Category: Action RPGs

Elden Ring

Armdog

I’ll start this review for Elden Ring with some comparisons. The first From Software (Elden Ring’s developer) game I played was Dark Souls. I am not especially skilled when it comes to games, so I died quite a lot. I also became frustrated enough to stop playing fairly often. Strangely though, I grew to love the game; it was memorable due to the difficulty, sense of accomplishment I had when finally overcoming something, and its uniquely beautiful but melancholy in-game world. Elden Ring is a natural evolution from Dark Souls;…

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Tales of Arise

Armdog

Back in the early 00s, the “Tales” series from Namco captured my interest with two incredible games – Tales of Symphony and Tales of Destiny II. These games, along with Star Ocean 2, introduced me to the “action RPG” style that would become one of my favorite gaming sub-genres. Essentially, these games still utilize the classic RPG stables like HP (character life meter), MP (available magic), and various stats to govern player strength. They also feature variants of fantasy world adventures, like swords, dramatic villains, and constantly battling monsters. The…

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Elder Scrolls V Skyrim

Armdog

Considering the fact that I’ve played Elder Scrolls V Skyrim so much, and purchased so many DLCs and editions, I guess I have to say I love Skyrim. You can’t have played a game for hundreds of hours total and not admit it’s one of your favorite games of all time. But the game does have flaws. Most significantly, the combat is very shallow. Skyrim is the ultimate fantasy/RPG sandbox though. There is a tremendous modding community, allowing you to change and add significant fun content. If you’ve never played,…

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Ashen

Armdog

I’m one of a specific type when it comes to this game. I’ve been waiting for it for a long time, but refused to spread out my game library across another store/platform. So I had to wait for a year for it to come to Steam. Now that it’s here, I bought it. The game is beautiful with a very compelling atmosphere to it. Unfortunately, I also found the game to be very hard. I struggle with games that have extremely punishing combat, and I’ve never been a fan of…

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Ni No Kuni Wrath Of The White Witch

Armdog

My long term fondness for certain games is often driven by memories associated with them. For example, some of the old SNES RPGs like Final Fantasy III and Secret of Mana trigger positive memories from my childhood. Wrath of the White Which reminds me of some tough life events I worked through, so it’s a rare modern game that has similar nostalgia power for me. It’s also a really great game and successfully brings some of that 1990s-style SNES RPG flavor back. Here are the basics on this game: You’re…

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Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen

Armdog

I’ll get this out of the way from the top; Dragon’s Dogma is one of my favorite games of all time. But it’s not without flaws. The combat is phenomenal and is what I wish other games in the genre would use as a template for their combat systems. The skill setup, classes, and gear have significant depth and are implemented well. The pawn concept is also really well done. But some might find the world a little sparse compared to massive fantasy games like The Witcher 3. The story…

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