Gaming off the Beaten Path

So it looks like it's time for yet another GOTBP end of year review. I know I say it every year, but I can't believe I'm still doing this going on seven years. I have to say I've been a little disappointed in myself this year, I absolutely slacked on the number of reviews I put out. I felt myself slowing down in a lot of ways and I want to make it a point next year to try and get back to putting out more consistent reviews. I guess it's sort of my resolution this year. Hey, everything is coming full circle, this whole thing started as a resolution. As we continue with said circle, it's time to look at this year's scores. Remember, I give awards for Game of the Year, worst game, most surprising, most disappointing and best candidate for a modern update/remake. 10s games aren't eligible for any of these awards. A reminder of the scores:  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 9.5/10 Garou: Mark of the Wolves - 9.5/10 Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - ...

Last week, we started our look at Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one of 2025's most hyped games. E33 has cleaned up at every major gaming awards show, and for good reason. It features a unique and amazing world, a gripping story and spectacular soundtrack that has captivated millions of gamers. All of those things make for a great movie...but this isn't a movie, now is it. Here, we have gameplay to discuss. Did it live up to the high standard set by its narrative? Well, let's see. It may be French in origin, but E33 plays like a classic, turn-based JRPG. I talked a little bit about this last week, but it was so nice to see a game that played like this, at least a core level, receive the amount of reverence it has. It has the combat, the dungeons, the exploration, the pacing, all the hallmarks of the genre that those of us that grew up in the 90's came to know and love. You have turn based combat, a world map, tons of sidequests, all of the things that made these games so ...

I may as well finish the year with a bang. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, you've probably heard of the latest and greatest turn based RPG that's taking the gaming world by storm. It seems that these games are popping up every year now, something I absolutely love to see. It was less than 10 years ago that the general consensus was that these games were all but dead, made all but obsolete by bigger, better open world and action games that allowed for a more "true" role playing experience. I'm not going to get into that now, because I have strong feelings about that, but it feels like it was the mindset of the gaming community at large for the entirety of the 7th and majority of the 8th console generations. Console RPGs were all but dead, relegated to a niche genre for weirdos full of doe eyed chibis and unnecessary fan service. The genre that seemed to spawn new IPs left and right was all the sudden focused on a few core series, Ta...

Unfortunately, I just learned a few weeks ago that this game exists. I thought I was done with these two, I really did. I reviewed The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends in year one, and it was one of the few games from the early days that I had expectations for going in. And those expectations were very, very low. Every gaming content creator, big or small, blogger or YouTuber, retro or modern, seems to have "that game" that they absolutely hate. The Angry Video Game Nerd infamously despises Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES, for example. Well for me, Rocky and Bullwinkle for the NES is, was and always will be "that game." Simply put, that game made me realize that videogames could, in fact, suck. I had a lot of "bad" games, but most of them offered something, anything that would make you keep playing. Gaming is always better than not gaming, right? I used to think that way as a kid, at least before I played Rocky and Bullwinkle. I remembe...

Last time out, we started our look into XBox 360 action RPG Infinite Undiscovery, covering its story and characters. You should go back and take a look at part 1, whether its on the blog or the pod. But to summarize, IU was, to put it nicely, not great in those categories. Did the gameplay fair any better? Well, I guess I would answer that question with an emphatic "kind of." It may have had a nonsense story with lame characters, but IU definitely has a few bright spots in the gameplay department. A lot more of the experimentation hit here, though there were still plenty of mechanics that could have stood to be cut. Interestingly enough, many IU's gameplay pitfalls were caused by the same mindset as the story's problem. If I could use two words to describe the narrative, they would be "nonsensical" and "bloated." Fortunately, only the latter applied to the gameplay. But before I talk about the bad, I will give IU credit for a few things it did well...

It's once time to take a look at an RPG from an unlikely source. I've already talked about this, but the XBox consoles have never really been known for the genre. While I do think this was initially by design, I think it was also something that Microsoft realized was something of a mistake. I'm sure there were plenty of bro gamers that wanted to delve into a title with a dense narrative between finishing Tony Hawk levels and binging on Mountain Dew. In all seriousness, I think Microsoft eventually made a conscious effort to bring more RPGs into their eco system, particularly during the 7th generation. While there weren't a huge number of entries in the genre on the XBox 360, the few the console did have tend to have something of a reputation as cult classics. Last year, I looked at one of those games, the absolutely exceptional Lost Odyssey. I am going to reiterate now, you should believe the hype surrounding that title, especially if you are an old school RPG fan. It...

As much as I love digging into new console libraries, it can sometimes be challenging to know where to start. I've looked at a few games on the TurboGrafx-16 at this point, and I certainly plan on checking out a few more. But again, there's the question of how to pick which ones to try next. Do I try and stick with the more well renowned titles on the console, or do I try to keep looking at titles that are less well known. Looking at the better games ensures you are giving the console a fair shake. But at the end of the day, my purpose here is to look at forgotten titles and that means going the latter path. So, which is it. Well, I guess I'll do a little bit of both. And besides, you could probably argue every game on the TG16 is "off the beaten path" in the eyes of a North American gamer, at least the ones that aren't ports. I also think that when you are looking at genres that aren't necessarily your favorite, you really want to look at better example...

I haven't really been in a survival horror mood as of late, so I had to find another way to keep it spooky this Halloween. I mean, few gaming series have their roots as deep in classic horror as Castlevania. I wouldn't exactly call these games scary, but they definitely lean heavily into that spooky season aesthetic that everybody is looking for this time of year. It's not exactly an "Off the Beaten Path" franchise, but it is one I'm not overly familiar with. I have certainly played the games before, I am a huge fan of Symphony of the Night and the lesser know Lament of Innocence was one of the first games I ever reviewed, but it's not a series that I am super heavily invested in. I've played most of the mainline ones, but not necessarily to completion, but I haven't really branched out to many of the lesser known titles. I certainly haven't played any of the handheld entries in the franchise before. Speaking of things that are scary, I kind ...