During Anime Expo 2024, I had the chance to attend the Oshi no Ko Season 2 premiere and check out the first two episodes of it. Since the first season is up there with one of my favorite shows of all time, I certainly was looking forward to this new story arc. Unfortunately, it disappointed due to its awkward pacing, even though the animation was flashy.

Oshi no Ko Season 2 picks up after the end of the first season. Aqua Hoshino is looking to join a theatre troupe to find out more about Ai. The first episode starts off strong, showing off a glimpse of the stage play the troupe is putting on. The gorgeous introductions to each of the characters in the production really impressed me, thanks to the excellent animation and effects.

This beautiful introduction feels as if you are actually watching the real stage play in action. The whole sequence works so well because of that. But the strong start eventually makes way for a step back in time to examine Aqua, Akane, and the other stars in the lead-up to the big day. This transition felt like it worked, and I enjoyed meeting all of the new characters in the troupe.

As you might expect, there is plenty of drama between the leads, the director, and even the writers. The mix of drama and brilliant voice acting from the Japanese cast kept me engaged throughout the entire first episode. While this story arc certainly feels like a slight diversion from the core plot of the riveting series, it starts out as an entertaining one nonetheless.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the first episode, even though it lacked the shock value and star power of the original Season 1 feature-length premiere. The real problem I have with Oshi no Ko Season 2 wasn’t present at this point. The issues I had popped up when the second episode began at the event. Instead of continuing on from the light twist at the end of the first episode, episode two went unnecessarily further back in time.

The second episode spends way too much time focusing on Aqua and the others first joining the theatre troupe. Considering I already saw them rehearsing and spending time together in the first episode, this felt somewhat unnecessary. In fact, I would argue it almost feels like the second episode should’ve been the first one because of this timeline shift.

Watching these two episodes back-to-back completely killed the goodwill the first episode of this stage play arc introduced. I had no interest in going back in time and seeing the mostly unnecessary exposition leading up to the production. The only slight saving grace of the second episode comes from the focus on the lead writer of the stage play. His moments were surprisingly emotional and evoked some sympathy.

However, I didn’t need an entire flashback episode to provide those scenes. They could certainly work without going back in time. Overall, I feel like the first and second episodes would better swapped. Perhaps if you don’t binge these episodes it will be a bit better to watch. For now, though, I look forward to the third episode and, hopefully, better pacing that sticks to moving the story forward rather than backward.

Oshi no Ko Season 2 is streaming right now via HIDIVE. Yen Press handles the manga outside of Japan.

The post Oshi no Ko Season 2 Starts Out Flashy and Awkward appeared first on Siliconera.

Sword Art Online video games are pretty hit-or-miss. You have the not-so-bad ones like Alicization Lycoris and then surprisingly good ones like Fatal Bullet. Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream doesn’t appear to be the greatest game in the series so far but it does offer the most variety out of any game yet from my recent preview at Anime Expo 2024.

I had a short 10-minute preview of the upcoming game where I was able to explore a vast desert region and complete a mission. Right off the bat, Fractured Daydream makes it clear how vast the roster of characters is. I started out as Llenn, the star of Gun Gale Online. But then I soon gained access to three other characters, including Kirito.

These characters don’t normally interact with each other across their respective series. As such, this game feels like a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate-style collection with everyone being here. Perhaps the most fascinating part is how each character feels wildly different from one another.

Llenn plays like a light version of the gameplay from Fatal Bullet, where the player fires away with their guns from afar. The targeting system is messier than the previous shooter-style game in the series, which was annoying, but it got the job done. Then there is Kirito who plays much faster than Llenn with his impressive and powerful sword skills.

The unique gameplay styles didn’t stop there, either, as Leafa was also part of our squad. She played much more like her floaty and flight-based Alfheim Online variant. All three of them felt like they came from different games. This variety does mean some characters will probably be more valuable than others in combat, but I still appreciate the diversity.

Everyone has their basic attacks, plus a ton of skills to use. Some of these might involve dashing forward to attack foes or leaping into the air for a jump attack. Each one is quite flashy and fun to pull off. The main problem I had with the combat in this Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream preview was targeting.

There is a lock-on feature but it doesn’t work too well, especially with lots of enemies onscreen. I felt like the camera didn’t quite keep up with my character. I would be trying to launch a skill on the enemy I’m locked onto and the character would miss completely. This happened even when I started out the skill right in front of the enemy.

The preview culminated in a massive boss fight. It felt pretty easy in terms of difficulty, as I just mashed away with Kirito’s dual swords. Some characters, oddly enough, fared better than others. The scorpion boss resisted Llenn’s gun attacks, for instance. As such, I had to switch to others like Leafa, who had its weakness. While the fight itself was easy, again, the biggest challenge came from the awkward camera and targeting controls.

For the most part, this Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream preview focused on singleplayer. That said, the main purpose of this game is to bring together 21 playable characters for online multiplayer. Up to 20 players will be able to take on actual MMO-like raid battles for the first time.

Unfortunately, this preview didn’t offer any glimpse of that. Considering how singleplayer-focused this demo section was, I’m curious to see if there is a dedicated story mode for solo players. For now, though, we will have to wait and see. While I’m not sold on this being the best SAO video game yet, I at least appreciate its diversity in its roster and gameplay.

Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream will release for Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 4, 2024.

The post Preview: Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream Brings Everyone Together appeared first on Siliconera.

Long gone are the days of the top-down, RPG Maker-style Corpse Party horror games. While the series has flirted with 3D in the past, it stuck with its the traditional viewpoint and gameplay style. This is all changing with Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, a bold new take for the series based on my recent hands-on experience.

It is uncertain if Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion is related to Dead Patient, but it does also take place in a haunted hospital. During the 15-minute play session I experienced at Anime Expo 2024, I played as Haruka. Haruka and her two classmates, Nemu and Maria, are looking for a way out of the hospital and to safety.

Right out of the gate, I noticed two intriguing parts about this game. The first is the third-person point of view. Instead of a top-down perspective, this game takes place behind the shoulders of Haruka. This gives a it a more Silent Hill-like approach. I felt this throughout the game, and the gameplay supported it as well.

You wander the floors of the hospital with a few movement options at your disposal, such as a dash and interact button. The third-person perspective gives this game a different vibe compared to past games, making it feel even scarier in my initial session. It didn’t help that the game had a tiny draw distance, at least on Switch, so I barely saw a few feet in front of me.

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion also has a much more mature art style to it. This especially came through in actual 3D character models and environments, from what I saw. The removal of the more chibi-like aspects of past games made this instantly much more terrifying. It almost felt like it is in the vein of other Japanese horror titles like Fatal Frame.

The other key change I immediately noticed in Corpse Party 2 involved the character designs. Within the more visual novel-like cutscenes, the 2D character portraits look plucked from an anime. The characters pop much more with color, especially in the case of Nemu. This helps the characters to stand out a bit more, making them more memorable.

While I adore the visual style of Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, I’m not quite sure about the gameplay yet. Sure, it has some similarities to Silent Hill and other likeminded horror games. However, this particular title is quite confusing, especially when it comes to exploring the hospital.

The hallways and rooms are quite empty most of the time and look exactly the same no matter the location. It became hard to tell the difference from one gray concrete hallway to the next. I got lost pretty early in the demo and this continued all the way through. It doesn’t help that the interact button was pretty unresponsive. I had to perfectly stand in front of an object, such as a door, and aim at it just right for the game to register my input.

This became pretty annoying quite fast, especially since it took up precious time in the preview. Since I wandered around the hospital quite a lot, I didn’t get to experience much of the story or action. The bulk of the plot I experienced had to do with a mysterious phone call. On a side note, the audio design in this game is quite impressive at least. Though I had no idea of my location, the smart use of the phone ringing and its audio guided me to its location with ease.

Answering the phone revealed a tease of a certain character’s possible fate in the near future. This added some ominous possibilities for what will happen in the main story. In addition, I saw one gruesome part regarding maggots but the game refrained from showing too much there.

Unfortunately, I missed out on running into any monsters or ghosts. This meant I missed out on seeing how running away, hiding, and surviving works in this new gameplay style.

That said, there is a lot of potential for exploration and puzzles from what I saw. I still have a lot of questions about this game but I appreciate what I previewed. The cast looks to have some solid characters I want to know more about. In addition, Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion’s new 3D style already feels much scarier than any past game. I just hope the full experience isn’t as confusing to navigate as this short demo.

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion will release for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC in Fall 2024.

The post Preview: Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion Terrifies and Confuses appeared first on Siliconera.

At Anime Expo 2024, I had the chance to preview about 20 minutes with Atlus’ next major JRPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio. I came away the most impressed I have been in quite some time for a demo build of a game. This title feels like the next evolution of the Atlus JRPG formula and so much more than just a medieval spin Persona 5.

The start of the demo allowed me to pick between three difficulty settings, which I don’t normally see for previews. I opted for the standard difficulty and the gameplay felt breezy enough but with just enough depth and challenge to tease what’s to come. From the one dungeon I played, it seems like the gameplay will be somewhere around the challenge of Persona 5 but not quite on the level of the Shin Megami Tensei series.

This early dungeon featured three party members, including the protagonist and two additional characters; Strohl and Hulkenberg. We were on a mission to track down a necromancer a gorgeous dungeon and defeat them. Without a doubt, the basis of Persona 5’s systems and stylization is present here, but Metaphor: ReFantazio iterates on almost every single one of those aspects.

For one, the dungeon felt absolutely massive and layered with so many different floors. The neat verticality mixed well with the occasional large-scale chambers to explore. This dungeon format felt less linear than some of the offerings for past Atlus titles, which made it more intriguing to explore. It helped, too, that there was a fair bit to see and do in the location.

Besides running around and battling monsters, there were even two side quests and objectives I ran across in the midst of the dungeon. These optional quests broke up the usual progression and provided solid reasons to explore every inch. The first came right at the start, as a side character tasked me with finding someone for her.

Then partway through the dungeon, I came across a group of people kidnapped by the villainous necromancer and locked in a room. I could find the key and free them if I wanted, which is what I did. This resulted in some optional fights and a surprising payoff to freeing the people. Without spoiling too much, it turned out the locked up people had to do with the other side quest I had to find the girl.

This intertwining nature of the side quests only made them more worth completion. Better yet, I appreciated the reward I got for these quests, which felt far more impactful than money or XP. While I won’t give away everything, this reward included an entirely new bond with a side character.

Unfortunately because I spent so much time on the side content, I didn’t have enough time to finish the dungeon. That said, I still had the chance to really dive into the fascinating hybrid-style combat. It reminds me of the recent The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak. You have the usual turn-based Atlus style plus some action combat as well.

With weaker foes, you can slice and dice them to death with the X button (PS5) without ever transitioning screens. However, with stronger enemies, you can hack-and-slash them to weaken or stun them. From there, you can transition to the usual Press Turn battles but with less work to do. Here, it works like you expect from Atlus in taking advantage of elemental weaknesses to earn more turns. There are some fun changes like team skills and the Archetype system.

Instead of collecting Personas, players switch between JRPG jobs known as Archetypes. These include stuff like Warrior, Brawler, Knight, and more. They each come with their own elemental skills. In this way, Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like a solid mix of traditional Final Fantasy-style JRPGs and Atlus games.

But Metaphor: ReFantazio stands out even among its inspirations due to its stunning visual style. It continues the Persona 5 way of heavily stylizing every aspect. This includes everything from the characters to special effects to even the UI. However, I will go ahead and say it right now: this title already looks somehow significantly better than even Persona 5 Royal did. The smooth transitions in battles to the unique fonts to the richly detailed character art in the menus is extraordinary.

From my time with the sadly brief Metaphor: ReFantazio preview at Anime Expo 2024, this game simultaneously feels familiar but distinct. It carries its Persona 5 inspiration well while also carving out its own path. The hybrid combat, worthy side content, and unmatched art style makes it so much more than medieval Persona. Metaphor: ReFantazio excites me with what seems to be the next evolution of the Atlus JRPG formula.

Metaphor: ReFantazio will release for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 11, 2024.

The post Preview: Metaphor: ReFantazio Evolves the Atlus JRPG Formula appeared first on Siliconera.

SunnySide falls into the age-old trap of being a game that isn’t quite ready for most players to jump into at this point. This ambitious farming sim and RPG contains an unbelievable amount of depth and systems, but every aspect of from the UI to how it plays undermines its promise.

If you’ve played games like Stardew Valley or Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, you’ll recognize the impetus for the plot. You move from the big city in Japan to a small town in the countryside to start over. Your highly customizable player character inherits an extremely empty piece of land to farm and build up to your liking.

To SunnySide’s credit, this game is about as freeing as it gets when it comes to the genre. You can truly make your character look like you or whoever you want due to so many aspects to tweak, from weight to facial features to hair to even gender identity. However, the 3D graphics look a bit bland, especially when it comes to character models. This is a shame, since the actual 2D character portraits look fantastic. That said, the welcome depth of customization helps to somewhat offset that. After all, your farm is a blank canvas to call your own. You can build every inch of your farm and house from a lowly tent to a burgeoning mansion. In this way, the game feels like a survival crafting experience, but this is only a sliver of the experiences SunnySide has to offer.

There is also the entire farming aspect, where players plant seeds, water them, and sell them to make cash to unlock more materials, buildings, gifts, and upgrades. If that isn’t enough, there is even simplistic turn-based RPG combat. However, it feels like even more of an afterthought than similar battle systems in other games like Stardew Valley. You can go dozens of hours without really diving into the linear dungeons and straightforward fights. There is little depth to this outside of a few commands and the deck-like system of collecting different Ofuda for effects. Collecting Ofuda starts out fun, but the relatively breezy difficulty ensures it doesn’t feel as necessary as it could. I wish the turn-based combat had more of a prominence in the overall progression of the game.

All of these different aspects are wrapped up in a smartphone-based interface, which feels intuitive. However, it is SunnySide’s ambition that is also its downfall. While I am grateful to have so many different activities, none of them feel complete or worth diving into. A huge part of this comes from how poorly everything runs. This game is sometimes a challenge to play due to how it barely chugs along, especially in the outdoor, open-world areas. Yet it even takes its time loading and running at a snail’s pace at times indoors as well. This could be because I spent most of my time on Steam Deck, where the frame rate is all over the place. To make matters worse, the frequent pop-ins and sluggish loading hurts it even more.

To give it a fair shake, I booted SunnySide up on a beefier gaming PC. Unfortunately, it didn’t fare much better there than on Steam Deck. It ran a little smoother in some areas, but still had major visual and performance hiccups. Without a doubt, this game has some of the most atrocious optimization I’ve seen in a while.

Sadly, the problems don’t stop there. While the game has controller support, it doesn’t work all that well. The general movement controls are fine and using tools feels acceptable, but the interface is a mess to deal with. Most of the menus use a cursor to deal with the menu, inventory, and even phone. It is pretty slow and imprecise, leading to me wasting more time in the menus than necessary. This is even worse when you consider how almost everything is in the phone menu, such as messages and even the world map.

However, there is one element that may never get a fix, and that is the romance system. Having 25 romanceable characters sounds impressive, but this hides some serious issues with dating in the game. Every character has a dating preference on the gender expression scale. This scale is what players use during character creation to determine their identity. Basically, you have a 10-point scale for masculinity, 10-point scale for femininity, and non-binary right in the middle. You can pick your gender identity anywhere along the spectrum, which is quite neat. However, there are some issues with this system, and that's mostly in it's execution.

Fall in love with Hanako, for example, but aren’t feminine? So sorry, but you’re out of luck. I think the idea of centering around this isn’t inherently bad; after all, other farming sim series locked romances behind gender in the past. The problem is you have to research each character ahead of time to know their preferences, and there is no way to change your gender identity at this time once you've left the character creator. This actually feels ironically backwards in a way, since gender identity can be fluid and offering a way to change your gender identity within the game would let players experiment.

It is a shame, too, since the most joy I had with this game was speaking and hanging out with the characters. You can tell SunnySide’s developer took notes from the Persona series. Each character has different levels to their friendship where you get to learn more about them. Some of the stories are pretty emotional, genuinely funny, and quite diverse.

The writing, in general, is actually quite brilliant. It just sucks that there is so much frustration with the controls, performance, and UI the vast majority of the time to get to that slim payoff. In the end, this makes SunnySide the epitome of “wait and see” early access title. It simply does too much from its survival mechanics to building to RPG combat to farming and relationships.

While there is so much to see here, rarely does anything work properly to make the experience feel worthwhile. I do believe there is a solid farming sim RPG in the making with SunnySide, but it could take a long time and plenty of updates to reach that potential. For now, I don’t recommend giving it a look unless you’re okay with quite a lot of grievances.

SunnySide is available right now on PCs via Steam.

The post Review: SunnySide Is Ambitious, But Underwhelming appeared first on Siliconera.

If there is one element Atlus is becoming really good at lately, it is respecting and preserving older titles in its gigantic library. Most of the modern Persona games and mainline Shin Megami Tensei titles exist on current systems. However, there are two noticeable exceptions that could be used as a solution, such as an SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection.

If you want to, it is technically possible to play every single mainline Shin Megami Tensei game right now on a modern system. After all, there is a brilliant remaster of Nocturne on all current systems and PCs. Plus, there is the recent release of SMTV: Vengeance, which makes it available to everyone.

In fact, you can even play the older SMT titles, such as the first game, second game, and even if on Nintendo Switch. That is, if you have a Japanese account. However, it is possible, at least, which can’t be said for two particular games that are left out: Shin Megami Tensei IV and Apocalypse. As of right now, there are the only mainline games not available on current hardware.

They were also only ever released on the Nintendo 3DS and nowhere else. So, unless you use unsavory means, it isn’t possible to play them if you don’t have a 3DS handheld. This is why it is so crucial a remaster collection happens. I could see a situation where the two connected games come together into a remastered collection on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

It wouldn’t be too difficult to modernize them, either. Though these games had a second screen, removing it isn’t too big of an issue. The bottom screen with your demons would just need to move to the top screen in some way. The 3D visuals still look solid on 3DS, so you only need some light brushing up there. Of course, some quality-of-life features might be welcome, but that’s pretty much it.

For me, personally, SMTIV: Apocalypse is my favorite game in the series. It perfectly balances story, characters, and a twisted world to explore so excellently. SMTIV is also fantastic, though the two are quite similar in some regards. With how solid these games are — even better than the recent SMTV, in my opinion — it is a shame they are stuck elsewhere. In fact, Atlus now has a pretty open slate for the Shin Megami Tensei series. With the release of Vengeance, no other games are coming for the franchise.

An SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection could be the perfect next title to satiate fans. They would be fairly easy to put out and a simple success for the company. Better yet, an SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection could tie fans over until Shin Megami Tensei VI, Persona 6, or whatever is next from Atlus. It is possible those games are a couple of years away still, so this would be a great way to keep players occupied.

I would be happy if they included Strange Journey as well. It also falls into the unfortunate portable-exclusive dilemma. It might be too soon after Vengeance for an SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection, but it needs to happen eventually. A release of these two brilliant 3DS JRPGs for modern consoles and PC would be a welcome release in 2025 or 2026. Regardless, I hope Atlus doesn’t let these games remain exclusive to the 3DS.

Shin Megami Tensei IV and Apocalypse are only available right now for Nintendo 3DS.

The post Atlus Needs to Remaster SMT IV and Apocalypse appeared first on Siliconera.

A Nintendo Direct debuted after Summer Game Fest 2024, offering fans of the Nintendo Switch possibly the final major glimpse at the lineup for the console before its successor arrives. Fortunately, the June 2024 Nintendo Direct was jam-packed full of thrilling Switch games, such as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and here's the full list of everything shown.

Nintendo Direct June 2024 Switch games and their release dates

From the latest The Legend of Zelda game to a new entry in the Mario & Luigi series, there are a ton of games in the most recent Direct. Here are all of the new Switch games from this Direct, plus their respective release dates, below:

• Ace Attorney Investigations Collection: September 6, 2024
• Among Us New Roles Free Update: June 18, 2024
• Darkest Dungeon II: July 15, 2024
• Disney Illusion Island Mystery in Monoth Free Update: June 18, 2024
• Donkey Kong Country Returns HD: January 16, 2025
• Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake: 2025
• Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake: November 14, 2024
• Fairy Tail 2: Winter 2024
• Fantasian Neo Dimension: Winter 2024
• Farmagia: November 1, 2024
• Funko Fusion: September 13, 2024
• Hello Kitty Island Adventure: 2025
• The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy: Early 2025
• Just Dance 2025 Edition: October 2024
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom: September 26, 2024
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords (NSO): June 18, 2024
• LEGO Horizon Adventures: Holiday 2024
• Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports: Fall 2024
• Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD: June 27, 2024
• Mario & Luigi: Brothership: November 7, 2024
• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics: 2024
• Metal Slug Attack Reloaded: June 18, 2024
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond: 2025
• Metroid: Zero Mission (NSO): June 18, 2024
• MIO: Memories in Orbit: 2025
• The New Denpa Men: July 22, 2024 (for free)
• Nintendo Switch Sports Basketball Free Update: Summer 2024
• Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition: July 18, 2024
• Perfect Dark (Nintendo Switch Online+Expansion Pack): June 18, 2024
• Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero: 2025
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven: October 24, 2024
• Stray: Holiday 2024
• Super Mario Party Jamboree: October 17, 2024
• Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game: Holiday 2024
• Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (NSO): June 18, 2024

In case you missed it, you can see the Nintendo Direct and all of its new games below:

The post Here Are All Nintendo Direct June 2024 Switch Games appeared first on Siliconera.

If there are two JRPG series that captivate me more than any others, one of them is absolutely The Legend of Heroes. Ever since I first played the iconic Trails in the Sky, I adored almost every entry in this series. Fortunately, if my recent demo experience is anything to go by, Trails through Daybreak feels like another win for Falcom and NIS America.

If you didn’t know, a free Switch and PS4 demo is out right now for The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak. It comes with the ability to check out the prologue on Switch or all the way through the first chapter on PS4, with saves transferring to the full game. I checked out the latter for a quite hefty trial that lasted almost 10 hours.

While it may not be the best place to start the series as a newcomer, it is the closest in quite some time. Trails through Daybreak starts an entirely new arc in the previously unvisited nation of the Calvard Republic. Players take on the role of Van Arkride, a sort of charming rogue and morally gray version of a Bracer.

I already played all of Chapter 1 in Japanese while starting to learn the language, so it was fun to compare the localization. As always, the team is on point by including elements like great innuendos and timely jokes, though I will say the usually excellent English voice acting strangely feels like it took a dip in this installment. There are still some standouts, such as side character Marielle, but even some of the core cast may take some time to warm up to.

Outside of that, this already feels like another Falcom slam dunk. There is something to be said about how brilliant the developer’s city and world design is. Trails through Daybreak is yet another testament to that with the capital city of Edith. Each of the districts feels so distinct due to the style and atmosphere. For example, there is the relaxed and brick-laden Riverside, found alongside the thriving and modern Central Station.

Exploring the city of Edith, completing Spriggan requests, and talking to the townsfolk just feels so natural. Better yet, there are even rural areas in Chapter 1 for a nice break from the hustle and bustle. This will all feel familiar to anyone who played the Crossbell or Erebonia Trails games. When it comes to combat though, this game actually radically changes this aspect.

The Trails through Daybreak features a fascinating and almost ground-breaking hybrid combat. The usual active turn-based system still exists. Here, players move around the battlefield on their turn, within a certain range, to execute an attack, skill, or craft.

However, you don’t have to fight in turn-based mode if you don’t want to. There is a simplistic hack-and-slash variant available as well. While not great for larger enemies or even possible in boss battles, this speeds up the combat even further. Better yet, the two even work in tandem. You can weaken a foe or even stun them in the action mode before switching to the usual turn-based affair to finish them off.

It is an engaging and fascinating system. While I would like more depth in the action combat, it works well enough, including even with a dodge mechanic. That said, outside of this, I am not a huge fan of the combat changes. The new system for link attacks is a bit awkward. Before, you would pick a partner to link with and they would follow up with additional attacks after a critical hit and all that.

However, this version limits links (called SLCMs) to being right next to someone. They are more flexible this way since Van, Agnes, and the others can link up with anyone at any time now. However, it somewhat felt like I was forced to go out of my way to move characters next to one another to gain a follow-up attack.

This new link system got especially annoying in boss battles. I felt like I had to move up my ranged characters like Agnes to be next to my melee fighter in Van. This put the ranged characters in more unnecessary danger just for a linked combo. It is strange since it wasn’t like this in past games.

Outside of that, though, this is by far the most fluid and fast the turn-based combat has been in the series. I was blasting through most fights in well under a minute with almost no issue. Even the trickier and lengthier boss fights felt much more manageable in terms of time now.

When not in dungeons, players have the ability to complete various Spriggan requests. These are similar to the side quests and Bracer requests from past games but with a twist. Van is a much shadier person than past protagonists like Rean and Lloyd, and it shows in his requests.

He has an alignment system revolving around Law, Chaos, and Gray. Each request he does adds points to each one. In addition, there are the occasional choices you can make that level up Van’s Law, Chaos, and Gray attributes. Most notably, these all level up independently, and each come with special rewards. While I know how these affect the later game from my time with the Japanese version, I won’t go into that here. Regardless, this system adds an intriguing layer and makes the already well-written side quests that much more worth checking out. They are just as essential to the world and characters as the core plot.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak feels like another must-play JRPG from Falcom, based on the demo preview. It is almost a solid starting point for newcomers with an almost entirely fresh cast of characters. It also takes place in the new locale of the Calvard Republic, which is already gorgeous and varied from the places I visited in the prologue and first chapter. The mix of action and turn-based combat is such a welcome move. Anyone who likes past Trails games or just JRPGs in general should check out the free demo ahead of launch.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak will release for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC on July 5, 2024. A free demo is available right now for Switch and PS4.

The post Preview: The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Feels Like a Must-Play JRPG appeared first on Siliconera.

Atlus games are the heartbeat of my love for gaming, be it Persona or Shin Megami Tensei. However, the original Shin Megami Tensei V severely disappointed me in terms of its empty world, forgettable characters, bland storyline, and lackluster performance. Fortunately, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is the true definitive version, addressing all of my concerns and then some.

In some aspects, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is akin to what Apocalypse is to SMT IV, as it is a better game with a stronger story in the same world, but also unique at the same time. For the most part, Vengeance is the game this JRPG should have been from the start. I will go ahead and say it right now. Outside of 100% completing the JRPG, there is no reason to go back to the original Canon of Creation storyline.

The new Canon of Vengeance path feels much better in every single aspect. The start of the story is pretty much identical to the original plot, but with some neat twists. For one, you get new characters like Yoko who accompany the player from pretty early in the story. This is one of the best changes in Vengeance, as the game feels much more alive with frequent character development. Most of the plot has at least one, if not two, other people journeying alongside the Nahobino. They can even optionally fight alongside you in battle, Persona-style, if you so choose, but they don’t have to.

Comments and interjections from party members like Yoko on the main plot points, developments, and even side quests are a welcome addition. They feel so natural, such as musing over whether or not I should’ve helped out a particular demon in a side quest. This makes replaying the almost identical first half of this JRPG so much more vibrant and thrilling. It didn’t feel like trudging through this barren open wasteland without much purpose. I wanted to keep going to see how the story would change or what Yoko and others had to say about my choices.

Without delving into spoilers too much, the plot of Canon of Vengeance is solid from start to somewhat awkward finish. The highlight of the original SMT V for me was the first dozen hours or so. Adventuring through the initial Da’at area felt exciting and mysterious in the original, plus the more horror-like high school dungeon section afterward felt like the peak part of the story. Fortunately, Canon of Vengeance takes the best parts of the cast from that initial dozen hours I loved and included it throughout the rest of the game. You spend so much more time with all of the cast members in the main story. This even sometimes happens through limited-time side quests that flesh them out more.

SMT V: Vengeance completely changed my perspective on certain characters. I won’t spoil things here. However, I went from disliking them in the original to now loving them. There are even some characters I still hate, but with an even more burning passion than before because they had the proper time to develop their motivations better and earn that ire.

Even better yet, there is a brand new area exclusive to Canon of Vengeance. Fortunately, it is also the best open-world area to explore as well. Players can now visit Shinjuku in Da’at. This area is absolutely massive. You start out in the gorgeous, purple-themed Shibuya, and you literally travel from that ward all the way to Shinjuku. The area is a refreshing break from the other areas. It is so detailed and just keeps going. In fact, it trades out the Chiyoda map in this story path, which I felt was by far the most annoying area in the original, so that made me happy as well.

The only real downside to the Canon of Vengeance storyline is the ending. There are two new endings to unlock in this game, and they felt a bit lackluster to me. They didn’t necessarily move the needle as much as I would have liked, especially with everything else this version changes.

When it comes to the gameplay, though, we see the classic turn-based Press Turn system at work with some minor, but helpful, improvements. You pick to attack, use skills that cost MP, defend, and so on each turn. These tactical battles are just as challenging, freeform, and stylish as before. That said, there are a lot more ultimate Magatsuhi Skills to unlock and use in battle, and you’ll want them, too. After all, the new Canon of Vengeance storyline felt much more challenging than the base game with its new bosses.

There is an early boss, for instance, who has a weakness to physical, but nullifies basically everything else. You would think this would make for a swift and breezy fight then, right? Just mash away the attack button or use physical skills and you’ll gain extra turns, so it sounds pretty easy. Well, the boss makes up for its weakness with unbelievably powerful attacks and various status effects. These skills nearly obliterated my early party on the Normal difficulty. This continues through the rest of the game with each boss truly forcing the player to reevaluate their team and make use of the Essences to change resistances, skills, and the like.

Playing this game on the PS5 meant the battles were much smoother and swifter than ever before as well. The frame rate was steady no matter what I was doing, including exploration. Speaking of which, the exploration felt much more engaging. This is especially true with the neat quality-of-life features like new open-world shortcuts you can find and unlock.

This made me want to uncover every inch of each open map area and find every secret. I actually wanted to do every side quest as well, especially the new ones. Most of the newer optional content has quick, witty, and intriguing storylines worth checking out. There is one recurring side quest storyline following the Hare of Inaba wanting to stronger, which I adored. There are even more experimental quests where you can briefly take on the role of demons. One of my favorites was this puzzling and comedic whodunnit case.

In general, the demons have much more fascinating personalities than ever before. This is seen through the side quests and the new Demon Haunt area. This new location lets players interact with demons, give them gifts, and receive gifts in return. It almost feels like a very light bond system with the demons and other party members. This all added a nice touch. Even some of the previous DLC from the base game feels more naturally integrated into the world. This even includes the beloved Return of the True Demon side quest.

In the end, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance accomplished exactly what I hoped for. It took the messy base game, made it look and play better, and expanded upon every single aspect. This results in a polished and finally complete experience worth (re)visiting. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance reaches its full potential in almost every way possible and now confidently stands toe-to-toe with its predecessors.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance releases for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on June 14, 2024.

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Demonschool is the type of game I saw in a trailer, then immediately wanted to check out. The spooky vibes, school setting, and demon battles all scream Persona and Shin Megami Tensei. Unfortunately, after my time with the Demonschool Steam Next Fest demo, I am quite disappointed in one particular element.

Demonschool takes place on a mysterious island. It follows a group of students who become demon hunters to save the world before an inevitable collapse. Like Persona, the game follows a familiar daily life schedule with daytime and nighttime aspects. Players pick what they want to do during certain times of day to fill in the time between dungeons.

These daily activities even include training skills and getting to know the various characters on the island. And, yes, this even includes a classic relationship system with around 15 different characters. Since this demo only covered about a week of in-game time, I, unfortunately, didn’t get to dive too much into that aspect.

But what I did spend time with, and regretted immediately, was the combat system. At a glance, Demonschool’s battles look like they involve traditional, turn-based combat on a grid. In fact, the character models' appearance and the isometric view felt like a callback to the very first Persona or even Devil Survivor. However, it is unfortunately like neither of those outside of appearances.

The battles involve players zipping around the spaces to hit enemies on each turn. You can queue up a bunch of actions, then execute them or just do a single attack and leave it there. There is the freedom to rewind and change actions, if necessary, so there is plenty of room for experimentation. However, the problem is that there seems to be almost no depth to the combat in the first place. Your characters have a move based on action points and a single attack, and that’s pretty much it. There is a special attack you can build up a meter for, but this does little to diversify the battles.

This is not at all the usual grid experience where you have different skills and perhaps they affect different patterns on the grid. Nope! This is just move, attack, move again, and repeat. You can perform combos by attacking the same enemy with a party member for buffs and debuffs, but that does little to entertain. Essentially every battle had the same idea and structure to it in the Demonschool demo. It left the blandest possible impression. It made me wish I could just skip battles or turn on an auto feature. I imagine it gets a little deeper later on, but I’m not confident about that. It’s a shame, too, because everything else about this indie title seems stellar.

The characters are colorful and fun, and I enjoyed talking to them. The villains (or rival-like characters I met) left me intrigued and wanting to find out more about them. The gameplay structure for the daily life portions feels much more interesting and well done when compared to a game like Eternights. The art style is also notably fantastic, thanks to its grim, moody, and vibrant graphics.

The world felt fun to explore, while the story did enough to have me invested in what developer Necrosoft Games is cooking up. This is why it is such a shame Demonschool feels exactly how I felt about 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. The story, characters, exploration, and art style fire on all cylinders, but are severely let down by the forgettable and shallow combat.

Demonschool is currently planned for release on PC via Steam in 2024.

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It’s high time for Square Enix to give Dragon Quest the Final Fantasy treatment — at least in terms of games preservation. One of the best parts of the Final Fantasy series is how you can play almost every game on all modern platforms available today. In the same vein, we need all Dragon Quest games on all systems as well.

At this time if you boot up, say, your Nintendo Switch and look for a Dragon Quest game to play, you’ll find I-III, X (if you have a Japanese account), and XI. Sadly, that is the best situation for modern consoles and PC. In terms of mainline games, most other platforms only have Dragon Quest XI available right now.

The one caveat to Dragon Quest game preservation is how mobile devices gained access to most of the games in the series, but not all of them there either. In English, you can find the first six games plus the phenomenal Dragon Quest VIII. However, the seventh entry is only available in Japanese, while the ninth game on the Nintendo DS is tragically unavailable anywhere in the modern age. It is a pretty messy situation, especially if you are a console or PC player. This isn’t the case anymore for Final Fantasy ,with every single older game barring XI and XIII available on most systems these days. (But then, FFXI is still actively running on PCs.) With Square Enix freed up from the Pixel Remaster series of those titles, now feels like the perfect time to give Dragon Quest the same treatment.

Now, we already know about Dragon Quest III’s remake in the HD-2D style of Octopath Traveler. However, this remake is for a game that is already readily available. Not every game in the series even needs a remake, especially the latter ones. A Pixel Remaster-like series of IV-VI would work and be a pretty easy task for Square Enix to accomplish. Then, there are the existing 3DS ports of Dragon Quest VII and VIII, which are already great. They could come with little changes outside of higher resolution and single-screen display for modern systems.

Perhaps the biggest problem of them all is Dragon Quest IX. This unique and beloved title has been stuck on the DS since its initial release. It would need quite a few changes, due to its dual-screen system, messy UI, and graphics to run on a new platform. More than likely, there would need to be a genuine Dragon Quest IX remake of some kind. It would be nice to see one in the HD-2D vein like its predecessor. Perhaps that can come later down the line.

From there, the only other issue is the infamous Dragon Quest X MMO situation. Well, at least for fans outside of Japan. Fortunately, Dragon Quest X Offline now exists as a pure single-player version in Japanese. If Square Enix localizes this version for all modern platforms, it can complete the library.

In an ideal world, Square Enix would take action to make Dragon Quest games much more accessible and preserve them for years to come. Most of these feel like they might only need pretty easy solutions to bring them more people, which would also result in more profit for the publisher. As such, here’s hoping we get all Dragon Quest games on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC soon.

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Android and iOS storefronts offer an incredible selection of games you can play on your smartphone or tablet right now, including some solid free JRPGs. However, if you want the best paid mobile JRPGs that you pay for once and never have to worry about ads or anything like that, these are the games you should check out.

Best Paid Mobile JRPG for Retro Fans: Final Fantasy VI

The entire lineup of Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters are available on mobile for a premium price, much like their console and PC counterparts. While you could certainly pick up all of them, Final Fantasy VI is a true classic. The stunning and timeless SNES art is fantastic alongside the beautiful world to explore.

If this isn’t enough for you, I also suggest other classic JRPG remasters like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Final Fantasy IV 3D.

Best Mobile-Exclusive JRPG: Chaos Rings 3

While there are classics on Android and iOS, mobile also has its own set of exclusive games. One of the best is Chaos Rings 3 from Square Enix. Unfortunately, the first two games are unavailable at this time. However, the third title works well enough on its own. It features a Sora-like main character and several colorful worlds to explore. Its graphics might be simplistic, but the detailed characters and fun story make it worth a look.

Best Mobile JRPG for Console Fans: Dragon Quest VIII

While plenty of paid mobile JRPGs exist on Android and iOS, few have the console-level of 3D. If you want something with a bit more polygons but not sacrificing quality in the process, check out this port of Dragon Quest VIII. It arguably looks better than the 3DS port and even original PS2 version.

The only downside may be the touch-only controls. Fortunately, the massive world feels solid to explore with even just one hand. It all works so seamlessly you might forget you aren’t using a controller.

Best Paid Mobile JRPG for iOS: Fantasian

iOS has one of the best paid mobile JRPGs of all time available exclusively on it (for now). Fantasian is unique in you can’t purchase the game at this time. Instead, you need to be a subscriber to Apple Arcade. This is one of the strongest games from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi outside of his work at Square Enix.

It is a full-fledged JRPG with a beautiful world, memorable characters, and a fascinating hand-crafted diorama art style you just have to experience. Plus, it even has controller support for those who prefer a traditional control scheme.

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Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin was one of my favorite games for 2021 on Nintendo Switch, and I certainly consider it one of the most underrated JRPGs from this decade. The game is finally coming to PlayStation consoles with a long-awaited PS4 port. Three years later, it still feels good after spending a little time with this release.

It turns out, Monster Hunter Stories 2 works just as well on PS4 as it did back on the Nintendo Switch. Based on my early experience, it honestly may be even better. I never played this game on the PC, so I didn’t get to benefit from the performance and visual improvements there. Trying the port via my PS5 involved seeing some noticeable differences.

For one, the resolution is sharper. Monster Hunter Stories 2 looks better on a TV now than it did when I first played it in TV mode on the Switch. In addition, the performance in the game ensures its frame rate was pretty solid during my time testing this version. I used this opportunity to run through the first few opening hours I was quite familiar with already. The game wastes no time kicking off with a bombastic opening, before slowing down for a relaxing island life vibe as your player character — a Monster Rider rather than Hunter like the core series — sets out to learn the ropes.

The initial area of Hakolo Island instantly looked so much better in this version. The coastline looked stunning, while my custom character and the monsters didn’t look fuzzy or anything like I remember on Switch. The almost cel-shaded look of this JRPG looks so stunning when played with backwards compatibility on PS5.

Right off the bat, anyone who plays the core Monster Hunter games should know this is quite a different experience. And this is to its benefit. Monster Hunter Stories 2 on PS4 is more akin to the Pokemon titles. Players go around the world to various regions and collect eggs of various iconic monsters like the Rathalos. You then hatch these eggs to use monsters as your partners in battles. The battles themselves take place with a strict triangular elemental system.

This system boils down to the red attacks beating the green ones who beat the blue ones and so on. However, there is so much more to this system than meets the eye. For instance, you can find separately from your current monster partner at any time. This makes for a nice double battle type of situation. However, you can also hop on the back of your pal and team up together. This provides more powerful moves but at the cost of having your hearts shared together. It is a neat and surprisingly deep system, which leaves room for experimentation. After all, you are even able to have your Rider switch through the weapon types a la the core series during battle as well.

All of these different concepts can make the battles long and arduous, which mainline fans may be familiar with. There is immense challenge here to be found for those who desire it. For me, though, I just appreciate the idea of a high-quality, high-budget Pokemon-like game on PlayStation.

There just aren’t enough of these types of monster-collecting games of this caliber on the PlayStation. At least, outside of indie titles and some Digimon games. Monster Hunter Stories 2 is one of the finest examples of this engrossing concept and it reeled me in faster than any of the core series titles ever did when it first came out, and the PS4 release seems poised to do the same. If the first few hours of hatching eggs and completing side quests are anything to go by, this gorgeous and smoother port on PlayStation will likely reel me in once again.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin releases on the PS4 on June 14, 2024.

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Anyone who has been a Final Fantasy XIV player for a couple of expansions likely knows Square Enix isn’t immune to mistakes. Though the game is nearly MMORPG perfection, its biggest issues come from the strange and often unwarranted job changes. Thankfully for Dawntrail, it looks like the FFXIV job changes could be much more welcome, especially for Sage and Red Mage.

I am personally invested in both the changes to the Red Mage and Sage, as they are both my two main jobs in FFXIV. Red Mage is the one I often use for endgame content when I don’t want to be a healer, while Sage is the role I main during story content. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like that will be changing in the new expansion.

Back in the day, I used Summoner between launch and for several expansions, until it was ruined by job changes. Fortunately, Red Mage and Sage are seemingly all the better going into FFXIV Dawntrail. Take the Red Mage, which has two key changes. The first is to make Manafication work better for the player. Instead of granting 50 Black and White Mana, it now just lets the player use the three-step enchanted sword combo for free.

This means being able to use the Verholy or Verflare combo for free as always, but not at the cost of mana. In addition, one of the most useless parts of the Red Mage — Enchanted Moulinet — is now viable. It uses 50 mana, so it is more possible to use as an AOE attack. Overall, it seems these changes enhance the Red Mage in FFXIV, all without taking away what makes it great.

I am still curious to see if Manafication comes with its buff, but I am confident nonetheless. The skill rotation for Red Mage should be even smoother now. After all, you don’t have to obsess as much about having a perfect 50 and 50 Black and White Mana gauge before using Manafication. In addition, if you’re like me, you don’t have to ignore Enchanted Moulinet due to its uselessness. This makes Red Mage a much better class at both single targets and mobs alike.

When it comes to Sage, this is my favorite healer job for a reason. It is the perfect blend of DPS and healing, and its FFXIV Dawntrail changes further that idea. For starters, Eukrasia now properly enhances the damage over time Dyskrasia. This new version acts as an AOE damage over time, affecting multiple enemies at once.

If you are like me, you have spent way too much time trying to apply damage over time to multiple enemies and not enough time doing what you’re supposed to be. This fixes that issue so us Sages can focus on what really matters. The other key change is a new action that gives Kardion for everyone in the party. It seems to be limited in how it works with likely a long cooldown if I had to guess. That said, it is nice to be able to temporarily extend all of the healing capabilities of Kardion to everyone.

These FFXIV Sage job changes in Dawntrail will ensure it is the most flexible healer around. You can focus purely on DPS at times since the new action will heal everyone for all the damage you do. In addition, the new AOE damage over time skill means you deal damage more often and much faster.

While there are other great job changes for the new expansion, I am comfortable in saying Red Mage and Sage got some of the best ones. These FFXIV Red Mage and Sage changes in Dawntrail may not be as drastic as others. However, they don’t have to be. They enhance the existing strengths of both jobs while fixing their few weaknesses. If you’re looking for a DPS or healer to main in Dawntrail, I certainly suggest Red Mage and Sage.

Final Fantasy XIV is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Dawntrail will release on July 2, 2024.

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The Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) series inspired many offshoots like games, coloring books, and other activities for fans to check out, but Sweep the Board is by far the most unique one. This particular video game adaptation involves a board game-like experience, with a twists on the Mario Party formula.

Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board is a game any fan of the Kimetsu no Yaiba series and video games should check out, especially if you have friends or family to play with. It is essentially a board game with various minigames, similar to Mario Party, but with a ton of different demon-themed twists. For one, there are multiple boards to pick from, including iconic locations from the series like Mugen Train and the Entertainment District in Tokyo. What I love about this is that the different boards have so much more to them than a simple swap of scenery. Like Mario Party, some boards have unique mechanics, such as a boat you can pay to fast travel to spots around the map with ease. Other boards have different demons to battle, including ones themed around those specific spots.

Regardless, the basics of this board game boil down to four players competing against one another. You pick which slayer to play as, then roll dice to move around the map of your choosing. Each space, as you might expect, does different things, such as causing a short minigame, granting a player some money, or even causing a negative effect that will make it more difficult for you to succeed.

While players roll the dice and move across the board, there are goals for the each one to complete. What I like about Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board is it doesn’t follow the usual linear pattern of similar board games like Mario Party. There is no usual “end” or “goal” to reach. Instead, the map picks random spots for players to reach on the board as their current mission. The first person to reach that spot gets rank points, which helps the player to rank up through the Slayer Corps.

Once a mission is complete, Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board usually shifts from daytime to night. This is when the demons come out to play. The board becomes filled with much more negative effects. A new mission will appear, which involves scouting out and defeating a specific demon located somewhere randomly on the board.

This is when the bulk of the minigames happen in Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board. Battles with the demons are often lengthy affairs with multiple stages to them. Players might hold down the button to dodge for one turn. Then in the next minigame, they might mash the button over and over to slice away at the foe. The better the players do in the minigames, the more points they earn in the results. While I preferred the button inputs, there are motion controls for the minigames as well. These involve swinging the joy-cons in certain manners. They are mostly novel, but fun enough to make the minigames enjoyable for those who like this style of control scheme.

In the end, the goal to win in Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board is to earn the highest rank and have money by the end of the allotted turns. If two players have the same rank, the winner is based on how much money they have. This is intriguing, since you can spend money on items like more dice or fast travel to influence things

Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board thrives on this fascinating cycle of daily missions per turn. So, it creates two main goals. One is trying to reach each mission point first, and the other is to do the best in the minigames. The only issue is each mission point is random and can appear anywhere on the map. For instance, there was one game where I was in dead last because of the poor dice rolls. But then a mission appeared near me, and I was able to reach it first. Within the span of two turns, I went from last to first place right near the end of the game.

What I also appreciated about Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board is it works extremely well both alone and with others. Most of the time, board games like these are only solid with friends or family. However, I found it works surprisingly well with just the AI. I played quite a few rounds with three CPU players and never had a bad time. The AI characters work well and keep the challenge high enough.

If there is anything that holds Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board back, it is mainly the presentation. I played this on Nintendo Switch OLED, and the character models look awful. The general environments are fine, but there is a severe lack of detail for the characters. They look worse than some mediocre mobile games I’ve seen. There is no excusing how bad these fan-favorite slayers and demons look. Especiall when compared to how Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles looks on the Switch.

Overall, Demon Slayer Sweep the Board is the prime board game iteration of the series for fans. While it won’t be as welcome an experience for newcomers, it is an excellent departure from the core series. The boards are varied in stellar ways, while the minigames have great controls. The non-linear nature of the missions mean it works well no matter how you play. Whether you have a party of friends to play with or just want to compete against the CPU, it all works better than I expected. It’s just a shame the characters lack so much detail visually.

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba Sweep the Board is available right now for Nintendo Switch. PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC versions are on the way.

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