poignant and are mostly just grating and self-indulgent.   But what really sours the milk for me is the creator's attitude.  His reaction to criticism of the game was to simply attack its detractors, claiming that "video games are for babies" and that they just aren't smart/mature enough to understand his big important masterwork and whatever 'profound message' he imagines it contains.  No guy, we get it; unlike you, though, we recognize it as yet another piece that calls itself 'revolutionary' and 'poignant' when it's shamelessly derivative, self-aggrandizing and lacks any genuine appreciation of the other works it's clearly cribbing from.  You've fallen into the same trap as every other dollar store visionary, completely disregarding the ingenuity and passion behind games you allegedly admire and instead saying "Wow, this sure is popular; if I make a knockoff of it to serve as a vehicle for my own hobby horses and disingenuous moralizing, then I'LL be regarded as a genius too!".  Too bad you also forgot that for every knockoff game that breaks even, there's at least a dozen that are quickly discarded and forgotten.  Persona itself even has some perfect examples; you sure as hell don't hear anyone talking about Mind Zero or Tokyo Xanadu or Conception these days, do you?  (And to further cement my point: all of those games are less than ten years old.)

Oh, and as the TV Tropes page for YIIK points out, this isn't the only time the author has embarrassed himself like this.  He even had the gall to make a protagonist of his previous title (Two Brothers) soapbox for him in this one, dismissing poor reviews leveled toward that game and not even bothering to acknowledge the fact that the brunt of player complaints stemmed from it clearly being unfinished and containing numerous game-killing bugs that he simply never bothered to fix.  It's one thing to make lousy products, but it's another altogether to write off even the most earnest of criticism and be a giant baby about the fact it exists.  I hope that in time the author will learn a lesson in humility and how to take critique in stride, and that one day he'll be able to parlay that into creating something good from a place of genuine passion, but it's abundantly clear that won't be happening anytime soon.  In the meantime, don't bother spending money to have your intelligence insulted by someone aiming way above their station; that should be free.

Developer: Ackk Studios
Publisher: Ysbryd Games 
Released: 2019
Platforms: PC, MacOS, Playstation 4, Switch

River City Girls

Technos properties have bounced between more companies than any other I can think of, with results generally ranging from average to downright terrible. WayForward's Double Dragon Neon, while somewhat clunky to play, was one of the better attempts, capturing the platforming and OTT style of Double Dragon while mixing in a self-aware sense of humor.  River City Girls is the followup to that, carrying over WF's irreverent sense of humor (with some very funny and oft-improvised dialog by Kira Buckland and Kayli Mills) while polishing up the gameplay to match RCR's fast-paced, responsive and upgrade-oriented style.  The end result, while a bit overlong and repetitious, nonetheless ends up being very entertaining, especially if you can find a friend to play through with in co-op. 

Developer: WayForward
Publisher: Arc System Works
Released: 2019
Platforms: Switch, Playstation 4, XBox One, PC, Amazon Luna

Judgment

A spinoff of the prolific Yakuza franchise, Judgment marks a darker turn for a series already steeped in organized crime and all the brutality that entails.  Playing as disgraced attorney-turned-private-detective Takayuki Yagami, you find yourself in the midst of a complex plot involving several yakuza groups and a serial killer apparently targeting them.  Appropriately, Judgment puts more focus on this than simple combat, having you examine crime scenes, videos and photos for clues, question witnesses and tail discreetly tail suspects, as well as utilize disguises and lock-picking to access certain areas.  While not the best implementation of these ideas (they only ever come up in story segments and mostly just boil down to menial 'go here, click on this' task lists), it adds some new elements to the gameplay without intruding too heavily on the Yakuza format.  For that, you still get to venture around the city, battle thugs who frequently jump you, take part in various minigames and side stories, and complete a staggeringly huge number of optional goals to fill out achievement lists.  Yagami is also a more tech-savvy protagonist than previous Yakuza protagonists, so he gets a few new goodies to play with - lockpicks, drones and snapping photos play more heavily into his side missions and gameplay in general.  Basically, it's Yakuza with a dash of Phoenix Wright or LA Noire; if that sounds good to you, you'll probably enjoy Judgment.

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: Sega
Released: 2019
Platforms: Playstation 4 (Original), Stadia, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S (Remastered)

Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is a game about shuffling through forest after forest after forest of inane dialog trees which, much like your senile grandpa or your former friend who accepted Ganja as his lord, savior and sole personality trait from here unto eternity, love to ramble on endlessly about every subject imaginable and argue with their imaginary straw men and delve into endless nonsequiturs despite never having anything educated, insightful, logical, funny or even remotely interesting to say at any point.  All the while you get to hope that every option you pick will avoid some contrived idiotic behavior or arbitrarily deplete your health or throw yet more obnoxious tell-don't-show narration in your face and possibly earn you some experience points toward one of the seventeen levels you need to finally pass one of the insanely high skill checks necessary to finally get on with the goddamn main plot.  Or you can just make a mockery of what little gameplay Disco Elysium has, savescum your way past every single check and complete the whole thing in an afternoon.  Either way though, a masturbatory arthouse version of Planescape: Torment packed with insufferable cardboard-cutout characters, unsubtle fashy propaganda ("look how many more successes you get from getting drunk and picking the racist/sexist/homophobic/sociopathic options hur hur hur") and dream-logic 'puzzles' reminiscent of the very worst intrusive thoughts of Sierra On-Line's's alumni is not something I particularly want to spend any of my finite time on Earth beating my head against, especially when it has no storytelling merit or message to convey beyond "pay attention to me, I have a degree in psychology from Diploma Mill College and 80 pounds of psilocybin under my mattress!".  Yeah, you and every other smug jerkoff with a pair of calipers and a shitty podcast, pal; but at least most self-proclaimed genii on the internet know better than to charge 40 bucks for their insipid attempts to sound smart so they can push their disgusting beliefs at anyone who will listen to them for more than five seconds.

The first, and hopefully last, game made by the Republican Vampire

Developer: ZA/UM
Publisher: ZA/UM
Released: 2019
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, XBox One, XBox Series, Switch, PC, Mac OS, Stadia

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition

After more than thirty years of uneven success in the west but massive popularity in Japan, Dragon Quest's eleventh numbered entry was released to considerable worldwide acclaim.  But does the series' long-standing traditional design still pay off after three decades, or does it just begin to fall by the wayside after a slew of changes and innovations in its competition? 

It's been 35 years since the Dragon Quest franchise's debut, and surprisingly little has changed for its eleventh numbered entry. Even with a leap to gorgeous HD, some excellent orchestral music and high quality voiceover, it's instantly recognizable as Dragon Quest. Akira Toriyama's character designs, writing and design by Yuji Horii, the punny enemy and spell names, many of the music cues and sound effects, and the combat still being relatively simple turn-based fare with a party of up to four characters haven't changed a bit. Combat is visually three-dimensional and you and enemies move freely around the field, though this is purely a visual effect and has no bearing on the gameplay whatsoever. But if even the modern aesthetic is too much, you have the option to change the game to a 2D art style reminiscent of the Super Famicom Dragon Quests; even mid-run if you wish.

However, some nice quality of life changes are made for Dragon Quest XI S.  You can speed up battle animations and assign each character AI patterns to quickly deal with random encounters, then toggle them off at any time when you need to deal with tougher fights or bosses.  Healing after a fight is condensed into one simple menu command, which saves quite a bit of hassle, particularly later in the game.  Monsters are visible on the map, doing away with the irritation of frequent random fights and letting you engage on your terms.  You can give yourself a slight edge before a fight as well - if you approach an enemy in the field and then strike them with your weapon, you'll sneak in a free hit before the fight even properly begins.  Some added challenges are available right from the get-go too, labeled in the startup menu as "Draconian Quests"; things like making all the enemies stronger, causing an instant defeat if the main character is defeated, not being able to equip armor or use shops, or the rather annoying effect of "Shypox" which causes characters to randomly lose turns.  A nice way to give genre veterans more of a challenge, and the game even notes on the menu when you've completed a playthrough with one or more of these activated for the duration so you have the bragging rights.  (You can also deactivate them at any church if you find them to not be to your liking.)

It's not all standard '80s RPG fare, though.  After gaining levels you will earn Skill Points; these allow you to customize your party by unlocking bonuses, depicted in the form of grid with panels that flip over when you spend points (not dissimilar to Final Fantasy XII's License boards).  Generally speaking, these let you give your characters greater attributes, bonuses when using specific weapon types (extra damage, chance to parry or get criticals, et cetera) or learn new attack skills.  Some panels with particularly strong bonuses are also locked at first, and can only be opened (and points spent on them) when you unlock at least four panels surrounding them.  One can also freely respec their characters if a current build isn't working (or they just want to use a particular skill temporarily) by visiting any goddess statue or church, though this does carry a small fee.

Another prominent mechanic is "Pep".  During battle, and after taking several hits in a row, using a particular skill, or just randomly as a fight starts, your character may become Pepped Up, which gives them a boost to their stats for a few turns;  the exact stats boosted vary from character to character, but generally emphasize their abilities.  Pep wears off after a few turns, but it does carry over between battles as well, so any turns you have left on it after winning a fight don't go to waste.  Some particularly skills are also only available during Pep status, and generally (but not always) require two or more participants to be in Pep at the same time to use them.  Generally, these are quite powerful attacks that use every character's turn (somewhat similar to the Dual/Triple techs in Chrono Trigger), but the sheer power they offer makes them worth using when the opportunity arises.

Crafting returns again for this entry, this time in the form of the Fun-Size Forge, a minigame that allows you to turn various items into new weapons, armor and accessories. It's largely optional (unless you're playing with shops disabled), but generally worth doing, as items you can forge at a given stage will often be better than what you can buy at shops. If you do well at the forging minigame, they'll get some nice bonuses on top too, even boosting innate abilities like status resistances or stat bonuses.  It's worth it to explore around a bit whenever you reach a new area - gather up items you find in the field and scavenge for more jars/pots/chests whenever you hit a new town or dungeon.  Sidequests frequently award uncommon or rare crafting components too, so keep an eye out for those.

While the franchise is still quintessentially old-school in design even three-and-a-half decades out, Dragon Quest XI manages to stand out as distinct and memorable regardless.  Its traditional, yet highly polished gameplay remains its strongest asset, ensuring it's a game easy enough for newcomers to get into while long-time genre fans can tweak settings to give themselves more of a challenge or find obscure tricks to give themselves an edge.  The world of Erdea is brought to life in 3D in brilliant form, its environments managing to look like a gorgeous modern game, yet losing none of the colorful cartoon style and personality of Akira Toriyama's distinct art.  All the familiar sound effects and music cues that have been here since day one return, but the new stuff is great too - the voice acting is perfectly on-point, while the music is beautifully composed and adds tremendously to the atmosphere of any given area.  Dragon Quest takes relatively few risks with its fundamental gameplay, but when it takes care to hone the format it's followed for over thirty years to virtual perfection, it's hard to complain.  Whether you love DQ's adherence to tradition or hate it, it's one franchise that's here to stay.

Developer: Square Enix, Orca, Toylogic, Artepiazza

Publisher: Square Enix

Platform: Nintendo 3DS, Playstation 4, PC, Switch, Xbox One, Stadia

Released: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021

Recommended version: Any of the later versions (released as "Definitive Edition") are the ones to go with, as they add new content and the redone orchestral soundtrack which sounds much better than the synthesized one.  The Playstation 4 version has this available as a downloadable upgrade to the original version (as well as a physical release), while the PC, Switch, Xbox One and Stadia versions all have it packaged in by default.

Slay the Spire

 A deck-building roguelike game that, while not the first of its kind, inspired a slew of similar games over the following years.  But is Slay the Spire still one worth playing, or is it outshined by others that followed in its mold?

Slay the Spire is an indie game that spent a good while in development, first appearing as an Early Access title on Steam in 2017 but eventually being released across a number of platforms from 2019 to the present.  Its premise was a simple one - pick a character, build a deck and tweak your stats from a random assortment of cards and relics you find along the way, defeat enemies and bosses, and eventually, slay the spire after several successful playthroughs.

Of course, getting even one successful victory is an ordeal in itself.  Each character starts with a very basic deck; usually just one or two cards themed to their specific archetype, with the rest being generic "Strike" and "Block" cards.  As you work your way through groups of enemies, random events and shops, you'll be given numerous opportunities to find new cards, upgrade, discard or change your existing ones, and over time, gradually shape your deck to deal with progressively more dangerous threats.   Each of the four characters goes about this slightly differently, with the Ironclad mostly focusing on his durability and strong attack cards to get by, the Silent using a variety of status effects and barrages of shivs, the Defect milling magical orbs and the Watcher relying largely on deck-manipulation.

Battle is of course a big part of this, with the player having to manage a resource called Energy to play most cards.  Each turn begins with five cards drawn and three energy to spend, and as long as they have cards to play and energy to spend, they can do as many as possible within a single turn.  One can also see in advance what each of their enemies will do (attacking, casting status effects, blocking, et cetera), which allow them to adjust their strategies accordingly.  For example, if most enemies are defending or casting a status, that's an opportune time to attack, while if they're defending, they may wish to play cards that build up Block instead (which lasts until their next turn and cancels out damage taken).  All of the cards in one's hand are also discarded at the end of each turn, so making the most of each hand you're dealt is essential.

Of course, as with any good collectible card game, bending the rules in place with your deck is a major element of the gameplay.  Some cards get added effects that let you get more mileage from them, like Retain (cards with this effect are not discarded at the end of a turn); Exhaust (that card is removed from your deck for the rest of the battle after use), Innate (that card will always be one of the first you draw), and Ethereal (that card is removed from your deck at the end of your turn, whether you use it or not).  Others allow you to draw more cards, reduce the cost of other cards, boost damage of other cards, add more energy, recover some hit points, and Block and deal damage at the same time, or add a variety of buffs to yourself and debuffs to enemies.  Fragile will cause anyone affected by it to take extra damage, for example, Weak will reduce the damage they dole out, and Poison will inflict defense-ignoring damage at the end of the turn, counting down by 1 for each turn it's in effect.  Positive effects include Energized (beginning a turn with more Energy), Metallicize (which adds some Block at the end of your turn), Strength (adding to damage inflicted) and Artifact (which blocks one negative effect).

Over the course of the game, one will also undergo a number of events that can change up their stats.  These primarily come in the form of Relics, which grant a number of effects that are mostly beneficial, but can also prove a detriment to some builds.  While a few of these are relatively mundane (just boosting max HP or having your first attack deal extra damage), others will drastically change up the way you play.  One example is the Unceasing Top, which will cause you to draw an extra card each time your hand is depleted; a very useful thing to have for builds that rely heavily on 0-cost cards like Shivs or Claws.  Some that can be a double-edged sword include Ectoplasm, which boosts your maximum energy but makes it so that you cannot earn any gold for the rest of the run.  The Calling Bell is another example, giving you three other random relics but also sticking an unplayable Curse card in your deck that cannot be removed; not too big a deal for most builds, but if you're planning on using the effect of the Unceasing Top to keep drawing cards... it can definitely be a detriment.

Other events may give you "colorless cards", which are cards usable by any character and generally have effects more powerful than mundane cards, or potions.  Potions can be used at any time during your turn and also have a wide variety of effects, from adding a buff to dealing damage to letting you draw cards.  However, you can only carry three of them at a time (five with a certain Relic), so using them sparingly and knowing when to trade a lesser potion for a better one are both important.

Like any good roguelike, Slay the Spire pulls no punches with its difficulty; getting through the game is punishingly tough and monsters will beat you down time after time, yet it's rewarding enough to keep you coming back for more.  Playing rounds of the game, whether you successfully get to the end or not, will gradually unlock new cards and relics for your characters to use, and learning to adapt to whatever the game throws at you is a gradual but enjoyable process.  But even after you've unlocked all the characters and cards and successfully slain the spire, each day brings new Daily Challenges, putting the player into a preset scenario and random seed and challenging them to get the highest score on a worldwide leaderboard.

Slay the Spire may not have been the first deck-building roguelike ever, but it's easy to see why it became such an influential one.  The roguelike hook of being a relatively short game (about 40 minutes per run), but having high challenge is there in spades, and tweaking and upgrading your character and deck quickly proves to be an addicting experience.  One Step from Eden and Hades expertly mixed action into the format, but it's nice to have a roguelike that's just built on strategy, execution and improvisation once in a while, too, which Slay the Spire does expertly.

Developer: MegaCrit
Publisher: Humble Bundle
Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, Playstation 4, Switch, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Released: 2019, 2020, 2021
Recommended Version:  Having played the Android and Xbox One versions, I see little functional difference between them save for the slightly clumsier controls on the Android port that require dragging cards onto a target to activate them.  The Steam version seems to be the one to play, though, as it supports player modding for extra replayability (including the excellent fan mod "Downfall", which lets you turn the tables and play as the boss monsters defending the spire from would-be slayers!).

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

The ninth numbered Ys game debuted in early 2021 seemingly draws cues from other popular action games and RPGs, changing its mood considerably while retaining the Ys franchise's trademark fast-paced combat.  But does it prove to be a worthy successor to the Ys legacy, or is it just a misstep?

I've long pointed to Ys as one of the few long-running RPG franchises that's remained consistently good since its beginnings.  While some games in the series are definitely superior to others, I don't think I've played an Ys game I'd describe as "bad" - even the ones most people malign (Wanderers coming to mind) still managed to be entertaining in my book - mostly by being short enough to not wear out their welcome and still having some solid music.

Ys IX is definitely the first in a long while that caught me off-guard, though.  You're dropped into the middle of the story right away, with Adol attempting to escape from prison for unknown reasons and ending up "cursed" by a mysterious character's magic bullet, transforming into what I can only describe as a discount version of Nero from Devil May Cry:

It's not just a cosmetic similarity, either - Adol actually copies Nero's ability to grab marked points in the environment to zip himself to them, and can even pull himself closer to enemies to close the distance for a melee attack more quickly.  Definitely an odd turn for Ys, which had Adol retain a fairly consistent blend of melee attacks and light magical skills throughout the series to this point.

The story is an odd turn too, and in fact reminded me quite a bit of Persona 3.  Adol meets up with other similarly cursed characters right away - the titular Monstrums - and together they fight back a force of monsters in a parallel reality that only they can interact with.  This actually plays relatively similarly to the base defense missions from Ys VIII, with Adol and his allies (all CPU-controlled) battling waves of monsters while trying to protect a crystal at the center; should it fall, they will immediately fail.  However, you will also get periodic buffs throughout these fights, giving you a slight edge against the progressively larger waves of enemies you face.

Also similar to Persona games is the fact that the game's geographical area is kept to a relatively small locale - the town of Balduq - with dungeons being relatively few in number this time around (and fairly short to boot).  However, you there are quite a few things to interact with in each area - shops and NPCs being just two.  You'll also find a number of hidden treasures, graffiti messages that often contain story cues or clues, and a number of landmarks to find as part of a subquest.  As more characters join your team, you'll unlock more ways to interact with the environment, which in turn will allow you to reach new areas and hidden items within them.  For example, White Cat lets you run up walls (slightly akin to Kingdom Hearts 3, though nowhere near as heavily-utilized), while Hawk will allow you to glide through the air, reaching distant places you couldn't normally get to.

The exploration and story are a definite departure from the Ys norm, but combat remains relatively unchanged from the party-based Ys games.  Adol and his allies all wield weapons with one of three properties - Slash, Pierce and Strike - each of which is effective and ineffective against different types of foes, necessitating that you swap between them as the situation warrants with the Circle button (though to my slight disappointment, the character you switch to swaps places with your old one, so you can no longer do my favorite trick of quickly switching characters to evade damage).  Each character will also gradually learn skills - either through repeated use of them in battle or by finding skill books - that can be mapped to the four face buttons and activated by holding R1 and pressing them.  Each enemy has a stun bar that fills as they take hits, and once it's full, you'll be given a few seconds to hit them unchallenged, making it a vital strategy for bosses.  Last-second blocks or dodges will also activate a "Flash Guard" or "Flash Move", slowing time for a brief period and letting the player get in a few free hits. Filling the meter at the bottom will also allow the current character to activate an Extra move - basically a limit break that deals hefty damage and makes them invulnerable as the animation plays.  It's as fast-paced and fun as ever, though one slight annoyance I had was the fact that there's no sound played when your character takes damage and often they won't even visibly be knocked back or flinch, so you can have your health deplete rapidly and not notice until it's too late.  Watching enemy attack animations and knowing exactly when to react to avoid taking damage is more important than ever in Ys IX.  Some elements can be frustrating too - chase sequence minigames and the tedious prison segments in particular (with most traps killing you in one hit on higher difficulties), but the game does at least throw you a bone here and give you an option to skip them if you die/fail them too many times, so that's nice at least.

Of course, there's also plenty here for the die-hard RPG fan.  The heavy focus on crafting from the other party-based Ys games returns (though traditional shops are in place too), and finding recipes for potions and medicine will help to give you an edge during paritcularly difficult battles.  There are numerous sidequests and optional areas to explore, a pretty large compendium to fill out, multiple difficulty levels to add replay value, as well as bonuses like a boss rush and a time attack mode. And of course, there are plenty of optional objectives to complete - from simple side-stories to collection quests to building up your home base by recruiting new characters throughout the journey.

While I was a bit put off by its strange premise and departure in style, Monstrum Nox proved to be a decent, if not particularly memorable, Ys game.  There's a lot here for both action-oriented and die-hard completion RPG fans, and being able to explore the world in some ways not seen before in the series gives it a new twist for even long-time fans.  It takes a bit to get going, but once it does, its a pretty fun time.

It does have some self-aware moments too; this line genuinely got a chuckle out of me

Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: Nihon Falcom, NIS America
Platform: Playstation 4, Windows, Switch, Stadia
Released: 2021
Recommended Version:  All versions are more or less the same as far as I can tell.

Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring the Legend of Zelda

A spinoff title built on the same engine as Brace Yourself's Crypt of the NecroDancer, Cadence of Hyrule is a rare example of the Zelda license being lent out to a third party. But does it provide the same timeless brand of fun that the series is known for, or is this another flop on par with the infamous CDi Zeldas?

Crypt of the NecroDancer was an oddball fusion of genres, combining roguelike elements with a rhythm game - all combat in the game is timed to music, either the game's default soundtrack or MP3 files provided by the player.  It proved to be quite a popular game as a result, being released across just about every major platform available since 2015.  I don't think too many people - the game's developers included - expected it to get an official tie-in to Zelda, but it eventually happened too, becoming a Switch-exclusive release in 2019 (with a physical release following in 2020 that included all of the DLC released for the digital version).

Cadence of Hyrule bills itself as a roguelike, and it does retain a few elements of that genre while working in many of Zelda's familiar design cues.  The world is heavily reminiscent of Zelda's with its numerous hidden secrets and puzzle rooms, though its overworld and dungeons are procedurally-generated to a point.  The overall aesthetic of NecroDancer is reworked to resemble Link to the Past, utilizing many iconic songs from that games and other Zeldas near that era, and most of the playable cast is comprised of Zelda characters; indeed you can play as Link or Zelda at the start, with more characters becoming gradually unlocked as you play (including Cadence from the original Crypt of the NecroDancer, Impa and the Skull Kid, among others), each having their own slightly different movesets.  One also has the option to enable Mystery Mode (making all items unidentifiable until used) and Permadeath to incorporate more of a roguelike feel, though neither one is required; dying with the latter disabled will simply restart you from any Shiekah Stone you activated, taking your rupees and some of your items away.

NecroDancer's central gimmick remains in place too.  Rather than the traditional turn-based design of most roguelikes, "turns" are now is synced to the beat of the music (with some visual cues in the form of a metronome at the bottom and a movement grid that alternates colors in time with the beat).  Enemies and traps all move in distinct and predictable patterns to the beat, allowing the player to learn their patterns, evade damage and strike when they are vulnerable - an answer to the prevalent element of many roguelikes where the player could be doing well, but still die to an overwhelmingly powerful enemy or a cheap trap they simply couldn't avoid.  The player is expected to move to the beat too; missing beats can cause them to flub an action, while going for long periods without missing a beat and avoiding all damage will give them greater rewards than normal.  A nice touch in this regard is the ability to calibrate the game to account for TV delay (which can vary heavily from model to model), so that the game can still be played regardless of what hardware you have. One can also change to "Fixed Beat Mode", which operates more like a traditional turn-based roguelike - the action pauses completely until you take a turn, so enemies and traps will only move when you do. (This is perfect for those with some accessibility issues as well.) 

In addition to the usual Zelda mainstay of utilizing various items to solve puzzles and uncover hidden items, there are a number of random treasures in the form of expendable items and weapons.  Weapons are of course your main asset in combat, though they come in a variety of forms.  You begin with a simple dagger that does a single point of damage and has one space of range, but others will be found, upgraded or unlocked over the course of the game; two prominent examples are the Spear (which has a two-space range) and the Broadsword (which hits three spaces in the direction the player is facing, potentially damaging multiple targets or hitting around corners while staying safe from harm).  Utility items like the shovel (digging through dirt) and torches (burning stumps and lightning up dark areas) surface too, as do limited-use sub-weapons like bombs and boomerangs and scrolls like the Scroll of Fire or the Scroll of Need (which purportedly gives you whatever you may need at that moment), as well as Zelda mainstays like the Hover Boots, Hookshot, Boomerang and empty bottles to store potions, bees and fairies.  Dying will remove most of your expendable items and equipment, but you will be taken to a shop where you can spend diamonds (earned by clearing screens) to purchase some back and make things easier for yourself on the next attempt.

Cadence of Hyrule is also one of the handful of Zelda games to support co-op play, and it's fairly unintrusive as the series standard goes - one can begin a game with two players, or drop in or out at any Shiekah Stone in the world.  The core game remains the same either way, just with two players operating in tandem to clear enemies and puzzles - no extraneous item collecting or dopey "press two switches at once" puzzles.  That alone puts it a leg up above games like Four Swords in my book.

I didn't know what to make of Cadence of Hyrule at first, but I'm glad to say that it was a pleasant surprise.  The classic Zelda format is a surprisingly good fit for a roguelike engine, and whether you want to play it as a traditional one or not - utilizing permadeath, secret item effects and a traditional turn-based structure are all optional - it's quite a fun game.  Being able to predict and avoid enemy attacks and traps cuts down on the "cheap deaths' of many roguelikes, and as a long-time franchise fan, it's quite fun to hear a lot of the remixes of classic Zelda tunes.  An experiment that paid off for both companies involved.

• Developer: Brace Yourself Games
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Platform: Switch
• Released: 2019
• Recommended Version: I recommend picking up the physical release of the game if you can, as it contains all of the DLC released for the digital version.

Shantae and the Seven Sirens

The fifth game in the Shantae series, a modern classic by fan-favorite indie developer WayForward.  But does it prove to be another fun adventure starring the half-genie hero, or is this a forgettable entry in the series?

Shantae is an open-world action adventures series beloved by fans of indie games, though it was something of a slow-starter for Wayforward; the original game was released in 2002 for the Game Boy Color - a year after the Advance made its debut - and was widely overlooked as a result, though it nonetheless gathered a small but dedicated following.  Risky's Revenge, released eight years later, marked the series' return and brought it newfound attention, and since then it's only grown in popularity, with all of its games seeing multiplatform releases and even physical copies (including a reprint of the original Game Boy Color title by Limited Run Games).

The previous title in the series (Half-Genie Hero), while well-received overall, did draw some controversy from long-time fans.  Its format was changed into more of a stage-based one, similar to the Mega Man titles, and it was the first in the game to feature downloadable content - a sticking point for many fans and Kickstarters backers who bought a physical copy only to not get a definitive version.  Seemingly as an answer to that, Seven Sirens goes back to a more open-world format similar to Metroid, with the player gaining new abilities and able to open new paths with them throughout the story.  They also confirmed that there is no planned DLC for the game, and that it would in fact be released as one complete experience (save for the early release on Apple Arcade, where the second half of the game would be added later as a free update).

Seven Sirens is also easily the most lavishly produced Shantae game so far, showing off a flashy opening animation by Studio Trigger right out of the gate and having more throughout at key story scenes.  Character animation and voiceover remain equally strong, with a charming cartoon style and some surprisingly good voice-over throughout; most special abilities Shantae wields even have multiple voice clips, preventing the audio from getting too monotonous.  The soundtrack remains as strong as ever too, though taking on a much different style from the heavy Arabian influence of earlier games and instead opting for more of an 8-bit chiptune style.

Gameplay at its core remains much the same as earlier Shantae games, having the eponymous heroine defeat enemies by whipping her hair at them and a number of sub-weapons, both of which can be upgraded throughout the adventure.  Throughout the story the player also unlocks a number of transformations that allow them to traverse previously inaccessible areas (like the "Gastro Drill" that can burrow through dirt).  Unlike previous games, though, these are separated from Dances, which serve a similar purpose of their own - different dances are unlocked as one clears dungeons, and these too can open new paths - from charging electrical objects to revealing hidden platforms to restoring life to withered plants (which also restores some of Shantae's health).

Another new gameplay element are the enemy cards.  A collectible slightly similar to the Soul system from Aria of Sorrow (or the Shards from Bloodstained), defeating enemies sometimes causes them to drop cards.  After you collect enough of a certain type, they can be equipped to one of three slots to give stronger abilities - boosting the strength of a sub weapon, getting more effect from food items, reducing magic required for a specific Dance, to name a few).  A few common-sense improvements are added compared to other games, though - at a certain point in the story, one can sell extra cards for cash, and another collectible - Nuggets - can be traded for rare cards that can't be acquired elsewhere. 

As per the rest of the series, Seven Sirens is relatively short - roughly 8-12 hours for a first playthrough - but it does attempt to introduce some replay value.  There are a few pieces of art unlocked after completing the game normally, for 100% completion, and meeting both goals in under a set amount of time.  A New Game Plus mode is also unlocked after a first playthrough, letting the player revisit the story with more magic, but lower defense, which changes up the strategies they must employ to defeat bosses and finish the game.

Shantae and the Seven Sirens, like those before it, proves to be a charming and fun adventure, bringing a strong sense of humor and a generally fun cartoony style to a genre largely dominated by eerie alien settings and minimal narratives.  Many of my complaints about earlier entries - awkward enemy placement, a large focus on backtracking and tedious backtracking - have been addressed here too, making this arguably the series' finest entry yet.  Some may balk at the asking price of $30 for a game that averages around 10-15 hours a playthrough, but in my book, it was worth every cent.  Highly recommended.

Developer: WayForward
Publisher: WayForward
Platform: iOS, MacOS, PC, Playstation 4, XBox One, Switch
Released: 2019
Recommended Version: All versions seem to be mostly the same, though I did notice some lag and choppiness in a few areas in the Switch version.

SaGa: Scarlet Grace Ambitions

The SaGa series all but vanished in the west for over a decade after the critical flop that was Unlimited Saga.  Scarlet Grace, released fourteen years later, was the first to see a release outside of Japan since then, but would it prove to be a successful return, or just another disastrous entry for an already niche franchise?

It's no secret to anyone with a fondness for Playstation 2 RPGs that Unlimited Saga was not a well-received game; owing to its complex and poorly explained mechanics,  a rushed development that resulted in steep leaps in difficulty and a threadbare presentation with the barest minimum of animation, it's a game that few ever bothered to learn to play, let alone had the patience to complete.  Perhaps as a result, a localized remake of Romancing SaGa a few years afterward got little attention and sold poorly, and subsequent releases in the series (mostly remakes) wouldn't surface again in the west for a very long time.

Scarlet Grace would be the franchise's first new entry to see a western release since 2005, and thankfully it does a much better job of being a captivating experience inspired by old-school western RPGs.  The game's opening in particular is reminiscent of games like Ultima, asking the player a series of questions to determine which character they begin as, as well as which quests they may have already completed in previous playthroughs (which affects some events in the story).  The game's world is also largely free-roaming, letting the player complete most quests in any order they wish and venture freely around the map to discover new ones, though there are strangely no dungeons (apparently due to budgetary constraints) - nearly all events take place right on the world map.

The core of the game's design takes a few steps away from the SaGa norm.  There is significantly less of a random element than most, and particularly much less than Unlimited Saga; though HP gains after battle and techniques are still randomly learned in battle ("sparked" in game terminology), one's stats and abilities are now heavily governed by the type of equipment they have equipped.  Breakable weapons are a thing of the past as well, as are limited point pools that govern how many times skills can be used between rests.  The HP/LP system returns as well, though losing all LP is no longer "permadeath" and LP can be gradually regained over time by swapping a character out of the combat formation.

Combat retains a few elements from other SaGa games, though many are relatively original too.  The player has a choice of several "formations" to pick, each with benefits and drawbacks for the various slots within.  For example, the "Desert Lance" gives one character less BP cost with all skills and greater speed and accuracy, but lowers the speed of everyone else in the group.  Royal Hearts puts two characters in the front and three in back, with the two up front getting a slight boost to damage and speed but giving them a higher chance to be targeted.  Each formation also has a different starting and maximum BP level - generally starting at around 4 and maxing out at 8.  BP governs how many characters can act in a turn and what moves they can perform - basic moves generally costing 1 or 2 while stronger ones with more powerful effects cost more.

Turn order (and alteration thereof) is another prominent mechanic in the game.  Throughout each battle, you can see the order any given character (friend or foe) will act during the current turn if you give them an action to perform.  Some moves can delay enemy turns or intercept enemy moves before they occur, letting you sneak in an attack and potentially defeat them before they can deal damage.  Doing so is actually quite beneficial, because defeating a foe between two or more allies on the timeline will result in a Unite Attack, causing all of the characters whose icons are now touching to automatically do a powerful combo to a remaining enemy and reduce the BP cost of their attacks on the next turn.  Enemies can do this to the player as well, though, so caution is necessary to protect weakened allies and prevent enemies from unleashing a nasty combo of their own.  Spellcasters are another important thing to protect, as their spells often take a lot of action points and multiple turns to cast, and if they're stunned or defeated in the interim, it all goes to waste.  One way to do this is via the Taunt/Frenzy mechanic.  Some skills have a Taunt trait to them, which makes an enemy more likely to target their user.  If the same user repeatedly uses a Taunt on a particular enemy, that may cause them to Frenzy and focus their attacks only on that character until one of them is defeated - a risky tactic in some respects, but useful to draw fire away from weaker characters as well.

Scarlet Grace also contains a crafting system, though thankfully it's nowhere near as complex (or poorly-explained) as Unlimited Saga's.  Defeating foes of particular types earns materials, which can be spent in towns to upgrade weapons or pieces of armor along several upgrade paths - some featuring higher stats or elemental resistances than others.  Different shops throughout the world also have "specialties", reducing the number of materials needed for particular crafts, and earning favored status by visiting repeatedly will further reduce the cost.  It is also to the player's benefit to upgrade whenever they can, even if this means some grinding, as shops can be restricted at certain points in the plot; thankfully, the game does warn you of this right off the bat, so there are no unpleasant surprises later.

Like most, I didn't really expect a lot from a SaGa revival; I expected that it would just remain another niche game with little widespread appeal.  I haven't been completely disabused of that idea (as far as I can tell, it hasn't been a particularly high-seller even in Japan), but Scarlet Grace is nonetheless a welcome return for the long-neglected SaGa series.  It has a significant random chance element and its gameplay is rather simple and one-note, but it has an interesting overarching story split among four different characters' questlines and is decently fun in spite of that.  I even found myself impressed with its animation quality and the fact that they hired professional voice actors to play out snippets of dialog and combat lines (and yes, it is dubbed into English), proving that Square really did want to distance themselves from Unlimited Saga's reputation as much as possible.  So if you want something that's overall very simplified mobile game in design, but nevertheless well-made and fun in short bursts, Scarlet Grace is one you may want to give a try.

Developer: Square Enix Business Division 3, Studio Reel
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: Playstation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Windows, Android, iOS
Released: 2016, 2019
Recommended Version: All versions seem to be pretty much the same, though the game is only available digitally in the west.  The Switch version has a bit of lag when loading animations between turns in combat but otherwise plays fine.

The Outer Worlds

Obsidian Entertainment debuts a new game with gameplay much in the vein of New Vegas and writing and direction spearheaded by the efforts of Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain, two of the minds behind the 2D Fallout games.  But does the Outer Worlds provide an experience to rival the quality of their former efforts, or is this just another misfire for the company?

Many longtime Fallout fans, myself included, were very eager to have its original writers return to the franchise with New Vegas.  I certainly was, and it didn't let me down, as I consider it to be one of the best games ever made despite its dated engine and a plethora of bugs.  Bethesda didn't feel the same way, though, as it fell short of their ridiculously lofty Metacritic and score stipulations and Obsidian was booted from working on any further entries in the Fallout franchise (and we all know how well that went for them).  Still, the blend of Bethesda's vast, open world design and Obsidian's talent for storytelling left many wanting more, and The Outer Worlds was seemingly made to fill in that void after eight years.

The engine shift away from Gamebryo to Unreal 4 certainly shows though right away, as the game is far less buggy than the 3D Fallouts and gameplay improvements and streamlines are many.  The somewhat clunky VATS system is replaced by "tactical time dilation" - slowing the game's action temporarily to let you perform actions, with each depleting a bar by varying amounts (moving consumes relatively little, attacking eats a big chunk of it).  It slowly refills itself over time, but some perks (like Reaper) can cause it to refill a big chunk upon killing an enemy, letting the player get on a truly impressive killing streak if they do it well.  This also has the benefit of making melee builds much more viable, allowing the player to even hold their own against hordes of gun-toting mobs with an axe, club, spear, and so forth.

Other common-sense improvements show up too.  Stealth is a good example of this, being less of a simple dice roll and instead having you stay out of sight in tall grass, behind cover, etc to avoid being seen.  One can also utilize a silenced gun or melee weapon to stealthily pick off enemies one at a time, unlike in many RPGs of this type where one enemy's death will cause all of the rest nearby to immediately know your position.  You also share a unified inventory and carry weight with your followers (up to two of which can accompany you at a time), and healing yourself will grant them some benefit too, keeping you all in the fight.

Weapon and armor modding return too, though it's not quite as extensive as earlier games' options.  Firearms generally get the most benefit from this, letting the player expand magazines or add scopes and silencers, while melee weapons can have handles that boost crit damage and attack speed, or mods that change the weapon's damage type (plasma dealing more damage to biological foes while electricity does more to mechanical ones).  Both types of equipment do degrade over time, but all weapons and armor can be broken down into generic "parts" that can be used to repair them, so it's rarely an issue.

The stat and skill system is fairly similar to Fallout's as well, though rather simplified in comparison.  One has the basic RPG attributes of Strength, Perception, Intelligence and so forth, which determine one's starting aptitudes, and they can further pick a "background" to get a leg-up in a skill or stat at the start of the game.  Leveling up and allocating points causes all skills under a particular heading (melee weapons, firearms, stealth skills, and so forth) to all power up, though once one hits 50 points in a single skill under that heading, they must then spend points on it individually to progress further.  Every 20 points in a skill unlocks a benefit, like doing extra melee damage or requiring fewer picks to open a lock, and "Perks" are gained every two levels that grant flat bonuses; disappointingly, though, these don't really tie in to your character build in any interesting way, but are just flat benefits like extra health, a boost to carry weight, and so forth.  Though once nice addition is that your recruited allies get their own sets of Perks and will progressively earn more after they travel and fight with you long enough; this makes you feel more like a cohesive team instead of just "the main character" and others just along for the ride.

A more interesting element of both the role-playing and character customization element is Flaws.  After your character fails skill checks too many times or endures enough injuries (being hit in the head, taking too much plasma damage or being harmed by a particular enemy type often), you have the option of taking a permanent disadvantage in exchange for a Perk point.  For example, you can take 25% more Plasma damage for a bonus Perk, or take a penalty to Perception and Temperament while being attacked by Canids, or, if you fail at sneaking, you'll lose a point of Personality during further attempts.  While you're by no means obligated to take one, it is sometimes worth it to gain that extra perk as well as shape your character more toward your particular playstyle.

The Outer Worlds does fall short in some respects, though.  Most prominent among these is that exploration is disappointingly limited for a space game; while you do get a ship relatively early on, you don't get to freely explore in space or even pilot it directly.  Instead, you just pick a pre-set destination and immediately go there to explore on foot.  Each planet has multiple destinations to land and explore, though these are relatively small - usually only a couple of square miles each, surrounded by tall mountains.  Granted, there is a lot to see and do in almost all of them, with NPCs to talk to, quests to undertake, enemies to fight and stuff to steal, though I'm always a little let down when a game set in the final frontier doesn't let you fully experience said frontier.  Combat does also start to feel a bit repetitive after a while, with a lot of the same small handful of enemies in any given area and little variation in their attack patterns or the strategies required to defeat them.  It does start to feel padded too, especially when you see the same handful of raiders and robotic enemies show up in almost every mission with only the most tenuous explanations given for their presence.

As is standard for Obsidian games (as well as the works of Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky), the Outer Worlds' greatest strength is in its writing.  Set in an alternate future that combines the feel of a mid-century space opera with the rampant atomic age feel of Fallout, the atmosphere is utterly fantastic.  Load screens and environments alike highlight the facetiously optimistic atmosphere while the player gets to explore the seedier side of the glam firsthand, experiencing a setting that is superficially impressive but quickly gives way to some very grim themes of human oppression and the devaluing of life in the name of profit.  But as with their previous works, it's all highlighted by a sharp wit and some very well-written characters, backstories and general lore.  Experiencing the grim joviality of this universe, getting to know your allies and their motivations and seeing the consequences of your actions unfold on the screen through the game's many branching story paths is a thrill, letting you really feel like your choices actually make a difference in this world and to these characters.

So while it has some hiccups, I think The Outer Worlds is a success for Obsidian.  Its gameplay is definitely streamlined compared to the games it draws so many elements from, which aids it in some ways and hurts it in others, but its roleplaying element is fantastic; your character's choices really do have consequences, and the story will play out very differently depending on who you make friends with, what factions you ally with or betray and, of course, what skills you use to further your ends.  The sheer imagination of its setting and the depths of depravity (and dark humor thereof) are great, and the quality acting and writing behind all of its protagonists makes it a journey worth undertaking in spite of the gameplay's shortcomings.

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Publisher: Private Division
Released: 2019
Platform: PC, PS4, XBox One, Switch
Recommended Version: All versions released seem to be more or less identical, though I have only personally played the PC version.  The Nintendo Switch version is not yet released as of this writing.

Indivisible

A Metroidvania action-RPG with a combat system inspired by Valkyrie Profile, which endured several delays and setbacks before its eventual release.  But is this another crowdfunding success story for 2019, or does Indivisible just prove to be a long-awaited letdown?

Lab Zero, despite having only one real title to their name (Skullgirls and its later iterations, Encore and Second Encore) has become an indie darling, combining high-quality animation and creative character designs with surprisingly polished, innovative gameplay. For those reasons, and the clear passion of its designers and community, Skullgirls is a game that has maintained a sizable following even years after its release - a rarity for a genre that seems to get new high-profile entries on an almost monthly basis.  However, the rights to the game itself are a bit of a snafu, being held by the company they spun from (Autumn Games) and ensuring that most profits from the game don't actually go to them.  So, with the backing of 505 games, they released a playable prototype of their next project, Indivisible, with a crowdfunding goal of 1.5 million dollars to expand it into a full game.  Eventually, this goal was met and surpassed (ultimately acquiring 1.9 million) and the game underwent development, being released four years later after a number of delays and setbacks.

I was one of those backers, and after playing the prototype and the backer-exclusive preview (which showed off a few more characters and some gameplay tweaks added in the interim), I only got more excited to play the final game.  But the day has finally come, and I can safely say that it did not let me down.

As was mentioned from the start, Indivisible's gameplay is very much inspired by that of Valkyrie Profile, combining platforming elements with an action-oriented combat system that places heavy emphasis on racking up combos to maximize damage, with each of the four party characters assigned to a single button and doing differing attacks depending upon the direction pressed on the D-pad or analog stick during their attack.  This operates on a time scale somewhat similar to the Active Time Battle from the Final Fantasy series, with a character able to perform an attack at any time they have a pip, and others on their team able to attack during their "turn" to create longer combos (which applies to both the player and enemies).  Any time a turn isn't happening, pips will steadily regenerate, with the exact rate depending upon the character.

However, Indivisible takes the idea and incorporates a lot of fighting game paradigms in as well - enemy attacks can be blocked by pressing a character's button, or a left shoulder button to have the entire party block at once.  Perfectly-timed blocks (pressing the button the instant an attack would connect) grant a number of benefits - at lower defense levels they will significantly reduce damage taken, build special meter and prevent KO even if a character would normally be reduced to 0 HP from an attack.   At higher levels they become even better, letting the player completely negate the attack and actually restore a small amount of health for each perfect block.   Meter, in turn, can be used as in a fighter, letting a character perform a powerful attack (with more bars spent generally resulting in a more powerful attack) or utilize Ajna's inherent ability to heal the party and revive fallen members.  Careful meter management quickly becomes a part of the overall strategy, especially as unblocked attacks can quickly devastate your party.

Indivisible does a great job diversifying its cast as well - there are a total of twenty-five playable characters, and each has unique mechanics and abilities to experiment with.  For example, Dhar's down-attack lets him store energy to power up his other two attacks (indicated by up to twelve rocks hovering around his person, which humorously persist even in cutscenes).  Razmi's down-attack can "Hex" enemies, slowing and causing them to take more damage for a short time, while Ginseng and Honey's main attack powers up their up-attack, which not only does damage but heals the party without having to spend meter.  A lot of the fun of the game is trying out each of the new characters you recruit, and as only a handful of them are strictly required, going searching for more is always a thrill in itself.

What sets Indivisible apart from other Metroidvania RPGs, though, is that it has some some of the most seamless gameplay I've seen in games of this type.  The shifts from platforming to combat and back again with no visible pause in most cases, and even shifting into Ajna's inner realm (where one can converse with other characters or power up) requires absolutely no loading - you just hold a button and press Up and you're there in an instant.  Health and iddhi meters are retained between battles, and traps in the environment will cause HP damage, putting the player at a disadvantage in the next fight. This even gets used to clever effect during boss encounters, with combat abruptly stopping to have the player evade projectiles and traverse obstacles on the way to the next phase of the fight, and popping the player right back into combat once they catch up.  Even viewing the map is worked into this philosophy - stop and hold Up for a moment to view your surroundings quickly. There's really never a dull moment in Indivisible's gameplay, and it almost completely avoids the stop-and-go feel most of RPGs.

The platforming element is masterfully done too.  Unlike Valkyrie Profile, where it was relatively generic (save for the need to tediously stack ice blocks to reach hidden treasures), here it feels just as dynamic and challenging as the combat.  Vanishing platforms, activating switches and utilizing one's expanding moveset - from hopping up walls with the axe to sliding through narrow gaps to breaking barriers down with a bomb arrow or a dash - quickly become a key part of the experience.  As in any Metroidvania style game, new abilities both grant access to new areas and let you backtrack to previous ones, clearing obstacles you couldn't get through before to find goodies.  Thankfully, Indivisible's levels are also well-designed enough that this never feels like a chore - once you have the ability you need to get every last item in an area, you're almost always afforded a quick way back out through it too.

Another joy of the game is its overall presentation.  There is little surprise that the animation and visuals are of exceptional quality - that being Lab Zero's hallmark since the days of Skullgirls - but it really can't be understated that Indivisible is a gorgeous game.  Each area you encounter is a thrill to see, with towering mountains, statues, light rays coming through cracks in the ceiling, and detailed architecture adding tremendously to the atmosphere.  Enemy and playable characters alike sport staggeringly large numbers of animation frames, and like any good fighter, recognizing exact ones in an attack can aid tremendously with parrying attacks and blocking.  The soundtrack is incredible, adding a lot of personality to the locales, though that's not surprising considering it's provided by none other than Hiroki Kikuta, probably best known for the soundtracks to Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana on the SNES.  The voiceover in the game is a treat too, with both well-known actors (Michael Dorn, Christina Vee, Stephanie Sheh) and a number of lesser-known names providing dialog, adding much to the characters' charm and humor with their unique talents.  Seeing the inner realm grow as more characters are added - not just playable characters, but NPCs who offer services like changing your character's "costumes" (color palettes) and allowing you to practice combos with a number of non-aggressive "dummy" enemies - is fun in its own right, though it's not taken to the same level as Suikoden, for example.

All of these things make Indivisible a quite fun experience, as does a relatively reasonable length by modern RPG standards (approximately 30 hours) that ensures it doesn't overstay its welcome and lends itself well to replayability and speedrunning.  However, its launch didn't go off completely without a hitch - some preorder bonus codes were faulty and had to be reissued, and two characters planned for the game were also left out at launch difficulty implementing their mechanics (Sangmu and Antoine).  More characters were planned as post-launch DLC too, including numerous guests from other indie games (Shantae, Red from Transistor and Shovel Knight to name a few), but sadly none of these are likely to be added; Lab Zero dissolved due to internal strife and the rights to the game remain with 505 Games, who have shown no desire to hand it off to another team (or even the same devs now at Future Club) to see it finished.  However, we did at least get an update that adds couch co-op for up to four players and a New Game Plus mode that makes the game significantly tougher.

So, when all is said and done, was Indivisible worth my backing and four years of waiting?  I think it was.  Its unique blend of mechanics and virtually seamless gameplay is captivating, it's a great experience for the eyes and ears, and as in any good Metroidvania, uncovering secrets and mastering the finer points of the mechanics to complete the game more and more efficiently is a constant thrill.  It stands out further with relatively unique southern Asia inspired setting, charming characters and telling a good story while maintaining a relatively jokey, irreverent mood throughout.  Its may not be the best of its kind at any one thing it does and knowing that it will likely never be finished owing to the amazing douchebaggery of its lead programmer is pretty tragic, but it's a fun tale with a great sense of humor and combines several solid gameplay elements together into a cohesive and memorable experience, which makes it worth playing in my book.

Developer: Lab Zero Games
Publisher: 505 Games
Platform: Playstation 4, XBox One, PC, MacOS, Linux, Switch
Released: 2019, 2020
Recommended Version: All versions of the game seem to be nearly identical, though with slightly different sets of "costume colors" available as unlockable bonuses.  The Switch version runs at a lower framerate overall (30 FPS, more in some areas if uncapped), but is still of high quality.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019)

Released twenty-six years after the original Game Boy game and twenty-one after the Game Boy Color update, the 2019 remake of Link's Awakening brings it to a new generation with updated visuals, controls and some token new content (and Amiibo support for more of the same).  But does this remake prove worthy for long-time Zelda fans and relative newcomers alike, or is it just one to skip?

I was more than a little surprised when a remake of Link's Awakening was announced for the Switch.  Being a big fan of the original (it being the first Zelda game I ever owned, and I still have that very same copy to this day) and it also being regarded as one of the best Game Boy games and Zelda games of all time, it seemed like the epitome of an unnecessary thing for Nintendo to do.  But of course, being a dedicated follower of the series, I went and picked it up on launch day to see how the game ultimately came out.

Thankfully, the game did still make a good impression on me, even at first glance.  The visual style has naturally been updated to take advantage of the Switch's 3D capabilities, and it honestly looks very nice - the colors are bright and vibrant, and despite the dimensional shift, the characters, environmental objects and overall style are surprisingly faithful to the simplistic but charming Game Boy style.  Cel-shading is surprisingly not utilized, but the characters do still move in an exaggerated, stretch-and-squash cartoon style that translates over surprisingly well from 2D sprites and perfectly suits the more humorous tone of the game.

The remake does take advantage of the more powerful hardware in other ways too.  The game is no longer broken up into distinct "screens" with a pause and manual scroll between them, though oddly the game still treats it as such - enemies will not follow Link beyond the area in which they spawn, and bushes, trees and holes will reset once Link ventures far enough from them (generally just enough to scroll them out of the camera's view).  Having more buttons available does significantly streamline the gameplay, with the sword and shield being available at all times (via the B and R buttons respectively) and being able to equip two other buttons to the X and Y buttons to use as needed.  Additionally, once once gets the Power Bracelet, one can just press A to lift and throw items without needing to equip it, and the Pegasus Boots are always mapped to L, resulting in a lot less inventory management on the whole.  The map screen comes with a few new features too, allowing the player to mark specific places so that they can more easily remember to come back later when they have the proper item to solve a puzzle, automatically tracks seashells and heart pieces that the player has collected, and even snippets of dialog can be replayed to remind them of their current objective.  And of course, for those seeking a greater challenge, the modern Zelda trope of "Hero Mode", causing Link to take double damage and enemies to no longer drop hearts, is available right from the start.

I was also quite surprised at how much remains similar to the original game - not just in terms of visual design, but in the behavior of enemies and mechanics.  A few do have subtle differences (blocking enemies swords will knock them back and stun them a moment for an easier hit) and some of the bosses have been reworked to be more challenging, but for the most part they're very faithful to their Game Boy counterparts.  The overall layout of the map and dungeons are very similar, though with enough subtle differences to keep long-time players invested, and when things do change, they make sense and work to the game's benefit rather than against it.  There are many more secret seashells to find (and associated rewards for doing so), rupees now drop from enemies in multiple denominations, and there are a few more hidden teleportation spots to discover now, making travel to far stretches of the map considerably more efficient.  Acorns of Defense and Pieces of Power still spawn under the same conditions, but are somewhat toned down in effectiveness, lasting about 30 seconds rather than vanishing after the player takes more than a few hits.

The side-quests of the original Link's Awakening have seen substantial upgrades too.  The fishing and crane games have been substantially reworked to have more depth and provide more rewards, and the color dungeon does make a return as well, letting the player get a significant boost to their attack or defense (but not both), and they even went to the trouble of integrating its visual style better into the overall aesthetic.  But the main draw is a new minigame led by Dampe the gravekeeper (first seen in Ocarina of Time), where one builds their own custom dungeons out of parts that are found, purchased, won in other minigames or just earned by completing pre-made dungeons in the game.  This lets you earn a bit of extra reward by completing pre-made challenges, or just save your own custom-built dungeons to Amiibos to challenge your friends with later.  And while it's ultimately not a huge addition to the experience, it does add a bit more longevity and replay value to the game.  It does effectively add a bit more purpose to the in-game shop too, as some dungeon tiles can only be found there by shelling out a significant amount of cash.

I do have some small nitpicks, though.  First being that the game controls much the same as its Game Boy counterpart with eight-directional movement, yet does not support the D-pad - only the analog stick.  I personally didn't have any issue with this, but I can see why some wouldn't like it.  More pressingly, though, the game does have a somewhat inconsistent framerate, with more busy areas of the map causing frame drops as the player moves through them.  Both of these may be addressed through later patches, though it is a bit strange to see them in a first-party Nintendo game, let alone a Zelda title.

But while I was skeptical at first, and personally I would have preferred to see one of my least-favorite Zelda games be remade instead - possibly the Oracle games or even the DS games - the 2019 Link's Awakening proved to be a worthy undertaking.  It keeps the original's design and charm largely intact while adding enough tweaks and side-content in to keep younger and older gamers alike engaged, and it's handled with the same care and attention Nintendo always gives to their beloved franchises.  Ultimately it's far from the most necessary of remakes, but I am glad to say it does the original game's legacy justice.  And hey, maybe we'll see a few of the underdog Zelda games get attention like this in the future if this remake proves to be a hit.

Developer: Nintendo EPD, Grezzo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Switch
Released: 2019
Recommended Version: N/A