Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 108

Virtue’s Last Reward: Slow Start to an Exciting Plot

As I said when I reviewed Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, one of the winners of my Celebrating All Things Spooky contest picked the game review as their prize and chose The Nonary Games.

The second game in The Nonary Games is Virtue’s Last Reward.

My relationship with Virtue’s Last Reward was a strange one. I went into it expecting a similar experience to 999 and was immediately put off. 999 had me invested right away, with a clear threat of danger and an urgent need for the characters to escape.

When I started Virtue’s Last Reward, on the other hand, the danger felt less immediate, the goal seemed less focused, and I was forced to endure an AI character with one of the most annoying voices I’ve ever heard. (Really, I’ll take Teepo to Zero Jr.) The shift to 3D graphics was also jarring, and I felt both the controls and graphics were better in 999.

It took me about 35 hours to play Virtue’s Last Reward. For the first 20 hours, I saw it as a more complicated, less interesting take on 999 with an annoying cast of characters and a plot that had some interesting moments but was nothing special.

For the remaining 15 hours, I couldn’t put the game down.

There are a few reasons for this dramatic shift. First, I had to stop comparing it to 999. Even though Virtue’s Last Reward is its sequel, they have significant differences. 999 managed to feel like a grounded story despite its subject matter, while Virtue’s Last Reward is straight-up science fiction.

Second, the story just has a slower build-up. Things start off relatively calm, but once the plot gets going, it really gets going.

Third, I just had the bad luck to start with a route that annoyed me instead of intriguing me. And the branch that caught my attention the quickest, I got to last. With a few different choices, it might not have taken me so long to get invested in it.

Click for Virtue's Last Reward spoilersI started out on Phi’s path, so it wasn’t too long before I encountered her betraying me for a choice I hadn’t made yet. Then when I went back and chose betray, she picked ally.

Since this was so early in the game for me, I reacted with, “Oh, it’s going to be one of these games” and found it to be an annoying trap, instead of knowing these situations are unusual and tie into the game’s overall plot.

Meanwhile, the middle branch discusses the events of 999, which got my attention right away, but that was the last branch I started.

(I still do find the characters more annoying than 999’s cast, though, and I’m not sure what happened to Clover’s personality.)

Virtue’s Last Reward also has an unusual story structure in that certain parts are locked until you find information in other routes. Unlike in 999, this didn’t require repeating sections, and you never even had to repeat any puzzles, due to the way the game is structured.

Bouncing between routes without actually getting any endings probably influenced my view at first as well, but once I started moving forward and seeing character endings, the plot really picked up.

While it started out slow, soon it started in with plot revelations, new mysteries, and some pretty crazy twists. The only thing I disliked about the end was that it ends on a cliffhanger.

Click for major Virtue's Last Reward spoilersNow that I’ve taken some time to think about it, I know the cliffhanger is because the Mars mission test site is itself will be a “game” with puzzles like the Nonary Game, and therefore it will be the focus of the third game.

But in the moment, I was all excited to see Sigma learn what happened at the test site and resolve the plot, only to be greeted with credits and an epilogue.

The gameplay was good, the same mix of visual novel + escape rooms as in the previous game, with puzzles that were good for the most part. At first, I disliked how every room ended with you finding one required safe password and one optional safe password, but I got used to it by the end.

Virtue’s Last Reward might be very different from its predecessor, but once I got deeper into the plot, I was really happy I played it. It might not be perfect (most of its humor fell flat for me, especially that annoying rabbit), but it got pretty interesting. And I’ll be honest… the cliffhanger left me anxious to get Zero Time Dilemma.

That concludes my playthrough of The Nonary Games. Have you played Virtue’s Last Reward? What did you think of it, and how do you feel it compares to 999?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Virtue’s Last Reward: Slow Start to an Exciting Plot appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Trails of Cold Steel III Localization Confirmed for Fall

The western release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III has been confirmed for fall 2019.

It’s being handled by NIS America, which fans didn’t react well to (partly because of all the issues with Ys VIII’s localization).

However, according to RPG Site, NIS America has brought in people who worked on the previous Trails localizations to handle this, which is good news.

There are also reports that NIS America is in discussions with Falcom about the Crossbell arc (the two games between Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel).

Now, I haven’t actually watched the Trails of Cold Steel III trailer yet because I’m not sure if it will spoil anything for the previous games. I understand discussions of Trails of Cold Steel IV are a spoiler minefield.

Here is the trailer, though, for those of you who want to watch.

New information should be coming soon as well. So far, Trails of Cold Steel III has only been announced for the PS4.

Speaking of Trails, we’re coming up on a year since I finished Trails in the Sky. Maybe it’s about time I started Trails in the Sky SC.

Are you looking forward to Trails of Cold Steel III? How do you feel about NIS America handling it?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Trails of Cold Steel III Localization Confirmed for Fall appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Is a New Opoona Game Being Developed?

I’ve never played Opoona, but I’ve heard good things about it.

From what I understand, it’s a somewhat casual JRPG with life sim elements, and it gets a lot of praise from people who have played it.

Well, there’s good reason to hope either an Opoona port or sequel is being developed. Let’s take a look.

On November 1, 2017, the game’s director sent out a tweet with a message translated here by Gematsu as:

It is November 1, 2017. Today is the anniversary of ArtePiazza’s establishment. And it has also been 10 years since the release of our lifestyle RPG Opoona!! I’ll be making a wonderful announcement in the near future, so please give me a little more time.”

While his message didn’t directly say it would be an Opoona announcement, he did include the #opoona hashtag.

Last September, almost a year after that tweet, a new Opoona Twitter account was made. It’s been active ever since then, tweeting out in-character comments.

There hasn’t been any direct Opoona activity aside from that… but the developer Cattle Call has added the Nintendo Switch to its list of consoles.

While I read the news hoping this means a new turn-based JRPG from Cattle Call (they developed The Alliance Alive, which I intend to play soon), Cattle Call has also worked on several other games, which includes helping ArtePiazza develop Opoona. Their Twitter account also retweeted the first tweet sent by the new Opoona account.

Is Cattle Call’s work for the Nintendo Switch related to Opoona? It’s too early to say, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we get an Opoona announcement in the near future.

Have you played Opoona? Do you think a port or new game is being teased? Let me know in the comments.

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Is a New Opoona Game Being Developed? appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Tales of Phantasia: A Heartfelt Classic

After playing a few games in the Tales series and becoming a fan, I finally went back to where it all began with the very first Tales game, Tales of Phantasia.

Tales of Phantasia has only been officially translated into English twice: first for the Game Boy Advance in 2006 and then as a disastrous iOS port in 2014 that has since been removed.

Since I prefer to play official releases and heard negative things about the GBA version, I didn’t think I’d get to play Phantasia unless they remade it… until I heard the GBA version’s glorious voice acting, at which point I bought a copy as soon as I stopped laughing.

(I’m not even joking.)

(Un)fortunately, voice acting does not show up often in Tales of Phantasia, mainly limited to battle cries and that beautiful intro. The story follows a young man named Cress who is sent back in time to find a way to defeat the Demon King Dhaos, who was sealed away in the past but now is free again.

Time travel is at the core of the game’s story, although there isn’t much back-and-forth. It’s a simpler story than what I’ve seen in other Tales games, and the GBA version lacks skits, but it’s an enjoyable game with an interesting plot and likable characters.

Click for Tales of Phantasia spoilersAnd when I say the story is simpler, I mean they wait until the very end to reveal the big twist in regards to Dhaos’s motivations. The story still has its intricacies, it’s just presented in a more straightforward manner.

I would have preferred to actually hear Dhaos explain his story, though, instead of having the characters recount what he said after the fact.

I also completely missed that Dhaos in the future is different than Dhaos in the present because of them changing the timeline. Okay, maybe it’s not such a simple story after all.

The final party member joined too late to ever really feel a part of things, but I read that she was an NPC in the original version, so it makes sense that her role would be lessened. Aside from her, I thought the cast had a good dynamic.

Now, it’s an old game. At times, it feels old. Combat in particular is strange and slow and pauses entirely for most spells, and there are also little frustrations such as having to equip the Sorcerer’s Ring as an accessory to use it.

Then there’s the translation, which had some dubious moments, the best of which is its infamous “Kangaroo” line (instead of Ragnarok).

But it really has a lot of heart. I’m not entirely sure how to explain it, but as I was exploring the world, discovering side quests and secrets, and watching the characters interact with each other, it made me think about how much I love this genre. Tiny sprites and limited graphics don’t stop Tales of Phantasia from being emotional and sincere. Sometimes I feel like newer JRPGs have lost some of that soul. It’s hard to say what it is, but there is something heartfelt about older JRPGs like this.

I’d love to see a remake of Tales of Phantasia (or an official English release of one of the later versions), preferably keeping its world map and everything else intact.

Overall, I liked Tales of Phantasia a lot. Its age shows and the GBA version might not be the best way to play, but I enjoyed seeing the origin of the Tales series. Have you played Tales of Phantasia?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Tales of Phantasia: A Heartfelt Classic appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Kingdom Hearts III’s Epilogue and Secret Movie Will Be Added January 30 and 31

I’ve pretty much stopped checking Kingdom Hearts III news to avoid spoilers, but this is the kind of news I still want to know ahead of time: when the epilogue and secret movie will be available.

Now, some people are making a big deal out of this announcement, but they actually revealed they were going to do this quite a while ago.

Nomura mentioned the idea at least as far back as September, during the Stage Show at TGS.

When asked if Kingdom Hearts III would have a secret movie, Nomura said yes, but that he was trying to think of a way to release it so that spoilers wouldn’t appear online.

After the full game was leaked in December, Nomura released a message that repeated this point:

The game’s epilogue and secret movie, which are the biggest spoilers in this game, are planned to be released at a later date just in case, so they will not be shown before the game’s release.”

So this shouldn’t be a huge shock… but since lots of people are only learning about the news now, it’s important to repeat that the full game and its ending are available on the disk. These are an epilogue and a secret movie held back so they wouldn’t be spoiled.

(Based on the epilogues and secret endings in previous Kingdom Hearts games, it will probably tease the next saga in some way.)

Anyway, the schedule has been revealed:

January 29 – Data fixes and the Memory Archive (story recap videos)
January 30 – Epilogue
January 31 – Secret Movie

The epilogue can be viewed after you finish the game and see its ending. The secret movie can be viewed after you finish the game and see the ending while meeting certain criteria, which will be different depending on the difficulty level you played on.

Note the fact that you have to see the ending to watch the epilogue. That must mean they consider the epilogue separate from the actual ending of Kingdom Hearts III.

Anyway, unlike the Spyro situation, this doesn’t bother me too much. I appreciate their reasons for doing it, the full game is completely playable without the download, and finding a video online is much easier than finding a way to download a game (in the case of people with no/slow Internet).

I’m excited for Kingdom Hearts III, and I’ll be looking forward to the epilogue and secret movie once I finish. How do you feel about the latest news?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Kingdom Hearts III’s Epilogue and Secret Movie Will Be Added January 30 and 31 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

God of War (2018) is a Fantastic, Emotional Journey

While I didn’t finish the new God of War in time for my list of the top games I played in 2018, I finished it early this year and it was as good as I’d hoped it would be.

And it carried on the legacy of the previous games.

One of the main reasons I decided to play the previous God of War titles first (in addition to wanting to see the fully story and character development) was because I wanted a better appreciation of the changes.

As a Resident Evil fan, I’m sensitive to series making radical gameplay changes… but to my surprise, while the new God of War definitely plays differently, much of it felt familiar. Combat is slower, but you’re still using a mix of light/heavy melee attacks, ranged attacks, and special attacks, although with less magic and a greater emphasis on fighting a handful of enemies at a time instead of a mob.

Click for God of War (2018) spoilersOnce you get the Blades of Chaos, it feels even more like the originals despite the over-the-shoulder camera.

The focus on puzzles was lessened, with the bulk being for opening chests rather than progressing through the story, but there were still lots of little things that felt like the God of War formula evolved to fit the new game.

For me personally, it felt like it took everything I liked the most about the originals and gave me more.

Exploration? Now there are whole optional areas to explore, with their own treasures and collectibles and side quests, instead of just occasional secret areas with chests.

Lore? I loved the little world-building notes in God of War and God of War III, and God of War (2018) ramped it up with lore shrines and journal entries for just about everything in addition to the occasional little notes.

Story? It has more of a focus on story and character interactions than ever, largely because Kratos isn’t journeying alone, so he has someone to interact with almost all the time. This allows for many smaller moments of storytelling, rather than restricting it to the major cutscenes.

One thing I hadn’t been expecting was the sense of humor. The new God of War is much funnier than the previous games, with Kratos’s grumpiness and general lack of humor contributing to the humor as much as anything else. Really, the character interactions in this game were fantastic.

So I loved the characters (especially Atreus), and I enjoyed the story – even more so as I remembered bits and pieces of Norse mythology, which had gotten rather fuzzy in my memory over the years.

Click for major God of War (2018) spoilersIncluding one point where I was away from the game doing an entirely unrelated task and my thoughts abruptly went something along the lines of, “Mistletoe… mistletoe arrows… Isn’t there a thing about–MISTLETOE IS THE ONE THING THAT CAN KILL BALDUR! ATREUS IS GOING TO SHOOT HIM WITH THE ARROWS!”

and then I was crushed when Freya burned my arrows.

Speaking of which, I appreciate a lot of their attention to little mythology details. I thought they’d just changed mythology to make Freya Baldur’s mother for a twist, but apparently there are scholars who believe Freya and Frigg came from the same goddess originally.

Also, Laufey -> Fey -> Faye. Even if I remembered the name Laufey, I doubt I’d have made the connection, but there it is.

Watching Kratos develop as a character was one of the best parts. He’s come a long way and he’s trying to move on from his past. After everything he’d gone through in the previous games, I just wanted him and Atreus to be happy. And while it might not be that easy, the emotional payoff after having played the previous games was definitely worth it.

Click for God of War (2018) spoilersThe whole sequence when Kratos takes sick Atreus to Freya, learns he’ll need to get different weapons, and rides the boat back to his house for the Blades of Chaos was such an emotionally intense series of events, it gave me chills watching it.

(Also, Helheim, for the obligatory God of War underworld section.)

The story also had some great twists and foreshadowing, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel. I have a few theories of my own, and I’ll be looking forward to news about the next game.

And yes, I know I haven’t played Ascension yet. I decided to skip it after learning it didn’t add much to the overall story. I’ll still probably play it eventually… perhaps this year?

What did you think of the new God of War game? How do you feel about the significant changes it made to the God of War formula?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post God of War (2018) is a Fantastic, Emotional Journey appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

2019 Writing Goals

My review of the new God of War will be coming soon, but first it’s time to talk about writing! Just as I did last year, I’ll list my writing goals for 2019 ahead of time. So in addition to my video game backlog goals…

By 2020, I will:

Complete my final edits of A Prince’s Price and send it to a beta reader.
Edit The Nightbringer based on feedback I recently received.
Edit A Prince’s Price based on the feedback I receive.
Once they are completely edited, search for an agent for The Nightbringer and A Prince’s Price.
Edit The Sunken Sapphire.
Create an outline for the revisions of either The Threshing Night or Mage’s Test.
Write at least 3 more short stories.
Continue to manage my two side websites and get them to a level where they do bring in income.
Add an additional “event” of some sort to the three book signings I currently participate in.

I’d noticed that a lot of my writing goals tend to be pretty safe bets, so this time I wanted to focus on some more specific goals, such as working on the outline for one of my two rough drafts that need major work and writing three new short stories.

The website goal is the one most out of my control, but improving my management of the sites should help.

Do you have any writing goals for 2019? What are they?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post 2019 Writing Goals appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Operation Backlog Completion: Round 4

Last year, I once again vowed to play at least 40 games to create a dent in my backlog.

Once again, I played more than 40 games and my backlog did not shrink.

This is because of free game promotions, Humble Bundles, and the sort of decision-making that led me to buy six God of War games instead of just the new one.

So we’re doing it again, and for Operation Backlog Completion: Round 4, I challenge myself to beat 50 games in 2019!

Operation Backlog Completion 2019

For the past two years, I’ve also listed specific games I wanted to complete during the year: my most-anticipated games and games I backed on Kickstarter.

Of the games I listed last year, I played Cosmic Star Heroine and Vampyr. I decided to skip Octopath Traveler, Kingdom Hearts III was delayed, and The Wolf Among Us: Season 2 was cancelled, which still hurts.

(I’m waiting for my physical copy of Yooka-Laylee to arrive.)

This year, I’ll play the games I skipped, my most-anticipated games of 2019, and also The Great Gaias, which gives us the following list:

Batman: Arkham Knight (and possibly Arkham Origins)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (after playing The Witcher 2)
Dragon Quest XI
Kingdom Hearts III
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
Resident Evil 2 (remake)
Luigi’s Mansion 3
Judgment
Yooka-Laylee
Aviary Attorney
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
Dies Irae
Shadows of Adam
A Hat in Time
The Great Gaias

Do you have any video game goals for 2019?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Operation Backlog Completion: Round 4 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Top 5 Anticipated Games of 2019

Happy New Year! 2019 is here, and we already have some great games lined up.

My most-anticipated games from last year didn’t work out too well… and that’s not even getting into my misguided belief that an unannounced Ace Attorney game might qualify.

(Seriously, when will Ace Attorney 7 be announced?)

But from the game lineup that has been announced so far, here are the five games I’m most excited for in 2019.

5. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 had already been on my list of games to play for quite a while, but I did regret that I’d never get to see the content from the Japan-exclusive PS3 version… until Bandai Namco announced Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch!

It includes all of the PS3 version’s content, and it’s getting a global release in January. I’ll probably get the Switch version, so I can take it with me if I want to.

4. Resident Evil 2 Remake

My feelings on the Resident Evil 2 remake have gone back and forth since its announcement. The remake of the first Resident Evil is one of my favorite games, and it’s exciting to think about Resident Evil 2 getting the same treatment.

Then it was unveiled, for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The over-the-shoulder camera disappointed me a little, and I didn’t care about how dark or gory it looked. Until I saw puzzles, I wouldn’t be convinced. Since then, they’ve released gameplay videos that show locked doors, puzzles, and all the other little survival horror features I love.

Now I have faith in the Resident Evil 2 remake to feel like a modern version of a traditional survival horror game, and I hope it will spur Capcom to make more games in that style.

(With the puzzles… no matter how “unrealistic” they might feel.)

3. Luigi’s Mansion 3

Speaking of games I hope follow a particular style, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is supposed to be released in 2019 for the Switch, although we’ve only seen a tiny teaser for it.

I loved the original Luigi’s Mansion, while I didn’t enjoy most of the changes in Dark Moon. Since the Luigi’s Mansion 3 reveal included a shot of a very tall building, I hope that is the mansion that we get to explore during the game… and I really hope the game isn’t split into missions.

Are there too many unknowns for me to rank it this highly, considering how I felt about Dark Moon? Maybe. But if Luigi’s Mansion 3 plays more like the original, it’s definitely one of my most-anticipated games of the year.

2. Judgment

When the Yakuza team announced Judge Eyes for the PS4, titled Judgment in the west, I wanted it immediately. It earned a spot on this list from the very first reveal. A Yakuza series spin-off about a lawyer, with a thrilling story trailer and what looks like a fantastic amount of side content? Sign me up!

Judge Eyes is already out in Japan and seems to have been well-received. It’s due out here in Summer 2019, and I can’t wait.

But yes, there is still one game I’m looking forward to even more than Judgment, and you should know what it is…

…especially since it was on my list last year, until it was delayed to 2019…

1. Kingdom Hearts III

We are less than a month away from Kingdom Hearts III.

Even as someone who got into the series late, it’s crazy to think the conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga is practically upon us. Kingdom Hearts III will be out on January 29 for the PS4 and Xbox One, I’ve been avoiding spoilers and trailers for a while now, and I have high hopes that this game will be incredible.

(Will I be disappointed if there is no playable Young Eraqus and Young Xehanort flashback? Yes. Will that be enough to ruin it for me? Of course not.)

Ending a long-running story like this saga can be difficult, but everything I’ve seen about Kingdom Hearts III fills me with hope that this will be the epic conclusion I hope to see.

Conclusion

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, Resident Evil 2, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Judgment, and Kingdom Hearts III are the five games I’m most looking forward to in the year ahead. Here’s hoping it goes better than it did last year.

What are your most-anticipated games of 2019?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Top 5 Anticipated Games of 2019 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Top 5 Games I Played in 2018

It’s the final day of 2018, and it was a great year for video games!

…Although it was a disaster for my five most anticipated games, since one was delayed, one was cancelled, one was different enough from what I hoped for that I didn’t get it, and one was a disappointment, leaving me only with Dragon Quest XI, which I hope to play soon.

So let’s take a look at the best games I played this year. As usual, these aren’t necessarily games that came out this year, just games that I played to completion this year.

Honorable Mention

This year’s honorable mention goes to the new God of War. Despite my best efforts, I didn’t beat it before the end of the year. It’s been a fantastic experience so far, though, so it’s well on track to become a favorite.

Now, onward to the top 5 games I played (and beat) in 2018!)

5. God of War (original)

All right, so even though God of War didn’t qualify for the list, God of War did! …And that’s not confusing at all.

Leading up to the new God of War game, I played through and reviewed all five games in the God of War Saga collection.

Now, it’s really hard for me to decide which one is my favorite. Ghost of Sparta might have had the best story, God of War II had the smoothest-feeling gameplay, God of War III had the best combination of story and gameplay… but the one my thoughts keep coming back to is the original.

As I explained in my review, it really felt like a Greek tragedy, and the way it captured that sense of mythology earned it a spot on my list.

4. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors is the first half of The Nonary Games collection and a game I’d intended to play for a long time. Earlier this year, I finally played it, with its sequel to follow in the future.

999 turned out to be an exciting game with clever puzzles, intense storytelling, and a way of playing around with strange phenomena in urban legends in such a way as to keep a surreal sense of realism even as it delved into fantastic territory.

I spent the entire story wanting to unravel the mystery and learn the truth of what was at work… and while part of the ending fell a little flat for me, it was still one of the most intriguing, enjoyable games I’ve played all year.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I love the first two Xenoblade games, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 stands right up there with them. While it had some flaws (mainly due to the gacha-like Blade system), it was a great story with a good cast. For me, the good outweighs the bad, as you’ll see from my review.

But what makes it stand out even more is its DLC expansion. On top of the main Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which is itself a huge JRPG, we also got Torna ~ The Golden Country.

Like the main game, Torna isn’t perfect… but this smaller Xenoblade experience is a fun game in its own right, and as I explained in my review, it has a lot of features that feel better than the main Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Together, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and its prequel expansion created a standout experience.

2. Trails in the Sky

Early in the year, I finished Trails in the Sky. While it has a slow-paced story, I enjoyed the detective-like nature of the early parts and the way the stakes rose in the later parts, as well as its world and characters.

Technically, I’ve only seen the first half the story, so I’m looking forward to playing Trails in the Sky SC to see what happens next.

So why does the first Trails in the Sky rank so high on this list? It’s largely because of the twist. That twist. I still can’t believe I never saw it coming.

And at last, we’re ready to talk about the final entry on the list, the number one game I played in 2018.

Knowing God of War is out of the running, if you talked to me much at all this year, you probably know what it will be…

1. Yakuza 0

I’d never played anything from the Yakuza series before, but once I learned it was nothing like what I imagined, I decided to try Yakuza 0.

And what an experience it turned out to be.

I finished it after over 100 hours of gameplay divided between a fantastic story, a number of hilarious side quests, and plenty of mini-games to break up the pace.

Plot, characters, gameplay, side content… Yakuza 0 won me over at every turn. It left me eager to play more games in the series and confident in naming Yakuza 0 as the best game I played in 2018.

Conclusion

I played lots of games in 2018, and God of War (original), 999, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Trails in the Sky, and Yakuza 0 are the five that stood out to me the most, with God of War (2018) also proving to be an excellent game as I continue to play through it.

Which were your favorite games that you played in 2018?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Top 5 Games I Played in 2018 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.