Assassin's Creed Odyssey Box Art

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the eleventh main installment in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. This time the players journey to Ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War, a time well before the Assassin Brotherhood was formed in Origins, and take on the role of a Spartan sentenced to death by their family. While there is no Brotherhood, players can still learn abilities from the Assassin skill tree, the other two being Warrior and Hunter, and enjoy a similar playstyle.

In something of a departure from the previous titles, there is a choice between male and female playable protagonists, Alexios and Kassandra. Furthermore, the game offers multiple endings, and the players are free to choose their own path through 30 hours of branching dialogue. There also are romantic options, another first for the franchise. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey also promises massive battles with hundreds of soldiers on the field, sailing and naval combat, underwater exploration, and all-in-all a rich and dynamic open-world experience.

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 Box Art

Valkyria Chronicles 4

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a tactical RPG developed and published by Sega. Already out in Japan since March this year, the game will see a Western release on all major platforms.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is set in Europa, a fictional region based on Europe during World War II, and follows Federation’s Squad E lead by the young and eager Commander Claude Wallace. Alongside his comrades, he battles the imperial soldiers as well as the terrifying Valkyria.

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Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Box Art
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    Sep 4, 2018

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. Already released in Japan back in 2017 to favorable reviews, the game is coming to the West with a number of improvements beyond English voice-acting. This includes an even harder “Draconian Quest” mode, better controls, a first-person camera mode usable while standing still, polished up UI, and 4K resolution support.

While it is the eleventh main entry in the Dragon Quest series, the game is said to provide a standalone experience with an immersive story that will appeal to longtime fans and newcomers alike. Dragon Quest XI follows a young man who learns that he is the reincarnation of a legendary hero, The Luminary, during his village’s coming of age ceremony. He embarks on a journey to uncover his past, but is quickly branded a demon and pursued by an evil king’s forces. Fortunately, new allies come to his aid – motley adventurers with their own rich backstories and personalities.

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Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition Box Art
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    Aug 31, 2018

Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a RPG with turn-based combat developed by Larian Studios. Its Definitive Edition features a number of improvements and changes based on critic and player feedback since the original launch, including a rewritten journal, map markers, party inventory, new tutorial, and an entirely reworked last act.

As the original D:OS2 is already out on Steam and existing owners will be getting an upgrade to the Definitive Edition for free, this post is concerning specifically the console versions, which are published by Bandai Namco and have a pre-order incentive available.

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Shadows: Awakening Box Art

Shadows: Awakening

Shadows: Awakening is an isometric single-player RPG with real-time combat developed by Games Farm and published by Kalypso Media. It is the so-called Book II of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, which itself is a sequel of the 2005 classic Kult: Heretic Kingdoms.

In Shadows Awakening the player embodies the Devourer: a demon with the ability to consume souls of heroes and use them as puppets. As each of them retains their personality, this results in a unique party system with internal dialogues and rivalries inside the Devourer. The game boasts 40+ hours of gameplay and is said to have substantial replayability. As they explore the Heretic Kingdoms, the players may switch seamlessly between the mortal plane and the Shadow Realm inhabited by ghosts and spirits.

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Shenmue I & II Box Art

Shenmue I & II

Shenmue I & II follows the story of a teenage jujitsu artist, Ryo Hazuki, who upon returning to his father’s dojo witnesses his murder at the hands of a Chinese man, Lan Di. Ryo sets out on a path of revenge, first gathering information around his native town of Yokosuka, then, in the second installment, crossing the sea in search of his farther’s killer.

Shenmue I & II is coming to modern consoles and the PC not as full remakes, but as more straightforward ports, albeit bringing a number of improvements over the Dreamcast classics. These include the option for the original Japanese audio, a choice between modern and classic controls, updated user interface, and adjustable screen resolution on PC. On both consoles, the games are rendered in HD resolution, and locked to 30 FPS due to limitations of the game engine.

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Code of Princess EX Box Art

Code of Princess EX

Code of Princess EX is a frantic hack-and-slash game with role-playing elements developed by Studio Saizensen and published by Nicalis for Nintendo Switch. There are over 50 different playable characters that can be upgraded with new abilities and equipment, and played in campaign mode as well as cooperative and competitive online multiplayer.

Originally released five years back for Nintendo 3DS and later Microsoft Windows platforms as Code of Princess, the new version comes with “HD graphics, a local co-op option and numerous other gameplay additions and enhancements”, according to Nicalis’ press release. The first-print copies of the game also come with a bonus – more on that after the jump.

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The Banner Saga 3 Box Art

The Banner Saga 3

The Banner Saga 3 is the final installment of the award-winning viking RPG trilogy from independent developer Stoic. Much like its predecessors, it was successfully funded through KickStarter.

The game offers tactical turn-based combat, over 40 unique characters with different abilities, hand-drawn art, and meaningful player choice. The major choices from the previous games can also be imported into TBS3, or the player may start with the default state if they so choose.

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Octopath Traveler Box Art
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    Jul 13, 2018

Octopath Traveler

Octopath Traveler is a turn-based RPG developed by Square Enix and Acquire exclusively for Nintendo Switch. The game uses a curious combination of 16-bit aesthetics and modern visual effects like bloom that the developer calls “HD-2D”.

The game features eight playable adventurers (hence “Octopath”) such as Warrior, Merchant, Apothecary, or Dancer, each with their own unique ability that can be used in battles or when interacting with NPCs, and a distinct story to follow. The path the player pursues is said to determine where their adventure ends.

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Shining Resonance Refrain Box Art

Shining Resonance Refrain

Shining Resonance Refrain is a fantasy-themed action RPG developed by Media.Vision and published by Sega. In a departure from the classic tactical RPG and dungeon crawling of the Shining series, it features real-time action and musical elements.

The game follows Yuma Ilvern on her quest to stop the Empire from exploiting the power of the ancient dragons. Yuma and her friends are Dragoneers: warriors who wield mystical weapon-instruments to perform powerful Rune Songs. Once enough BPM (Battle Performance Mana) is built up, the party can perform a session through the B.A.N.D. system and gain various benefits.

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Vampyr Box Art

Vampyr

Vampyr is an action RPG developed by French studio Dontnod Entertainment and published by Focus Home Interactive. Set in a fictionalized 1918 London, it follows Dr. Jonathan Reid, a newly-turned vampire, who must balance his responsibilities as a doctor with his bloodthirsty urge to feed. Reid strives to find a cure for the lethal outbreak of Spanish flu that is ravaging the city, and battles other vampires using a variety of melee and ranged weapons, as well as supernatural abilities. The player’s decisions throughout the game will trigger one of four different endings, all of which require different conditions to unlock, such as not killing a single person.

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Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Box Art

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope is a farming simulation and role-playing game developed by Natsume Inc and published by Rising Star Games in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the series. To reiterate, Natsume Inc was only the publisher of the series, but thanks to owning the rights to the name went on to develop their own Harvest Moon games, while the original developer, Marvelous, now uses the name Story of Seasons.

The latest game puts you into the shoes of a young man or woman, who is stranded in a small harbor town after a monsoon damaged their ship. They now have to make friends with the villagers, tend livestock and crops, and gather materials to rebuild the villagers’ homes as well as the town’s lighthouse.

As Harvest Moon: Light of Hope is already out on Steam since last year (and is the first game of the series to be released on PC), this post is regarding specifically the upcoming PS4 and Switch versions, which are said to include brand-new, console-only features. More on its pre-order bonus after the jump.

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Dragon’s Crown Pro Box Art

Dragon’s Crown Pro

Dragon’s Crown Pro is a 2D hack-and-slash action RPG developed by Japanese company Vanillaware and published by Atlus in North America. It is a remaster of the 2013 title Dragon’s Crown and retains all its features while boasting refined artwork, 4K support on the PS4 Pro, and a newly recorded soundtrack supported by a live orchestra. There is dual English and Japanese audio, and the game text is localized in multiple languages.

As before, up to four players can battle together via local or online co-op. The upcoming game also supports cross-play and cross-save with the older PS3 and PS Vita versions, which should come as welcome news to existing owners of Dragon’s Crown.

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Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time Box Art

Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time

Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time is an upcoming action RPG based on the popular anime series from Studio Trigger. Developed by APlus Games and published by Bandai Namco, it will see a localized digital release on PlayStation Store and Steam this May.

The JRPG follows the main character of the show, Akko, as well as her friends Sucy and Lotte on their adventures in the Luna Nova Magical Academy for young witches. It also features cutscenes animated by the creators of the original series. In addition to the story mode, there is an online and offline co-op as well as an online two-player battle mode with various victory conditions.

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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Box Art

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a story-focused single-player RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Much like the critically-acclaimed first installment, the upcoming game was successfully crowdfunded – this time via Fig rather than Kickstarter – with over $4M in contributions.

Deadfire puts the player on the pursuit of an awakened god, Eothas, and sends them on a voyage through the exotic Deadfire Archipelago. In addition to the brand new region to explore, there are new and returning companions (seven in total), persistent and impactful choices, dynamic weather, and revised spells and abilities. Other additions include upgradable ships, sub-classes, companion relationships, and player AI scripting.

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The Alliance Alive Box Art

The Alliance Alive

The Alliance Alive is an upcoming role-playing game developed by Japanese studio Cattle Call, and published by Atlus in the West. It features an expansive world to explore, a storyline with nine different protagonist, and a turn-based battle system typical of 3DS RPGs.

The game’s story focuses on humanity’s fight for freedom against the daemons, who invaded their world a millennium ago and now rule over it with an iron fist. The player will have to establish and unite guilds throughout four realms while battling the daemons.

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Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings Box Art

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is a role-playing game developed by Gust and published in the West by Koei Tecmo. It is the third and final installment in the Mysterious setting of the Atelier series.

The game follows apprentice alchemist twins Lydie and Suelle, who discover colorful worlds inside magical paintings, rich with rare materials that will help them make their atelier the best in town. Characters from the previous titles Atelier Sophie and Atelier Firis also make an appearance to help Lydie and Suelle fulfill their dream.

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Ni no Kuni II Box Art
  • Genre
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    Mar 23, 2018

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Ni no Kuni II is a role-playing game developed by Japanese studio Level-5 and published by Bandai Namco. While set in the same world as the award-winning Wrath of the White Witch, it takes place during a different time period, and follows an entirely new cast of characters.

The game’s protagonist is a young cat-eared prince named Evan, who becomes king after his father’s abrupt passing, but is immediately ousted from the position by the nefarious royal adviser, Otto Mausinger. Barely escaping with his life, Evan embarks on a quest to reclaim his kingdom, with some help from a band of sky pirates and a visitor from another world.

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Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition and Windows Edition Box Art

Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition and Windows Edition

Titled Royal Edition, the definitive version of Final Fantasy XV contains over 20 pieces of DLC (including all Season Pass content), an expanded Insomnia City Ruins dungeon, new gear, side quests, and bosses. The upcoming re-release also adds a first-person camera, a more action-oriented mode of the Armiger, and lets you control the Royal Vessel boat. Existing owners of Final Fantasy XV will be able to upgrade to this version by purchasing a “Royal Pack” priced at $19.99.

Alongside the Royal Edition for consoles the JRPG will see a PC release via Steam, Microsoft Store, and Origin. This Windows Edition offers the same content as the console version, and comes with support for up to 8K resolutions and HDR10 (Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is required for the latter).

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Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Box Art

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is a JRPG and third-person shooter based on the popular anime and light novel series by Reki Kawahara. The game takes place in Gun Gale Online, a fictional VRMMO in which a player named Death Gun has started killing people in real life.

Unlike in the previous Sword Art Online games, the protagonist of Fatal Bullet is a custom character. The players have the option of going through the story solo or making a party of up to four members with customizable AI. There is also online multiplayer with co-op and competitive 4v4 modes.

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