(s) Archive
2025-02-08
Winner: 1000xRESIST Writeup by Aleks Franiczek One of 1000xRESISTās most impressive achievements is how thoughtfully it is structured, leveraging shifts in its presentation to support its storytelling. Itās not really an adventure game. Itās not really a walking sim. And itās certainly not an RPG. But it learns from narrative design techniques used in titlesā¦ Read More »
2025-02-07
For me, itās easily Metaphor: ReFantazio… To be frank, I was not particularly excited for Metaphor: ReFantazio even when it emerged from the ether after many quiet years following its announcement. I didnāt follow the pre-release cycle closely and only maintained the faintest interest because my friend, a hardcore Atlus fan, kept the gameās releaseā¦ Read More »
2024 was my year of remakes/remasters/re-releases. 1) Fate/stay night Remastered I could talk about how this lauded visual novel, which finally made its way outside of Japan, spawned a multimedia series with a fervent following. However, I would rather talk about mapo tofu. Fate/stay night Remastered is the game that introduced me to the deliciousnessā¦ Read More »
Games of the Year from 2024 1) Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes I loved my time with this game so much. I did have to adjust my expectations a little to get to that love though. I went in hoping for Suikoden II, which this game certainly is not. Yes, there are similarities, and big onesā¦ Read More »
Bat Dad Is Best Dad Award! Metaphor: ReFantazio was easily the best RPG this year. No doubt in my mind. It had a fresh new setting, took the long and sometimes stale Persona gameplay loop and streamlined it, and combined a job system with the Press Turn system to make for amazing top-tier turn-based combat.ā¦ Read More »
Best 2024 Game (That I Played): Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth In a year full of extraordinary RPGs, Iām unashamed to say that Iām sticking with my comfort food: the Yakuza series. Why? Because Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is simply some of the tastiest video game comfort food you could find outside of theā¦ Read More »
Three Favorite 2024 RPGs Unicorn Overlord This incredible SRPG wouldāve flown under my radar if not for the praise fellow RPGFan staff members kept heaping on it. Iām glad I listened, as Unicorn Overlord is a graphically stunning, entertainingly meaty adventure that the strategy RPG lover in me readily enjoyed. Dragon Age: The Veilguard Thereāsā¦ Read More »
Welcome to RPGFan’s Games of the Year 2024! We realize this is coming a bit after the end of the year, but with many excellent releases in November and December, we wanted to give our staff the time to play and consider all games that came out last year. Today we present the first partā¦ Read More »
Game of the Year That Rewarded Team-Building Like No Other Unicorn Overlord is a masterpiece, a triumph, and a fantastic experience. Though not without flaws (the main plot is honestly kinda goofy), the flow of its battles, the unique traversing of the overworld, and the addictive gameplay loop of planning, strategizing, and organizing your unitsā¦ Read More »
Year-on-year, I seem to be getting busier and busier with my non-gaming pursuits. In 2024 I started a new job, alongside rehearsing for my 4th theatre show in a 12-month period, so youād think Iād pick shorter games to play. Perhaps this is where I learn something about myself. Perhaps I am a masochist whoā¦ Read More »
So! About that 2024, huh? A year of difficult (yet fulfilling!) personal change for me was punctuated by one of the all-time best years in RPG history. As I made my way through treacherous personal waters, I found myself further away from the games I love so much until later into the year, when Iā¦ Read More »
Itās been a monumental year for RPGs, if not one of the best ever. I say this to make clear that itās no small feat there was a single frontrunner for me despite the steepest of competition. The RPG (of the Year) That Delivered on My Dreams Itās Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Like, oh myā¦ Read More »
Top 3 RPGs That Held My Attention This Year SKALD: Against the Black Priory If youād told me a year ago that my favorite gaming experience of the year would have been an Amiga-inspired retro RPG, Iād have likely shot a pessimistic glance. But SKALD was so draped in dark atmospherics, both in its detailedā¦ Read More »
Itās been a great year for RPGs, and Iām always trying to keep up with the great titles of this year, last year, the previous year, and so on. Last year, I hadnāt beaten Baldurās Gate 3, and here I am, a year later, and I still havenāt beaten it! Anyway, that was last year.ā¦ Read More »
I feel that 2024 was one of the strongest years for RPGs and puzzle adventure games in recent memory, and as a result I played way more new video games than I originally planned to, enough for a list of my ten favorite RPGs released in the calendar year. Missed Connections Black Myth: Wukong, Dragonāsā¦ Read More »
The 2024 RPG I Played in 2024 Award: Unicorn Overlord The Ogre Battle series, particularly Person of Lordly Caliber, is a series that has moved and inspired me more than most. The notion of a similar game, given Vanillawareās signature treatment, is quite a nice prospect. Unicorn Overlord does not quite manage to achieve theā¦ Read More »
Let’s be honest: 2024 was one of the fullest, most complete years for RPGs in history. Whether you were looking at the AAA space (ahem, me), more independent offerings, or really anything between, there was a lot for everyone. That also means that I played several more games released this year than usual. While Iā¦ Read More »
Best Older RPG that I Played (For the First Time) in 2024: LindaĀ³ Again Playing LindaĀ³ for the first time today feels like NieR went back in time and had a child with EarthBound. This is the best way Iāve been able to convey what makes this PSX boundary-pusher such a special game. Iād heardā¦ Read More »
Best Stylish Action RPG/Gambling Simulator: Wuthering Waves Punishing: Gray Raven is easily one of my favorite mobile games, so I was over the moon when an official PC client released. Once developer Kuro Games announced their follow-up to PGR and revealed it to be an open-world action RPG, I was initially underwhelmed. Everything looked likeā¦ Read More »
2025-02-06
In roleplaying games, the most popular roles are the usual suspects: warriors, rogues, wizards, or clerics. Most playable characters are a variant of the typical RPG trinity of tank, DPS, and healers. Unfortunately, adventuring isnāt free. For a character or party to advance, they need not just experience, but better gear. That gear costs moneyā¦ Read More »
Rob White Final Fantasy IX is definitely up there as one of the entries of the series I’ve played the most. Everything about this game says comfort, nostalgia and adventure to me, and I canāt see myself ever tiring of it. Gaia (and Terra) is a land unlike any other in Final Fantasy, an aestheticā¦ Read More »
2025-01-18
Freedom Wars does nearly everything right thematically. From the first moments, you’re slapped with a million-year sentence for a mysterious crime you allegedly committed. You must now live out your sentence in a post-apocalyptic penitentiary known simply as The Panopticon. A notice explodes onto the PS Vita’s screen explaining this fact, with a space inā¦ Read More »
2025-01-15
I had a great time with the Demonschool demo over the summer, so it was a pleasure to interview the school’s principal game’s creative director (and founder of Necrosoft Games) Brandon Sheffield. We conducted the Q&A over email, where Sheffield revealed some fun and intriguing insights into the design concepts and aesthetic inspirations that informedā¦ Read More »
2025-01-08
Did you know that hotels used to provide a newspaper at your door every morning? The practice started in the first half of the 19th century and technically still exists, though you won’t find a newspaper at your door anymore. Instead, you most likely have to ask for a newspaper at the front desk. Inā¦ Read More »
2024-12-31
It’s a well-known fact that colorful alien worlds are one of my weak points; bring me all the games with glowing plants, crystal deserts, and Roger Dean-inspired rock formations! Thankfully, this month, I’ve found a neat little indie title that fulfills this particular checklistāintroducing The Dawn’s Circle, a new pixel graphic RPG with LGBTQ+ themes and visual stylings that bring to mind Cosmic Star Heroine and Paladin’s Quest, with just a dash of Hazbin Hotel.
