After it was first launched in 2002, the Kingdom Hearts franchise has seen ten unique instalments across multiple consoles, such as the PlayStation 2, the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. Six of these earlier games were included in two high definition remaster collections for the PlayStation 3, both of which…

The Yu-Gi-Oh series has been around for so long now it’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t at least heard the name. One of the first card games to give the dominating Magic the Gathering a hard time, Yu-Gi-Oh became a massive game around the late nineties. This was largely…

My time with Final Fantasy XV was a confusing jumble of ideas. There's no mechanical focal point, no one thing Final Fantasy XV hangs itself on that kept me coming back. It tells a garbled heap of a story, with combat that's often imprecise and messy. And yet I spent more time…

From its humble beginnings as an experimental project back in 2009, the sandbox phenomenon known as Minecraft has inspired a great number of projects. Whether it is a 2D exploration adventure such as Terraria, or a narrative driven episodic series Minecraft Story Mode, it is clear that everyone wants to…

It is rare to see two role playing games within the same series to receive an English translation within the same year, but that is exactly what has happened with the Trails of Cold Steel series, which is a spin off from The Legend of Heroes franchise which began over…

This review of Persona 5 was created by playing a Japanese retail version of the game. Some details may be changed or removed when the game arrives in English next year. Eight years have passed since we tuned into the Midnight Channel in Persona 4. After several delays to improve the…

Last year, NIS America released a localised version of Criminal Girls Invite Only, the PlayStation Vita remake of Criminal Girls for the PSP. It focused on a young man who was guiding a group of girls through the depths of hell in order to reform their ways. The game had…

It was only a matter of time before Fallout made its way to an abandoned theme park as it next radiation riddled environment for the Vault Dweller to explore. In the Fallout 4: Nuka-World DLC you get a taste of what it would be like if Disney and Coca-cola teamed…

During the many years of the PlayStation 2’s lifespan, some of the most critically acclaimed RPG’s ever made came out on Sony’s record breaking console. One of these games was Odin Sphere, a 2D action RPG that was developed by Vanillaware, and was ultimately published by gaming giants Square Enix…

On the surface, Hyper Light Drifter looks like your typical indie fare. Pixel art aesthetic, retro throw backs, deliberately light on plot and exposition. It has all of the trademarks of the independent scene, but when you look beyond the retro sensibilities on display, you'll soon discover that Hyper Light…

There is no other franchise quite like Monster Hunter. Going out into the world to battle the biggest and meanest beasties is something you truly need to feel for yourself. Every battle has you grasping at your controls as you try your hardest to stand up to some of the…

Crossover video games are often treated with suspicion, especially when the intellectual properties that make the connection are well respected. Back in 2010, a project was announced that would bring together ATLUS’s flagship Shin Megami Tensei franchise, and Intelligent Systems Fire Emblem series.  The end result of this collaboration was…

Coming along mere months after the release of the first game in the series, The Banner Saga 2 has made its way to the home consoles on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The original Banner Saga was a very story-driven experience, relying on the player to invest themselves in the…

Grand Kingdom is the latest title developed by Spike Chunsoft, previous titles have included the Danganronpa series and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Gates of Infinity. It is set on the fictional continent of Resonail, a nation that was once overseen by a regime known as the Uldein Empire. After the organisation…

Trilogies are always difficult things to get right. You need to balance tying up plot threads, improving on aspects of previous installments while retaining enough to seem familiar. Dark Souls III has quite the act to follow, coming off the back of an incredibly successful deviation from high fantasy in…

When I approached The Banner Saga 2, I wasn't sure if indie developers Stoic could cause lightning to strike the same place twice. Somehow though, with a few hand-drawn images and clever prose, Stoic have crafted something special. The Banner Saga 2 would be better described as Banner Saga: Season 2.…

If you ever survived of a plane crash, what would be the first thing that you would do after such as traumatic event? Instead of calling for help, if you’d join with a group of adventurers to defeat groups of legendary monsters, then you will feel right at home with…

The Tom Clancy franchise has been doing well recently with Rainbow Six Siege last year garnering a great reception amongst critics and players alike. The latest game to bear his name introduces a new IP to the series in the form of The Division, in which a group of sleeper…

Washing up on the shores of this cursed island, you can’t shake the feeling of déjà vu. Your sanctuary seems ever so familiar, the crumbling castles and fetid dungeons remind you of adventures you’ve taken long ago. While your weapons and armour look different, your mind drifts keeps drifting to…

If you woke up after a two-year nap, only to discover that your family was dead and the world had been destroyed, what would be the first thing that you would do? In the case of Prince Laharl, the main character of Disgaea, he assembles a team of ragtag demons…

Bravely Default acted as a shot in the arm for menu-based JRPGs, updating some creakier aspects of battle and reducing much of the bloat which has plagued this oldest of RPG combat systems. When a Bravely Default sequel was teased at the end of the first game, it became a…