Recent reviews by Breoc

I haven't completed the game just yet, so will edit this as I complete. I'm guessing like I'm 75-80% done at the time of writing.

Nioh 3 is a good addition to the series, but not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. I would plug it in at an above average 6/10 rating.

The story is a bit wild, including time travel and dimensional warps with samurai, ninjas, and demons.

The music is thematically in tune with Nioh 1/2. It's good and fits the levels and the environment, but you won't find any masterpieces that sets it apart from other games.

Before the game's release, I recall a lot of talk of open world being a big shift. There is open world, but not in an Elden Ring or Breath of the Wild sense where you can go all over and explore in any order you want doing whatever the world allows. The game has specific zones that all have goals and level ranges. If you compared this to Nioh 2, the worlds interconnect but each zone is effectively a Nioh 2 level. The first main act of the game achieves this world openness best, and then the game slowly degrades back into Nioh 2 type levels where you are forced down a tunnelling path to complete the zone goals.

Lastly, the shifts between Samurai and Ninja is unique but doesn't fundamentally change the core battle mechanics from 1/2. Samurai, I play like Sekiro with parry and reactions. Ninja, I play more like a dodge souls like character. You can go back and forth, which is neat but doesn't really change how I played Nioh 1 or 2 enough to increase my scoring of the game. It's how you do the yokai break so it adds onto that Nioh 2 mechanic in a new way, but it's essentially the same thing.

If you like Nioh 1 and 2, you'll like Nioh 3. But, my biggest gripe with the game is there is no real innovation. This is still an action rpg soulslike looter game, but it could have been Nioh 2.5 instead of 3 and no one would have batted an eye. The graphics are basically the same as Nioh 2, slightly improved at best. The music is basically the same as Nioh 2. The core game play is the same as Nioh 2.

I never ran into any lag or stuttering, or other issues. In that sense, the game is extremely smooth and the release has been well done.

More Nioh isn't a bad thing and you'll likely get your money's worth if you play through the game and dlc but I can't believe I paid $100 for a new Nioh game (and yet unreleased DLC). I can't recommend it at this price point because this is a game that is better played on a deep sale; the new samurai/ninja and weird story mixed with the lack of overall innovation doesn't warrant the steep price tag.

Not for me. I like souls games, I like boss rushes, but this is a bit extreme on the difficulty scale. You have to angle arrows in the exact right way for certain bosses (looking at you Knight Elhanan).

I'm sure this is a perfect game for someone, but I'm deleting it...

This is a fun love letter to old school gameboy Zelda games and mixes it with Bloodborne. There is a lot to like about this game. And, I do recommend it.

The simplicity of it is the most attractive feature - you don't have to worry about upgrading weapons, you just have to find them and use them. It has some classic in there like the bomb and hookshot, which really shine in exploring dungeons and retracing your steps through the maps to find new secrets with new weapons.

The music is decent, but at the caliber of an older game boy game.

The story is there, but also light, hidden behind random npcs you find along the way.

The boss fights were a little over tuned for the type of combat system that existed, but the only one that gave me any pause or struggle was the final boss.

Again, I'd highly recommend this one. I think it's worth full price but you'll get ~10 hours out of this. I finished the game at 96% completion, so have a handful of things I could go back to find, but beat the game at 9 hours.

As a unit, I will recommend buying this game. I also bought the game during the last winter sale, so I didn't spend the full $50 to buy it. But, if you haven't played it, I think $50 for 2 games is reasonable.

What I don't like: launching the game starts a "launcher" that you can then start Lunar 1 or 2 from, so the opening and closing of the games are a bit clunky. However, once you get the game started, it seems to work just fine.

Aside from those points, I'll break out my reviews by game:

Lunar: Silver Star Story

I have never played Lunar before. I started the Remaster Collection with Lunar: Silver Star Story (1st game). I like the story, I like the music, I like the cut scenes, I like the combat, and I like the classic JRPG elements like talking to people in town to figure out where to go. There are definitely some influences from other beloved JRPGs that you'll pick up on, especially Chrono Trigger even if they are just homages. For instance, the overworld map looks very similar to CT and you'll also come across a magical floating city. These are relatively minor but I think they are clear reflections.

Also, the menu takes some getting used to but being different doesn't automatically mean bad.

Since I never played these at original release, I don't know how much was added or changed, but the auto battle functions are pretty good too. You can optimize it by filtering abilities your characters use or don't.

Having said that, Lunar 1 only took me ~14 hours to complete; and, I got most of the Lunar 1 achievements so you are probably looking at ~25-30 hours for a 100% run.

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue

This sequel takes place 1000 years after SSS. It's a considerable step down in multiple ways.

First, the AI is considerably worse than in SSS so it's easier/better in combat to control every action, which slows down the fights. Second, there are many more monsters on the map between you and your goal than in SSS so you'll end up fighting more with slower fights.

Early in the game, you fight mobs way harder for the early game of SSS. I got a game over 3x on the first tutorial map and about 15 times in the first hour of game play. You'll soon go through a desert that has beetles that both double hit and poison before you even have a way to remove poison. I almost turned the game off and deleted, but I'm a masochist so continued playing.

The menu, specifically tied to equipment, is a bit easier to navigate than in SSS. This was a small nod in the right direction. As you level, some of your spells evolve or adapt and this is a neat mechanic that could have been taken further.

The music feels more like DQ than the prior game, which isn't bad but you can definitely feel where the influences have shifted from CT to a more 'hard core' jrpg.

From a story perspective, it's not as clean cut or as good as SSS. The story isn't bad, but it's not as straight forward or easy to follow; the character development is average at best.

The anime cutscenes are well done, as are some cool 2d animations too (the push/roll from the wagons by Ronfar and Hiro at the carnival). The introductions of a core party member Lemina and a core bad guy Ghaleon were both weak parts of the story. Ronfar, one of the first party members, is a generally interesting character. But, and I'm playing in English, they turned his combat voice parts into an ongoing Austin Power meme.

My review of Lunar 2 is much longer than 1 because there are so many things I don't like about it in comparison. Lunar 2 is good, but it's definitely not as strong as Lunar 1. If it had not been included in the Remastered Collection, I probably would have given it a thumbs down.

Git gud, amirite? This game is extremely difficult, even on the easy mode. I can't recommend it, despite how much fun the game is holistically, because I don't think the average player will be able to complete it. As of this writing in 2026, only 25.9% of players have beaten the game on easy mode.

To be up front, I haven't beaten it either. I've gotten to the final boss ship multiple times in under 6 hours but I can't come close to beating it because it requires both specific build outs to make easier and luck with RNG. On my best attempt, I got the enemy ship down to 3 health points but it took my ships health down from 50% to 0% during that time... And, I'm not willing to bang my head against this for another 6-20 hours just to hope my rng is lucky enough to win.

It's a shame because I think this is a really good sim game overall. I really like the expanding enemy forces, the variety of guns vs droids and capability to build your ship slightly the same or slightly differently in each game. It's a great casual game of this sort that you can sit down to play for 15-30 mins at a time.

But, as I said, I can't recommend it because it's incredibly difficult and almost unbeatable unless you get a perfect luck run for scrap gain, weapon options, and missile/bomb hits on the enemy ships.

I wanted a racing game where I could earn money and upgrade my car, so this fits that nicely.

I have 2 big gripes with this game; first, you have a reputation 'level' that you get throughout the game. I like that in theory, but not this implementation. The devs put imaginary story walls into the game so you have to go do night races for rep in order to proceed with the story. They could have removed the rep level and made the requirement buying updated parts for your car, but they inflated it by having both the parts requirement to win races and rep level. Fairly annoying, but not enough where I wouldn't recommend the game.

My second massive gripe is that I have to both log into EA and use their launcher, despite this being on steam. The EA game launcher is crap, as is needing an EA online account to play. But, since I'm playing solo, I can get over that for the campaign and side races. However, starting the game takes 1-2 extra mins since I'm not just loading the game but also the EA platform and the authentication of my account through EA.

The game looks good still in 2026. Also, they made all the other drivers on the road absolutely terrible (just like in real life) so it's impressive how realistic it is. Random toyotas pulling out and stopping in front of you happens quite often, but made the racing obstacles more real.

I would recommend this. I had been eyeing it on sale for months before finally getting it. It was worth the less than $5 that I paid. There is more content than what I played in the solo campaign, so you could get a lot more hours than I put in. Definitely pick it up if you are into the racing genre.

First - buy this on sale only because it only has 3-4 hours of main content. There is additional stuff, like finding all the secrets or getting bigger planets made but you will finish 95% of the content in 4 hours. Second - this game is a lot of fun. It's strange, but the premise is really neat and it's a really great casual game.

I do recommend it. I have no idea how it ranks against other katamari games but this one is worth playing at least once.

I'm going to recommend this along with the main game and warlords of NY dlc, but only as a solid unit. This dlc was definitely the worst part of the game.

The dlc took me ~1 hour to clear with a friend. It's short and there isn't a ton of side content like in DC or Warlords. The narrated 'helpers' were more annoying than ever to listen to and the story just isn't as solid as DC and Warlords. But, as a whole game unit, this is worth playing along side the main story and the warlords story. So, I recommend it on sale with the other 2 but don't buy it as a stand alone for full price.

Warlords of New York is a good addition to the main game. The additional zone control points and side quests are good, and the main quest story isn't terrible. However, the main game's story escalates very quickly and the NY story isn't so it feels like a more grounded story than the main game.

Just like with DC, the game has actual roads and buildings from NYC. I was able to see a building I've been inside for work in the financial district, which was awesome. I definitely recommend playing this one after the main story.

This dlc took me about 4 hours to beat the main story, not including other side content.

This was a fun game. I dug the atmosphere and world building as much as the playstyle and art direction.

This plays a lot like an elder scrolls game but has a few mechanics that add to the combat, such as evades and parries. You can build your character a number of ways by increasing stat points, getting new gear, and utilizing a talent system. I went an unarmed melee build and it was fairly strong post level 11. I also played around a little with a summoner build but didn't stick with that as the melee was more fun and interactive.

The story is interesting. This game has a number of rpg options as you go through quests, which have direct impacts on what you are doing or what you can do later. Decisions actually matter, which is nice to see.

The music was okay but even on the highest setting, I could barely hear it with the speakers fairly turned up. I think the audio balancing could have used additional work.

I was interested in this when it first released but waited to buy it on sale. I think it's worth buying, along with the dlc, regardless of a sale. You'll get your money's worth in the base game, but there is also a new game + option. And, even if you don't do that, there are ways to replay with new builds and new quest choices. I'm not even close to 100%ing this one and think that would take a few run throughs.