Destructoid

Ray Gigant does more right than it does wrong. Its engaging battle system, unique take on role-playing elements, gorgeous art direction, and entertaining story make it an enjoyable romp. While the bland nature of the dungeon designs and ease of the adventure make it difficult to recommend to hardened DRPG players, those looking to get into dungeon crawlers may find the simplicity of the title a poor representation of what it usually found in the genre.

On the whole, though, Sapienza feels more robust than Paris, with even more gag costumes and slapstick deathtraps, leaving me even more confident in IO's move toward this new model, even if the American voice actors' pronunciation of "Falcone" physically pains me every time.

There is a Tourist Mode with a no-score infinite stamina setup, and I genuinely enjoy just hanging around some levels, looking around at the scenery, as well as going for a top score every now and then. Gear like new gloves and wristbands, unlocked by achievements, are superfluous and cosmetic, and I like it that way.

Vivian Clark is at least an interesting experience. It's not one that I want to return to, ever, but spending time with it always kept me on my toes, thinking about what could be next. Unfortunately, the actual mechanics are poorly implemented and fail-states are way too common, making what should be a laid-back, almost euphoric experience more like throwing your head against the wal

King’s Quest: Once Upon a Climb isn't the most enthralling tale I've played, but I'm still very much all-in on the series and was grinning throughout. It's a nice slice of life with a likable cast, and with the goodwill this reboot has gained so far, that's all I need.

Despite some repetition and a handful of weird glitches, it'd be hard for me not to recommend Stories: The Path of Destinies. The "Goosebumps" kid in me was just too excited to have branching narratives from a developer that had fun with the concept instead of using it as another box to check in its marketing plans. I'd gladly return to this wonderfully weird world, but if there is a next chapter, I hope that there's more to see.

Koi has an alluring exterior, but is ultimately a shallow puzzle game lacking in both focus and direction. As someone with an interest in Chinese culture, who has been following the reintroduction of foreign consoles into that market with great interest, this is a disappointment.

Really, it's hard to find anything wrong with Severed. It obliterated my conceptions of how a touch-based game can play, it looks breathtaking, and it gave me a reason to break out my Vita. It hurt my hand a little bit when I was trying to figure out the best way to control it, but since the face buttons and D-pad do the same thing, I just learned to switch hands.

Still, Alienation is one of the best-feeling twin-stick shooters I've played, so I can't be too bummed. It wasn't long before I had that realization, and now that I'm 20 hours and several character save files in, I'm even more convinced. Housemarque could stand to flesh out the endgame content and also add support for local co-op, but even if it doesn't, I love what's here.

All that said, the narrative is just fine. Neither the story nor the delivery is especially enthralling, but it's cute enough. The same can be said for the gameplay; it isn't bad, but a lot of the time it just feels like mildly entertaining busy work. There are a few brief moments in Zenge that shine, but most of the time it's just a passable puzzler.