Nintendo Enthusiast

Astral Chain packs the punch you would expect from Platinum Games while simultaneously going above and beyond in all other areas. It’s great to see Platinum stepping even further out of its shell with expertly crafted titles like NieR: Automata and now Astral Chain. This marks another game in the studio’s catalog that is nothing short of amazing.

While Friday The 13th suffers from some overbearing technical issues, it’s simply a blast to play. Despite the graphical downgrade, you’re still going to have a blast with the Nintendo Switch version. Just prepare for a glitchy, thrilling, disaster of a good time.

Ultimately, Grandia HD Collection is two games that play very similarly but with opposite tones. Grandia is for bright-eyed young kids, and Grandia II is for their cynical older siblings. Yet they both have excellent dialogue, open dungeon design, and battle systems that invite customization. If people can forgive minor bugs and a lack of extra features, Grandia HD Collection is something all JRPG lovers should play if they haven’t already. And if you have already played these games, well, maybe wait for a discount.

Oninaki might seem like a rough-around-the-edges action RPG lacking depth to its combat alongside an anime-inspired melodramatic story. However, for those who are patient enough to explore its world, characters, and ability-based battle system, there’s a lot to like an dive into after all. If you have even the slightest curiosity in this title, Oninaki‘s refreshing take on JRPGs is most definitely worth your time.

The original Astro Bears Party had a single-player mode that was a distraction at best. In this mode, your bear runs around a planetoid collecting as many fish as possible for a high score. The snaking trail behind your bear is not permanent in single-player, but it is still long enough to trip you up. That mode returns in this release and, unfortunately, is largely the same. Astro Bears is simply a multiplayer game through and through.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood offers exceptional gunplay the series is known for and brings a lot of interesting elements to the franchise for the first time. While the character-upgrades, sound design, and world are fantastic, the mission structure, lack of story, and awful checkpoint system bog down the experience.

That isn’t to say Etherborn is bad; in fact, it’s fairly decent. The bright, simple level design and the soothing soundtrack were a joy to experience and stopped me from tearing my hair out over some of the harder segments. I enjoyed my time playing Etherborn, but I also didn’t feel anything special while doing so. If you’re really in the mood for a puzzle game, then Etherborn may be worth checking out, but outside of that, you won’t be worse off for skipping it.

I have never beaten a sixty-hour game and immediately wanted to jump back in for round two. Fire Emblem: Three Houses pulls you in with its rock-solid grid-based combat. But it keeps you invested by offering rich characters, deep squad customization, and an enthralling story that keeps you guessing. It is easily the best RPG of 2019—so far.

The technical improvements are great and help to make this the definitive console version. Avoiding any frame drops with loads of zombies on screen even in handheld mode is a real achievement. If you like racing games or zombies, this is a great title to have in your library.

Ultimately, if you’re in the market for a classic adventure platformer, you can certainly do worse than Bitlogic. Though I enjoyed my time with the game, I’m in no rush to dive back in any time soon, especially after playing through three times. There’s enough there that will keep you interested for a playthrough or two at the very most, especially since the game is rather short.