Getting good reviews pretty much across the board. Stunning graphics (unreal engine?) and battles reminiscent of fondly remembered JRPG’s
Hitting at the same time as Oblivion Remake presents a quandary on which to try first (or at all) and maybe also whether you can sanely play them both at the same time…
Free on gamepass, of course.
Wow… I feel like I haven’t played anything that hits like this, in I don’t know how long. And finding out some of the development details makes it even more remarkable.
So, this isn’t a JRPG, it’s a J’RPG. 
Looks like one hell of an achievement. And 30 dudes and dudettes? Baller. I love this. 30 developers is nobody. That’s nothing. I love this game, even though I’m not a fan of JRPGs and have yet to play it, simply because it just about proves all of my criticisms with modern games.
This is a clear demonstration that you do not need the sort of disgusting investments that are crammed into a modern game. After all, with huge budgets, you expect huge returns. In comes microtransactions, DLCs, reduction in scope, etc.
I don’t care how much visual fidelity to cram into a title, you find a damn good artist with an actual vision and then you create something distinct and even timeless. After all, who here remembers the visuals of Jet Set Radio? Exactly. How about those usual SNK arcade standbys with their gorgeous pixel work?
We don’t need a battalion strength force of developers to make good games. And now, I feel pretty vindicated hearing that this is a 30 strong force of software wizards doing something great.
So far, the only downside in this is exactly what I feared it might be: My age.
The days when I had a whole summer vacation fueled by soda and raw meat my mom slipped under the door, while wondering why adults needed something as inconvenient as sleep are over, as is my once unslakable patience for writing page after handwritten page of scribbled spell combos, level maps, obscure tips, ability lists and God knows what else, in my single minded determination to reach the end of a given game.
I’m going on memory alone on this one, and my once tachyonic reflexes are a tad slower as well, which is also something to consider.
I guess that’s why as you get older you tend to slowly switch to more sedentary and perhaps more cerebral gaming genres…
Like flight sims.
Old instincts are returning however, and I shall persevere!
Meanwhile, the review:
I’m not sure about that. I’m almost 40 and it was only in the last few years I got bigger into ‘boomer shooters’ and even beat some of the harder ones, like Blood on there hardest difficulties. But, I also did play competitive Counter-Strike for years as a teenager, so I’m privy to some secrets not many consider.
Namely, how important exercise is to gaming performance. Preserve your fast twitch muscles, preserve your strength, preserve your flexibility, and it’ll stick around.
I remember sitting on the floor playing a game on the TV, and my uncle sitting behind me commenting that I was moving so fast that he couldn’t even see what was happening on screen.
Well technically, I couldn’t either, having reached the half-hypnotic zone of pure reflex where even breathing seemed unnecessary and all higher cerebral functions were diverted to a single track, overriding normal mental priorities for the duration of the… epiphany.
I remember feeling a bit smug about slow, clumsy adults in the aftermath of my uncles comment, especially since I knew he was speaking the truth and I was blindingly fast.
Years later, in multiplayer first person shooters, where I used to cackle while blowing other players to hell, I began to slowly notice getting more and more instant headshots over the years from campers before I could even get my bearings after spawning.
This progressed to surprise encounters where pizza and pure sugar fueled toddlers who had no other life than spending 24/7 within the game could shoot me to heck multiple times, sometimes before I could even register their sudden appearance from around some random corner.
(of course, there was also an explosion of aim-bots and cheating going on at the time as well)
But that was the period when I slowly but surely began, without even noticing it, to back away from twitch games.
I know I’m still quick compared to my contemporaries, who wouldn’t even dream of playing fast-paced games (they play puzzle or casual games like wordle or Farmville if anything at all) but there’s no denying that something like this and stuff like Elden ring is now noticeably more challenging.
I wonder if a day will come where it becomes simply beyond me.
Well user reviews are holding the game at a 9.7 score, the highest ever recorded for a game, despite an ongoing review-bombing campaign.
Meanwhile, physical copies are sold out almost everywhere, and there is now talk of a series, dlc, and maybe even a movie.
The games industry is reacting.
Review bombing a game that so clearly undermines the current wisdom that games need armies of developers and creatives, war chests of marketing funds, and every conceivable monetization angle possible to be profitable?
I’d suspect something was afoot from major studios, but I never underestimate the ability for gamers to be petty and silly.
Well you cant get more hyped than when the government recognizes your game.
Maybe I’m a bit overenthusiastic? I have half the family playing the game, at this point. 
