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There’s always time for tea. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a game of many faces, whose name is just as indicative of the gameplay direction as it is of the plot. Splitting time between tactical, grid-based battles, base and inventory management, and forming relationships (romantic and otherwise) between your main character and the secondary cast (and between the cast members themselves), Three Houses  runs the risk of losing focus and falling apart. Not only does it stand strong in the face of these disparate identities, but each facet of the game helps prop the others up to reach some truly excellent highs. Publisher: Nintendo Developer:   Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo Platform:  Played on Nintendo Switch Availability: Released on July 26, 2019 for Nintendo Switch The three leaders of the monastery class houses, from left to right: Claude of the Golden Deer, Dimitri of the Blue Lions, and Edelgard of the Black Eagles. The opening chapters of the game feature your player character, whose name and sex you can determine, teaching classes in a massive monastery to a group of students from three separate kingdoms — the Adrestian Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Leicester Alliance. Each of these kingdoms has its own ideals and representatives within your class. Edelgard is the calculating (and oftentimes cold) leader of the Adrestian empire, Dimitri is the seemingly kind and passionate prince of Faerghus, and Claude is a cheerful and warm fellow, whose surface demeanor belies his true nature as a calculating and shrewd tactical mind.  The fate of each faction, their leaders, and even their subordinates depends upon who you side with, the relationships you’ve formed, and your actions in battle. There are 4 main paths in the story: side with the Empire, Faerghus, Alliance, or the church, with each having its own story, characters to recruit, and battles. For my playthrough, I went with the Blue Lions (the monastery house populated by students from the Kingdom of Faerghus), and have come away satisfied with my decision.  At its heart, the central conflict of Three Houses  is a battle of ideals, not just the nations in play. Each main faction leader has complex motives or things they strive to uphold, and that puts them in conflict with the other houses, even if they’re friendly on a personal level. The way these ideals are presented in-game is a bit surface-level, but there is so much going on in the background that you can read up on. With such a deep history of the world to explore, you can get much more out of the game’s events if you make the effort to dig a little deeper. The game strays away from the more grounded, political aspects a bit in the back half — opting instead for a more standard fantastical approach and introducing a “these are very obviously the bad guys” group, but retains much of its charm throughout. Tea dates offer multiple choices to further the conversation. Strong bonds with characters leads to support conversations, which can be funny, sweet, or even sad. A large part of that appeal is the “support” portion of the game. This is the part of the game that revolves around your character forming bonds/relationships with the other characters, and fostering similar bonds between the supporting characters themselves. This is done in myriad ways – engaging in combat with said character close to you or having them set as an adjutant, giving them gifts, and even inviting them to spend time with you (tea parties, eating meals, etc.). When two characters get enough affection for one another, they unlock a support scene in which they converse, after which their rank goes up – conveying benefits specific to that support in combat. Additionally, while characters may leave you during the second half of the game under normal circumstances, recruiting them early on in the game and forging bonds with them allows you to recruit them in the second half. For the main character, some characters can also be romanced, which culminates in a sweet, unique scene between you and your love interest. I would say that a large majority of the gameplay experience revolves around this part of the game. Most of my time was spent running around, doing errands and bonding with the characters to level up relationships. I often dragged out battles in order to set up situations to gain more affection between characters, and went on little tea dates with the entire crew. It was fun. That said, it is a bit disappointing that most of the characters come off as one-note. A majority of the cast falls into your usual anime archetypes, with little or no growth as the game goes on – even if you level up their support, or pair them with other characters. That’s not really a big issue, though. The cast is so large and varied (with multiple story routes in play), it feels interesting enough to see how these characters play off one another, rather than forcing any specific changes or growth. Separately, the combat ties into the overarching narrative and relationship-building quite well. In fact, combat is the convergence point for basically every other aspect of the game. While the structure of the battles is rarely anything beyond ‘kill x enemy,’ your actions in battles can have severe consequences – killing an enemy you may not need to could prevent you from recruiting them or upset your party members, moving too slow may lead to reinforcements appearing for the enemy and cause you to lose a unit, and so on. On top of this, the supports you forge outside of combat can play a role within it, with link attacks or other benefits arising from those strengthened relationships. All of that effort you put into building up your forces, running errands, and instructing your class is demonstrated through the battles you face. It’s impressive how cohesive all of this is. While the battles may be tactical, the scenes that play during each attack or ability keep the action visually engaging. If you’ve played a Fire Emblem game before, the way these battles work will be familiar to you, with Three Houses  returning with the turn-based, tactical combat and weapon triangle the series is most well-known for – albeit with some tweaks to the formula. Most notably, Three Houses  features battalions, which are small squads attached to one of your units that can then be used to assist you by performing gambits — moves with special effects that are used in lieu of your normal attacks. Gambits can also be empowered by performing them near allied units – just another reason to keep your team close. Combat skills have made their return, but now cost weapon durability, rather than health. Every action you take in combat will grant some experience and progress toward certain skills, which is all a part of your growth and power-scaling. Also notable is that there’s a way to improve your unit's capabilities outside of combat through tutoring and weekend lessons. In these sessions, you choose a study focus for your students by assigning goals and activities, and then can help them improve on certain skills like riding or swords. These skills improve not only how your unit performs on the field, but also act as breakpoints for changing classes by gaining certifications. With so many systems in play, it can seem daunting to just jump in, but I think it’s more than doable. Despite carrying on the Fire Emblem legacy, Fire Emblem: Three Houses  exists within its own lane, being detached enough from the other games in the series to be a fully functional work alone. There are references and nods here and there that will be recognizable to longtime fans, but ultimately this is a standalone adventure that welcomes newcomers with open arms. Thankfully, the entire game comes together nicely for players new and old, creating a rewarding and thrilling journey to put your heart into. Verdict Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a deep, complex, and ultimately enthralling Strategy RPG. With so many different characters to engage with, and ways to approach combat, you’ll never feel like you’re running out of things to do or see. While the characters may be mostly one-dimensional, I find them endearing, and trying to curry favor through little dates is probably the biggest draw for many players. I was ultimately most impressed with how thoughtful and well put-together all of the disparate systems seemed to be, with nothing feeling like an afterthought. If you like strategy RPGs, games with dating mechanics, or both — this is an excellent choice.  Image Credits: Taylor Rioux

As an eerie, weird, and unique third-person shooter that will always keep you on your toes, Control knows all the right buttons to press. It is a tapestry made up of one part mystery, one part thriller, and another part horror, and there's a thread to pull at every turn. While some elements of the game become tiresome near the conclusion, the breadcrumbs kept me on the trail until the end. Pros Cool powers and interesting guns make combat initially engaging Superb acting and presentation Interesting cast of characters Story and side quests are all high quality, and can be very creepy Cons Story drags on a bit near the end Combat begins to feel a bit samey near end of main game Verdict Developer:  Remedy Entertainment Publisher:  505 Games Platform:  Played on PC Availability:  Released Aug 27, 2019 on PS4, XBOX One, and PC, Oct 30, 2020 for Nintendo Switch, and Feb 2, 2021 for PS5, and Xbox Series X/S Genre:  Action-adventure, third-person shooter

A unique concoction that is one part fishing game, one part inventory management, and two parts eldritch horror. Dredge is a game that is at times mysterious and frightening, and at others very calming. The terrors of the deep will keep you on your toes as you work to upgrade your boat. Relatively short, Dredge never overstays its welcome, staying interesting throughout the ghastly journey. Pros Fishing is relaxing and simple during the day, but tense during the night Story is adequately spooky Cast of characters is varied and mysterious Cons Puzzles are too simple Most quests are basic fetch quests Verdict

An adventure/farming game hybrid with a cute aesthetic. Luma Island is a nice, relaxing, and engaging game. Freedom is a huge part of this game's core loop, with each player able to select different professions, or interact with the game in any number of ways without ever feeling like you're wasting time. Excellent co-op keeps the game fresh at all stages, and the little Luma you find are reward enough for the adventure. Pros Multiple professions that allow you to play the game how you want Cute art style Soothing music Relaxing core gameplay loop that will never leave you stressed out or bored Excellent Co-op system Cons Minor performance hiccups from time to time. Verdict

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (SoP) offers a heavy action experience. In many ways similar to Team Ninja standouts Nioh and Nioh 2, SoP offers a long and interesting take on the classic Final Fantasy. Hyperactive, punishing bosses and loot galore, you'll never find yourself bored while playing. Pros Fast-Paced, complex, and varied combat Beautiful soundtrack that contains new versions of classic sounds More missions and fights than most people could handle Multiplayer is cooperative and engaging Excellent voice acting Cons Story is very straightforward. Can be corny, but is always earnest. Progression through DLCs or endgame can be annoying Verdict Developer:  Team NINJA, Square Enix Publisher:  Square Enix Platform:  Played on PS4/5 Availability:  Released March 18, 2022 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC Genre:  Action RPG

A fast-paced, exciting action RPG that is full of great fights. I was a fan of the story and presentation. A hard game to put down sometimes, as there's always something else to do. Very grindy endgame, but fans of the gacha or other similar games might not be bothered by it. Pros Fast-paced, fun combat Beautiful visuals Lots of content Large cast to choose from Cons Inconsistent matchmaking Extremely Grindy in endgame Verdict Developer:  PlatinumGames Publisher:  Cygames Platform:  Played on PC Availability:  Released February 1, 2024 on PS4, PS5, and PC Genre:  Action RPG

A very traditional Strategy RPG, with not much to set it apart from any other games in the genre. The gorgeous anime-styled character portraits and art pieces are the biggest highlight of the game. The generational aspect to romance and the story do offer some replayability, and there's room for role-playing along the way. That being said, the relatively mundane combat and one-dimensional characters keep this one from ever breaking through. Pros Well-done, handmade art for character portraits and specific scenes. Varied "romance" options and paths available. Strategic, grid-based combat. Cons Battle maps are boring, flat fields, without any interesting layouts or effects. Extraordinarily juvenile character writing. Reused maps and assets. Verdict

Fledgling Manor is a vampire-centric visual novel with horror elements. Its interesting premise — a newly turned vampire is forced to participate in a reality/game show with deadly stakes — is woefully let down by its execution, but it's not all bad. Striking character portraits and entertaining moments in the dialogue hold enough water to keep things moving through the short play time. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of choice and agency throughout the game, with your only real choices being where to go — you have almost no control over your scene-to-scene actions or dialogue. Pros Occasionally clever dialogue. Solid character portraits go well with black and white visuals. Cons Backgrounds are dull and mostly featureless. Shocking lack of agency or choice for a visual novel. Premise is interesting, but execution leaves a lot to be desired. Verdict Developer:   In Secret Places Publisher:   In Secret Places Platform:  Played on PC (Steam) Availability:  Released Dec. 11, 2024 for Windows PC, Mac OS, and Linux

Silent Hill 2 Remake is just the latest in an ongoing trend The Silent Hill 2  remake is here, and the reception thus far has been great. The remake of the horror classic has achieved a Metacritic score of 87 at the time of its release, with Bloober Team adding their work to the ever-growing list of successful remakes. The critical and commercial success of horror game remakes cannot be understated. The Resident Evil 2  remake, for instance, was not only critically lauded, but has since gone on to become the highest selling game in the iconic series, with nearly 14 million copies sold. So how, exactly, have horror games been so successful with those remakes? To get a better sense of what makes these games work, I reached out to content creator, cosplayer, and horror connoisseur SrgtMeow . Regarding the success of remakes, SrgtMeow told me, “So, with the horror game remakes, I feel the success comes from having the new age technology and tools to be able to create what they had envisioned in their heads back when they first started them.” The police station in each version of RE2 . The remake is faithful, but visually improved. I think she’s onto something there. Graphical fidelity, lighting techniques, audio quality and design – all of these elements have vastly improved over the years, allowing more developers to see their vision through. But those tools are available to everyone, and remakes in other genres have not seen nearly the same commercial success. Even a game as iconic as Final Fantasy VII  has had trouble getting people on-board with its highly anticipated and much requested remake. Square Enix has even gone as far as noting their disappointment in sales. So, what’s the difference here? Why have horror games thrived where other genres feel like a gamble? SrgtMeow had something to say about that, too: “Well, because horror. Everyone lately seems to be chasing the shock and adrenaline they get from these games, truthfully it is fun! Plus, other genres it seems didn’t need the tools to create what they wanted being lighthearted story rich games, where horror relies on all elements: story, ambience, build up, sounds, details.” Improved lighting and sound design have made each room scarier than ever before. With the improvement in technology over the years, artists and developers have found ways to more accurately represent their vision. As someone who is not a regular horror game enjoyer, games of this genre seem more frightening than ever to me. The graphics are more realistic, making the gore or frights even more terrifying; sound design has come a long way, allowing developers to raise tension through music, or other sounds - every shuffle or groan feels ominous. On top of that, improvements in lighting technology have allowed these games to really keep us in the dark when needed or create strong effects with shadows to create confusion. Not everyone is a fan of these remakes, however. With so many already out, and many more still on the horizon, there are rumblings of “remake fatigue,” and fans of the genre asking for more original games. When I asked her if she thought the trend of remaking horror games would slow down any time soon, SrgtMeow replied, “Absolutely not. There are so many horror games that DESERVE remakes and others that are wonderful as-is for the nostalgia.” System Shock is a great example of a game many felt deserved a remake. Obviously, she’s not alone in those thoughts. Remakes are still selling well, and getting great reception, so why would they stop? The older versions of games are still there for many to play if they prefer the original experience – the magic of the original games remain despite the existence of the remakes. Instead, they should be seen as a new interpretation of the material. They are not meant to replace the original games, but rather be supplementary. But with so much of the attention on these big budget remakes, where does that leave more original games from smaller development teams?  Is there still room in the horror game space for indie horror games? SrgtMeow seems to think so, noting, “Indie horror will never die. If it wasn’t for indie horror, we wouldn’t have a lot of the horror games we do now. I feel indie horror is a huge part of the Horror genre space. I feel it has inspired a lot of devs to just DO IT. DO the thing and put it out there for feedback from the fans.” Indie horror games get a huge boost from content creators covering them positively. Indie horror games are no stranger to success, either. Games like Signalis  and Omori reviewed great and sold well, too. The success of mega-hit Lethal Company made waves in the industry. There are thriving subcultures, websites, and YouTube channels all about indie horror. The ideas these games bring to the table are often influential, with major companies taking ideas from them and implementing them in their big budget titles. As long as the people who love horror games are seeking the next thrill, indies will always have a place. In a way, the relationship between indie horror games and big-budget horror games has become symbiotic. Not just in terms of the mechanics or ideas presented in them, but also by creating a positive feedback loop within the horror genre. Success of a major title brings more eyes to the genre, indie games then have a larger reach, which feeds back into the player base at-large. To sum it up nicely, it’s not so much that horror remakes  are succeeding – the whole genre is thriving in ways we haven’t seen before. Silent Hill 2  is just the latest beneficiary of that growth, and Bloober Team has made great use of the moment by delivering something special. Image Credits: Taylor Rioux, EA, OMOCAT, Nightdive Studios, and rose-engine

More than just a fantasy Persona Oct 11, 2024 - Announced via tweet by Sega's official Twitter account, Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio has officially sold over one million copies, and it hasn't even been out a full day. This mark would make it Atlus’ fastest selling game to date - beating out the previous crown-bearer, Persona 3 Reload , which took just under a week to reach the same mark . The tweet that Sega posted regarding the sales landmark. Releasing on Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, Metaphor: ReFantazio has garnered heavy attention in the gaming space, releasing to universal acclaim. With an average Metacritic score of 92 across all platforms, critics have noted its great social mechanics and compelling story as major selling points. Those selling points seem to be resonating with the fanbase quite well. Despite coming from the developers of the excellent Persona series, the rapid success comes as a bit of a surprise, as Metaphor: ReFantasio is an entirely new ip. We're not sure if this new property will become a mainstay for Atlus, but with the resounding success and positive reception, we're certainly hoping to see more in the future.

Releasing in 2004, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time 's directors cut was a massive success for Tri-Ace and Square Enix becoming their most successful venture into the "Star Ocean" - critically and commercially (at the time). Star Ocean: Till the End of Time remains one of my favorite games to this day, but it's become difficult to play a legal and supported version that replicates the original PS2 experience. There is a version on the Playstation Store that exists, but it comes with its own issues, including a bug that causes frequent crashing when viewing an enlarged mini-map. Frankly, the game and the series deserve an opportunity to find a new audience. There's so much to love about SO:TET. From its eccentric and varied cast of characters, to its incredible music, combat, and story, it is both an exemplar of the games of yesteryear, and a game in dire need of some love. Now is the perfect time for Square and Tri-Ace to do it. Remake fatigue is hitting hard, in general, but with the recent successes of Star Ocean: The Divine Force and Star Ocean The Second Story R , now is the best chance to make this happen. Star Ocean as a series is probably in the best position it has been in 20 years, so why not use this momentum to remake one of their most popular entries? I think we could take lessons from both the Divine Force and SO2R, to make something really special. The Graphical fidelity and presentation of Divine Force could be used, as it and SO:TET share a similar art style vs the sprite-based style of SO2R. I would also like to see some of the QOL changes seen in SO2R implemented in a remake, like fast travel, PA indicators, and some improvements to crafting. I could go on for hours about what it is that makes this game special, but I would prefer it if people just got to experience it in a better way than what we have now. I would be ecstatic if I could see the game in true HD, and I would cherish the opportunity to review it as a relevant game in the minds of consumers. Hell, I might make it my first true "retro review" here - but that's for another day.

Sept. 24, 2024 - Sucker Punch Productions has announced Ghost of Yōtei , the sequel to their massively successful 2020 game Ghost of Tsushima . First shown off during today's State of Play presentation, Ghost of Yōtei served as the endcap of the showing. Fans of Ghost of Tsushima have been waiting for some time for a sequel announcement, but today's reveal was surprising in more ways than one. To start, the announcement was relatively unexpected. While there were some rumblings that a sequel was in the works, we had little info on the timing or nature of that sequel. Second, Yōtei  has a new protagonist in Atsu, with the studio moving on from Tsushima' s Jin Sakai. It's the second point that is drawing the ire of many online. Image credits: Sony Interactive Entertainment/Sucker Punch Productions It should not be too surprising that the new game will not star Jin, as the plot of Tsushima was neatly concluded and Jin's own character arc was resolved. Much of the pushback has been related to the fact that Atsu, portrayed by the actress Erika Ishii , is a woman. We don't currently know if Atsu is related to Jin at all, or if the plots of the games are in any way tied together. Unfortunately, the inclusion of Atsu has caused consternation among the right-wing gaming space, with many throwing around words like "Woke" or "DEI", as if they were at all legitimate criticisms. Ishii herself is now facing harassment online from those who are upset at the change. This backlash is not a surprising development, as online spaces over the last few years have seen a growth in right-wing talking points and harassment campaigns - egged on by Russian propaganda campaigns . Outside of the right-wing gaming space, the announcement has been met with excitement for the game and everyone involved. Despite the predictable nature of this backlash, I can't help but feel disgusted. Ishii and Sucker Punch deserve better than this type of vitriol. I sincerely hope it dies down in the lead-up of the game's release. Ghost of Yōtei is set to release sometime in 2025.