Recent reviews by Sugoi

TLDR First: Dragon Quest XI is one of the best entries in the now thirty-plus year-old series. It manages to both be incredibly faithful to series conventions while also making necessary changes to feel fresh and modern for a contemporary audience. The fact that it has managed to do this without betraying its roots in any way is a testament to the uncommon amount of love and care it was crafted with. If you like RPGs at all and aren't turned off by turn-based combat, you will have a blast with DQXI. And if you've never played a Dragon Quest before, don't worry -- this is an excellent entry point for those who have no previous series experience.

As a long-time Dragon Quest fan who has played every game in the series except for X, I have to admit that I was approaching this one with a bit of trepidation. I was especially worried whether the jump to UE4 and its level of graphic fidelity would undermine the spirit of exploration and adventure that is at the heart of the DQ experience, doubly so since this was a separate version being co-developed alongside the 3DS release. I should have known better -- while the game initially feels very "on rails" compared to more open DQs, it nevertheless blossoms into an enormous game easily on par with all but the largest of DQs (No, it's not as big as DQ7, but then again... what is?).

There's honestly very little you can complain about with DQXI. The soundtrack is definitely its weakest point, with most of Sugiyama's new compositions falling a bit flat compared to returning or remixed tracks. The lack of inclusion of a orchestral score certainly hurts as well, but that has now been remedied with the excellent Orchestral injection mod. Even without it though, the soundtrack is still good -- it just falls short of the greatness of some earlier games in the series. Some plot twists are easy to see coming, but a few will take you by surprise. Regardless of predictability however, they're all executed very well.

Port and performance-wise, the game is oddly configured to only utilize 4 threads despite its engine being capable of using a larger number of worker threads. Modders may be able to address this in the future, but for now if you want a mostly solid 60FPS, You're going to need a recent CPU with strong single-thread performance. Two areas in particular, Heliodor and Gondolia, are far more demanding than anything else in the game, but should still run acceptably for most users with little to no tweaking.

What else is there to say? The DQ magic of pastoral landscapes, quaint villages, bustling cities, adorably weird monsters... it's all here, and in fine form. Light-hearted, but with a deep undercurrent of tragedy, it's an experience you'll remember for a long time.

DQ's freakin' magic, man. Don't miss it.

Chasm is a solid metroidvania with charming and well-animated art and a unique map-generation gimmick, but broadly uninspired mechanics.

Its unique claim to fame is procedural map generation that unless you purposefully use the same seed value, ensures everyone will get a unique layout with different enemies, loot, etc. While this sounds very interesting in theory, in practice the room pieces that are used to build the levels are going to feel broadly similar even when remixed somewhat, mostly due to identical ability progression. It is an interesting novelty that feels like it has much more potential than the game makes use of currently.

The core of the game is very much inspired by Igarashi's Castlevanias, Symphony in particular. It nails certain aspects lacking in other titles that try to emulate those games, such as weapon and item variety. Control responsiveness is somewhat low due to a tendency to lock the player into animations and limited jump and backdash canceling, but once the timing is adjusted to, feels solid.

Ultimately, I enjoyed my time with Chasm. It has some minor flaws, but the overall experience is still satisfying and worth your time if you are a fan of the genre. Recommended.

This is a hard game to review. Not because it is a bad game (it is, in fact, excellent in so very many regards), but because as a direct sequel to a game as big as Trails of Cold Steel, your impressions of it will largely be predicated on your feelings for CS1. Needless to say, jumping in mid-arc in any Trails/Kiseki series is ill-advised, so go play the first one before considering picking this up. If you enjoyed it, you're going to want to play this one. If you didn't, CS2 is unlikely to greatly sway your opinion of this story arc.

Still here? With that out of the way, you might ask how CS2 fares as a sequel to CS1, and the answer would be that it is an improvement in most regards. The pacing is significantly faster as the story shifts into a higher gear and the stakes are raised for all the characters involved. If you loved them before, you'll continue to love them here, as their characterization hasn't changed enormously. A big change however in CS2 is the large number of guest party members, who come and go with enough frequency that it keeps things fresh outside of the now-familiar members of class VII.

On the whole, polish is much higher in CS2, with animation improvements being the major standout from the often utilitarian ones in CS1. Considering that CS1 was Falcom's first fully-3D game, that jump isn't too surprising, but it is very nice to see. Structurally, the game is mostly similar to the original, but eventually opens up into large non-linear sections where you have free access to most of the game world. If you have any nostalgia for Final Fantasy VI and VII, you'll definitely appreciate these sections.

The only final thing to keep in mind for CS2 is that it is not going to deliver you the kind of closure you got in Trails in the Sky SC. This is the second part of a four part story, and while it doesn't end on a cliffhanger like CS1 did, you absolutely will be left with more questions than answers. As long as you go in with that understanding, you'll doubtlessly have a great time.

Highly recommended.

Tokyo Xanadu is an interesting fusion of ideas from different Falcom games, and this mix (while imperfect) works very well. Its core structure is reminiscent of Trails of Cold Steel, and combat falls somewhere between Ys VII and VIII (closer to VIII) in style. Its dungeons are quite varied in layout and design, although few are long enough to take more than 20 minutes to complete -- an intentional decision to encourage brisk speedruns and portability.

Story wise, while the plot is generally more predictable than most other Falcom games outside of a handful of well-done twists, characterization is excellent and the cast is extremely likable. Minor characters and NPCs are given the same sort of plot lines as can be seen in Trails/Kiseki, and many of these can be quite endearing as they develop over the course of the game.

The music is, of course, fantastic. It's exactly what you'd expect from Falcom Sound Team, with a number of really outstanding dungeon tracks that will get you pumped for another go. If you enjoy Falcom music, you'll have nothing to complain about on this front.

The port itself is quite good, and there are few technical issues to write home about. There is a 60fps cap, but frame pacing is excellent and it is a very rock solid 60; most people on modern systems should never see frame drops. It is also quite stable; I've only had one crash in close to 90 hours playing it.

Full Disclosure: I was a beta tester for this game and as such received a free copy for testing. I'd still have bought it otherwise though, because it's a fantastic action RPG that shouldn't be missed, even if it is overshadowed by Falcom's tentpole series.

While not the deepest game, it does zombie survival better than pretty much everything else. Technically competent, with a good difficulty curve, a fun world to explore, and lots of mechanics that are fun to play around with.

Absolutely redeems Techland from the mess that the Dead Island games were.

Best Metroidvania I've played in almost a decade. It takes elements from many of the best games in the genre, but also puts its own unique spins on several mechanics that make it feel like much more than an also-ran.

Production values are insane. Visually and aurally, it's simply one of the most aesthetically pleasing games out there, with a unique but fully realized art style that gives its world and characters tons of charm. The amount of unique love given to every screen thoroughly puts most games with far larger budgets to shame.

Post-release support has been fantastic as well; both free expansions are well integrated into the game and do a good job of expanding the story and setting.

Do yourself a favor and let yourself get lost in Hallownest; you'll not regret it.

Well, it's kiseki. It's great. The characters are lovable, the story is engrossing, the music rocks, the combat has precisely the right level of complexity, and the exposition and world-building are unparalleled. If you're familiar with the series you know all this, of course.

If you're not familiar with the series, you should know that it is one of the longest running high quality RPG series out there, with a lineage and pedigree on par with Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. While you'd generally be recommended to pick up Trails in the Sky FC and SC first, Cold Steel is an acceptably entry point for the series as well, although you'll miss out on some references and have some events from earlier games spoiled.

Being the first part of a three-part series, it necessarily starts off a little on the slow side -- but it builds up much faster than Trails in the Sky FC, alleviating easily the largest complaint about that particular duology.

On the technical side, the port is almost peerless. It has a few very minor issues, but nothing gamebreaking unless you intend to play with an unlocked framerate right now (Don't, it's still in testing and the 60fps option is buttery smooth). With everything cranked up to max, the excellent art direction and shading more than make up for the relatively modest polygon count and texture resolution; it's a beautiful game.

If you like JRPGs and aren't turned off by a game with a structure somewhat similar to the latter Persona games (3, 4, and 5), you will absolutely have a great time with Cold Steel.

First off, an important disclaimer: This port currently has performance issues. While they're nowhere near significant enough to overshadow the achievement that the game is, they are worth paying attention to. If you intend to play at 1080 or higher, a powerful GPU is mandatory, even with FAR and reduced lighting detail.

With that out of the way: If you have a system that can run the game acceptably, buy it right now. It's one of the most powerful works in the medium, effortlessly blending genres, eschewing expectations, and delivering one hell of an experience which is surprisingly heartfelt. It's unquestionably Yoko Taro's best game, and his fingerprints can be found in every aspect of the design. It's also a phenomenal action game that, while it may not have the mechanical complexity of Bayonetta or Metal Gear Rising, plays smoothly and gives players an enormous amount of freedom to engage in combat on their own terms. The variety of weapons, pods, pod programs, and chips offers endless customization to tailor the experience to your own playstyle.

Special attention should definitely be given to Automata's soundtrack: Keisuke Okabe has created something truly memorable here, and the adaptive nature of it is wonderfully used to accentuate tonal shifts in gameplay. Subtle and not so subtle musical changes will continually catch you off-guard and punch you in the gut when you least expect it.

NieR: Automata is, in many respects, a transcendental work. Don't miss it.

Roguelikes have become very popular in recent years, but the game that kickstarted the rogueolution (sorry) remains almost unquestionably the best. It has simple core mechanics and systems which interact in amazing ways to create interesting experiences no matter how much time you spend with it, and every playthrough is a nail-biting adventure.

If you enjoy platformers or roguelikes of any stripe, Spelunky is a game that absolutely must be in your collection.

A wonderful and inventive take on action rpgs that blends DMC-style action with a decent-sized open world more than a little inspired by Berserk. If you like any of those things and are up for trying something new, give Dragon's Dogma a shot -- it is unlikely to disappoint.

The port itself is very solid; QLOC did a great job of both making the game run well and control well with KB/M. It still suffers from a very controller-centric UI, but this is a very minor complaint and something you'll adjust to very quickly.

Absolutely recommended.