Inestimate's Game Reviews

    Console: 3DS Developer: Intense Release Date:  March 3, 2016 Parascientific Escape: Cruise in the Distant Seas  is an escape room visual novel with simple puzzles. Developed by Intense, Cruise in the Distant Seas  is the first game in the Parascientific Escape  trilogy, a 3DS eShop exclusive series. I bought them before it closed down since they were cheap and I wanted a few visual novels on my 3DS, especially exclusive ones. Cruise in the Distant Seas  has a cast of four main characters, with the player controlling Hitomi Akeneno, a high school girl with psychic powers. The world of Parascientific Escape is an alternate reality Earth where people are born with psychic powers at times, and also includes some fictional countries. Hitomi is unique in that she is the world's only double psychic, having both Clairvoyance and Telekinesis, which are used for puzzles throughout the game's runtime. However, Clairvoyance might be a misnomer or a mistranslat...

  Console: 3DS Developer: Atlus Release Date:  September 20, 2016 Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse  is turn-based monster-taming RPG with a focus on recruiting and fusing demons, heavy character customisation, strategic gameplay, and a story with alignment choices. Developed by Atlus, Apocalypse  is a follow-up to Shin Megami Tensei IV.   IV  is one of my favorite games ever after having a bit of a rocky relationship with it, so I was ecstatic to finally get to play its odd pseudo-sequel. The marketing for Apocalypse  was always confusing to me; is it a sequel? An expansion? An unrelated game with the same mechanics? I think that's why a lot of people didn't really look at it much alongside being 3DS exclusive, along with Shin Megami Tensei  not being a big household name compared to Persona . Nevertheless, just like IV , I wound up loving Apocalypse  to bits. ANOTHER FUTURE THAT CONTINUES FROM THE PRESENT As the game consistantly reminds yo...

Console: PSVita, PS4, Steam, Switch, XB1 Developer: Digital Reality/Grasshopper Manufacture Release Date:  August 8, 2017 ( November 9, 2012 for the original) Sine Mora EX is a bullet hell shoot 'em up with a dieselpunk aesthetic focused on a time travelling narrative. Developed mostly by Digital Reality, with Grasshopper Manufacture only handling art direction and sound design, Sine Mora EX  is an extended version of the original Sine Mora , with some added features like co-op, some quality of life changes, and a few new options. This is one of the first shmup games I've ever really clicked with, so I was pretty excited to play it again through this EX  version. TIME TRAVELLING WAR Sine Mora EX 's is quite unique for a shmup, as it has a very distinct focus on its narrative and storytelling, and for me it's the biggest selling point for the game rather than just being the bare minimum to propel you from point A to point B while shooting waves of enemies. Taking place ...

  Console: PSVita, PS4, Steam, Switch Developer: Arc System Works/APLUS Release Date:  March 24, 2015 ( May 31, 2017 for HD Edition) Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo  is an isometric action RPG with a focus on combat and a mission-based structure. Developed by Arc System Works, most well-known for their fighting games, Damascus Gear  is one of the many non-fighting games the company has made, a couple of years before the final Blazblue  game or their first 3D Guilty Gear  game. At this point, people only really knew them for their fighting games and a few other projects, like the Contra spin-off  Hard Corps: Uprising  or   the Xblaze  visual novels. And I'm being generous. It's worth noting that this game is technically made by APLUS which, from what I can tell, is a subsidiary of Arcsys and has also developed Kill la Kill: if .  Though originally released for the Playstation Vita, I played the HD Edition  port that came to PS4 (...