A popstar, a rocker, a DJ, and a rapper walk into a random encounter… No, this is not the start to a terrible joke, but rather the start of the incredible combat system in developer Iridium Studios’ cross-genre RPG musical People of Note. When I demoed the game and met its director, Jason Wishnov, at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, I was enamoured by its concept and was hopeful the full game would be deeper and more complex. Thankfully, People of Note is a virtuosic harmonizing of a whimsical aesthetic with ingenious turn-based mechanics.

Cadence, an aspiring singer in the pop music-infused city of Chordia, is tired of the same old. For years, bland boyband Smolder has won the citywide music competition Noteworthy, defining the prosaic pop that the citizens of Chordia eat up. When a faulty radio gives Cadence her first earful of rock music, she decides to journey out into the world of Note and amass a band that will bring a new sound to Chordia and break the walls separating genres.

The cities and kingdoms of Note represent supergenres of music, such as the rock-wasteland of Durandis, within which are areas for more specific genres—the metal, punk, and grunge districts. The first half of the game sees Cadence on a simple, if selfish, journey collecting a musician each from the Mad Max-ish deserts of Durandis, the EDM cyberpunk city of Lumina, and the rap kingdom of Pyre. All is not hunky dory, however, as Cadence slowly uncovers a looming conspiracy threatening to throw Note into chaotic disharmony.

People of Note‘s tone starts somewhere between a Disney film and Kpop Demon Hunters, appropriately shifting into a more mature, introspective mood in the story’s second half. I found the world-threatening stakes a bit too vague in the beginning, though Cadence is an interesting and relatable protagonist who buoys much of the heart. Any creative will empathize with her endeavours towards greatness. The rest of the cast is solid, such as playable rap prince Vox or the periodic boss battles against the four members of Smolder (think airheaded Backstreet Boys), though the highlight for me was the push-and-pull rivalry/romance between Cadence and the furtive violinist Arc.

Dialogue, conveyed through 2D character art, is fully voiced and well-written, striking the right balance between humour and pathos. Some line reads sound a little disjointed between characters, but they hit especially hard towards the game’s coda when the drama matters. Cutscenes in the form of showstopping musical numbers drop in at key moments, with characters belting out their dreams, anxieties, and (my favourite) apologies. These numbers are more theatre-kid approximations of rock, rap, EDM, and the other genres of Note, but there is a string of solid hits here.

The music that soundtracks exploration and combat is consistently catchy for all its eclecticism. A few standouts are the Kpop battle themes in a nightclub in Chordia, the siren-like enemy vocals in Choral Shores, and the bluegrass battle theme of the Homestead, cowboys from the country-country that seem intent on stopping Cadence. Most *ahem* notably, the music in battles shifts and gives buffs to musicians in your band (party) based on genre. Hearing, say, the bluegrass battle tune overlayed with pop vocals or crunchy metal guitars propels each round of battle forward and makes for some very interesting sonic and strategic combinations.

People of Note loves puns, which fits the musical theatre vibe, and I’m here for it. The game’s packed wall-to-wall with winks towards bands, lyrics, and general pop culture, so on-the-nose that it skirts obnoxiousness and goes right to charming. My favourite might be the armour “Simon Cowl,” or the boss battle where a cowboy goes “Super Singin’” and shoots out blasts of “Kamehameyeehaw!” Then, interactions with NPCs during exploration are rife with fourth-wall-breaking jokes poking fun at RPG tropes. People of Note got a lot of laughs out of me, and all of it complemented the musical integrity of its world.

Visually, People of Note imbues each genre with vibrant, painterly colours—you can even see the broad brushstrokes in its environments. Show me a colour and I could probably pin down where in Note it came from. Some side areas, like the woodwind-styled forest, feel a little half-baked, but that’s just a testament to how I want to see more of this beautiful world. Character models in battle jive and bob their head to the beat, though they can look a little stiff in the would-be-epic crossover attacks. Still, the characters look great in their 2D dialogues, and their cartoonish designs convey genre and personality wonderfully.

For all I love in People of Note, the combat takes centre stage. At first, given the Disney vibes, I thought this may be an onboarding RPG for players new to the genre. I had no clue how strategic and challenging the combat would be.

Stanzas (battle rounds) are composed of numbered measures (character moves) clearly labeled on the bottom of the screen. The interface clearly labels enemy attacks, meaning you know whether to attack, heal, debuff, buff, or defend. Players can command their band in any order, provided every member makes a move. As mentioned, each stanza switches the musical genre and boosts one of your bandmates, meaning you’re better off having other members lay buffs on the current star, who can then attack.

In many RPGs, I strive for the quickest, most direct attacks to topple enemies. In People of Note, this gets you nowhere. Rather than have character classes, each of the four members has equippable and upgradable “Songstones,” some exclusive and others, like a simple heal, shareable. Songstone abilities require in-battle BP, which slowly replenishes each stanza, or with the use of certain abilities. Whereas a standard turn-based round in an RPG may look like “Attack, attack, attack, heal,” a late-game stanza in People of Note may include buffing your attacker, filling up their BP, attacking, and expanding the number of measures you can make in the next stanza.

Even random battles (not so random, as they’re accessible by a button push) feel more like precarious puzzles than a fight. Subtle, randomized elements of battles keep them fresh: the genres the stanzas shift through; varying enemy health; the number of measures allies and enemies can take; bosses gradually ramping up their “Crescendo” bar and becoming stronger like a beast at bay. Then, there are the timing-based inputs for each ability that greatly affect their potency. Each new weapon you find or purchase has a completely new overlay, meaning you’ll be continually reconfiguring your Songstones and moves as you get stronger. All of this to say, I absolutely love how engaging People of Note’s combat is.

My feelings about the game’s exploration puzzles are more mixed. Each new genre/land Cadence ventures through brings a new type of puzzle, such as pushing bits of the environment to create a walkable path or bouncing music-ray-beams off mirrors and into receptacles. These start simple enough, but I was getting frustrated by some headier stacked mechanics by the game’s end. People of Note’s lands are rather small, meaning the game introduces puzzles too briefly and ramps up their difficulty before they vanish for the rest of the adventure.

One of the People of Note’s many thoughtful accessibility options is the ability to turn off these puzzles. For the sake of the review, I pounded my head against them, though the slog of puzzles towards the game’s final moments did hurt the game’s pacing. More enjoyable, if a bit underutilized, are the “puzzle battles” throughout Note that require certain conditions like defeating enemies in a set number of moves or simply surviving a punishing stanza. All content included, People of Note takes between fifteen and twenty hours; short but incredibly sweet.

Like a great album, People of Note is all killer, no filler. It’s an excellent antidote for RPGFans who may be tired of repetitive, overly long experiences. Don’t be fooled by its puns and Disney-ish charms—People of Note is thoroughly challenging and thought-provoking with its gameplay. I truly hope that when talk comes about for great turn-based combat, this game is in heavy rotation.

The journey that the Life is Strange series provides its fans has been a long and winding one, filled with storms both in-game and out. With the IP belonging to publisher Square Enix, we’ve seen development shift from French team Dontnod Entertainment (Life is Strange 1 and 2) to American devs Deck Nine for prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm and everything since. Life is Strange: Reunion is Deck Nine’s culmination of 11 years of Life is Strange, pulling together characters and player decisions from both halves of the franchise and giving them—thankfully—a proper sendoff.

First, be warned of spoilers for the first Life is Strange (2015) and Reunion’s predecessor, Life is Strange: Double Exposure (2024). Life is Strange: Reunion opens by summing up the stories of these two games and asking players to reselect a handful of key decisions from their endings. Most importantly, from the first game: does your time-reversing protagonist Max Caulfield choose to save her best friend (and optional love interest) Chloe Price or leave Chloe to die to quell the massive storm that messing with time and fate caused? Save the girl, or save the town you both grew up in. Fans argued up and down about what the right call to make was, but that need has passed.

A decade later, Double Exposure saw Max merging two paradoxical timelines her time-reversing caused, setting off the potential that the universes where Chloe died and survived were both true. As its title suggests, Life is Strange: Reunion is the long-awaited return of Chloe Price, now struggling with the hunch that she just may be a walking paradox herself, as she seeks out her long-lost (girl)friend (but let’s be honest, in-game stats show that 95% of fans have Max and Chloe romance each other).

Life is Strange: Reunion is set within the year after Double Exposure and so reuses many environments and characters from Caledon University. The strongest of that game’s cast, namely physics supergeek Moses and femme fatale Safi, feature heavily here as well. It would have been nice to introduce some new characters, or perhaps return to more characters from the first game’s Arcadia Bay (aside from a few passing references in readable text messages). Still, those others would only be overshadowed by the immediate chemistry between Max and Chloe.

Now a photography teacher at Caledon, Max is finally enjoying minor fame and a semblance of normality, only to witness a vicious fire engulf the university and all that she loves. For the first time since losing her best friend/love of her life, Max travels back in time through a photo she took just days before the fire. If stopping Caledon’s imminent destruction weren’t enough, Chloe returns like a literal ghost from the past to Max after years apart.

Despite the story’s constantly high stakes, I loved the cozy feeling I had while playing it, thanks in large part to the warm, autumnal visuals and gentle acoustic score (with some of Max’s favourite indie bands for moments of reflection). Even the pause and menu themes are gorgeously bittersweet. Life is Strange: Reunion is only around ten hours, but it rewards patience. Bee-lining for each objective will make you overlook interactable clues in the environment that may just save a life. More than that, the bulk of the game is hearing Max’s observations of the world around her—band posters, awful open mic performers, public art displays, and listenable podcasts. Though superfluous, they add colour and character.

For the first time, players also control Chloe. Her journal logs are messy, her phone screen cracked; rather than take collectible photos, she scribbles out quick doodles of what she observes. Chloe was a lovable if at times frustrating character in Life is Strange, but here she has outgrown her teenage slang (goodbye, “amazeballs” and “hella”) and most of her impetuousness. Even more than Max and her puns, Chloe is the heart of Life is Strange: Reunion. Fans of the series who were disappointed with how Chloe was cast aside for Double Exposure need not worry.

The slower pace extends to gameplay. There are few puzzles to be found in Life is Strange: Reunion, and I rarely even used Max’s rewind power beyond a few clever story beats. No bottle collecting or knocking over toolboxes here! This made the game rather easy, as even story choices seemed mostly obvious, and I ended the game with what I’d argue was the objectively best ending for all involved.

I’d say this is the most linear Life is Strange game, leaning more towards the writing and dialogue that fans enjoy over interactivity. Beneath its heady time-travel and mystery concepts, Life is Strange: Reunion’s dialogue is well-written, quippy without becoming too twee, and very well-acted. The impressive facial animations return here to breathe life and pathos into Max and Chloe, though some side characters can still come across as plasticky by comparison.

I love how the game lets its conversations take their time, lingering on and expounding emotions that players no doubt want to feel. Unlike the Twin Peaks-esque way the original game poked fun with its tropes, revealing dark secrets behind seemingly every character, Life is Strange: Reunion is tender-hearted and, as I said before, cozy, and works best on those willing to be lulled into its gentle rhythm.

For scenes where I controlled Chloe, I liked the risky feeling that my choices couldn’t be rewound. She even has a new “Backtalk” debate feature where quick dialogue decisions decide some rather large story revelations, though this feature only appears a handful of times. This could still be frustrating because the dialogue choices, mapped to face buttons, could be a little too vague at times, especially in conjunction with the lack of a readable log. During some important conversations, I froze, unsure how to respond, through no lack of attention on my part.

If I had one glaring complaint about the original Life is Strange, it’s that it was, frankly, ugly as sin. Life is Strange: Reunion looks lovely and runs smoothly. Caledon and The Snapping Turtle bar are thoroughly detailed with the idylls of a liberal arts student. The surrounding autumn foliage consistently gave me pause and made me, as Max, take my camera out to line up a screenshot. There’s just enough painterly flourish in the game’s art direction to eliminate any uncanniness and preserve it with an evergreen beauty.

The character animations, too, finally reflect the impressive cinematography that has always existed in Life is Strange. There is some texture and model pop-in, especially when the camera establishes a new setting, but all said, I’m glad to see the visuals and polish brought up to this standard in Life is Strange: Reunion.

In all honesty, fans were right to be concerned about Deck Nine’s stewardship of Life is Strange after Double Exposure’s disappointing finale and cliffhanger. Thankfully, Deck Nine righted their course and stuck the landing with Life is Strange: Reunion, which takes the best of both, er, dimensions: the beautiful visuals and warm aesthetic of recent games applied to the much-loved dynamic of Max and Chloe. Some may miss the time-bending puzzles, but I preferred the way the narrative threads and character moments pulled me in for an intimate embrace.

Revisiting older games can be sobering. Sometimes they age gracefully. Sometimes they reveal ideas ahead of their time. And sometimes they expose every compromise that once hid behind a smaller screen. Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection stands firmly in that last category. This was my first time with the Star Force games, and I came in expecting a lost corner of Mega Man history. What I found instead was a trilogy that feels at odds with its new home.

As mentioned in my hands-on preview, there are technically seven Star Force titles included, but functionally this is a trilogy with alternate versions: Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon; Zerker x Ninja and Zerker x Saurian; and Black Ace and Red Joker. Just like different versions in the Pokémon series, the core progression and story within each pair and trio remain nearly identical. 

These were Nintendo DS games built around two screens, stylus input, and the cadence of handheld play. On a large display, especially on the PS5, the translation is rough. One screen sits tucked into a corner, adjustable but never comfortable. Swapping focus between the two becomes a constant chore, and the interface rarely feels at home on a television. Even when the layout technically works, it does not feel natural. The friction never disappears. It lingers in every menu, every transition, every attempt to read information that was clearly designed for two tiny screens.

Playing this way turns what should be simple interactions into small annoyances that pile up. The UI and combat information live on one screen, environmental and story context on another. You toggle, resize, and re-center, always managing the presentation instead of simply playing. This kind of compromise might feel acceptable on a dual-screened portable device, but on a large screen, it becomes exhausting. I keep wishing I had a PlayStation Portal to try it on, though I’m not convinced even that would solve all the headaches.

Underneath Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection‘s awkward presentation sits a gameplay loop built around exploration, encounters, and deck-driven combat. You move between real-world locations and a parallel digital “wave” layer that overlays the environment, talking to characters, triggering objectives, and advancing the story. Battles take place on a compact three-panel grid viewed from behind Mega Man, with enemies occupying the space ahead. Movement is limited, and the focus shifts toward timing, positioning, and reading attack patterns.

Folder building remains at the heart of all three games. Cards collected from enemies and shops form your Folder, Star Force’s term for its deck, dictating your offensive and defensive options. During combat, a gauge fills, time pauses, and you draw a hand. Matching columns or duplicate names lets you string attacks together before returning to real-time movement: dodge, wait, draw, strike, reset. It is a clever idea, but it quickly becomes monotonous given the limited enemy variety.

The first game, Mega Man Star Force, establishes the series’ foundation. Its sci-fi framing leans heavily into wave technology and digital overlays, giving the world a distinct identity compared to other RPGs of the era. The story follows Geo and his transformation into Mega Man through contact with an extraterrestrial entity. The premise has potential, but the execution rarely capitalizes on it. Story scenes come and go without much impact, and the pacing often stalls between plot beats. 

Mechanically, the first Star Force feels the most rigid. Folder building exists, transformations provide some customization, and enemy patterns encourage learning, yet encounters blur together quickly. Navigation can be unclear, and the game revolves around repetition. The three versions primarily shift elemental affinities and form changes, but the overall structure remains unchanged. By the midpoint, the sense of discovery fades, replaced by routine.

The sequel, Mega Man Star Force 2, attempts to expand that foundation through the Tribe system and Zerker combinations. On paper, there is more to engage with. There are more transformation options, and Folder experimentation becomes more viable. In theory, it’s a meaningful step forward, but in practice, the changes feel so minor that I spent much of my playthrough fighting a persistent sense of déjà vu. Encounters remain repetitive, and the structure still relies on moving between spaces, triggering events, and fighting waves of similar enemies. The story pushes toward a more global scale, but like the first game, its major plot points struggle to land.

The third entry, Mega Man Star Force 3, is the most refined mechanically. There is a clearer attempt to give players more control over their playstyle, with expanded Folder options, slightly smarter enemy patterns, and more varied transformations that let you experiment with different approaches. Even here, though, the improvements sit atop the same dated structure.

The stakes escalate in familiar fashion. A new threat emerges, shadowy figures maneuver behind the scenes, and Geo once again finds himself bridging the human and Wave Worlds in an effort to prevent catastrophe. The game grasps toward larger ideas about trust, reputation, and the consequences of power, and there is a greater sense of an overarching conspiracy tying events together. Yet despite the heightened scope, the story follows a familiar pattern: investigate an anomaly, enter a corrupted network, defeat a themed boss, repeat.

The pacing in Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection swings between slow stretches and sudden spikes of activity. Black Ace and Red Joker introduce meaningful tweaks to abilities and builds, but they remain variations within a familiar mold. The core experience still revolves around the same loop established in the first game. It doesn’t help that common enemies are recycled across all three games.

The combat shows flashes of potential. Timing attacks, managing card draws, and adapting to enemy patterns can be engaging at times. Folder building, in particular, hints at a deeper layer of strategy. Transformations add flair, and late-game encounters occasionally push you to think more carefully about your approach. But for every encounter that clicks, countless more pass by without leaving an impression. Instead of building tension, the games often settle into a predictable cadence.

Star Force aims for emotional weight but struggles to sustain it. Themes of isolation, identity, and connection run throughout, yet the writing rarely develops them beyond surface-level gestures. Scenes introduce ideas, then move on before they can register. While the sci-fi setting provides a distinct tone, the execution never creates the momentum needed to carry it.

The presentation does little to help. These were originally DS games, and in that context, the visuals were fine. On modern platforms, though, they just look like a blown-up DS game. The adaptation preserves the structure, but not the comfort of playing on a handheld. Audio fares a bit better, with energetic battle themes and familiar Mega Man motifs. Even so, monotony sets in quickly. Tracks loop constantly, and the soundscape rarely evolves alongside the gameplay. Many tunes also feel distinctly low-fi, as if copied straight from the DS releases, despite the touted rearranged and remixed soundtracks.

There are a few ideas in the Star Force series worth appreciating. The card-based combat framework shows promise. The transformation mechanic adds some identity. The sci-fi premise sets the trilogy apart from other RPGs of its era. But potential alone cannot carry an experience, especially across three full-length games that lean so heavily on uniformity.

Playing through the Star Force games in 2026, the sense of their era is unmistakable. Objectives feel unfocused; wandering is without purpose. Encounters stack without evolving, and combat rarely feels connected to exploration. Instead of building toward something cohesive, the trilogy circles the same concepts, refining them incrementally without ever introducing anything new.

What ultimately defines this collection is friction. Friction between hardware and design. Friction between ambition and execution. Friction between systems that hint at depth and a structure that never supports it. The more time I spent with Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, the more exhausting it became. Not challenging. Not demanding. Exhausting. The constant screen management, the repetitive encounters, the clunky navigation, the slow pacing, the friction layered on top of friction. It all adds up.

Capcom deserves credit for preserving these games in a complete package. All versions are here, faithfully presented. For longtime fans, that preservation alone may justify the collection. But I cannot, in good conscience, recommend it to newcomers. The games are intact, and with them come all of their limitations. Once, it felt like an ambitious handheld experiment; now it plays like a trilogy stuck between ideas. Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is an honest time capsule, capturing a series that never found its footing.

Ride on, Rangers: Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, the third entry in the monster-collecting JRPG spin-off series, is here! Can humans and monsters unite to save the world? Bonds of kinship prevail in a fantastical tale revealing how past sins echo through time. Heartwarming and poignant, Monster Hunter Stories 3 builds on an already impressive formula and reaches even greater heights.

The story begins in a kingdom called Azuria with the birth of exceedingly rare twin Skyscale Rathalos (think giant dragons). This birth portends a great calamity, causing the king to make a tragic decision in an attempt to prevent future hardships. Flash forward years later, and much has changed in Azuria. You play as the prince or princess of the kingdom who happens to be the newly minted captain of Azuria’s Rangers: a specialized unit of Monster Riders with a mission to protect the fragile environmental balance between humans, monsters, and nature.

Together with your staunchly loyal Palico attendant Rudy and “Monstie” Ratha, you and the other Rangers face the inexplicable threat of crystallization that is laying waste to monster and human territories alike. Not to mention the increased tensions with the neighboring kingdom of Vermeil, which has been hit even harder by the disaster and is growing ever more desperate. With war on the horizon, can the Rangers, their Monsties, and Eleanor, the second princess of Vermeil, figure out the truth behind the disastrous crystallization and save everyone?

I won’t delve too deeply into the story, as it contains emotional twists and turns. There’s one predictable twist, but it still works narratively. While I’m not as familiar with the mainline Monster Hunter action RPGs, I appreciate Monster Hunter Stories’ focus on humans aiming for harmonious coexistence with monsters. The Monsties aren’t treated as harmless, and Monster Hunters still play a pivotal role in society; however, the monsters are shown with surprising depth and sentience, making their bonds with humans believable.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 is the best in the trilogy at developing party members beyond the protagonist and Rudy. The other Rangers and Eleanor each have their own backstories and motivations. Supporting characters gain depth, and I even wanted more scenes with standouts like Corbin and PK. The game tells a surprisingly epic tale, veering into mature, bittersweet territory.

This leads me into my first “gripe”: the first two MHS games leaned more toward family-friendly, wholesome territory. Monster Hunter Stories 3 attempts to tread that same water while also telling a more grown-up tale of acceptance and coming-of-age. Occasionally, it comes across as not knowing which audience it is trying to cater to. There are some scenes that could be troubling for younger gamers, yet the narrative then pulls back by still retaining “childish/cutesy” elements. For instance, it’s hard to take a scene describing the horrors of war as seriously as was no doubt intended when terms like “Monstie” are used in the same breath.

The cat-like Felynes that populate the world are far too cute, even when in serious narrative roles, given the cat puns they throw around (not that I don’t think they aren’t “purr-fectly” charming and clever myself). Throw in a side quest that involves finding missing Poogies (essentially little piglets), who are often dressed up in colorful attire for some reason, alongside actually racing some of the little guys in mushroom-dotted race tracks, and you’ve got an RPG that seems deceptively kiddy on the surface. But breaking through the egg quartz to find the hidden bounty within reveals a plot with some pretty dark and mature undertones.

In a way, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection symbolizes the “awkward teen” phase of this spinoff series as it finds its footing alongside its more daring cousin. Still more mature and evolving than its predecessors, yet only taking those forays with tentative, regressive steps at certain points. That isn’t a slight against the plot at all, though! There’s a superb environmental message at its core. I also appreciate how the main character (whom I’ll refer to as “the princess” from here on out since that’s who I picked) is so much more than just a blank slate player insert in this tale, as they have a pivotal role and personality that’s front and center throughout.

Gameplay-wise, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection replaces the main MH games’ action RPG mechanics with a more traditional turn-based approach. The princess equips three weapon types, each with unique strengths, weaknesses, and skills. You switch weapons to suit your current enemies and choose the most effective element or type. I preferred heavy blades, hammers, and bows, but all weapon types are versatile. After selecting a weapon, combat involves choosing an attack and entering a rock-paper-scissors exchange: technical beats speed; speed overcomes power; power trumps technical. Winning Head-to-Head lets you deal more damage, or the reverse if you lose.

As a Rider or Ranger, you’re never fighting alone. The princess teams up with a Monstie companion, and both share a “heart” meter to monitor and avoid a game over. In battle, you can use up to six monsters, each with unique behaviors, abilities, and elemental properties. Keeping a mixed roster to match foes is vital.

By default, Monsties pick their moves, but you can override this when you need a certain attack type. If you and a party member target the same enemy part with the same attack type and win a Head-to-Head, your kinship gauge increases faster. This lets you ride your Monstie, combining your health and unlocking a powerful Kinship move. Your AI-controlled Ranger companion and their Monstie function identically, and syncing the ride phase enables a more devastating Double Kinship attack.

Combat requires strategy. When first fighting a new enemy, you’re left to initially guess at their penchant for attack types and counter accordingly. After that initial phase, you have to remember which attack types enemies prefer if you want to do the most damage. There are also status effects and a limited number of inventory items to consider, so plan carefully. Many enemy monsters have multiple body parts to target, often with different weapon weaknesses that’ll have you switching out between different ones as needed. Breaking body parts can stagger monsters or weaken their attacks, but it can make the fights drag on.

It doesn’t help that, aside from choosing your own Monsties’ attacks, you have no control over what your Ranger ally and their Monstie do during fights. Every party member and their monsters have different abilities and equipment, but merely serviceable AI. But they might prefer power attacks even when an enemy targets them with a speed one, or they might not heal you or themselves, even when you’re out of your restorative items and desperately need the support. The ability to direct their actions would speed prolonged battles along.

I often relied on the handy Quick Finish option to instantly KO lower-level enemies or attacked and destroyed monsters on the field before a fight even began, but that only works if you’re sufficiently leveled.

Outside combat, exploration is central to Monster Hunter Stories 3. Monsties have unique abilities for navigating areas. For example, Royal Ludroths’ Swim lets you cross lakes quickly, while Barroths’ Ground Dive grants access to otherwise unreachable regions. Having a party with varied skills opens up more of the terrain, and you can switch Monsties at any time. Exploring reveals dens with monster eggs to bolster your ranks, or you can use a recently hatched monster in reclaimed areas after defeating a Feral Monster and setting up a campground to increase a specific monster’s population.

Habitat restoration enables you to not only strengthen the monster populations of an area, but also “restore” endangered species. First, you must combat invasive monsters. These souped-up monster battles take more strategy to overcome as they require clue gathering and specific tactics to not so much “defeat” the enemy as to make it retreat, at which point you can retrieve an endangered species egg and hatch it.

Returning the newly hatched monster to the ecosystem then starts populating the grounds with more eggs for that species. Continuing to do so can even cause mutations, resulting in powerful monster variations. The fearsome Tigrex, for example, has two such mutant subspecies you acquire by playing along with habitat restoration.

Beyond merely collecting eggs and hatching them, you can also add skills and abilities to your Monsties through the Rite of Channeling. This allows you to transfer specific genes between monsters. There are bonuses to stats should you line genes up a certain way, and the sheer number of abilities you can give a monster is astounding. Genes let monsters access attacks they normally wouldn’t have, like a technical or speed attack skill on a monster mostly known for power, which helps further diversify the roles they take in combat. Narga, my Green Nargacuga variant, became an MVP due to all of the different skills and defensive/resistance bonuses I gave him.

Monster Hunter Stories 3‘s optional side content occasionally opens up, generally of the basic fetch variety, with you having to track down specific monsters or materials. They’re definitely good for resource gathering purposes for crafting or for level grinding, but they aren’t memorable.

The character side stories for the Ranger companions and Eleanor are far more interesting. Not only can you strengthen your comrades’ and their Monsties’ abilities and gear by undertaking them, which in turn improves their combat strength, but you also learn more about their individual backstories and reasons for tagging along with the princess. The side stories further strengthening your companions’ narrative ties and reactions to the main plot. I just wish the rest of the side content were as detailed!

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a gorgeous and vibrantly colorful game. The environments are lively and memorable with a ton to uncover, and I love the expressive characters. The monsters all have interesting designs, though I do wish there were more variety. For all of the different color variations, you do run into monsters that look quite similar to one another, even if their behaviors are different. I also love the different looks the armor getups have, even though some of them have accessories that could prove distracting during cutscenes, like shoulder horns that block another character’s face during dialogue.

I played the game on a PS5 and didn’t encounter any of the graphical hiccups Ben Love reported in his awesome Switch 2 version preview, so I think the graphics interpretation also depends on the console.

The sound effects and voice work for the English language version are nicely done. Monsters sound thoroughly wild and intimidating when necessary, and the voice actors really give it their all in their performances. The soundtrack is also amazing. The vocal ending theme is lovely and fits the narrative theme nicely, and I loved the catchy intensity of the battle and monster themes such as this one. The script localization is pretty well done, with easy-to-read subtitles throughout all cutscenes.

Overall, I appreciate that Monster Hunter Stories 3 is largely a standalone adventure that RPGFans can pick up and play even if their knowledge of the main Monster Hunter series or the previous two MHS games is nonexistent (though there are some delightful callbacks for fans). The foundation for Monster Hunter Stories was already solid, and this third game largely builds upon this. Most of my issues with the game are relatively minor and nitpicky in hindsight, especially given how much I enjoyed playing it even after fifty hours.

I think Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a great introduction to this spin-off series, especially to those with a fondness for detail and strategy-heavy monster collecting and explorable fantasy adventures. Given how fantastic Monster Hunter Stories 3 is, if the next game in the series can provide an even stronger outing, I’ll be paws-itively impressed!

The year is 20XX. The great city of Toronto is beset with three warring gangs: the Demons, the Robots, and, perhaps most fearsome of all, the Vegans. If that’s not bad enough, local legend Scott Pilgrim witnesses his best friends-slash-Sex Bob-omb bandmates kidnapped by the mysterious Metal Scott mere hours before their big gig. Can Scott, his girlfriend Ramona Flowers, and a motley crew of Ramona’s repentant Evil Exes band together and save the day? More importantly, is Scott Pilgrim EX a worthy follow-up on a beloved Canadian franchise?

As a longtime fan of the Scott Pilgrim series (and former Toronto resident), I’m happy to say it’s very worthy. Scott Pilgrim EX is the perfect storm: series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley returns to write the story, set after the events of the original comic and its 2023 sequel animated show, as do chiptune legends Anamanaguchi to compose the soundtrack after their incredible work on Ubisoft’s 2010 beat ‘em up Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game and said sequel show. And there’s no better developer to handle a fresh new Scott Pilgrim beat ’em up than Tribute Games, who’ve proven their chops in the genre with 2022’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and 2025’s Marvel Cosmic Invasion.

But rather than simply retreading well-worn paths, Scott Pilgrim EX surprises with many of its design choices. You and a potential four friends—online or on your couch—won’t be traveling through a series of linear levels of escalating difficulty. Instead, Toronto is an open world of 2D belt-scrolling screens randomly populated by one of the three gangs, procedurally scaled to your current level. This freedom comes at the cost of level length and depth, as it only takes a handful of screens to reach each end of Toronto, and you’ll eventually be sprinting end to end in a matter of seconds.

The game’s progression, then, comes with a series of twelve quests allowing Scott to rescue each of his bandmates and use their instruments in a very Ocarina of Time fashion to travel through rifts in spacetime. This may require a bit of errand-running back and forth, like carrying keys across the city without dropping them, or bringing bombs to cracks in walls a la The Legend of Zelda to find secret rooms.

The payoff of this open-world structure is that Scott Pilgrim EX’s Toronto is a vibrant, living setting, thoroughly gorgeous to behold. Despite the 20XX label, the colorful visuals pay tribute to games of the 1990s (in keeping with the series’ retro game adoration), particularly Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter, and Mega Man. I could list a dozen other new and old games referenced (and I have, in my notes!) However, I think it’s best if players discover the tribute trove for themselves.

Best of all, the callbacks in Scott Pilgrim EX feel joyful and celebratory of gaming’s yesteryears rather than twee or winking. You can chuck green koopa shells down Queen Street to bowl over a line of vicious Vegans, and Guile-flash-kick Mortal Kombat-esque Demon ninjas and Robots that look fresh out of Dr. Wiley’s factory, and it all somehow gels perfectly. I love the visuals in this game.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out the familiarity that clearly went into Scott Pilgrim EX‘s depiction of Toronto. Casa Loma is reoutfitted as the vampire-housing Casa Vania. The iconic nacho joint Sneaky Dee’s is here presented as Tricky Dee’s, an item shop; the same goes for Honest Ed’s (here: Honest Ex’s), the beloved thrift shop that tragically went under in 2016. High Park, the Distillery District, and Dundas all appear, populated by characters of Scott Pilgrim yore. I realize not everyone will get the same kick out of the visuals as I did, but we Canadians deserve this win.

“Yeah, yeah, references. But how’s the punching?” As expected from Tribute Game’s gameography, the combat is another win. Light, heavy, grab, and special attacks are here, as are equipable assist attacks from plenty of characters who didn’t make the playable cut. What’s more, each of the seven playable characters feels unique. I appreciate that beyond Scott and Ramona, the characters from the last Scott Pilgrim beat ‘em up, now the aforementioned friends in need of rescue, are replaced with a new roster (of past villains!): Roxie the ninja, Matthew Patel the puppeteer, wrestler (and movie star) Lucas Lee, zoner Robot-01, and, surprisingly, series antagonist Gideon Graves, here a rushdown “pressurer.”

There are no unlockable moves; rather, battling and collecting or purchasing items boosts your vitality, willpower (mana), strength, and agility. Stick with one character, and by the end of the Scott Pilgrim EX‘s three-hour or so adventure, you’ll be level 300, maxed out, and flying around the screen with each jump. There are also purchasable accessories and badges to boost your stats and provide other bonuses, though nothing that flips the game on its head. I saw no reason beyond sampling movesets to play as more than one character in my first solo playthrough, as the game was rather challenging in its later quests and I needed all the stats I could pour into one character.

The first half of Scott Pilgrim EX, when my vitality was low, was a bit frustrating in my constant need to backtrack to earlier shops to buy corndogs or vegan sodas to heal my character, only to be assaulted by baddies on every street and forced yet again to waste my hard-earned loonies and toonies (that’s 1- and 2-dollar coins for you non-Canadians). The lack of a life system raises the strategic bar going into each boss encounter, but it didn’t jive with the lack of options for replenishing health.

Annoyingly, bosses and main quests are unrepeatable, meaning you have to start a New Game Plus carrying over your character stats and items if you want to, say, see all seven of Scott Pilgrim EX‘s endings. When partying up with strangers online, I couldn’t see what quest other players were on, meaning I was dropping in and out with oddly balanced levels for the sole purpose of earning more money and levels for my own roster. The crossplay coop experience was chaotic yet very smooth (a huge upgrade from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game’s choppy mess), though the game could better communicate other players’ stats.

Another unfortunate miss was the writing. I love the world and characters Bryan Lee O’Malley has created, though the jokes in Scott Pilgrim EX missed far more often than they hit. This is due in large part to the lack of romance between its key characters and lack of seriousness in the the story’s stakes. Teaming up with the former bad guys felt like Mario playing tennis with Bowser, with all past history scrubbed over so that Scott and co. could be Mickey Mouseified to appeal to new (and younger) players.

There is a win in that: this game would be a blast to play even for kids with little knowledge of ‘90s gaming minutiae. But while the lack of story focus here makes it approachable, Scott Pilgrim EX loses a lot of the magic that makes the series worth approaching.

Lastly, the music. I could have spent half the review gushing about Anamanaguchi’s soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim EX. They were my favourite band in high school (around when the movie and first game dropped), and I was overjoyed to see their return here, and with their largest-scale project ever to boot. 71 tracks across an hour and a half means that rather than delve into longer stage-specific songs, each screen and shop has its own short looping track. Anamanaguchi stretches their traditionally 8-bit chiptune sound in Scott Pilgrim EX, as they’ve been doing in their non-soundtrack discography, to make a mesh of tracks that reminded me of the cohesive chaos of Undertale or Deltarune‘s music.

The soundtrack is not always melodically complex, considering players hear short snippets of each track as they dash back and forth through Toronto’s streets, bars, and inter-dimensional subspace highways. Instead, the music favors immediate, looping catchiness and mood-setting. Combined with the eclectic and retro-amour visuals, Scott Pilgrim EX makes for one of my favourite game aesthetics, and one that reminds me why I love this medium.

Scott Pilgrim EX appeals to me in many ways, mostly in how it lets me reflect on my life in and out of gaming. It’s endlessly entertaining on the eyes and ears, and it has the best belt-scrolling combat this side of Streets of Rage 4. The swings it takes in terms of pushing its genre or reaching towards a new audience don’t always connect, but it’s still a quick, joyful experience I’m happy to continue playing both solo and with loved ones (and you random people online, I guess).

Truth be told, I don’t have a lot of familiarity with Souls-likes. I can list the number of games in the punishing-yet-ultimately-rewarding genre I’ve played on one hand, but I hold great respect for them and those gamers who strive to master them, even while wholeheartedly admitting they aren’t in my wheelhouse.

Still, I was largely curious about Bandai Namco’s Souls-like series Code Vein because of developer Shift‘s involvement, since they created the action RPG series God Eater that I’m rather fond of. Code Vein II is a fun game if you’re the audience for it and can get past some incredibly frustrating boss fights, but it can also be a massive time commitment and probably isn’t going to compare to the greats of the Souls-like genre or the Souls series’ critically acclaimed Elden Ring.

Code Vein II is set in a world already wrecked by calamity, and mankind’s place on top of the food chain has been replaced by the near-immortal Revenants (vampires, for all intents and purposes). Some Revenants try to live peaceably with humans, while others see humanity’s waning population as nothing more than a walking food supply. To keep both species from dying out entirely, a group of powerful Revenants in the past became part of a living seal to stave off destruction, an act akin to applying a Band-Aid to a stab wound. Now, in the narrative’s current timeline, the heroes’ sacrificial seals have begun to destabilize, bringing the world once more close to ruin.

The player takes on the role of a Revenant Hunter: a human who combats Revenants to protect people. After a horrific attack, the Hunter is saved from certain death by a gentle Revenant with time-traveling abilities named Lou, who volunteers part of her heart to keep them alive. Thanks to their newfound heart connection, she can physically bring the Revenant Hunter back in time. In a last-ditch effort to save the world once more, the duo must go back in time to awaken the sacrificed heroes in the present and destroy them before their seals erode away completely. Since Code Vein II is a Souls-like game, doing so is naturally no easy task, taking extreme physical and emotional tolls.

To say more on Code Vein II’s story would be to delve into spoiler territory, something I’m remiss to do because its lore and narrative are actually highlights, so I’ll just say I enjoyed the plot immensely, especially how it handled its time travel aspect and how that ultimately leads to acquiring the game’s “good” ending depending on your actions in both the past and present timelines.

The characters are also quite interesting, with the sacrificed heroes being tragic figures you can’t help but feel for and want to help out, even as you know that it’ll conflict with your Revenant Hunter’s overall goals. Supporting characters in the sacrificed heroes’, as well as Lou and the Revenant Hunter’s, orbits are also nuanced and memorable. Even with the difficulty spikes and sometimes incredibly frustrating fights, I found the plot and its characters provided more than enough motivation to keep plowing ahead. I also appreciate that you don’t need to have familiarity with the first Code Vein to enjoy Code Vein II, as its story is largely standalone.

Gameplay-wise, Code Vein II is incredibly challenging and punishing, tempered somewhat by player freedom through customization choices. You have multiple weapons in your arsenal, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. I gravitated towards the one-handed swords and kept a handful of them sufficiently upgraded at all times, but there are also slower-moving powerhouse weapons like two-handed great swords or long-range ones like bayonets. You can also shortcut and equip different abilities and attacks to weapons for a truly versatile array of moves.

You can optimize defense using shields, increase sprinting speed, or parry, depending on the type of defensive gear you want to wield. Tons of strategic variations help you develop a play style that works best for you, with the game encouraging experimentation.

Enemy-dropped Haze counts as your currency, meaning you must choose between leveling up or upgrading gear (provided you have enough crafting materials), further encouraging strategic freedom. Code Vein II also allows you to travel and fight alongside a partner character, who give support or take aggro during fights. They’ll even revive you a set number of times should you fall in battle, though this becomes less helpful the more it occurs, as the health restoration they provide upon revival decreases every time.

Depending on your actions during the main story, you’ll often have choices amongst partner characters, all of whom have different fighting styles of their own. There were three partner characters in particular that I liked to use during fights when given the choice, but only because they balanced out my playstyle. Meeting various Revenants throughout the game awards you with valuable Blood Codes, too, which provide various beneficial stat boosts depending on your playstyle or the abilities of certain enemies.

Of course, the main focus of combat in Code Vein II is its boss fights. While your run-of-the-mill enemy encounters can also prove challenging, it’s the boss fights where you’ll find the most challenge. Boss fights in Souls-likes should be notoriously difficult but also ultimately surmountable, giving you a rush of endorphins once you finally and deservedly triumph. I did find several boss fights in Code Vein II to give me this rush once I found the right rhythm for their specific dance.

Unfortunately, not all of the fights are created equal—some rely on gimmicks to the point where they feel largely unfair and cheap, where I struggled endlessly and only conquered them after I found some previously unviable tactic that I then had to quickly master for that trial alone and with no small measure of luck. I didn’t feel as though I “earned” those victories, so they were both frustrating and hollow. There’s also a lot of repeat boss fights, particularly on the paths to the three endings you can uncover, as they certainly took the “earn your happy ending” sentiment to heart with this game.

Code Vein II features a large, expansive open world. You can travel on foot or by using a convenient motorcycle, and you can also fast travel between mistle save points once you find them. Mistles are where you level up, change your gear, and replenish healing stock. Save for the small settlements you uncover every so often, the world itself is a largely barren place that feels quite lonely even despite your partner character.

There are some incentives to traveling through the world, mainly to acquire haze and crafting materials or to strengthen and increase the number of heals you can use during fights, but I often fast-traveled to get through it quickly if I wasn’t actively trying to do those things or finish up an ally’s personal quest.

You can also travel to the past at various points on the map, creating pockets of areas that are somewhat different than what you’ll find in the present to travel through. Depending on actions taken in the past areas, you can actually change the terrain or story encounters in the present in pretty interesting ways, illustrated in particular through the evolution of the Sunken City area.

Visually, Code Vein II is good-looking, but it also suffers from severe clipping issues. The character creator for the Revenant Hunter is easily one of the most in-depth I’ve had the pleasure of trying out and I love how unique the character designs are, with Lou in particular sporting a standout design. Sure, you’ll have objects disappear through clothing and the like during cutscenes or someone or something might suddenly pop in and out of view as you’re progressing through the game. The camera could also swivel rather unhelpfully during combat, which isn’t great when you’re struggling to survive a boss fight.

I also had a bizarre glitch late in the game that I was never able to fix, where my second weapon equipment slot became completely unusable and acted as if nothing was equipped to it. Thankfully, my first weapon slot still registered, so I didn’t have to punch my way through the rest of the game, but I had a pretty good panic over that bug when it first happened and became nervous anytime I had to fiddle with equipment afterwards.

Sound-wise, I can’t really complain about the voice direction. I love the game’s English voice acting as everyone does an entertaining job in their roles, though the voice actor for Zenon in particular is a standout. The musical number introduction they do for his character alone is worth playing the game for! The localization is spot-on, too, with nary an error in the script.

Speaking of music, Code Vein II‘s lead composer is the illustrious Go Shiina, a composer I’ve been enamored with ever since my early days of playing God Eater, and the soundtrack is definitely a highlight, full of great atmospheric tracks like the Main Theme as well as memorably haunting boss themes and vocal songs that capture a wide array of emotions depending on the moments when they play.

Code Vein II is a game that’s in equal parts frustrating and entertaining. I spent hours on several challenging boss fights and sometimes, admittedly, wanted to cry from fruitless efforts to beat them, but the compelling narrative and characters kept me invested all the way to the end and even prompted me to take on optional fights to see things through to the fullest.

It’s not perfect by any means, and it certainly isn’t the best Souls-like game out there, but it does show the heart and potential Shift puts into their games and has me hoping once more to hear about their future endeavors. If nothing else, Code Vein II is worth more than a cursory glance if it happens to catch your eye.

Adolescence is a messy, awkward journey filled with emotional peaks and valleys. If you could turn back time, would you take back that awful, if honest, thing you said to your mom? Would you reconnect with that old friend you grew apart from? Would you save that unpopular girl from getting hit by a football, roadside splash, or pool noodle? Life is Strange Remastered packages these teenage, time-traveling woes into an entrancing story that achieves the high stakes you’d want from a great season of a TV drama while touching upon some very raw and real emotions.

First, why write this review now? While the complete Life is Strange Remastered dropped in 2022, the original Life is Strange released its five episodes from January through October 2015, meaning we’ve recently passed the ten-year anniversary of its conclusion. While new Life is Strange titles have continually released since, this March’s Life is Strange: Reunion will finally revisit both of the original game’s protagonists, Max and Chloe. I encourage readers to check out Jerry Williams’ 2015 reviews of Episode 1: Chrysalis, Episode 2: Out of Time, Episode 3: Chaos Theory, Episode 4: Dark Room, and Episode 5: Polarized.

The seaside town of Arcadia Bay, Washington, is rocked by the disappearance of young Rachel Amber, a bright student at the town’s prestigious Blackwell Academy. Enter 18-year-old Max Caulfield, returning after several years to her native Arcadia Bay to study photography at Blackwell. When Max witnesses her childhood best friend, Chloe Price, gunned down over a botched drug deal on campus, Max discovers her ability to rewind time. With her newfound powers, Max spares Chloe her tragic fate and ignites a weeklong adventure that will uncover the mystery behind the missing Rachel Amber, throw the natural world into disarray, and maybe, just maybe, snag Max a date to the drive-in movies.

Narratively, Life is Strange has aged very well in that its heightened American drama would nestle neatly among ultra-popular, small-town paranormal TV series that followed it, such as Stranger Things or Wednesday. In turn, Life is Strange pays clear homage to its many inspirations: various license plates reference Twin Peaks or Donnie Darko, many story beats mirror The Butterfly Effect, and Max Caulfield and her journey with self-expression are a nod to The Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield.

Sure, it’s clearly a French dev team indulging in Americanophilia, but this gives the game a certain timelessness (if you’ll excuse the pun). As the opening track from composer Jonathan Morali sings: “I wish I had an American girlfriend…”

Episode 1 of Life is Strange especially feels like a pastiche of Americanisms with its introduction of the cast. Thankfully, many of the paper-thin side characters (students and staff at Blackwell Academy) are fleshed out and become more endearing with later episodes. The real draw, though, is Max and Chloe. Max goes from a self-cringing, selfie-taking outcast to a strong and empathetic young adult. Chloe, who seems inseparable from tragedy, drops her punk, laissez-faire wall brick by brick, as only she shares in the knowledge of Max’s time-rewinding powers. Max’s love for Chloe will quickly become your love for Chloe.

Gameplay is mainly exploring Blackwell and Arcadia Bay as Max and talking with the familiar cast. Dialogue lines are unskippable unless you’ve heard them before. The voice acting is earnest and believable from Max and Chloe, though many side characters feel like they’re intentionally hamming up their archetypes, be they jock, skater, or… squirrel-whispering janitor?

Rewinding time lets you tell characters what they want to hear, or else navigate a conversational puzzle. Many points funnel you into more linear paths and environmental puzzles that can be menial rather than mentally stimulating. Episode 2 may make you wonder, did Max gain time-control powers just so she can collect bottles in a junkyard or pick up boxes without clumsily knocking something over? But mostly, the puzzles are varied enough that their spotty quality never detracts from the intertwining narratives or the great narrative pacing.

This being my second playthrough, the years have cemented a kind of 2010s time capsule quality to Life is Strange. I was born in the same year as the main characters, and though I may cringe at early dialogue like “ubercool” and “amazeballs,” I’m certainly not innocent of a few “cool beans” myself.

The licensed soundtrack, featuring indie acts like Bright Eyes, Local Natives, Alt-J, and Mogwai, might as well be lifted from the iPod of a Canadian teen just tryna be cool. With every movie reference or bad pun in the script, there’s just as much chance for a character to call out another character (or themselves) for trying too hard. This is art and life eating each other’s tails.

I won’t spoil any more of the story because I truly recommend today’s teenagers to give it a try, but I appreciate how Life is Strange tackles heavy issues like sexual assault, cyber-bullying, and drug use so bluntly (pun definitely intended this time). Though that all may seem like standard TV fare, these are topics seldom explored in gaming even today, and rarely this well. Do you, as Max, stand by and watch Chloe’s stepfather hit her for smoking weed in her room, or do you take the fall knowing the consequences will come back to bite you later?

Max’s ability to rewind time means you can see the immediate ramifications of either course, though there’s no telling what comes later. The heavy choices in Life is Strange go from mere hurt feelings in the early episodes to life-or-death decisions by game’s end.

Seven years between the PS3 originals and the PS4 Remastered collection seems to have done quite little in terms of visuals and performance, sadly. The newer version does feature facial capture performances for some of the main characters, though the smoothed-out textures now make faces plasticky and environments blotchy. In general, Life is Strange Remastered leans more heavily into its borderline Impressionist art direction, often beautiful at a distance yet uncanny up close.

Episode 4’s textures look especially ugly, though the visuals pull back up for the grand finale in Episode 5. I wish the whole package had been given a proper makeover, given the game’s popularity and the years between the original and Remastered releases.

It’s also worth noting that there’s a notorious, nearly game-breaking bug where Max phases through the environment at a narratively sensitive moment in Episode 4 that has still never been addressed, and I only bypassed it with many a Google search and restarted checkpoint. All this to say, if the original Life is Strange is more readily available, it’s not a downgrade.

Life is Strange takes its time setting up a complex pattern of narrative dominoes that fall in increasingly compelling and emotional ways from the end of Episode 3 right up until a gut-wrenching final decision in Episode 5. Its TV-inspired tropes may turn off as many players as it draws in, but it ultimately delivers on its time-warping premise in ways that would make even Ray Bradbury or David Lynch do a double-take. Though the Remastered version doesn’t bring the amazeballs visual improvements this story deserves, this is still an experience I’d readily put in the hands of any teenager, gamer or not.

In Tales of Berseria, the story and the characters do almost all the lifting. It’s a good thing it’s so amazing, because there sure is a lot of weight on its shoulders, especially with this completely superfluous “Remaster.”

It has to overcome some of the most bland dungeons I’ve ever explored. They’re all somewhat gray corridors that have the most basic puzzles this side of, well, I honestly can’t think of many in other RPGs that are more pointless. They’re interminably long most of the time, too. Oh, and you’ll also spend a whole lot of time backtracking through areas for new quests because this is clearly a budget title on many fronts.

That might be okay if the combat was more engaging, but it’s really not, so the burden worsens. It’s a huge step down from Tales of Graces f, with a similar system for creating combos in the free run style introduced in later Tales games. However, it is entirely too reliant on RNG to keep combos going, and if you know what you’re doing, by playing as certain characters, even on Hard, every fight is a complete joke with basically no strategy. Seriously, just play as Velvet, farm for staggers, and keep hitting Break Soul and it’s over before the encounters really even start. For me, that’s pretty fun, and you can play as other characters, but Tales of Berseria‘s combat doesn’t reach the series’ highs.

The additional wrinkles, like using equipment to grab skills and character stat upgrades, or upgrading equipment, might be interesting if the game required any real engagement, But it doesn’t, and every time I spent five minutes in a menu, I regretted it because I remembered I didn’t need to care about my stats. The enemies were my playthings regardless.

Let’s be honest: you’ve already looked at the score below, so surely you’re thinking I have to get to something positive soon. Not yet. I like Motoi Sakuraba more than most people I know, but even for him, this is a pretty unmemorable OST, outside of the fabulous “Theme of Velvet.” The game isn’t much to look at either. Even outside of the gross outfit they throw Velvet in, with pretty thin justification, there’s not much to say about the graphics except that they’re fine and they’re anime. To be frank, this looks like a PS3 RPG through and through.

Yes, that comment even applies to Tales of Berseria Remastered, which is a generous term; therein lies the rub. “Port” is more like it. Sure, there are some nice additions in this version, like increased running speed and the ability to have unlimited fast travel a bit earlier. I guess I’m happy to have access to the Grade Shop to include some boosts that are normally reserved for NG+ runs, but in this game, what does it matter? It’s already so easy. And I suppose if you squint really hard, the game looks slightly better in this version.

But, other than a few minor additions and adjustments, Tales of Berseria Remastered is absolutely, 100% the same game I saw in a bargain bin for the PS4 for five bucks about six months ago that runs just fine on my PS5 (I even ran it alongside Remastered to confirm there’s little visual difference). I’m not one to complain about remasters, or even ports, but why does this even need to exist when other games I want to play in the series (looking at you, Tales of the Abyss) aren’t readily available on modern consoles? The answer, as always, is money. I get that, but even I have limits, and this “Remaster” pushed them multiple times during this second playthrough.

Ultimately, though, I landed on one simple thing: this game still rules, and it’s entirely because of the excellent story, characters, and voice acting. In fact, I might venture to say that this is close to the “platonic ideal” of a JRPG story for me. Sure, it doesn’t go anywhere amazing thematically, but the characters are fabulous, and most importantly, it’s not afraid to look some really dark things in the face and genuinely earn some of the late story beats typical of the genre. I cheered, I cried, and at least in terms of my experience, Tales of Berseria is working on a different narrative level than the rest of the series.

I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a good revenge story, too, and this game both indulges in the natural pleasures of those stories but also looks at some of the consequences, too. The cast is amazing, and the delightfully weird witch Magilou almost takes the cake, but it’s really Velvet, that broken, enraged, tender woman who moves us through to the end. The voice acting helps a whole lot, too. I’m not sure anyone can shout a name with rage quite as well as Cristina Valenzuela.

Look, I know this is a pretty short review. If you want a more thorough one, go check out Alana Hagues’ lovely take on Tales of Berseria when it came out…less than a decade ago. It’s the same game, and I don’t disagree with anything she said there, so that’s why I gave it the same score. And that’s the problem. Did I still enjoy my time with Tales of Berseria Remastered? Oh yes. In spite of all its flaws, I was still moved to tears and goosebumps multiple times. I don’t even mind all the backtracking because I got to spend more time with the amazing cast. Put simply, the narrative and the characters still carry the load.

But I don’t know who the audience is supposed to be here. If you don’t own Tales of Berseria yet, it’s available in a very similar form on the PS4 and PC. I guess if you really want to play it on the go, you can grab it for the Switch, which is new, but it’s visually inferior to even the original PS4 version.

I guess I can hope that whatever money they make here goes toward finally bringing Tales of the Abyss my way. Assuming you have access to the original in any other format, I’d recommend you not spend yours on it, though.

Setting sail into new waters is the conceit behind the tenth Ys game and something it does with gusto, according to our own Sean Cabot’s excellent review. Now, however, a “definitive” edition has reached our shores in the form of Ys X: Proud Nordics. While a worthy purchase for those curious and those who’ve yet to try the vanilla version, does Ys X: Proud Nordics justify a double-dip for returning players? The waters are murky in that regard.

Set sometime after the events of the second Ys game, Ys X: Proud Nordics sees redheaded swordsman Adol Christin once more embarking into the great unknown, accompanied by his erstwhile partner Dogi the Wall Crusher and the researcher Doctor Flair. It isn’t long after arriving in the waters of Obelia Gulf that the boat they’re riding on is besieged by the Norman forces of the seafaring Balta Seaforce. That encounter leads to the trio’s momentary stranding in the port town of Carnac, where Adol not only encounters a mystical talking seashell but also becomes literally chained to the Norman Pirate Princess Karja.

When Carnac is attacked by an undying, monstrous army and the townspeople are kidnapped, Adol and Karja embark on an epic quest amidst tumultuous waters to protect the entire gulf from being swept into chaos. The truths they uncover about the region’s history hit closer to home than they could imagine, especially for the determined Karja.

That’s pretty much the gist of Ys X: Nordics’ plot, and it’s carried over word-for-word to the Proud Nordics version. Adol and Karja rescue their allies and, in the process, obtain the necessary upgrade materials to strengthen their boat, the Sandras. Their crew sails the waters of Obelia Gulf, reclaiming occupied territory as they traverse through a combination of both naval and land battles. If one has played the game’s original version, there’s very little different here beyond some minor quality of life improvements to make combat flow better and boat travel easier.

It is the addition of the EX quest line involving the large and mysterious Oland Island that truly differentiates Proud Nordics. This island is a large region that allows you to test acquired mana abilities, fighting tough enemies as you travel the dungeons throughout to uncover the mysteries behind why the Normans were forced to leave their ancestral homeland in the ancient past. Adol and Karja meet up with Karja’s cousin Canute and his exasperated Shield Sister Astrid, with Canute coercing the two into taking part in a contest to see who can uncover more of the island’s mysteries. Of course, he has an ulterior motive, culminating in a challenging and multi-tiered final fight.

The EX quests open up about halfway through the game’s ten chapters, and I’d hardly call them “seamless” additions, given their length and how they often divert from the main plot line. This is especially apparent with the last EX quest that activates right before the main storyline’s final boss fight, causing you to hop over to Oland to run through a maze-like dungeon and fight the final boss of the EX quests before jumping back over to proceed with the game’s actual final boss and see the ending.

You get to put your mana abilities to the test with the EX quests, which can be fun and rewarding, but beyond some light lore and world-building, there isn’t too much actual story added into the mix. Canute and Astrid are interesting characters, but the game waits until the end of the EX quests to really delve into them, so they aren’t as memorable as they could have been.

Beyond having new dungeons to explore and bosses to fight on Oland, you can also participate in mana board racing and train up Adol and Karja through coliseum fights. A new mana ability, the Mana Hold, lets you telekinetically lift blocks or yank projectiles out of the air and hurl them in a different direction. To be honest, Mana Hold isn’t my favorite of the abilities Adol and Karja unlock, as Mana String and Mana Board will forever hold those spots, and Hold’s aiming could use some fine-tuning. Still, it’s another interesting way to tackle puzzles and exploration advancement.

Exploring the waters of Obelia Gulf leads to a slew of new discoveries, and I enjoyed uncovering islands to explore, freeing townsfolk to recruit to the ship, finding lost pikkards, and just sailing in general. The Sandras essentially becomes a floating town in and of itself as you go, and I liked getting the chance to raise affinity with its residents and uncover their personal quests, as that often meant I had the opportunity to once again set out and explore to my heart’s content.

The naval battles themselves weren’t terrible either, being less tedious than, say, those in Suikoden IV. As long as the ship is upgraded and retrofitted, they are manageable. The slow boat travel can get tedious, so I often relied on the helpful fast travel option to quickly return to places I’d uncovered once it was available.

The action RPG gameplay after reaching land and traversing dungeons is where Ys X truly shines, with Adol and Karja using mana abilities to quickly get to areas that’d otherwise prove inaccessible. The combo-based combat is both fast and fluid, relying on attacks you program into button shortcuts. You can control either character directly or have them work in tandem, with their joint attacks often having more oomph. It was fun seamlessly switching between the two different styles of play.

While I preferred Adol’s speedier approach to fighting, I found that Karja’s heftier axe and ice attacks were a boon at times. Ys combat is polished to a tee here, though boss battles often proved to be lessons in endurance rather than skill towards the game’s final portion. While I enjoyed the different combat styles of the various party members in other Ys titles, I think the streamlined combat here is a strong selling point, as it really gives the sense of Adol and Karja working as a team.

From a character stance, Karja is Ys X‘s driving force. Her personal journey of growth and development shapes the narrative, whereas Adol’s wide-eyed enthusiasm for adventuring helps place the player directly in the story. I liked most of the other characters too, and the Sandras’ crew all had their moments to shine, though Rafe, Ashley, and Ezer were probably the standouts given their stories and questlines.

I don’t think the Sandras crew might have as much staying power in my mind as, say, the party members from Ys IX: Monstrum Nox or Ys: Memories of Celceta, since they don’t often leave the ship or travel dungeons with you, but they’re well-written nonetheless. I do feel a bit bad for Dogi, though! He’s Adol’s most steadfast companion, and I adore him, given his narrative throughout the series, but even he tends to take a bit of a narrative backseat here. Sadly, that seems to be the lovable guy’s lot in many of the recent Ys titles.

From a story stance, I do think Ys is in an interesting place right now. At the moment, Falcom has two big-name series, with Ys on the action RPG side and The Legend of Heroes: Trails on the other. I adore both series for different reasons: Trails is a sprawling sci-fi/fantasy epic, while Ys is a more self-contained tale of discovery and adventure. Ys is like comfort food to me, and the series has a whole lot of heart and polished gameplay mechanics that make it fun to play.

Even I can tell they’re now trying to expand the narrative more, given Trails‘ success, and I’ve mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it’s certainly an interesting approach, and we get some great characters like Karja through it.  On the other hand, Ys is more about the thrill of adventure and overcoming challenge, meant to be enjoyed at any point in the series’ timeline without feeling beholden to what came before.

There are some interesting teasers going on in this game about possible future story points, including a secret hint you can uncover in the epilogue, but I know that the Ys series leaning more towards being like its cousin Trails has had mixed reception, so Ys is certainly at an interesting crossroads right now. I do wish that Ys got as much development budget as Trails does, though, as some of the visuals, like acquired loot graphics, look less visually appealing and almost “gacha”-esque.

Speaking of visuals, Ys X: Proud Nordics is a good-looking game in many respects. There’s a lovely vibrancy to the graphics. I do think the terrains and enemy designs can have some degree of “sameness” to them, but character models and art are expressive and detailed.

The areas you travel on foot are cleverly designed to help you think and figure out how to best progress without being too frustrating. There were some pop-ups in the final dungeon areas, but I do know a Day One Patch is planned to fix many of those hiccups. The script localization is also really well done, with nary an error to be found; impressive given that this is a meaty script for Ys.

Of course, one can’t really talk about Ys without delving into its music. The soundtrack for Ys X definitely doesn’t disappoint, with several tracks designed to capture the sense of wonderment the game wants to convey and to get the blood roiling during frenetic combat.  Ys X: Proud Nordics even has additional music tracks, which only add to that sentiment, such as “Mighty Blizzard.”

The English voice acting is also relatively decent, with special kudos going to Karja’s actor, Cherami Leigh, in particular for some incredible deliveries. Adol and Dogi’s actors also do a fantastic job reprising their respective roles. Ys X does suffer from sporadic/partial voice acting at times, which is an interesting choice to be sure, as there are oftentimes long stretches of no voice work at all.

Ys X: Proud Nordics is an odd duck: though it’s most certainly the definitive edition of the tenth Ys game, it’s a tall order to get someone to pay full price for a game that could’ve easily been a cheaper DLC expansion, especially if they’ve already played Ys X: Nordics. I greatly enjoyed this game myself and was thoroughly entertained by this new installment of Adol the Red’s adventures, but I’m in the position of not having had a chance to try the original beforehand. I think any newcomers to Ys X should certainly add Proud Nordics to their collection, but those who’ve already crossed these waters might want to wait for a price reduction before doing so again.