The longest-running Japanese RPG series you’ve never heard of, The Legend of Heroes began a new arc of its subset Trails series in 2013, starting with The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel on PS3, which developer Nihon Falcom subsequently ported worldwide to the PS4 in 2019. A school-based life simulation JRPG, Trails of Cold Steel follows Rean Schwarzer and the whole of Class VII as they join Thors, a prestigious military academy, and has you live out their lives starting from the beginning of their first school year.  

I hope you enjoyed your time at school as Trails of Cold Steel is going to take you right back, flood you with lore, test you in an exam and then place your results on a board with all the other students. Isn’t immersion wonderful? 

The school is the perfect insular setting to allow the story to focus on Class VII’s relationships and plays out a lot like a season of anime episodes, with the game’s visuals, lengthy conversations and a slow-burn slice of life theme very much aiding that experience. You learn about your diverse classmates’ lives in great detail, visiting their largely eEropean-styled hometowns and families on your field trips that allow the characters to learn about the huge divisions and inequality in society. 

It’s a slow and incredibly meticulous ride that becomes ever more engrossing, adding layer upon layer to its story with each passing chapter. Your days are divided into mornings and afternoons and give you plenty of ways to use your time however you wish, whether that’s completing the main or side missions, building social bonds or taking part in other activities such as cooking, fishing or playing cards; there is a tremendous selection of things on offer to keep the player amused. 

The social bonding events, which share a similarity to the Persona series, vary from going shopping with classmates to listening to them play music and have the dual effect of unlocking battle abilities between the two characters and building a rapport with them. While the events don’t affect the main story as a whole, your choices do affect certain scenes in the game adding a nice customizable touch to the experience. Unfortunately, the number of possible events is more numerous than the number you can choose each day which forces those who wish to experience them all to replay the game through New Game+.

It isn’t just the school-based characters that are given the time to develop, however, as the game’s forays into the outer world provide a world-building that few games are able to match, with nations given a history, maps and political parties. There are countless influential groups attempting to change the world at large, with the game providing a weight to their importance and brilliantly hanging the unease of potential conflict over the story’s head while contrasting it with Class VII’s safe and comforting school environment.

Dungeon-crawling, synonymous with the genre, is basic and accessible allowing you to lower the difficulty of the battles after each lost encounter. The turn-based combat system builds upon the system used in the series’ previous games and requires that you fight opponents in a small area, where you can manoeuvre yourself into strategic advantages as well as working separately to attack opponents. The addition of group actions in both attack and defence as well as the ability to initiate special moves at any time, add interesting tactical elements that can decimate opponents with effective timing and planning.

Despite the game’s duration providing a great platform for its storytelling and world-building, it’s too long, forcing themes to repeat unnecessarily. As a result, Rean and his group of rather serious classmates are constantly re-evaluating their lives in the coming of age story, giving ‘inspirational’ speeches with eye-rolling frequency and leaving nothing inferred. This in addition to the story waiting until its final hours to figuratively blow off the academy doors, suggests the 60-hour text-heavy title is trying too hard to set up the series’ story arc. Having said that, the ending did have me at the edge of my seat and I’m very intrigued to see how the story progresses in the sequels.

Unfortunately, while Trails of Cold Steel‘s remaster does receive some improvements – in resolution, frame rate, dual audio and further voice acting – it’s the right solution to the wrong problem and does very little to prevent the already basic assets, animation and NPC mechanics from feeling woefully outdated. Low-quality textures affect the small and sparsely-filled maps, robotic character models interact poorly with the environment, and towns with ‘huge bustling crowds’ equate to 5 very similar looking NPCs walking around in circles. Another addition is a Turbo Mode which gives you the ability to speed up the remaster’s cutscenes and slow pacing. It also acts as a ‘run’ button, but somehow manages to animate your character nauseatingly fast and can’t be adjusted.

Trails of Cold Steel‘s remaster might just be the best version of the game, but the developer’s barely passable effort makes it hard to recommend as a repeat purchase, with the Japanese audio being the only worthwhile addition. For anime and JRPG fans who haven’t ventured onto Class VII’s campus, it’s an easy recommendation with its excellently crafted world likely to inspire many to embark on the 4-game journey. While its niche appeal might deter a wider audience, those who do give it a shot are unlikely to come away disappointed, despite its rough edges.

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to work we go!

It’s nearly impossible to play Hammerting and not make comparisons. It’s one of those games that is unique in many ways, but is best described as an amalgam of multiple genres. The game is a hybrid of a dungeon-builder, a resource manager, and a sandbox game. Your task is to juggle recruiting an army of dwarven workers while simultaneously attempting to complete missions in the outside world.

Like I said, to those with experience in any one of these genres, the style of Hammerting will be relatively familiar. You recruit dwarves and build structures using resources gathered by the troops you’ve built. It’s simple. Once they’ve arrived, you put your workers to use in various ways. You can have them build structures, mine the depths of the mountain for ore, or fight their way through ancient tunnels.

Here’s the issue. When a game is built on such a simple premise, its success (or lack thereof) is predicated on the execution of a few core mechanics. If your entire game is based on the way in which these interact with one another, when you encounter even a minor hiccup, you have major problems. In Hammerting, the clear weak link in the chain is the behaviour of your dwarven workers. They’re absurdly difficult to control and often get completely sidetracked by pathing issues.

First, credit where credit is due: Warpzone Studios is making an honest effort to address these bugs. During the course of my playthrough, they released a hotfix for the elevators which turned them away from a dwarven graveyard back towards their intended function. But while elevators were the most egregious example of bad pathing, my dwarves still encountered plenty of problems during basic play. Even while sitting back, passively letting them build structures, the dwarves would find the strangest solutions to simple problems. If they needed to gather copper ore, for instance, they’d end up running towards it, and then back to their starting location, only to return to the same spot to collect it.

For me, bugs like pathing issues are just that: bugs. Sure, they’re annoying, and at worst, they can be game breaking, but they will be eventually fixed. The studio will probably lose a lot of players initially over the whacky pathing and other issues, but as it is smoothed out, they’ll find a loyal fanbase.

A problem I can’t overlook; however, especially with Hammerting, is fundamentally poor design.

The combat. Oh, lord, the combat. Can it even be called that? Typically, in fantasy lore, dwarves are described as battle-hardened warriors who are no stranger to a fight. In Hammerting, the dwarves have decided that the best tactic is to simply smash into the enemy and begin a health race to the bottom. If that wasn’t bad enough, rats, goblins, and slimes prove to be more than formidable opponents. They lay waste to my dwarves time and time again. Remember the pathing issues? Here’s when they actually start to bother me. Nearly every single time one of my dwarves is getting destroyed in a lopsided fight, the reinforcements arrive far too late because they’re running all over.

I feel like I’m being fairly hard on Hammerting. Let me be clear: this game has potential. It’s just not there yet. The graphics are beautiful. They’ve done an excellent job with the lighting and the depth of the environment. And, though mired by poor execution, the concept is fresh and intriguing. Oddly enough, the obvious issues that are plaguing Hammerting might be a positive for Warpzone Studios. They know exactly what they have to address. Once they can sort out the pathing issues and revamp the combat system, they’ll already be lightyears ahead of where they are now.

Unfortunately, in its current form, Hammerting is a concept and not much more. There are sporadic moments of enjoyment that are inevitably bogged down by bugs and the other underlying issues. Fine. Let’s assume that the bugs and glitches will be worked out. Then, the studio only really has two major problems. The combat is flat and frustrating. They need to introduce some diversity there (perhaps ranged weapons, stationary turrets, or the like). Beyond that, the game desperately needs a more clear overarching goal. What’s the point of all this production? Currently, the overland map and the work done under the mountain feel like two distinct games. Hammerting is an unearthed gem waiting to be polished. Warpzone Studios just has to keep digging.

For those that remember, Space Channel 5 started off as a Dreamcast title way back in 1999. For those that played it, the game itself hasn’t changed very much. In some areas I would even say it looks and performs worse than its first iteration. Button presses have given way to motion controllers, that’s probably it’s biggest departure. A mixture of a short experience, poor character movements, and several quality of life issues make for a rough time.

Dance the Night Away…for about Half an Hour

I’m just going to go ahead and get this one out of the way. The SC5 will set you back around $25 for the PSVR. The “campaign” will last you right around the 30 minute mark, spread out over four levels. So the core of SC5 will cost you just under a dollar per minute. There are a few additional modes to pad out the game play, like an arcade and exercise mode. However, I wasn’t able to find anything that could redeem it.

Overall the motion works…except for when it doesn’t. One or two of the primary dance moves never consistently translated through the motion tracking reliably. This in and of itself wouldn’t be too bad, however when you couple this with the 3 strikes and your out play style and the intros that can’t be skipped, the frustration begins to build rather quickly.

In addition, the visuals are subpar at best. Character lines are harsh, and character models are just bad. The animations aren’t much better, if in fact at all. In many instances, the background dancers have the same issues that many other older/cheaper games do. Those awkward moments where the NPC’s movements don’t align with the game’s design happen far too often.

The entire game consists of watching several alien invaders dance in front of you. Your task is to memorize their patterns, then repeat them at ever increasing speed. Completing this efficiently saves all of the innocent humans being held hostage in an everlasting dance routine. That’s pretty much the extent of the background, but I suppose for a dance routine game not much else is needed.

Around the Rough Edges

SC5 does do a few things well. The campiness is very well done. Everything that occurs and is stated in the game fits the overall tone and not much strays from that path. If saving humans from being doomed to a life of being a dance slave doesn’t drive the point home nothing will. Another plus being that in some sections you are required to move your entire body to match the movements seen on screen. Side stepping left or right in order to dodge incoming alien lasers seems overly simple, but when 90% of the game is moving your hand left or right the variety really helps to freshen it up.

The feeling of stepping back in time 20 years is a big bonus as well. The main character in the original, Ulala, is now your mentor as you become a fledgling journalist that must learn the ropes. This set up allows for an easier way to keep track of movement cues, as she acts as your guide throughout each level. For the most part this works, save for a few instances when you’re first learning the moves and her guidance leaves a good bit to be desired.

Dancing with the Past

There isn’t much I can recommend within SC5. The few positives were all brought from twenty years ago and haven’t been improved upon. There was a lot that could’ve been done, but it seems like a cash grab on the franchise instead of a passion project from lifelong fans. If you were fans of the previous entries, by all means go for it, but I would not make this a jumping in point for any newcomers.

The sporting world may have had to make some noticeable adjustments over the last year, but in the world of Football Manager 2021 (FM21), its business as usual. The latest instalment in the beloved franchise from Sports Interactive, FM21 promises to build upon the series’ success with a host of new features, revamped match engine, and the all-important inclusion of Brexit’s impact on the beautiful game. Much like previous entries, players can make their choice between three versions of the game – FM21, FM21 Touch, and FM21 Mobile – with many of the new (and old) features being watered-down for the latter two options. In addition, this year Football Manager makes its long-awaited return to Xbox with ‘FM21 Xbox’, sharing many similarities to the ‘Touch’ Version. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this review, I will solely focus on the full game, as it provides what I consider to be the full FM21 experience. Of course, players may wish to opt for the more streamlined versions, however you may find some of the subsequently-mentioned additions absent from your game. For those seeking the full managerial experience though, tracksuit-and-all, let’s dive right into what you can expect from this year’s release.

Before getting into the new, let’s first take a look at old. For the most part, anyone familiar with the series will likely feel right at home in FM21. Your social feed, tactics menu, and more are all still present in FM21, with some minor adjustments to the UI here-and-there. For example, players’ role familiarity is now hidden away in their profile menu, rather than directly on the tactics board. The changes are relatively unnoticeable though, and seasoned veterans will likely already know multiple ways of assessing the various aspects of their chosen club. Indeed, the series continues to do a fantastic job of providing depth and complexity to its gameplay loop, helping give a real sense of agency and accomplishment to players. Overall, on the surface, there are no noticeable absentees from FM20, and so you can expect just as rich of an experience this time around.

Well then, what’s new? The addition that will probably stand-out most to players in FM21 is the changes to the interactions system. Quick chats with players, agents and staff are all useful in making informed decisions, and improved conversation UI and dialogue options certainly add to the experience of haggling down wage demands (and more). However, it is the new gestures mechanic that offers the most noticeable change to interactions in FM21. The implementation of gestures to conversations with your players, staff, etc, can feel a bit gimmicky at times, however for the most part helps create a greater sense of immersion. Deciding to throw a water bottle before demanding improvement during your half-time team talk, for example, can make the difference needed to ensure your players clinch back their two goal deficit. Conversely, you might have just pissed off the entire team. Although these gestures largely don’t make a massive difference to your interactions, I can certainly say they are a welcome addition. I had endless fun demonstrating my stance in contract negotiations with stubborn players by kicking a chair halfway across the room. It is the combination of these gestures with the existing dialogue system that goes a long way in creating a greater sense of realism in FM21, even if the effects of such can seem minimal. Ultimately though, Sports Interactive have done well to add greater depth here, without having to change the fundamentals.

However, what really drives the experience of playing FM21, as opposed to its predecessors, can be found under the hood. Sports Interactive has decided to make some significant changes to the match engine in FM21, promising much more varied gameplay, as well as greater success with different tactical systems. Previous instalments have often been overshadowed by overpowered tactics, which can almost guarantee success, and an easy ride to the top of the footballing world. Subsequently, players can feel limited in their options, and for the game that offers so much, only having a small fraction of it worth exploring is a significant issue. However, with FM21, there is a much greater balance between different tactics, and how your choices impact what happens on the pitch. Player AI has a significantly greater element of randomness (within reason) in all areas of the pitch, meaning that copying-and-pasting tactics you’ve found online isn’t as cut-and-dry as it once was. This is something I welcome with open arms, as one of my gripes with the series has been the sense that if I set things up a certain way, I can let the game manage itself. FM21 encourages you to pay closer attention to your individual players, and ultimately gives a much more satisfactory pay-off for the decisions you make. Although this doesn’t come without its flaws (bizarre player animations can make deciphering play somewhat difficult), FM21 does offer players a much improved experience on matchday.

Speaking of matchday, there are changes more visible to players whilst managing their team from the side-line. Changes to the matchday UI are welcome, and offer a smooth, sleek experience. Similarly, pop-up advice from your staff is far less intrusive, and significantly more helpful. One of the reasons for this is the inclusion of Expected Goals (xG) in your match analysis, which goes a long way in helping breaking down what is going wrong (or right) with your team. Anyone familiar with the Football Manager series knows how overwhelming the plethora of text boxes, stats and graphs can be for those unaccustomed to them (more on this later), and so small additions like this help bridge that gap between being a complete novice, and an expert data analyst. Again, much like the new features previously mentioned, what makes FM21 shine is the attempt by the developers to create a more digestible, engaging experience.

This is evident in other areas of the game too, such as the inclusion of recruitment meetings, aiming to help streamline the scouting and transfer experience. As someone who often gets lost in the immeasurable number of responsibilities held by a football manager, having opportunities to break down one of the most essential elements of this experience with your staff helps enormously. Similarly, when scouting a player, you now have the option to quickly contact their agent, which can provide a host of useful information, such as their expected transfer fee and more. Again, having greater access to this information is invaluable, not only to new players, but those who have been with the series for several years. Nevertheless, as I mentioned earlier, I do want to discuss the overwhelming nature of FM21, as despite the successes in improving accessibility, I think offering a more comprehensive tutorial would be incredibly useful for new players. Something akin to being taught how to catch your first Pokémon, having a step-by-step guide BEFORE entering a new save would allow players to experiment with the game’s many features without potentially making a slew of season-ending decisions in their first month in charge. Of course, there are many tutorial just like this online, but having them in-game is something I feel Sports Interactive should consider implementing. Nevertheless, I certainly applaud their attempts to improve the experience for new players in FM21.

Before I finish, I just wanted to mention a couple of things in regards to visual and audio design. Much like its predecessors, sound is almost completely absent from FM21. Unless I missed a memo, the ONLY option I saw was for switching on/off matchday SFX, which is basic at best. Similarly, although the visual design for a majority of the game is perfectly acceptable, matchday animations and visuals are in serious need of improvement. I understand that these two elements will always take a backseat in the series, as developers prioritise gameplay enhancements. This is great actually, as I, and I’m sure many others, would much prefer excellent gameplay with lacklustre visuals/audio, than vice versa. However, I feel like this is an area that should Sports Interactive focus on, would lift the experience of Football Manager to new heights.

So to conclude, FM21 offers a bit of something to players both new and old. Largely a familiar experience to previous entries, fans of the series will find all the fundamentals they already know, with a few bells and whistles thrown on for good measure. The improved matchday engine provides the most significant of the changes noted in FM21, and this goes a long way in creating the sense of immersion and agency the series is known for. New players are given more of a helping hand with features such as recruitment meetings and matchday xG, but Sports Interactive still has someway to go in making the game more accessible for these players. I have noted some minor gripes with the visual and audio design, however I can appreciate that these will remain secondary to the core gameplay loop. Overall, FM21 offers a familiar, rich and enjoyable experience, and one that keeps the series on an upward trajectory towards greatness.