Preview Archives

TOEM 2 Hands-On Impressions at Summer Game Fest 2025

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 14, 2025

Adorable environments, a neat black-and-white aesthetic, endearing characters, and some cozy photography are all par for the course in upcoming adventure title TOEM 2! From developers Something We Made and co-publishers popagenda, this sequel to 2021’s TOEM: A Photo Adventure is slated for release i… Read More »

Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy at Summer Game Fest 2025

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 13, 2025

The highly anticipated Magic: The Gathering and Final Fantasy collaboration has been a lovely thing to witness. It’s brought some fantastic energy into both these franchises and absolutely oozes passion for the worlds within them. With that context, I was stoked to get the opportunity to speak with… Read More »

Dosa Divas Hands-On Impressions at Summer Game Fest 2025

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 12, 2025

From Outerloop Games, the developers of Thirsty Suitors, Dosa Divas left quite the impression on me during my time with it at this year’s Summer Game Fest. Its combat felt intuitive, its writing was witty, and I already started to get invested in the characters and world in the short time I played i… Read More »

Code Vein II First Look at Summer Game Fest 2025

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 11, 2025

During Summer Game Fest 2025, I got to sit in on a gameplay presentation of Bandai Namco’s upcoming action RPG Code Vein II, a follow-up to their 2019 hit Code Vein! From the looks of it, the developers have truly expanded on the first game, building on its co-op gameplay systems, character customiz… Read More »

Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Set Visual Overview: An Impressive Tribute to the Storied Series

Posted by Hilary Andreff on May 31, 2025

The energy in the Boston Exposition and Convention Center ballroom was palpable even before the Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering panel at PAX East 2025 began. Since the previous card reveals in February, and since the set is due to come out next month, there has been a significant amount of inte… Read More »

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake Launches October 30th; We Played It and You Should Too

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 27, 2025

Dragon Quest, back when it was still Dragon Warrior in the US, was the first RPG I played. My younger self never finished it, but it introduced me to what an RPG was, with its stats, towns, world map, and more. But this October, my current, now-much-older self will get a chance at redempti… Read More »

Raidou Remastered Hands-On: Remaster or Remake? A Bit of Both!

Posted by Scott Clay on May 20, 2025

The debate today in a sea of remasters and remakes of games from yesteryear is the understanding of what is considered a remaster, and what counts as a remake. The broad and straight to the point answer is; remasters are when games that are fundamentally the same, but the graphics are updated to HD… Read More »

Moonlight Peaks Will Let Us Finally Build the Vampire Farm of Our Dreams

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 19, 2025

Okay, maybe that “finally” above is tongue-in-cheek, since until I heard of Moonlight Peaks, it never crossed my mind to blend vampires and other supernatural creatures with the farming sim genre. Maybe it’s because vampires prefer blood over fresh produce, or if they can/do eat regular food without… Read More »

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Hands-On: A Tale of Two Genres

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 18, 2025

When Marvelous announced Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, I liked the idea of the Eastern-inspired setting. The more we saw, the more it felt like the game may be primarily an action RPG with sim elements on the side, for better or worse (depending on what you want out of Rune Factory). B… Read More »

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is Beautiful and Unexpectedly Compelling: Hands-On

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 16, 2025

When I sat down at XSEED Games/Marvelous’ PAX East booth to check out Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, I had the honor of having the game’s Localization Translator, Robin Griffin, give me a guided tour. She asked me if I was familiar with Story of Seasons, and foolishly and optimistically, I said I w… Read More »

Altered Alma: The Cyberpunk Metroidvania You’re Looking For

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 14, 2025

They had me at “cyberpunk Metroidvania.” I’ve had my eye on Altered Alma for a while now, and after missing my chance to play it at PAX East 2024, I wasn’t going to let that happen again. Yes, I know there’s currently a demo on Steam, but that’s not the point. What matters is that I got to play it,… Read More »

Voidsayer May be the Bleak Creature Collector RPG You Didn’t Know You Wanted

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 13, 2025

What’s that? You’re saying that you like Pokémon and other creature collecting games, but wish they were much bleaker? That you want to collect creatures but want to trade their smiling faces for the harsh tone of something like Darkest Dungeon? Then do I have the game for you! I played Voidsayer at… Read More »

Shrine’s Legacy is a Retro-Styled Action RPG to Watch

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 12, 2025

If I had a nickel for every time someone told me a new game was inspired by important — if not defining — games from my childhood, I’d have a lot of nickels! However, if the same payment system were applied to the number of times a game lived up to that comparison, it would result in a more lateral… Read More »

Hands-On with Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster at PAX East 2025

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 10, 2025

During PAX East, in a (semi) secret alcove of a (semi) secret room, we got to spend some brief time with Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster. Despite the short playtime, it was enough to see this is a worthwhile new version of the now-classic RPG. Visually, Bravely Default looks great on Switc… Read More »

Echoes of Elysium Playtest Preview: Soarin’ and Buildin’

Posted by Scott Clay on April 18, 2025

Thanks to the people at Loric Games, I had the opportunity to sit and playtest their upcoming (and first) indie game, Echoes of Elysium. Echoes of Elysium is a procedurally generated open-world adventure RPG that allows you to take to the skies in airships and explore with your friends or by yoursel… Read More »

Blades of Fire Hands-On Preview: Strike While the Iron is Hot!

Posted by Paul Skevington on March 7, 2025

You might not have heard much about Blades of Fire yet, and if so, that’s not entirely surprising. Blades of Fire is one of those rare treats: a game announced only a few months prior to its anticipated release date. What’s more, publisher 505 Games and Developer MercurySteam invited me to come and… Read More »

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Hands-on Preview – The Brushstrokes of a Dream

Posted by Zek Lu on March 3, 2025

What if I told you there’s an upcoming game that’s a cross between Final Fantasy XIII and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door? Would that excite you, or worry you? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 certainly sounds like someone’s fever dream, but I couldn’t stop playing it. In fact, I played through the p… Read More »

Maliki: Poison of the Past Demo Showcases Unique & Challenging Gameplay

Posted by Patrick Gann on February 24, 2025

Ever since I discovered the French company Ankama—with its English release of DOFUS in 2005—I have been transfixed by their commitment to stunning visuals within clever gameplay formats. But if there’s one thing I wasn’t ready for, it was Maliki: Poison of the Past. I was familiar with Maliki as a w… Read More »

Peripeteia Hands-On: An Engaging and Promising Cyberpunk World

Posted by Ben Love on February 21, 2025

No gaming genre is more hotly debated than the “Immersive Sim.” Combining elements of RPG, First-Person Shooters, Stealth, and Action-Adventure, the genre is more defined by developer pedigree and the amalgamation of various disparate gameplay mechanics rather than any truly defining structure. Peri… Read More »

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II Preview (Part 2) + 2 Demos Coming

Posted by Zek Lu on January 16, 2025

Thanks again to the wonderful team at NIS America, we got a second exclusive sneak peek at The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II. As mentioned in our first preview, even though the first Trails through Daybreak only just arrived in July, its sequel is already on the horizon. As devoted Tr… Read More »

Remember Your Oath! Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana Hands-On

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on December 16, 2024

It’s a great time to be a fan of Ys. With Ys X: Nordics arriving a couple months ago, Nihon Falcom decided it’s also the right moment to take a trip into the chronicles of Adol Christin’s earlier adventures. Tracing its origin back to Ys III: Wanderers from Ys over 35 years ago, Oath in Felghana is… Read More »

Prisma Preview – Beyond the Boundaries of Time and Space

Posted by Zek Lu on December 10, 2024

Imagine a world where every person you meet is another version of you. They share your face but not your goals, your voice, but not your intentions. Some are allies, others adversaries, but none of them are truly strangers. As someone who loved the artistic creativity of Cris Tales, I was eager to s… Read More »

Path of Exile 2 Hands-On Preview: Off to a Thrilling & Promising Start

Posted by Zek Lu on November 21, 2024

Path of Exile 2 is shaping up to be a remarkably ambitious follow-up to its predecessor, and the exclusive presentation led by game director Jonathan Rogers gave us a firsthand look at the game’s innovative direction. Unlike past previews that focused on the early stages of the story, this prev… Read More »

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero Preview and Dev Q&A

Posted by Paul Skevington on November 21, 2024

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a tactical JRPG and the long-awaited sequel to the fan-favorite Phantom Brave, arriving more than 20 years after the original game’s release. RPGFan recently attended a live demonstration of the new title by NIS America, which primarily focused on gameplay and mechani… Read More »

Avowed is a Comfortable Return to Eora

Posted by Mark Roddison on November 21, 2024

Pillars of Eternity and its sequel are two of my favorite CRPGs from the last decade. Steeped in classic isometric vibes, loaded with busy civilian and wilderness settings, and capped with complex game systems, they were a work of real quality and scope. Despite the original selling well, the sequel… Read More »

Preview(s) Archive