Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 15

Monochrome Mobius Sequel Utawarerumono: Shiro e no Michishirube Announced

While we were busy focusing on The Kaito Files, another exciting announcement came out – a new entry in the Utawarerumono series.

Utawarerumono: Shiro e no Michishirube was announced for 2025 in Japan, with no platforms given yet.

Despite its name, it is the sequel to Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten and will feature an evolved version of its turn-based JRPG gameplay. It was confusing enough that Monochrome Mobius was part of the series without having “Utawarerumono” in the title, and now its sequel does.

(There’s probably a story-based reason for that, actually.)

I still haven’t played Monochrome Mobius, because I haven’t caught up on the rest of the series yet. While Mask of Deception leaving me excited to see where the story goes, Mask of Truth has still been waiting in my backlog. With another game on the horizon, I’m itching to get back into it and see this story through.

Maybe by the time this new game (hopefully) gets announced for localization, I’ll have caught up.

I’d love to see another large-scale visual novel from the series after this, too. Maybe once they finish the Monochrome Mobius storyline?

I haven’t looked into this new game in too much detail, since I don’t want to see spoilers for the games I haven’t played yet. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to learning more about it in the future and seeing how its gameplay has evolved.

What do you think about the new Utawarerumono announcement?

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Monochrome Mobius Sequel Utawarerumono: Shiro e no Michishirube Announced appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

The Kaito Files is a Great DLC

When I finished Lost Judgment, I mentioned that I would get around to its DLC story The Kaito Files after taking a break for October’s spooky games.

Well, November is here and I’ve now played The Kaito Files.

The Kaito Files is a short DLC episode in which you play as Kaito.

While Yagami is away, Kaito is asked to investigate the disappearance of a woman believed to be dead until recently. What’s more is that Kaito knew her years ago – and almost married her.

It’s an intriguing detective story in its own right, but the emotional aspect due to its connection with Kaito’s past makes it even better. I can’t say I had strong feelings toward Kaito either way before this, but it sold me on him as a protagonist.

Click for Kaito Files spoilersAlthough, my original idea on how future Judgment games could handle the Yagami romance issue is now dashed. I think they won’t commit to a Yagami/Mafuyu romance because they want to keep him canonically single for the girlfriend stuff, so I thought the best solution was to make a Judgment game with multiple characters and give all the girlfriend/dating content to the other character.

But Kaito got his happy ending being reunited with Mikiko, and breaking that up would feel even worse! So I no longer want Kaito dating mechanics in a future game.

(This DLC also claims Hoshino and Saori are at a point where marriage is on the table… which has me even more baffled by the portrayal of their romance in the main game. That aside, I guess my idea would have to fall to Higashi now.)

There are no side cases in this DLC and only the standard Kamurocho mini-games. That’s my only disappointment with it, because I would have loved to see Kaito getting mixed up in some wacky antics.

Instead, there’s a small amount of side content in the form of collectibles, which you can find using Kaito’s “primal senses.” Yes, instead of getting detective gadgets like Yagami does in the main game, Kaito simply has super senses, so you’ll be walking down the street when he starts sniffing, and that means you should activate “primal nose” to find a hidden collectible. The goofiness of Kaito sniffing out collectibles (and sometimes plot-relevant clues) like he’s a dog is so bizarre it’s hilarious. I have no idea why they went this route, but it certainly made me smile.

Kaito has two different combat styles and levels up by gaining SP just like Yagami does in the main game. I found him enjoyable enough to play as and even unlocked all his skills and fought the bonus boss.

Now when The Kaito Files was announced, I was skeptical of it being half the price of the main game considering they said it would be around 10 hours long. Indeed, it only took me 9 hours to complete. On the other hand, I bought the Season Pass on sale, so it’s not as bad.

More importantly, they were a great 9 hours! The Kaito Files is excellent, with a good story, several fun moments, and a villain who’s twisted even by Judgment standards. Substories or side cases would have made it perfect, but as it is, I can’t complain.

Finishing The Kaito Files only made me want one thing – more Judgment games.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post The Kaito Files is a Great DLC appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Is There Hope for a Famicom Detective Club Remake Physical Release?

Let’s talk about the Famicom Detective Club series again.

Back when we discussed The Missing Heir, I mentioned that I gave in and bought the digital version since the Famicom Detective Club remakes never got a physical English release.

But is there still hope?

While the Switch 2’s backward compatibility that we discussed yesterday was the biggest news out of that announcement, a lot of other information was also included in the presentation. Among other interesting details, one page showed games that have been released for the Switch since it came out.

This included the Famicom Detective Club remakes… and fans noticed something strange.

English box art is shown for them. It’s not the Japanese box art and it’s not the art alone; it’s what looks like a physical case for the English version of the Famicom Detective Club remake collection.

So… does it mean anything? Maybe not. It might just be that they wanted to include it on the list so they made a mock-up of physical box art so it wouldn’t look out of place with the other games. On the other hand, Emio did get a physical release. If that sold well, maybe they’re going to follow-up with a physical collection of the remakes.

I’d buy them again if that happens. I enjoyed them enough that I’d love to have a copy for my collection. So here’s hoping this is more than just a nice image for the infographic!

Do you think we’ll get a physical release of the Famicom Detective Club remakes?

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Is There Hope for a Famicom Detective Club Remake Physical Release? appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Nintendo Confirms the Switch 2 Will Be Backward Compatible

Although the successor to the Nintendo Switch has yet to be unveiled, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that it will be able to play Switch games, something fans have been wondering about for quite a while.

He followed up with a link to the translated presentation material, which covers that and more.

Backward compatibility is far from new for Nintendo, particularly for their handhelds. The 3DS can play DS games, the DS can play Game Boy Advance games, and so on. Meanwhile, the Wii U can play Wii games and the Wii can play GameCube games.

Between that and the Switch’s success, it felt pretty likely that the next console would be backward compatible. Still, it’s nice to have confirmation.

Now, some fans are still arguing that he didn’t specifically say it applies to both digital and physical games, so it might only apply to digital games. However, without any distinction being made, it’s reasonable to assume he meant both. (No, saying “software” does not imply only digital games. Physical games are still considered software.) If he specifically meant one or the other, he likely would have said so.

This announcement also confirmed that Nintendo Switch Online will be brought to the next console.

I love the Nintendo Switch, and I still have a ton of Switch games in my backlog. Knowing the successor will be able to play them makes me that much more likely to get one at or near launch.

How do you feel about the Switch 2 (or whatever it will be called) being confirmed backward compatible?

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Nintendo Confirms the Switch 2 Will Be Backward Compatible appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Let’s Talk About Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition

It finally happened.

I can’t believe this day is finally here.

Last Tuesday, I was minding my own business and doing a little writing when what should pop up on my Twitter feed but the announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for the Switch?!

It’s real, and it’s coming soon. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will be out on March 20.

I’ve been waiting for a Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster for so long now. Trapped on the Wii U, it felt like the forgotten Xenoblade entry that most fans would never play.

Back in April, on the game’s anniversary, I discussed the situation and my hopes that a Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster would be an early Switch 2 title with a sequel to follow. I never imagined a Switch remaster was still in the cards.

Not only that, but it will include “brand-new story elements.” From the looks of the trailer, that at least means they’ll be expanding a certain epilogue scene.

(Due to that, I recommend not watching the whole trailer unless you’ve already played the game.)

I loved Xenoblade Chronicles X so much more than I expected to. Leading up to its launch, I was nervous about it because of it being open world, but it completely won me over despite having a lesser focus on story than other entries in the series.

Aside from the expanded scene in the trailer, there’s very little we know about the remaster. The graphics look largely the same, but it’s clear the faces have been redone. The online features are back, as they’re confirmed on the store page, with a Nintendo Switch Online 14-day trial included with digital orders.

Other additions or changes are still unknown, although I hope to see some quality-of-life improvements so I don’t need to keep notes on where to find my party members again.

Now, you might remember that when Xenoblade Chronicles X originally launched, there was some controversy over censorship of the western version. The main things were the removal of the breast slider in character customization, altering Lin’s costumes to make them less revealing, and changing the fundoshi costume. So of course, that’s led to questions about how this would be handled in a remaster.

Nintendo’s Japanese webpage for the Definitive Edition has two notes near the bottom: one that says it’s based on the Western version of Xenoblade Chronicles X and another that says all of the Wii U’s DLC version is included from the start.

The original game had several DLC characters and other DLC content that was all included in the base game for the Western release, so that’s what the second note is about. That’s where things get tricky. The initial assumption was that all versions of the Definitive Edition would include the Western version’s changes, but without the details being specified, it’s possible that the first note only refers to the included DLC.

To make matters more confusing, an eagle-eyed fan noticed that the trailer includes a shot of a shop sign that says “Find your own Buddy,” which is the text present in the Japanese version of the Wii U game while the Western sign was instead changed to “Find your Dream Skell.” The original sign being shown in the English trailer could mean some elements have been altered to match the Japanese version after all.

I’m sure it will become clearer in time. Either way, I’m just thrilled that Xenoblade Chronicles X is finally coming back.

This makes our chances of getting a Xenoblade Chronicles X 2 better than ever. While some fans are concerned the Definitive Edition will wrap up all the loose ends so they won’t make a sequel, I think the game left too many things unanswered to all be resolved here. Moreover, this is the game’s big chance. As long as it sells well, a sequel feels like a very real possibility for the first time in years.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will be out on March 20. I haven’t ordered it yet, but only because I’m hoping they’ll announce a Collector’s Edition. Are you planning to play it?

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Let’s Talk About Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Announcing My Personal WriMo 2024

It’s that time of year again!

Celebrating All Things Spooky 2024 has come to an end, with a close race to the finish for this year’s contest. The winners are in the process of being notified, and that means it’s now time to talk about NaNoWriMo.

Or, in this case, what I’m calling Personal WriMo.

I’ve decided not to use the actual NaNoWriMo site this year, so instead I’ve set up a personal word count tracker right here on my site. You’ll be able to see my progress throughout the month by checking this post.

(I may put it in the header if I can get it to play nice with my Operation Backlog Completion progress bar. We shall see.)

Personal WriMo 2024Phase:Week 1Due:4 weeks10.1%

This year, I’ve decided to work on short stories throughout the month, so I technically won’t be writing a novel. However, the overall goal is still the same – 50,000 words to be written in the month of November. I’m especially hoping to get some new pulp fiction stories written.

Speaking of my stories, I mentioned at the start of October that I hoped to bring my Lovecraftian horror novella The Book at Dernier to additional retailers, and I’m happy to say I got that done. You can now buy the ebook copy at multiple places, including Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.

All right, that’s all I have to say about my writing for now… and don’t worry, we will definitely be talking about the exciting Xenoblade Chronicles X news on Monday!

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo or an equivalent event this month?

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Announcing My Personal WriMo 2024 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Alan Wake II

It’s finally time to talk about a game I’d been anticipating for quite a while: Alan Wake II.

I’ve waited 13 years for Alan Wake II, so I intended to play it right away. But I didn’t have a PS5 at the time and then other games got in the way (I was trying to catch up on the Yakuza series), so after playing a few hours I ended up putting it on hold until this October.

But now I finally got back into it and played the sequel I waited so long for.

Unlike its predecessor, which was more of a thriller, Alan Wake II is a survival horror game. Ironically, this makes it calmer in some respects – there are longer stretches of gameplay where you’ll go without encountering many enemies. But when you do encounter enemies, they’re a greater threat and your resources are limited, which really increases the tension.

There’s an unfortunate number of jumpscares for no reason, which feels cheap, but fortunately the other horror elements are handled well enough to make up for it. I jumped much more from realizing an enemy was right beside me than from the thousandth time an antagonist’s face flashed on the screen.

If you’ve never played the first Alan Wake, it is impossible to discuss this without spoilers for the first game, so you might want to stop reading here. It’s one of my favorite games of all time, so I definitely recommend it.

Now that we’re past that, Alan Wake II is set 13 years after the first game. Alan has been trapped in the Dark Place for all that time and is still trying to write his way out. The game is split between two protagonists, one being Alan and the other being a new character, an FBI agent named Saga whose case takes her to the Bright Falls area and begins intersecting with Alan’s manuscript.

Saga’s gameplay is fairly straightforward. Like in the first game, you fight darkness-possessed Taken, so you need to weaken them with your flashlight before attacking. There’s a much stronger emphasis on exploration than in the first game, with lots of collectibles, upgrades, and resources to find, as well as occasional backtracking to unlock new areas now that it’s survival horror.

Alan’s gameplay has all those core elements as well (with even more survival horror style exploration), but also takes into account the fact that he’s in the Dark Place attempting to write his way out.

When you’re playing as Alan, you frequently visit locations in which part of his manuscript is set. As you learn key details, you can then visit his plot board to change which scene is currently being reflected in that location. That changes the scene, letting you access new areas or interact with different things. Light and dark also play a key role as well, with Alan having a lamp that lets you take light from one source and bring it to another, which shifts the environment.

That is great and an excellent way of incorporating the Dark Place’s rules into gameplay. I love it.

Meanwhile, Saga has a case board where she pins up clues to draw conclusions. This is… kind of fun from a collecting perspective (I just like completing little sections of the board), but feels a bit pointless. Fortunately, it’s not always required; sometimes I’d solve a puzzle first and then visit the case board to see all the clues automatically fill in. Sometimes it is required, though, and that just feels a little tedious. She also can “profile” characters to pick up new clues, which comes across as very strange – intentionally so, but I wish they had hinted at that a little better.

Click for Alan Wake 2 spoilersI was put off by it at first, because it didn’t feel like “profiling” or “intuition” at all, because Saga was using it to get information she couldn’t possibly figure out. That made it feel really weird and cheap to me.

Later on it turns out that no, she literally has clairvoyance and is getting that information from people’s thoughts, so I liked it a lot more after that once I knew it was intentional.

One thing I had worried about leading up to Alan Wake II was that its survival horror approach and seemingly darker tone would eliminate humor. The first game had a lot of really funny moments, and I didn’t want to lose that. Fortunately, the sequel still has a lot of funny stuff, as well as some truly epic moments that match the greatest moments of the first game.

Now, the DLC is actually integrated into the main game, so since I waited as long as I did, I got to play it as I went. The first DLC is a series of three alternate universe / what-if scenarios, and it really made for a nice change of pace to take a break from the regular game for a wacky little episode. The second DLC is a longer side story that ties more closely to Control (even including a Control 2 teaser). It also takes a stance against AI-generated writing, so I appreciated that.

For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed playing Alan Wake II and would say it was a fantastic experience, but there are three things that frustrated me.

First, I encountered a handful of bugs that required me to reload the game. One time I interacted with a key item before I was supposed to, and the result was that I couldn’t collect it when I needed it. It was just floating in the air until I reloaded my save. Another time, I lost the ability to do anything except melee attacks and pausing the game. Another bug sent me sinking through the whole game world. It wasn’t often, but since each stopped me from progressing until I reloaded, it was annoying to encounter, especially in a game like this.

My other two criticisms are more subjective. For my second, I’ve come to realize lately that I don’t like when shared universes cross over too much. I’ve noticed this with Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books, too. Little references and nods are fun, specific crossover stories are interesting, but when one starts directly interacting with the other, it bugs me. That’s how I feel about the connection between Alan Wake and Control. I didn’t mind the little connections or the second DLC, but the FBC had just enough of a role in the story for me to start wishing they didn’t.

And finally, I waited 13 years to finally get answers to my questions, and I ended the game with more questions than when I started.

Click for major Alan Wake 2 spoilersFor one thing, the ending seems to leave us where we started to some degree, but I also feel like it left things even more ambiguous.

I especially have questions about two individuals, or possibly four (or possibly three), and you might already guess who I mean.

First, Scratch. All right, so Scratch in this game is Alan possessed by the Dark Presence. However, that can’t be the explanation behind Mr. Scratch seen at the end of the first game. American Nightmare’s Mr. Scratch also has a completely different personality. I don’t buy that it’s a retcon, since they called back to the first game’s scene multiple times with the “your friends will meet him when you’re gone” line, and American Nightmare has been confirmed to be canon.

So AW2 Scratch and Mr. Scratch might be two different entities.

Then there’s Thomas Zane. In this game, Zane is a filmmaker who looks and acts completely different and tells us that the first game’s Zane was just a character of his from his movie “Tom the Poet.” But I don’t quite believe that, since Tor and Odin knew about him as a poet and they told Saga that their family is resistant to changes in the story. Jesse from Control also knows Thomas Zane as a poet.

So I think Thomas Zane the poet is the real one, and Thomas Zane the filmmaker is a separate character pretending to be the real one.

I’ve seen a theory that Thomas Zane the filmmaker is American Nightmare’s Mr. Scratch, which is… interesting. That actually would explain a lot.

It’s fun to theorize, but being left with this many questions after such a long wait for answers just has me a bit frustrated.

Despite these few complaints, I really did enjoy Alan Wake II, and it was a perfect game for October. I hope they intend to make an Alan Wake III, and I hope we don’t need to wait another 13 years to get it.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Celebrating All Things Spooky: Alan Wake II appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Happy Game

Let’s talk about Happy Game, a short game that warns you right on its Steam page that it is not a happy game.

In terms of tone, it’s psychological horror, but as far as gameplay goes, it’s a puzzle game before anything else.

You play as a little boy having a nightmare, and I have to praise it for really capturing a surreal tone. The imagery is often disturbing, sometimes bright and colorful at the same time, and always bizarre.

The puzzles, meanwhile, are the type that seem to be complete dream logic when you first look at them, until you figure out the rules of each situation and see how to proceed. It’s simple mechanically – the main things you do are walk and click – but tricky in terms of figuring out solutions.

Now since it’s a horror game set within the context of nightmares, I’m sure there is a ton of symbolism here. It’s clear that it’s exploring childhood fears and trauma to some degree.

At the same time, everything is so surreal that it lends it ambiguity. There was a point while playing where I wondered if it simply was just a nightmare after all, and other points where I started to theorize about certain things. I feel like it’s the sort of game that lends itself to multiple interpretations.

It’s also disturbing enough in tone to be a great fit for this month. The final section in particular felt like a perfect game for Halloween.

So if you’re looking for a strange, surreal puzzle game that takes only a couple of hours to beat and is set within the context of a nightmare, Happy Game is certainly one to consider.

---
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 Celebrating All Things Spooky: Happy Game appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Higurashi When They Cry Chapter 6

Last year, I made some solid progress in Higurashi and reached Chapter 5 in October.

Unfortunately, I unintentionally took another year-long break, so it’s taken me this long to get to the next chapter.

But now I have, so it’s time to talk about Higurashi When They Cry Chapter 6: Tsumihoroboshi.

The past two chapters have had different viewpoint characters, and this one splits most of the story between Keiichi and Rena. We learn a lot more about Rena’s past and have some truly emotional, heartfelt moments, and then…

Then things really get interesting.

While reading this chapter, there was a point where I believed Higurashi had finally given me all the answers and explained everything, revealed what was really going on. But then I began to get suspicious. It was a little too neat and tidy.

What followed was the most intense build-up of paranoia since the first chapter. I went back and forth so many times on what I believed, and that made it all the more interesting to read. It’s hard to say anything much about this chapter without spoilers, but suffice it to say that I still have many, many questions.

Click for major Higurashi Chapter 6 spoilersThe parasite theory made so much sense at first, but it seems like it was just Rena’s paranoid delusion after all… but that still leaves questions. Tomitake’s death is similar to Rena’s behavior during her maggot delusions. The disaster does feel like a cover-up.

While I still have a lot of confusion there, I’m much more confident in my theory that Rika is traveling between timelines (or resetting the timeline) to try to find a branch that doesn’t lead to disaster. It was such a good moment when Keiichi remembered his actions in the first chapter, not to mention Rika realizing that he remembered.

(Rika talking to Rena at the car was incredibly creepy, though.)

Meanwhile, both Ooishi and and Takano continue to be suspicious. Both of them have nudged things toward disaster in multiple episodes. This episode paints Takano as simply an occult nut or a conspiracy theorist, but other episodes made her actions seem more sinister. Ooishi’s point-of-view chapters here feel like they should exonerate him, but at the same time, him telling Rena about Takano’s time of death really pushed her over the edge. Was that really just an innocent mistake even though he already knew how precarious her mental state was?

It might have left me with a lot of questions, but this is one of my favorite parts of Higurashi so far. The atmosphere and sense of paranoia was incredible, and it was a great choice for this time of year.

Of course, if you haven’t played Higurashi yet, you’ll want to start from the beginning. But if you’ve played up through Chapter 5 like I had, you won’t regret moving on to Higurashi When They Cry Chapter 6: Tsumihoroboshi. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

---
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 Celebrating All Things Spooky: Higurashi When They Cry Chapter 6 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Hollow Head

We’ve got another short horror game to discuss today, this time Hollow Head: Director’s Cut.

You wake up to a horrible smell in your apartment and decide to take care of the problem, but things quickly start getting weird.

Hollow Head uses graphics reminiscent of the PS1 era and has a fairly simple gameplay setup where you can walk, run, and interact with things.

A few notes and occasional interactions with other characters help to guide you along the way, but for the most part it’s just you, your flashlight, and the thing lurking in the dark as you make your way through the maze-like corridors the apartment building has become.

Yes, it’s the sort of game that makes use of a maze of identical hallways, but fortunately it’s not such a vast area that you can get completely lost like in some games we discussed earlier this month.

It also makes excellent use of its atmosphere – paired with a couple of well-timed jumpscares, the game had me on edge the entire time even when nothing was going on.

The story, on the other hand, is a bit too ambiguous for my tastes. While there are some curious hints, I’d say it’s definitely the sort of game you want to play for the horror gameplay rather than for the story. I’d be hard-pressed to explain what’s actually going on here.

Hollow Head is fairly short and should take under an hour to complete. If you’re in the mood for a short, atmospheric horror game, it’s worth checking out.

---
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 Celebrating All Things Spooky: Hollow Head appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.