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Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Insanely fun and addicting same-screen brawling antics
+Creative use of indie characters from other franchises such as VVVVVV and Guacamelee
+Level designs are insanely well designed and picture book-esque
+Character designs are unique and creative

Cons:
–Hard to sometimes follow a character
–PC version made it semi hard to follow unless using a large monitor to play on

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It’s hard not to say that I haven’t enjoyed my fair-share of same-screen brawlers before. I grew up with the likes of Super Smash Bros. and eventually joined in on the indie scene with Guacamelee, VVVVVV, and even TowerFall: Ascension just to name a few, but that does not change the fact that I’ve had my fair share of entertainment when it comes to games that have yet to release, have released, or are in early access, but one thing’s for certain: this game is ludicrous.

This time around we enter the scene with Paperbound, a game that ones you to play characters that have been imagined for a paper book-esque title and allows those characters to come to life on screen in this smash-up brawler. So what’s the point of this game? Get a few friends or family members together, plop on the couch, and go to town on each other to see who really has the best combat skills on a 4-person player screen – if they aren’t there, bots do just fine, and provide just as much if not more than enough of a challenge to make a few gamers yank their hair out and scream in agony.

 Unlike other games where each character has a different set of skills, Paperbound does away with that and delivers a unique twist on appearances alone, which means every character comes into combat with the exact same skills as the others. This means a pair of scissors that can be thrown in a select direction to nail an enemy or even an inkwell to ‘blow’ your enemies off the pages with. This means that skill is something that will be needing to show when players are bouncing around in multiple directions in order to go against gravity while taking each other out in one on one. That alone leaves this game hard to master since players will be traversing each map as they manipulate the maps gravity in order to find themselves jumping between terrains, orbiting each piece of terrain in order to go into combat mid-air with epic sword fights. Think that’s all? The jokes on you: combat can be halted while in mid-air if players are quick enough to tap the proper buttons so that they can hover in mid air while sword fighting. This mechanic is simply what makes the game itself fun, challenging, and even gives players a new set of versatile skills as they traverse through each combat zone.

So where does the weakness in this game show? Unfortunately it is in the lack of modes, but also online multiplayer that may suit some people a bit more depending on how close their gaming friends or family are, which can become a bit troublesome, but that’s not to say the game itself isn’t fun, challenging, and presenting players with a bit of hardship to undergo as they pick up a new set of skills that may shine forth. For those wanting a set of games there is a few versus modes such as Versus, Survival, and King. Each of these modes require players to meet a certain amount of frags on each of these maps, which can be selected by going to a book, flipping through it till they find the arena they want, and go to town against each other, which in turn is a plethora of levels to choose from so that players aren’t map starved.

When not fragging each other constantly on the maps in versus modes, Paperbound offers a few team-based objective modes that will teams of two versus two against each other in order to get a certain amount of objectives completed such as Capture the Quill, Versus, Survival, and King. In these modes it is King that truly shows what mode is a blast since it can easily be said which will challenge players to survive an onslaught of enemies that are seeking to burn them out and push them down the drain once done so that they may obtain the highest score. This mode is where we found ourselves having the most fun when the four of us were sitting in front of the 15.1 inch ASUS RoG grinning from ear to ear like a bunch of man-children while mangling each other only to find we found the PS4 version a bit more entertaining due to the accessibility of a large T.V. in front of us.

With even that being said, the games can last roughly 4-5 minutes depending on how skilled and how quick your friends are to burn out and leave you a bit flustered since all maps within the game can be cleared within 30 minutes to an afternoon depending on the approach players use to keep themselves entertained. Since the game is a 2D picture book type brawler, it’s not hard to see why this game is chaotic, fun, and even challenging, which left my friends, family members, and myself laughing for hours at a time while bringing absolutely chaos to the PlayStation 4 and the PC.

It’s because of those small reasons that games such as Paperbound will be there in the years to come, and will simply allow for players to reminisce about how creative games such as this small indie title that defines what it is to sit on the couch, have fun, and not be locked into the battles games like Super Smash Bros’ provides. That simply put – this game is charming, chaotic, fun, and offers a wide array of characters to select from, but also maps that could quickly be gone through in no time flat, but will leave players coming back for more as time goes on. We just hope to see some more content in the future that will add new maps, game modes, and even possible online multiplayer so we can share the mayhem with our friends and family from afar.

Paperbound is now out on both PlayStation 4 and Steam for 9.99 USD in North America and promises hours of fun.

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Final Score: 8 out of 10

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Ethics Note: This version of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Graphical detail has been upgraded to bolster in this console version
+Relies heavily upon questing and revisiting missions in both online and offline versions
+Online connectivity has seemingly improved to allow for more interaction
+Armors between both the male and female have quite a bit unique
+A unique story that twists itself around the Feudal Japanese Era.
+Migration from Toukiden: The Age of Demons saves to PS Vita and PS4 versions are a bonus
+New weapons and armour upgrade system is a rather large added bonus

Cons:
–Purely Japanese voicing could be problematic for some who are unfamiliar with the titles
–A.I. partners seem to have trouble reviving players that are downed
–Odd colour contrasting within the game on PS4 version
–DLC content seems limited to users who port over their save from Toukiden: The Age of Demons

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Editors Note: Please note that because we were only supplied a PS4 code, we have been unable to review the PlayStation Vita version at this time, but do intend on getting to that in the near future. We will note any possible differences between the two in an updated note in our review.

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Last year we got to see one of the sharpest tools in the PlayStation Vita’s library come to shine and gain a momentous track record thanks to publisher KOEI TECMO and developer Omega Force. We were given a game that allowed players to slay unimaginable enemies that towered them in size ration, but also capabilities, which is where working in groups has become the most effective path to take and allowed for friends as well as random players become tactical groups of slayers. Once more players are given a rather robust character creator, weapon selection, and even missions to undertake. This time, however, the weapon selection and upgrades has become even larger thanks impart to player feedback, but also the creative minds behind the title. So lets take a peek at what has changed since the last time we played Toukiden. Do note that our review this time around (our old review has been lost due to website migrations), which leaves us with an all new chance to give a view on this game.

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/-/ An Improved Upgrade System /-/

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When upgrading in Toukiden: The Age of Demons there were a few things that players were disgruntled with. This time around we have been given instead of a single upgrade to choose from to a rather in-depth system that allows for players to take on different elements, weapon effects, but also a new set of stats to those weapons so that they may be a bit more effective. These chances come around for both the base weapon design, but also the upgrades of upgrades getting a chance to be altered in both design as well as stats so that they would be a bit more effective in combat. How this is done is quite simple thanks to the use of multiple items that can be gathered within missions from certain ‘Ages’, which can be done by sending out the Tenko in the characters house or even by talking to the Guardian Tree and feeding it Haku (in-game currency). With these materials weapons can be upgraded into multiple forms compared to what we had before, which makes for a lobster bow, chopstick-esque rifle, Ping Pong-esque paddles, and even a giant rice cake roll to assault their enemies with.

However, these are only a few of the upgrades possible that will allow for players to enjoy what they do and how they go about it. Instead, this time around, players can take on the role of upgrading weapons and armour by obtaining Pure Soul Steel and Soul Steel itself. These upgrades will allow for players to jump in and upgrade their armour and items in order to progress through the game. This newly implemented upgrade system is something that players should take with a bit of thought since the materials needed are rare, hard to find, and will require some finesse to obtain in the long run, but will also require players to obtain a highly grown Guardian Tree to even have a chance of getting a bit easier than before.

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/-/ New Weapons /-/

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Much like in Dynasty Warriors, Toukiden: Kiwami has taken a note from the previous entry Toukiden: The Age of Demons. This time around our weapon library has had three new weapon classes introduced to it such as the Naginata, Two-Handed Club or just club, and simply Rifle. Each of these weapons come with their own uses, tactics, and even combat styles that will and will not give players an edge in combat depending on the Oni that they find themselves going up against. This includes and is not limited to ones such as the Rifle, which has multiple type of ammo’s such as Delay, Absorb, Sniper, Piercing, Explosive, and even Scatter. With the rifle each of these ammo types have their own use depending on what needs to happen in order to make them more useful than before. This includes the standard shot (Square) that allows players to move while aiming at the boss, but not charging up a more powerful shot (circle) in order to take their enemies out in a timely manner. However, some of these ammo types can’t be charged up in order to provide a more direct and powerful approach. So what are these ammo types? Sniper, explosive, and delay. Even with how powerful they are, each of these shots are useful in their direct approach even when using a more powerful shot stance (this one being the circle, which is strong attack) in order to dispatch their enemies quicker than before.

When taking on Oni it’s never a bad idea to have a heavy hitter and this is where the Club weapon class comes into play. With devastating charge up attacks the club allows for players who use this to approach enemies with ease, break the body parts, and even push the health on demons down rather quickly. The trade off? Even with these devastating charge attacks, the club finds itself a bit weak against the fist weapons that provide heavy hitting rapid attacks that could quickly send an enemy into abysmal despair while they are being beaten on. This, however, is traded off by the tactical usefulness that the club weapons or hammers, if you will, give off when they are being used against enemies such as the Manhunter (or variants), Jolux, or even Windshredders in order to assure that they are no longer present on the battlefield. On the other end of this polarity we have the Naginata. The Naginata provides heavy hitting attacks that hit a wide range of enemies, body parts on large Oni, but also allow for players who use Speed and even Might Mitama to hit their enemies as hard and as fast as possible without ever having to slow down in order to assist in bringing enemies down quickly. However, this does come with a few weaknesses since the weapon itself doesn’t feature the hard hitting attacks like fist weapons, rifles, and clubs, but instead finds itself more along the lines of swords, dual daggers, and even sickle and chain in order to provide its devastating attacks.

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/-/ Cross-Play and Cross-Save Functionality /-/

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With the release of Toukiden: Kiwami on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, it’s not odd that players will wonder if they can take their save on-the-go and even hit up a few missions with friends online. The answer? Yes – yes you can. Thanks to the minds at Omega Force, it won’t be odd for friends to be joining each other on both PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 in order to take out the enemy hordes and try to purify the world around them in order for the last bastions of humanity to find themselves safe as the enemy force grows ever more dangerous over time. With this capability comes the question of being able to move save files across the two platforms, which is something that does happen thanks to the games capability of data sharing saves, but also the fact that this enables to be a game that will push those whom own both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita’s to obtain both copies of the game so that they may migrate their saves around and explore the world around them just a tidbit more than before. This also means for those wanting to game that they can play online and ad-hoc mode as needed in order to enjoy the game as they should.

The biggest question of this will be: can the game run smoothly online? The short answer is yes. Thanks to the improved netcode the game runs flawlessly compared to the experiences that had once been experienced with Toukiden: The Age of Demons where players would find themselves dumbfounded by the delay in monster placing, but also swinging at enemies on screen where they are not on another players. With this change, it has also allowed for combat to become more fluid, and a bit more easy to access in this manner. Something that this game had honestly needed quite a bit, which allows for a more fluid and easier to access as missions are completed.

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/-/ What Remains Unchanged /-/

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Even as a ‘hunting game’, Toukiden: Kiwami still has a few weaknesses that titles like itself such as Freedom Wars, Monster Hunter, Soul Sacrifice Delta, and even God Eater did a bit better: exploration and open terrain for farming even while on a hunt. This is something that the previous titles did quite a bit since they did not restrict players on what, how, and when they would go through areas in order to obtain rare and hard to obtain materials, but also to track down enemies as they went between each of the zones in order to fight something that offers a challenge as they move away to recover, but also to find reinforcements as they need them. This, unfortunately, is a couple of the weakened points. Sadly, these restrictions do stirr some trouble for those who want a bit more freedom and capability to get further along in their zone explorations.

 Unfortunately due to the lack of exploration, missions must be completed in repetitious questing that must be completed in order to obtain rare materials, but also some common materials. It is unfortunate that this is an issue and something we hope to be seen in future patches, downloaded content, and or even future installments that could lead to more changes and a fully upgraded system.

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/-/ Closing Thoughts /-/

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Even with a few of the subtle changes and the lack of DLC ports such as the Soul Sacrifice content, it’s surprising to see a lot of these pieces of content, not limited to the Nobles Garments have been left out, but only for those who want to obtain the armour by having the original entry, downloading the content, and playing enough to unlock it before actually being able to use it. This, unfortunately, is something that is unfortunate, and even will drive some consumers to question the motives regarding how to obtain this content, but also how to go about obtaining it if it is currently present within Toukiden: Kiwami.

The only thing that would be a major advancement for this game would be to allow for zones to be fully open and to allow for a free roam ordeal where players can go into the wildernesses and hunt down rare, common, or even uncommon resources while encountering demons of all sorts.

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 Final Score: 7 out of 10

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Ethics Note: This version of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

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Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Editor’s Note: Please note that this is a review in progress. Any changes to the game via updates or server changes could possibly affect the way the game performs or even provide higher challenge curving. At this time, due to the length of the game with New Game+ and Chalice Dungeons, we have decided to return to this portion of the review at a later date. We will notify you once these changes have been made.

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Pros:
+Extremely difficult for some new players
+Boss Fights are craftily created and require player awareness
+Traps are well placed in order to provide players with a test of situational awareness
+In-depth character creation
+Beautifully crafted world
+World hub returns (Demon’s Souls anyone?)
+Equipment weight has been removed from the series
+Minor tutorials have been added to help new players learn the series.

Cons:
–Insanely long load screens
–Multiplayer is restricted based on player progression (10 level difference)
–Armor and weapon variants are seemingly not-present

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When Demon’s Souls first appeared on the PlayStation 3, there was something magical happening, and the reason behind it all the more magical. We were presented with a game that had not been anything but a whisper for gamers, which left quite a few people dumbfounded as to what this title released by developer From Software was. All we knew was the case looked interesting, the text on the back explained some of what was going on, and players were soon cascading onto the battlefields and relentlessly dying all in the name of progression. This was because of difficult enemies, no tutorials, limited knowledge of what was going on, and no hand-holding to guide players through the game. Instead players were given no training at all, except for finding their own way with an instruction manual that gave little to no idea what to do. Lets fast forward to today. Today we’ve been given a carefully crafted series known as “Souls”. This series of games tests players skill, awareness, patience, and even ability to adjust equipment to match the enemies around them. Not much has changed in this way when it comes to SCE Studio Japan and From Software. Once more players have been thrusted into a battlefield that will seek out any way possible to hunt them down, slaughter them, and leave players demoralized at any twist or turn possible.

With these new twists and turns we are introduced to the newest of the “Souls” style games: Bloodborne. This is a game that is quite literally the epitome of dark, gruesome, and made of things that only nightmares can create. This has been the adventure that Bloodborne has had to offer in all its dark, grisly, and blood-soaked brutality while traversing through Yharnam. Unlike previous titles, Bloodborne has turned away the old medieval appeal and gone for a more Victorian look to it, which pits players into enjoying the 1800’s appearances. Much like this theme for your hunter, even enemies have been designed to match this setting as has much of the village, towns, and even ruins around the character. Ranging from inner city, to cathedrals, to even villages that are outside of the main city, the game itself has been craftily made so that players can see a story in the scenery, the enemies, and even the overall atmosphere that has been created for players to enjoy. So what exactly is the allure to this game?

Much to their creative nature for creating nightmares and dreamscapes that would make H.P Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, and even Stephen King happy; Bloodborne’s developer (From Software) has created a world that has been hit with a plague. This very plague has begun to change the inhabitants of Yharnam into beastly creatures and even have brought some more-so disturbing creatures to join up with them. Your curse? You are a hunter who is made to die, die, and die some more while battling on throngs of these infected. While doing so, players will be challenged and punished based upon their passiveness in combat, but also their sheer brutality on offense. This is something that reflects heavily upon the world around them; brutality is highly rewarded and even shined upon. This is because death is rewarded, by rewarded it means that players have gained knowledge about enemy capabilities, placement, and even weaknesses. This means that every bit of knowledge about enemies is just as important as the enemy before and will leave players hungering for more.

This can be also be said about the games dangerous and sometimes grueling boss fights that will leave players who are new to the series a bit under the weather. If players are online, injury can be added to insult as players (once progress has been made to this point) can go online and search for help or even invade each other in order to slow ones progress and this is not something new to the series, which is nice to have seen returned. Unlike the past titles in the franchise, Bloodborne does not hamper a character based on death, but instead almost seemingly celebrates it as “Humanity” has been removed and been exchanged with “Insight”, which can be replenished by killing bosses or simply found by exploring in order to obtain “Madman’s Knowledge”. These items can be used as currency or simply used to help summon friendlies, enemies, or even look to do either of the mentioned before – something that has returned from previous titles.

Much like before, leveling up, buying items, and even moving through the game is granted as a possibility by obtaining souls, but now referred to as Blood Essence. This essence is acts as the games experience and currency for those looking to have an edge against their enemies and hopefully not die so that they don’t suffer brutal loading screens that can seem almost debilitating to some. In previous titles, players were accustomed to death, and by that being said – death is everywhere and players will die a lot, which leads to the load screens and retrieving their blood essence to being a bit of a problem as they move through the games campaign. This can somewhat be lightened down to their favor with exploring, equipment, essence farming, and even spending time to upgrade their weapons as well as learning their weapons weakness as well as its strengths. This means that players may have to take the time, find new weapons, and even look at their armor in order to weigh what stats may benefit them a bit more than the time before. This can help on some of the most difficult boss battles you will encounter such as the Blood-Starved Beast or even Father Gascione.

Unlike the “Souls” franchise, Bloodborne does find itself a much different beast when it comes down to it. This time around, players are not focusing on finding rings, amulets, and building just straight up for defense and or offense based upon the shield they’ve managed to find or the weapons they have decided to wield in order to storm into combat like a well greased warmachine. Instead this time around the game has been stripped down to its core mechanics allowing players to optimize stats based upon their own personal style, but also the modes that their weapons are capable of turning into. Best example of this would be the games Saw Cleaver, which can be changed from short range to long range simply by pushing L1 and going to town against enemies once they are stunned with the firing of your firearm of choice (there are plenty to choose from). This also opens up the capability of charming up a heavy attack with R2 and allow for players to devastate oncoming enemies with a single swing and even take on a bit of damage in a broad area. Even though this is only one of the games combat capabilities, Bloodborne offers a unique twist on a genre that has become fan favored and has even differentiated itself from the rest of a series.

With all the subtle changes and even graphical upgrades to their own engine, From Software teamed with publisher SCEA has managed to pull off a game that could easily set the par for future titles that could seek a launch on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but this exclusive defines what difficulty is while offering new twists in areas players may have visited once a boss is downed, and this is what gives the game such a rich replay value, but also issues a challenge for players to come back or take on the Chalice Dungeon’s in order to truly test their skill. Even though it may seem short to some, Bloodborne is all, but short, and its shortcomings are only because of those insanely long loading screens that have been created in order for creatures to be re-spawned after a player dies. With a patch being in the works? Bloodborne could easily be one of the best games to have landed on the PlayStation 4 to date.

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Final Score: 10 out of 10

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Editor’s Note: This review is based upon the final release product and was not provided to us by the publisher. Our review is also a review in progress as mentioned before and will be updated if we see a significant reason to update the review in the future. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+A vibrant and artistically crafted world
+Music that is well rounded and rather charming
+Rather well crafted and easy to navigate world
+Combat scenarios have been tamed down in difficulty
+Characters are convincing and well rounded
+Alchemy system has seemingly been broadened and made more interesting
+Discovery system by harvesting materials helps a lot to find unique treasure

Cons:
–Farming relentlessly to make items
–Side jobs can be entertaining, but also a hassle to complete
–Some parts of Stellard feel empty

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Bringing back their famed franchise, developer Gust 3D has once more entered us into a world of Atelier, which puts us into the third installment within the “Dusk” series, which makes it the sixteenth installment within the franchise itself. Much like Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky, Atelier Shallie allows players to once more choose between two alchemists; Shallotte and Shallistera. With the characters only really varying with personality and minor storyline tweaks, players will get to take on the tasks of either helping grow their own personal business or even how they approach the companions around them. However, their primary objective that lie before them is simple: Save the world.

This time around in order to improve the series’ mechanics, Gust 3D has parted ways with some rather problematic issues that held the franchise back from being rather enjoyable compared to before. So what exactly has changed? To start off, the timed gameplay between each requirement to be fulfilled has actually come to an end, and allows for players to once more enjoy the series where they will be able to enjoy the series without those annoying restrictions based upon time required. Now players are free to complete their side missions, exploring, and even material gathering as they please in order to complete their tasks at hand before revisiting their workshop in order to continue onto the next chapter.

Fulfilling the requirements for each Life Goal allows for players to once more undertake quests that require the alchemists to create items, eliminate enemies, explore areas, or even meet new people in order to complete their goals and open up new areas for them to explore. Much like in past games, exploration is taken on by multiple tasks that will require players to farm for materials, explore new zones, take on enemies, find uncovering relics and even take on the task of building up the alchemy shop skill level in order to take on more difficult recipes. This allows for the ability to obtain new recipes, new items, equipment, and even items, which players will use in order to up their chances of survival, but also completing given tasks.

Much like before, exploration features going into combat, which has in ways, seems rather well rounded this time around. Unlike before, there is no need to beat through an enemies extra health bars and treating it like a sever life and death situation. Granted it can still be that for your characters, it’s seemingly a bit easier than before thanks to each character having a variety of skills, enemies having weaknesses, and well being a bit more susceptible to the games new “Burst System”, which allows combat to have a seemingly faster speed while in combat. This meter is filled up by attacking in combat and not sustaining damage while having done so. In this mode players will notice that characters deal more damage, gain speed, and even seem to allow players to access the end-of-combat reward screen a bit quicker than before. In order to keep track of how quickly players are progressing towards activating the burst mere, players can take note of the combat bar up on the right side of the screen that will allow players to see their progression towards it. While in this mode, let alone are combat abilities upped, but players will be capable of buffing themselves, and even going as far as reviving their characters should they be knocked out while in combat. Something that is quite useful and will cause players to not find themselves being taken to the world map and only having one health per character.

This will allow players to pick up the progress that was taken forth from what Escha & Logy had been doing while attempting to find out why the seas are drying up, and attempting to save the world as both Shallotte and Shalistera. While in town there are a few options players can undertake, this includes picking up sidequests known as requests, and even take on the tasks of completing in-game challenges that will require players to complete such things as leveling up alchemy, jumping, visiting areas, gathering materials, or simply just completing combat scenarios. As an unfortunate bug that was experienced with our version before the latest patch, we experienced the inability to specialise our characters based upon what we wanted them to be, but also an issue that left much our title untranslated. However, thanks to the quick response by Gust 3D, this has been fixed so far, but this makes it so that those who play offline will find themselves being hit by this bug if they purchase the physical version of the title. So those of you looking at getting this physically? Be prepared to be hit by a few bugs if you can’t update. Even a game breaking one.

Overall, the game itself is much less daunting than before or even intimidating be it combat, alchemy, or simply completing requests from people within the town. Thanks to having been able to create combat items, usable items, weapons, and even request items, it was quite easy to enjoy the first playthrough as Shallotte and enjoy the quests with her wacky group of friends. Thanks to a large group of helpful tutorials and ease of access to them, the game this time has been a much more enjoyable experience compared to that of Atelier Rorona or Meruru Plus. The game itself left a rather fun experience that could eventually lead back to a few more playthroughs in order to see the larger scope of things within the long run. With those final thoughts, Atelier Shallie: Alchemist of the Dusk Sea will leave players wanting more if they have not already experienced previous titles within the series, but also within the franchise itself. We can only hope to see future titles like this one come out and allow fans whom only have the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita a chance to experience this wonderfully crafted and rather enjoyable title.

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Final Score: 8 out of 10

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Editor’s Note: This version of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.