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TGS 2025 – People of Note Hands-On Preview: A Rock’Em Sock’Em Roleplay

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 26, 2025

Courtesy of the fine folk at Annapurna Interactive, I got to sit down for the Tokyo Game Show demo of the recently announced People of Note, developer Iridium Studios’ upcoming music-centric RPG. It’s not just a punny title—People of Note follows Cadence, a floundering popstar on a journey across th… Read More »

Alabaster Dawn Hands-On: A Gorgeous Pixel Art RPG in the Making!

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on September 18, 2025

2018’s CrossCode was a delightful surprise to many, with its SNES-style pixel graphics, fast-paced action combat, and .hack-like pseudo MMO setting. Now Radical Fish Games is back with Alabaster Dawn, a spiritual successor to CrossCode that looks like a fantastic sophomore entry for the German devel… Read More »

We Played Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles – Hands-On Preview

Posted by Scott Clay on September 2, 2025

I can’t stress enough how much I enjoy Final Fantasy Tactics, and I can’t begin to count how many times I have actually played the game. It’s one of those games that sticks with you and is enjoyable multiple times in many different ways. I still consider it the best Final Fantasy game, and I am very… Read More »

We Played The Outer Worlds 2: Hands-On Preview

Posted by Scott Clay on August 27, 2025

No two playthroughs will be the same; this is a philosophy many great RPGs and games follow. And one of the best publishers to push this philosophy forward has always been Obsidian Entertainment. Their long-awaited sequel, The Outer Worlds 2, looks to be no exception to this kind of gameplay, featur… Read More »

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Prologue Hands-On: A Cozy, Nostalgic, High-Velocity Adventure

Posted by Sean Cabot on August 20, 2025

Fighting against an ever-expanding game backlog is the closest comparison I have to experiencing a truly Sisyphean task, especially with how many RPGs I still need to play. The Trails series is the clearest example of this. With so many entries and such an interconnected story, it feels like even tr… Read More »

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar First Month Hands-On – A Promising Remake After 17 Years

Posted by Ben Love on July 30, 2025

When Marvelous announced the next Story of Seasons title would be a remake of Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar, I was pretty surprised. Previous remakes Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life revisited beloved classics that the fan community holds up as pinnacles o… Read More »

Mato Fragments Impressions: Investigate Neo City in Mato Anomalies’ Prequel VN

Posted by Audra Bowling on July 28, 2025

In 2023, I tried my hand at Mato Anomalies, a cyberpunk dystopian noir RPG. While I didn’t feel it ended as strongly as it could have, I enjoyed the game well enough. I became invested in its story and characters, to the point where I opted to play the DLC side story, Digital Shadows, afterwards, an… Read More »

Digimon Story: Time Stranger Hands-On Impressions at Summer Game Fest 2025

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 18, 2025

I’ve heard great things about the Digimon Story series, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to check these games out yet. Digimon Story: Time Stranger is making me want to rectify that, as I had a fantastic time with the title during Summer Game Fest. From developer Media.Vision and publishe… Read More »

Summer Game Fest 2025 Demo Round-Up: Petal Runner, Blighted, and More

Posted by Mario Garcia on June 17, 2025

Summer news season is in full swing, and I had the chance to get hands-on with some fantastic upcoming titles at Summer Game Fest! From an adorable, pixelated Game Boy Color throwback to a cozy mix of dungeon-crawling and shopkeeping, there was no shortage of creativity on display in this year’s lin… Read More »

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 »

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