Preview Archives | Page 2 of 5

Cryptmaster Hands-On: A Darkly Good Time

Posted by Mike Salbato on April 5, 2024

As a creative kid, I met the announcement of the original Scribblenauts with starry-eyed wonder. Okay, that game came out in 2009 and I wasn’t a kid. Just go with it. The idea of a game where your solution to puzzles was to type in whatever you wanted and see if you could get away with it was so imm… Read More »

Everafter Falls Hands-On Preview: Charm Attack

Posted by Mike Salbato on April 3, 2024

In an expo hall full of promising game titles, one of the most charming I got to play was Everafter Falls at the Akupara Games booth. Of the many times I passed the booth last weekend, I never saw the game’s stations empty, which felt like a good sign. Once I spent some time in the game’s world, I u… Read More »

Dustborn Hands-On Preview: PAX East 2024

Posted by Hilary Andreff on March 29, 2024

As I approached the Dustborn booth, I wasn’t certain what to expect. I enjoyed The Longest Journey series from…well…1999 through 2016 and clearly am accustomed to waiting patiently based on those release dates. Still, I’d heard little information about Dustborn until now and wanted some fo… Read More »

Slime Heroes Hands-On Preview: A Goo-reat Time

Posted by Mike Salbato on March 29, 2024

Slime Heroes was revealed in June 2021 with an adorable trailer, showcasing both the novelty of a slime protagonist and the dang cute aesthetic overall. At the time, developer Pancake Games did not have a publisher lined up, but that changed earlier this year when indie game publisher Whitethorn Gam… Read More »

Visions of Mana: Hands-On Preview

Posted by Mike Salbato on March 28, 2024

One of my favorite childhood games was Secret of Mana. Gameplay-wise, it landed squarely between Final Fantasy IV and The Legend of Zelda, and was one of my first introductions to action RPGs. The lush world fascinated me, and my brother and I poured hours into exploring, leveling up, and seeking we… Read More »

Coridden Hands-On Preview: PAX East 2024

Posted by Mike Salbato on March 26, 2024

This year at PAX East, I got to play Coridden, an upcoming action RPG from Swedish developer Aftnareld. The game focuses on co-op gameplay and a fun monster-shifting mechanic that lets you ride your friends (er, more on that later). Coridden recently wrapped its Kickstarter campaign, which raised 15… Read More »

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Hands-On Preview

Posted by Scott Clay on March 5, 2024

Thanks to the people at Capcom, I recently had the privilege of checking out a preview build of the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma 2. Like many, I was very surprised when Capcom announced Dragon’s Dogma 2 in 2022, because it was a game I never expected to get a sequel. After playing this demo, I am glad it… Read More »

No Rest for the Wicked Preview

Posted by Jerry Williams on March 2, 2024

When playing the tear-jerking, award-winning Ori and the Blind Forest, did you think, “Okay, cool, but what I’d love to see what these guys could do with a Soulslike”? Me neither, but that’s what we’ve got here. After making two outstanding Metroidvanias, the devs likely wanted to stretch their legs… Read More »

Zoria: Age of Shattering Impressions

Posted by Mark Roddison on February 18, 2024

RPGFan recently had the opportunity to speak to Tiny Trinket Games about their upcoming turn-based RPG, Zoria: Age of Shattering, and it looks like they’ve created an entry chocked to the rafters with systems and ideas after seven years of development. The fact that the game is launching into a gami… Read More »

Unicorn Overlord Hands-On Preview

Posted by Scott Clay on February 15, 2024

Since the release of Odin Sphere on the PS2, I always look forward to the next Vanillaware game. Their unique art style and great gameplay that mixes the old with the new always results in an enjoyable experience. Moving forward to 2019, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim was quickly one of my favorite games o… Read More »

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Pre-Launch Hands-On Impressions

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on February 6, 2024

I admit, I wasn’t sure how to feel about Final Fantasy VII Remake before it came out. Splitting the original game into multiple parts with completely new action-based combat could have been disastrous. Thankfully, my many concerns were misplaced. It was a joy to explore Midgar more thoroughly, and t… Read More »

Persona 3 Reload Hands-On Preview

Posted by Scott Clay on January 16, 2024

Hands-on with Persona 3 Reload, exploring the new Tartarus, welcome social link updates, and more!

Hands-On with 6 Games at Day of the Devs: The Game Awards Edition

Posted by Mario Garcia on December 13, 2023

Day of the Devs has come and gone, and with it, I got the chance to try several upcoming indie titles! From a cinematic car racer with Mass Effect inspirations to a psychedelic visual novel that takes a trip through an SNES-era RPG, this year had no shortage of unique and promising titles on display… Read More »

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Demo Preview

Posted by Jonathan Logan on November 29, 2023

After reviewing Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, I found myself in the middle of my own personal crisis. My overall impressions of the game were not great. It featured a disappointing story, way too much recycled content, and the return of a minigame (the Cabaret Club) that the ser… Read More »

Born of Bread Hands-On Preview

Posted by Neal Chandran on October 18, 2023

Paper Mario has been inspiring a lot of games in recent years. Games like The Outbound Ghost and Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling clearly wear that inspiration on their sleeves. Although not directly influenced, WrestleQuest’s wrestling match encounters feel like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Do… Read More »

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Hands-On Impressions

Posted by Scott Clay on October 13, 2023

Thanks to the people over at Square Enix, I was given a fantastic opportunity recently to play a demo of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and conduct a fantastic interview with Director Naoki Hamaguchi. You can check out the interview here to learn about a whole bunch of new gameplay information about Rebi… Read More »

Crymachina Preview and Hands-On Impressions

Posted by Kiyan Mullen on September 21, 2023

Crymachina is a laser-tag ballet of marrow-curdling mechano-carnage. Picture Swan Lake with lightsabers. The Nutcracker on ice and steroids. An endless waltz of terrifying hardware and grim circuitry lightmapped like cold ghostly glass. This is the impression Crymachina left me with. Then again, wha… Read More »

Hymn to the Earless God Hands-On Preview

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on August 30, 2023

Five years ago, the very first game I reviewed for RPGFan was a little indie game called Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass. And let me tell you, it was a doozy. You play as an 8-year-old exploring his dreamworld, trying to take down the “Pulsating Mass” threatening him, his family, and the entire world.… Read More »

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails Preview and Hands-On Impressions

Posted by Kiyan Mullen on August 29, 2023

For Anglophone Falcom fans, patience is less a virtue and more a premise. In modern times, the distinguished developer’s bread-and-butter is Trails, an ongoing chronicle as legendarily loquacious as you’re liable to find in the RPG genre. Series diehards devour it. Every entry builds onto a single c… Read More »

Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten Preview and Hands-On Impressions

Posted by Kiyan Mullen on August 13, 2023

Aquaplus — and its mostly retired 18-and-over imprint Leaf — is one of the most fascinating development studios of all time. Their impressive repertoire boasts such storied series as To Heart, such cultish classics as Kizuato. They have contributed immeasurably to the Japanese visual novel and adven… Read More »

Blue Protocol Hands-On Impressions from Summer Game Fest [UPDATE]

Posted by Alvin Lim on July 25, 2023

Update: Bandai Namco has released a new combat trailer for Blue Protocol, showcasing the game’s starting roster of playable classes. Check it out: During Summer Game Fest’s Game Days, I got the opportunity to sit down at Amazon Games’ booth, have some charcuterie, a few drinks, and try out a little… Read More »

One Lonely Outpost Hands-On Preview: A Promising Sci-Fi Farming Sim

Posted by Mike Salbato on June 23, 2023

I don’t have any robotic cows yet, and I’m sad. Hang on: there’s a chance that line needs more context. Since first appearing on Kickstarter in August 2020, I’ve had my eye on One Lonely Outpost. I love farming games and sci-fi, so unless Marvelous wants to revisit Innocent Life one day, there’s ver… Read More »

Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles Preview and Hands-On Impressions

Posted by Kiyan Mullen on June 20, 2023

Nippon Ichi Software’s Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure may be one of the comfiest video games ever crafted in the classic JRPG mold. It wraps with patient, gentle hands a glimmering gift of cozy sights, soothing sounds, light puzzle-adventuring, breezy battles, enchanting scenarios that know just how… Read More »

Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless Preview and Hands-On Impressions

Posted by Kiyan Mullen on June 20, 2023

Like a tenacious bat out of the wackiest possible hell, Nippon Ichi Software has returned to the SRPG arena to once again curb-stomp the rules and reach nearly unmatched levels of mechanical depth and complexity while doing it. In other words? Disgaea is back, dood. For those who have remained on th… Read More »

Cross Blitz Preview

Posted by Jerry Williams on June 19, 2023

Yes, folks, it’s time for Yet-Another-Card-Game, this time starring Cross Blitz. What’s peculiar about this fad that’s been going on since Slay the Spire made a splash is that while creating a card game appears easy, standing out from the competition isn’t. Here, we have a preview for Cross Blitz, a… Read More »

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