After reading the description of this Visual Novel (VN), your first impression might be "This looks like Madoka Magica in space. With aliens instead of witches." It is reasonable to have that impression. On the surface, this VN does look like another story about Magical Girls fighting against an inhuman enemy force that threatens to drive humanity to extinction. That is only the surface of this VN however, it has a lot more underneath its layers. Basically, this is a story unlike many VNs you may be familiar with. You play from the PoV of a female protagonist named Minori Iizuka. This is Minori's story about how she becomes a magical girl and how she learns about and perserveres through the corruption of the Cathedral that's meant to be a home in the isolation of space in the war against the aliens. Overall: (9/10) This is a grim story. Dead End Aegis is comfortable using dark elements to tell a meaningful story that will stick with you and really make you think. There is a ton of rape and emotional abuse throughout the game, and it is there to make the player feel for the situation. It isn't just there for the sake of shock value, or satisfying fetishes a person may have. Underneath the rape, this game conveys a lot of compelling themes to think about. From the nature of capitalism, politics, what "being human" means, and how far humans are willing to go to survive. This game is a story first and eroge second. The eroge elements are used to supplement the story which is the main element The main characters have been fleshed out spectacularly. While I think some work could have been used on other characters not part of the main cast, I believe I understand what purpose the story was trying to achieve with the roles of these characters. If you are fine with such content, you will have an enjoyable time reading this story. It is one of the best Visual Novels I've read in recent time. I definitely do recommend this Visual Novel to you.
The game begins by waking up in a Castle where you don't remember anything, your only choice is to continue forward before being devoured by a darkness you cannot see. Story (8/10) You'll discover bits and pieces of what the main character Daniel's life was like before he became amnesic. There will also be occasional flashbacks where Daniel will remember some of his memories. Overall it is an interesting story that isn't directly told to you and expects effort on the player to piece together the entire story from what is given in the Castle. This can make it confusing, but it is a good way to tell the story. Soundtrack (9/10) The soundtrack does it's job well. It makes you constantly feel uneasy. Especially in certain areas. There will be intense music that will play when a monster is nearby and it will end when the monster goes away. Among the horrific soundtrack is also peaceful and serene soundtrack in this game which will serve to relax your nerves, only to later put you on edge again when the soundtrack goes horrific again. Gameplay (7/10) As it is a survival horror, your goal is survival, you must press forward. Your character has an amount of Health and sanity represented by the Heart and Brain in your inventory. Darkness and other scary events and monsters will cause your sanity to decrease. If your sanity gets low, you start hallucinating things that aren't there, such as bugs, or bodies. There's limited lighting supplies to help preserve your sanity and see where you're going. Each area will have an obstacle and require you to find items to get past the obstacle. There is also a Hard Mode that makes survival far more difficult. Overall (8/10) It is a solid horror game overall. The game gives an oppressive atmosphere to the degree you won't want to continue. Some horror is lost in knowing that enemies are scripted to appear in specific places rather than completely random. But it does the job well still regardless.
If you haven't played the first game, it is strongly recommended that you do so as it is a direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky taking place right after the first game. Estelle and Company are back to save Liberl from the encroaching threat of a hidden enemy that was the true cause of the events behind the first game. Story (10/10) The story continues from the first game and builds upon the side characters and relationships already established while introducing new characters as well. The build up to meeting members of the Society of Ouroboros and learning more of the history of Liberl make the story just as thrilling as the first game. It is also twice as long as the first game and delivers the same amount of quality, it will take most at least 80 hours to complete. It took me 140 hours to clear my first playthrough. All the main characters, party characters, and side characters are given vibrant personalities. Graphics (8/10) The game takes place in a 3rd person perspective. Given how this game was originally released in 2006, it is expected that the graphics would not age as well overtime. The graphics are still well done and the character art is a cute style to look at. Sound (10/10) The same soundtrack from the first game is here and expanded on to give great new themes. Given how the Composers are the same minds behind Ys and all of Nihon Falcom's games, the sound track delievers very strongly. Gameplay (9/10) The battle system is turn based and pretty fun. You get Orbments as your magic system and it is highly customizable. Allowing you to give your party members the spells you want them to have. There is a Monster Guide for detailed info on your foes. There are different difficulty settings so it can be as hard as you want it to be. I found it to be very difficult on Hard Mode. Overall (10/10) If you enjoy long Turn based RPGs that have a heavy focus on story and fun gameplay, you'll love this game and series as a whole.
One's first impression of this game is that it is "2D Minecraft" And it certainly takes inspration from it, and builds upon it to become it's own identity. And man, it is a unique game jam packed full of content that is obtained from randomly generated worlds to call your own. While this game originally released in 2011, it has recieved massive new content updates over the years to really bring a ton into the game. Many different ores can be mined to craft into new tools & weapons that never break, enemies will drop items you can use to craft to make more items, accessories to improve the abiltiies of your character. There are many different blocks you can collect and craft to make the buildings of your dreams. To add to it, there is a lot to explore. The Dark and Infectious Corruption and Crimson biomes, Jungle, Ice, Desert and more. the biome variety adds a lot of color and excitement to your world, and each time you make a new one, it is completely new and unique. What is the purpose of continuing to collect stronger weapons & equipment? It is to fight the game's bosses naturally! From the Eye of Cthulhu, the Eater of Worlds, to the Wall of Flesh. There are several bosses that have become iconic overtime, and many more bosses exist to be found and fought in this game. The soundtrack has it's charm in the classic retro chiptune style. As of this review, I own this game on both Steam and GOG, and I have around 2,500 hours invested in this game between both of them. It is a game that is addictive and contains high amounts of replayability. Even though the final boss can be found and defeated in a matter of 20-50 hours of gameplay time, you will want to do so much more in the world of Terraria after you've explored and built in one World. You'll want to do it all over again. Highly recommended for almost any type of gamer. It is only $10 but this game is far more valuable than $10. After experiencing it, 100's of hours will pass by without you realizing.
