ANOTHER EDEN
This is actually the 2nd time I’ve started this game. I first played this game on mobile when it first launched on mobile. This was during the launch period when Mariel was considered the best 5star and Toova and Mighty were strong offense. Things have changed a lot since then. I lost my mobile account because they did not have a google link at that time. So I’m literally starting from the beginning.
The only reason I’m willing to do this is because of this game’s permanent content system. All events are retained permanently. For every other gatcha game I’ve ever played, I never see myself as a returning player. So this is the best thing I want to praise about Another Eden. I really like the permanent content and in my opinion, this makes it far better than all the other gatcha games. Just this point alone.
– Real player with 630.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Free to Play RPG Games.
Another Eden is a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross with some members of the original team (like Masato Kato and Yasunori Mitsuda) onboard, a love letter to jRPGs of the 90s with a modern feel.
The game itself is massive and is similar in scope to live-service MMOs, except Another Eden is a purely single-player 2.5D jRPG. New story content for it is still being released on a regular basis, expanding it even more with each new update.
=GAMEPLAY=
The gameplay here is of a classic turn-based jRPG with random encounters and limit breaks (called Another Force here). The biggest difference from the classics is that this game has gacha mechanics for acquiring additional characters, each of which has their own set of story quests. The amount of stones for pulls the game gives its players is pretty generous though, the pulls contain only characters and nothing else, additional styles or class upgrades for owned characters can be unlocked through farming certain in-game resources instead of pulling for them, and the characters that can be unlocked as rewards for story progression can be quite powerful as well, especially the ones from ‘Tales of’ and ‘Persona 5’ collaborations. Unlike character banners, all the story and crossover events don’t expire (except for the most recent Chrono Cross collaboration, which has a 5-year license, but hopefully they’ll be able to extend it).
– Real player with 374.9 hrs in game
Starstruck: Prologue
Starstruck is an unconventional rhythm adventure game that harkens back to the glory days of quirky Japanese passion projects from the early PS2 era. Not to say that the game relies on nostalgia, but it has that same intangible charm you can find in games like Gitaroo Man, Stretch Panic and Chulip.
Although cast in the same mold, Starstruck very much has its own identity. The game goes for a miniature aesthetic and it’s used to great effect. The lighting is gorgeous and you can often spot deliberate imperfections like fingerprints in the 3D models that really sell the hand-crafted look. This paired with the sublime composition and sound design— heavily featuring LIVE instruments— culminate into creating an alluring, dreamlike atmosphere that’s simply a joy to take in.
– Real player with 20.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Free to Play Indie Games.
Words cannot describe the sheer delight I had playing this game. It’s really something special.
A friend of mine described it as “A playable rock opera straight off the Dreamcast/PS2” and I couldn’t agree more with that statement.
To me, the world and characters of Starstruck have that kind of magic that, like, a 1970s or 80s children show has. There’s a unique kind of nostalgia that I get from playing this game; it really takes me back to my youth, playing with my Thomas the Tank Engine table set and knocking down the little cutout trees, buildings, and people with my hands.
– Real player with 19.1 hrs in game
MetaWare High School (Demo)
I found this game through a video of Alpha Beta Gamer and decided to watch it out of pure boredom. I stopped at about 15 minutes in because I was enjoying the dialogue and jokes so much I decided to experience the game myself without any spoilers.
All the characters have great designs and are very likable,
! even some of Nari’s lines made me smile and relieved me of some of the tension built up from the unknown.
The game has 10 different endings, and the true ending for getting the other endings. They’re not too hard to get and if you get stuck there’s a great guide which tells what you need to select.
! The dancing ending is the best one though.
– Real player with 10.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Free to Play Visual Novel Games.
‘We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world’' - Gautama Buddha
What a deep quote huh? Definitely not the kind of words you’d expect to use for an opening to a review for a ‘demo’ but then again MetaWare High School (Demo) is not your typical demo. It begins innocently as a multi-character VN each with their own unique personalities to provide the Reader with some depth and variety during the first of many playthroughs. It then gradually morphs into a mesh of dark humour, philosophical ramblings & sardonic irony truly hooking the Reader into this multiple choice branching of five High School females who curiously try to interact with the Reader after discovering his/her presence.
– Real player with 7.1 hrs in game