Alex Donaldson's Reviews
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is more than the sum of its parts. Those parts include the woeful performance and optimization problems, which are a real drag – but much of the rest of the title soars so high that it does go a long way to make one ignore them, after a fashion.
Repackaged into one of the sharpest Remaster releases I’ve ever seen, it’s a relatively irresistible package - warts and all. The blemishes upon its carefully airbrushed visage are, in many ways, part of the charm. This is a joyous little time capsule of 2000s Square - and perhaps a curious aperitif before Remake part 2. It’s easy to recommend.
As a fan of older Fire Emblem and strategy games in general, I was thrilled to see the depth of combat and the level to which you can make battling your absolute focus. That’s still true even if Engage doesn’t quite get the balance in its execution right in a way that might put a small subset of Three Houses lovers off.
Octopath Traveler 2 is on balance still superior to its predecessor in more or less every way. It has a denser world with more to do, is the best-looking HD-2D game to date, and smartly addresses a number of complaints from the original. By the same token, however, it’s a shame that other problems from that game remain an issue here - and hold this back from greatness. I wish it’d been a little braver and gone a little further - but a safe sequel to a good game is - surprise - also very good.
But it’s not that simple. It never is. In FF16, Clive, Cid, and the others ultimately derive their power from the same mysterious origins as the crystals themselves. To complete their objective, they need the very thing they seek to destroy. And so too does FF16 need that history, those traditions, leveraging some even as it drives a dagger through others. That is the duality of the game. A dichotomy at the heart of its structure, its triumphs, and its failures alike. It’s a fascinating piece of work, a wholly imperfect but nevertheless enthralling experience.
That mood is one that brings together both established and new ideas to create a Pikmin that is, I think, absolutely the most well-rounded title in the series. It takes a series that for its second and third entries I appreciated but didn’t love - and brings back that adoration. It’s a revitalizing sequel - though also exactly the sort of entry that’ll be difficult to follow.
This is an excellent sequel, and an exciting foundation for what I’m sure will be a bright, addition-packed future.
Though it can be a little easy, the Super Mario RPG remake scratches all the right itches – even a few decades on.
At a certain point you have to step back and judge a game for what it is rather than what it isn’t. After all, if you want the female protagonist there’s Portable, and if you want the epilogue there’s FES. But as a stand-alone thing – as a convenient, modern, and attractive way to experience a truly great RPG classic – Persona 3 Reload is a wonderful offering.
For better and worse alike, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the most impressively ambitious game Square has made since FF’s golden age. It’s glorious, in spite of painful little flaws.
Bold and brave, Final Fantasy XV brings back some of what made FF special to begin with. It's rough around the edges, but that's okay: where it counts, it's got heart.
An excellent foundation that is hopefully built on, this is a solid RPG-shooter hybrid that lacks in variety but somehow keeps you well invested all the same.
A slightly weak narrative can't obscure how compelling and exciting Mankind Divided's is to play. Here, the best stories are those you make yourself through emergent gameplay.
You'll still really feel this game, but it's been visually diminished.
This isn't the best version of Skyrim available, but the fact an RPG this large and impressive can now be played on the go is honestly a bit of a revelation.
Yuffie's episode is thrilling fan-service and a welcome slice of more of the same for fans of FF7 Remake, but it's also easily skippable.
Technical hiccups aren't enough to diminish the value of this sizable package.
A trip to the moon offers some decent new ideas, but also is clearly a stop-gap release.
Bethesda's big budget, massively multiplayer trip to Tamriel has some great ideas, but struggles with execution in places.
This Zelda spin-off is successful when you can get three players together, but feels much more empty solo.