Preview Archives

Phantom Blade Zero Hands-On: The Kung Fu Souls-like I Didn’t Know I Wanted

Posted by Hagen McMenemy on October 8, 2026

When Phantom Blade Zero took up a notable spot at The Game Awards last year, I had the same thought I had the first time I saw Black Myth: Wukong, that this is a fake video game. You know how a game can look too good to be true? The closest comparison I can make isn’t the made-up game the little bro… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Danganronpa 2×2 Hands-On Preview: Murder, They Rewrote

Posted by Matt Wardell on October 2, 2026

Over the last year and change, Spike Chunsoft has been drip-feeding info on Danganronpa 2×2 (“two by two”), the upcoming remake and reimagining of their 2012 murder mystery visual novel, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Earlier this year, I visited Spike Chunsoft’s new Tokyo headquarters to demo a sp… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Kodansha Game Lab and Late Fee Girls Hands-On Preview: Saving This For Later

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 27, 2026

People around the world would certainly know Kodansha best for the manga they publish, including iconic series like Akira, The Ghost in the Shell, and Attack on Titan. What more people should recognize, however, are the many “Labs” Kodansha has built—that is, development departments with the goal of… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Crymelight Hands-On Preview: Curiouser and Curiouser!

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 26, 2026

In the massive indie section at Tokyo Game Show 2026, I had the chance to explore Japanese developer and publisher FuRyu Games’ impressive booth and sit down for a demo of Crymelight. Mixing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the “death game” genre popular in Japanese fiction (though more aesthet… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Hellheart Breaker Hands-On Preview: The Most Diverse Underworld to Date

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 26, 2026

Indie publisher Red Dunes Games went big at Tokyo Game Show 2026. Their booth was larger and more lavish than in 2025, and many of the titles that were early works in progress last year are now gearing up for release in 2027. Hellheart Breaker, an action RPG roguelite by Singaporean devs Battle Brew… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Tokyo Stories Hands-On Preview: The Night is Short, Walk On Girl

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 25, 2026

Among the most stylish aesthetics of any game I played at Tokyo Game Show 2026 was the gloomy indie adventure Tokyo Stories. Developer Drecom might be best known in the West for helping steward the Wizardry series with Atari (including developing 2024’s Wizardry Variants Daphne), but they are also i… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Snack World: Reloaded Hands-On Preview: Fun to Play With, Not to Eat

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 24, 2026

Among Level-5’s impressive stable of RPGs and multimedia franchises, Snack World is rather overlooked in the West. With Level-5’s other heavy hitters present at their Tokyo Game Show 2026 booth, namely Professor Layton and The New World of Steam and Decapolice, I wasn’t sure I’d even have time to fi… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Blades of Mirage Hands-On Preview: Water You Waiting For?

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 24, 2026

With 2026 being my second year covering Tokyo Game Show for RPGFan, it was nice to see some familiar faces. Once again, publisher Red Dunes Games had an impressive lineup and presence on the showfloor. Last year, I was particularly impressed by a modest build of Blades of Mirage, developer Agate’s i… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Final Fantasy VII Revelation Hands-On Preview: Once More, With Feeling

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 21, 2026

Perhaps the biggest fish to catch at Tokyo Game Show 2026, both in and outside the RPG sphere, was Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the third and final installment in the reimagined Final Fantasy VII trilogy, following Remake (2020) and Rebirth (2024). The game dominated Square Enix’s sizable booth wit… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Flawless Abbey Hands-On Preview: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 19, 2026

Befitting their stable of indie games, Cypriot publisher Critical Reflex had a small but very atmospheric booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026. Packed into a few square meters of techno-horror machinery were 19 (!) games mostly in the horror adventure wheelhouse, save for TANUKI: Pon’s Summer, a post offic… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Hands-On Preview: What a Wonderful Night to Have a Curse

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 19, 2026

Whereas in 2025, Konami’s booth at Tokyo Game Show was a terrifying recreation of Silent Hill f, this year it was a bright, white and red celebration of the 40th anniversary of Ganbare Goemon, the Konami Code (↑↑↓↓←→←→B A), and a beloved little franchise called Castlevania. Though there were flashy… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Decapolice Hands-On Preview: Dial “RPG” For Murder

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 19, 2026

After a promising resurgence at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, Level-5 came out swinging at TGS 2026. With a booth that put all others to shame in terms of volume and colour, Level-5 was showing nearly a full house of RPG-adjacent games, including Snack World Reloaded, Holy Horror Mansion, and a retur… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Stranger Than Heaven Hands-On Preview: This Oldboy Has a Few New Tricks

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 18, 2026

I bookended my first day at Tokyo Game Show 2026 with RGG Studio’s Like a Dragon prequel, Stranger Than Heaven. In the morning, I beelined to the impressive display/museum/theatre/demo space set up for the game. First, they ushered me and about thirty other industry folks into a standing room plaste… Read More »

TGS 2026 — Persona 4 Revival Hands-On Preview: It’s Time to (Re)Make History, Yeah!

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 17, 2026

The last time I played Persona 4, it was Persona 4 Golden on the Vita, and I was on my first flight to Japan, unaware that I’d still be living here a decade later. As it does for me, Persona 4 holds a special place in many fans’ hearts. Remakes of any beloved property face the hard task of respectin… Read More »

Starfinder: Afterlight Demo Impressions

Posted by Mark Roddison on September 10, 2026

Building on the decent critical and commercial success that Paizo’s rulesets found in digital adaptations like Owlcat Games’ Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous, developer Epictellers Entertainment is taking the tabletop into deep space with Starfinder: Afterlight. Crafted around Starfi… Read More »

2D Turn-Based Final Fantasy Is Not Dead! Final Fantasy Resonance Hands-On Preview

Posted by Scott Clay on September 3, 2026

There are two things that a vocal part of the Final Fantasy fandom has wanted for some time now. One is a return to a turn-based battle system. The last true turn-based Final Fantasy game is arguably Final Fantasy XII, but some would even say Final Fantasy X was the last time we saw a turn-based tit… Read More »

It’s Over, Star Wars Games. Zero Company Has The High Ground! Star Wars Zero Company Preview

Posted by Scott Clay on August 11, 2026

When it comes to the Star Wars franchise, there exists a weird split, as many franchises have. For every good movie, there seem to be two or three bad ones; for every great show, two or three stinkers show up. The Star Wars games are no exception to this rule. In fact, they probably follow this rule… Read More »

Brigandine Abyss Event Battle Phases Hands-Off Preview

Posted by Audra Bowling on July 8, 2026

I must admit to only being familiar with the Brigandine series in passing, though my inner SRPG fan’s curiosity has been piqued by what I’ve heard. It’s a curiosity that’s led me to pay close attention to the upcoming release, Brigandine Abyss. I was recently fortunate enough to preview one of the g… Read More »

Fallout 76 at Summer Game Fest 2026 – Interview with Creative Director Jon Rush and Production Director Bill LaCoste

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 28, 2026

In the wake of Fallout 76’s recent Infestations update, with its challenging enemies and boss fight content across Appalachia, I got the chance to speak with Creative Director Jon Rush and Production Director Bill LaCoste about their hopes for the update, the process of balancing reward systems this… Read More »

Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok at Summer Game Fest 2026: Building on an Engaging Action RPG

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 20, 2026

Action RPG Granblue Fantasy: Relink is about to get even bigger with its Endless Ragnarok expansion! Thanks to the team at Cygames, I was able to hear from Creative Director Tetsuya Fukuhara and Director Sanshiro Hidaka about the new features of the expansion, their vision for the title, and more. I… Read More »

Summer Game Fest 2026 Round-Up: A Strong Showing for RPGs with Aniimo, Grave Seasons, and Crimson Moon

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 18, 2026

This year’s Summer Game Fest had plenty of titles in our coverage here at RPGFan, and you may have read some of our hands-on impressions — If you haven’t yet, make sure to check out Sea of Remnants, Stranger Than Heaven, and Petal Runner. There was a trio of games I played a bit less than some of th… Read More »

Petal Runner Impressions at Summer Game Fest 2026 – A Charming Cyberpunk Adventure with Heart

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 16, 2026

Last year, I had the chance to play an early demo of slice-of-life RPG Petal Runner at Summer Game Fest 2025, and it was a highlight of the show for me! From iam8bit and developer Nano Park Studios, this gorgeously pixelated adventure follows Cali and their foxy sidekick Kira as they explore the fou… Read More »

Stranger Than Heaven Impressions at Summer Game Fest 2026 – Fast-Paced Combat Soars with Potential in Historic Japan

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 13, 2026

Thanks to the teams at SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, I got the chance to play Stranger Than Heaven at Summer Game Fest! This upcoming action RPG follows protagonist Makoto Daito through five different Japanese cities in five different eras, promising an epic journey through the criminal underworld … Read More »

Sea of Remnants Impressions at Summer Game Fest 2026 – A Puppet-Punk, Seafaring Adventure with Promise

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 12, 2026

From publisher NetEase Games and developer Joker Studio, upcoming seafaring RPG Sea of Remnants looks to offer a distinct maritime adventure combining turn-based, explorative, survival, simulation, choice-based narrative, and more… Read More »

Echoes of Aincrad Hands-on Preview: Beneath a Floating Castle

Posted by Zek Lu on June 10, 2026

Thanks to the wonderful team at Bandai Namco, I recently had the opportunity to go hands-on with Echoes of Aincrad, the upcoming action RPG set within the world of Sword Art Online. I wasn’t exactly the target audience going into the preview, and I was admittedly a bit skeptical. I watched the first… Read More »

Preview(s) Archive