If I were the type to really care about the VGAs and other video game awards, I would probably be annoyed at how robbed this game was to not even be nominated for GOTY. As it stands, I do believe it was robbed, I just don't see enough value in those awards to care: just a foolishness to have snubbed such a gem of a game. This game right here is the single best experience I have had gaming in all of 2023 and is a strong contender for one of the best ever. If it wasn't for the fact that puzzle games are not a gametype everyone would like, I would be giving this game a 10 out of 10 without a second thought, it's that good. But seeing how some people just will not enjoy it for the nature of what it is, that is not possible by my own rules. But know this, miss out at your own loss. This is something special like we almost never see.
Simply put I absolutely loved this game. Refining everything Ys VIII did and adding new additions that work out exceptionally well, the series has so far ended on the highest note it has yet hit, and I honestly can't wait to see what's next for our favorite professional adventurer.
Honestly, this is a very solid game, and if you have a taste for action RPGs and first person shooters, you will likely enjoy the blend here. If you enjoyed previous Fallout games Bethesda released, you already should expect to enjoy this one. And if Dilbert style humor amuses you, you have that much more to look forward to. Just be aware if you want the game to keep it's combat engaging you may have to ignore the temptation of the expansion packs till you are well into it, lest they make the game FAR too easy.
I really wanted to like this game. It looked like a fun little game and had a sense of humor that permeated the game and legitimately made me smile more often then not. But the game underneath it is just not as good as it needs to be to support this and well below the standards of yesteryear it's taking it's inspirations from. The precision of the controls, despite the game demanding more from them, is just not up to that demand. And then we have some just plain strange and poor choices that get in the way of playing. The game frankly trips over itself.
Once again, we have another "game" I have a hard time calling a good game, but not because it's bad so much as it's hard to really call it a game. In fact it may be best to compare this to another title I once reviewed where I called it more of a virtual haunted house then a game. But where that was a haunted house, this felt more like a museum dedicated to the Finches and their various fates, complete with interactive displays for each. Take a few hours and relax as you explore and see what it all has to show you.
I really can't say anything bad about this game, at least outside the ending. It is a very solid action RPG and a great place for the modern gamer to get their first taste of Adol's adventures. If you've been looking into trying out the Ys games, enjoy. If you, like me, have spent a lot of time with Adol, its still a great game and even adds some extra variety compared to what most of the series has offered so far. Either way, enjoy yourself. You are in for a good time.
This is honestly a damn good game. Maybe not an alltime great, but a pretty solid one in it's own right. However, the real strength here is just how good the writing is and how much of a great final tone for the whole 5 game long epic this really is. If you've been with Rosa and Joey this far, you owe it to yourself to finish it. However, between the game really needing a little help to figure out what the devs were thinking form time to time and really doing yourself a disservice should you like the game and want to play the earlier ones, I would also say this is probably the only time you SHOULD play this one. It's not because it's bad. It's far from, but it really is that much of a spoiler to the earlier games. Rather this is a grand finale and should be treated as such.
...it is tempting to rate this game badly overall, but that wouldn't be fair to the game. Outside of a few specific moments around one specific enemy type (one of the last it introduces) the game is a whole lot of fun, running around and gunning down hoards of alien forces interspersed with slower moments when you are exploring the ruins they left behind to find resources, complete whatever objective you have at the moment, and dealing with the remaining forces still prowling around. Its moody, atmospheric, and just a great time. What holds it back is really just a set of cutscenes aging badly, the game running out of steam and new ideas just shy of the grand finale, and occasional just plain bad ideas (like that enemy I keep mentioning but don't want to spoil and the entire ending cutscene). So it's not so much a bad game as clearly a "first game" and one that time has not been kind to. If you like horror themed action games, you can do FAR FAR worse then to pick this one up.
I REALLY wanted to love this one. After all, the original Overlord was a fun game that overcame the limits of first person army management magnificently. Had this been more of the same, it would have been another great outing. Unfortunately, the attempts to expand on it have had the reverse effect with many of the new additions proving more annoying then fun. Add to this some very severe bugs that literally killed the game and it was all downhill from that fun little introduction as the "witch boy." Slow at first... and then like jumping off a cliff.
