Recent reviews by Sigrun Rosenthal

Kinki Spiritual Affairs Bureau wears the mask of a horror game but quickly throws that mask off in favor of a cop drama that happens to involve spirits, government conspiracies, and shrine maidens. The game itself isn't the best. It's jank with somewhat clunky movement at times but it puts in everything you need in a fun shooter game campaign. However, the game itself with its surprisingly serious and compelling story are enjoyable the whole way through.

It was worth every single penny I spent on this game.

Build: Regulation 1.0.1 [Current as of 09/09/2023]
Main hardware:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz 3.70 GHz
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
Dualshock 4 Controller (native support)

Summary:
Score: 8/10
+ Gameplay is fast paced and fun.
+ Customizing your AC with paint, decals, parts, and weapons is enjoyable.
+ Multiplayer combat can get really fun.
+ Lots of missions with decent replay value.
+ Game looks great.
+ New Game Plus (and mission select for missions previously completed on any playthrough)
+ All achievements are offline only, so no need to play multiplayer if that's not your thing.

= The story isn't the best. It's not terrible, but it's not great either.
= Overall music selection is bland.
= Needing to replay the entire story can feel like a waste of time, especially on the third playthrough.
= Parts feel kind of expensive and you can grind missions after you beat the first non-tutorial mission so grinding for parts can get a bit grating. There's no use for currency outside of buying parts so once you obtain all parts, you just become the richest mercenary on Rubicon-3.
= ACS Overload / Poise Break / Stagger feels like it looms over every encounter and feels like it plays too big a part in combat sometimes.

- Overall part selection is lackluster, especially when compared to previous games.
- Majority of the large non-AC bosses are not fun and feel like you need to build around them rather than "git gud"
- Weapon balancing isn't the best. Some really powerful weapon combinations can make fights too trivial and the game might feel laughably easy because of it.

The game plays very well, with being pretty smooth overall. The controls are fully customizable which means you can tweak the controls to your hearts desire and the general combat is fun. The maps are generally pretty large so the fast movement feels great but maps are usually not just flat planes so using buildings as cover is just as important as being quick. As mentioned, part selection is a little lackluster and part balancing isn't great, with a few weapon classes such as Assault Rifles and Machine Guns feeling like they don't have their "niche" so there's no point to using them except for clearing out weak trash mobs. The best experience in combat is definitely the AC vs AC combat, where your skills as a pilot and as an engineer are both put to the test against an opponent with access to all the same tools you have. If you've played Armored Core before, you'll definitely get the feel of Armored Core while you play this game until...

Majority of them suck. There's no two ways around it. The first time you fight most of the large bosses that aren't just another AC, the bosses feel like they aren't actually hard, but that they have too much HP so after you "figure out" the boss, the boss still has 75% HP and you have to chip away at it with your weak weapons. It feels especially annoying on the Chapter 1 boss which has a shield that it regenerates and unless you're using very specialized set ups designed to kill it, the boss overstays its welcome because it's faster than you are despite being three times your size and regularly jumps from one side of the map to the other. The bosses feel too much like From Soft haphazardly made a boss inspired by Elden Ring or Dark Souls and then turned everything about it into a mecha and then slapped it into the game and, as a result, most of the bosses feel like a slog unless you're running a boss killer build. The biggest offender is the Chapter 3 boss which spends a majority of time underground and you need to hit it when it pokes its head out for a few seconds before doing it again.

Probably the best in the series. It's fast paced enough to get the blood flowing but not so fast to the point that it can be hard to keep up with. The dynamics can even be multiplied in 3v3 PvP. Some builds that dominate the campaign will likely end up dominating PvP too though, so that might be something to look out for.

It's a good game and mostly feels like Armored Core. You can feel some mechanics that feel like they were ripped out of Dark Souls / Elden Ring (unsurprising, it's From Software after all) and it's arguable whether they fit or not.

The overall feel of the game is still good and it's definitely worth your time.

Fun game. This is just filler to get the Steam Award Task done.

Play with friends.

Reviewer Notes

• Game Build: 2.1.16 (11-28-2020)
  
• Input Device: Mouse and Keyboard
  
• Please remember this is a mobile game at its core.
  
• I have not played this game on a mobile device.
  
• TL;DR at the bottom

Action Taimanin is an action game where you can take control of one of (currently) six Anti-Demon Ninja girls in skin tight outfits based around Taimanin franchise by popular hentai creator brand Lilith. It currently features 7 Chapters of a decently interesting story that follows a Taimanin Task Force created to counter terrorists and the demons they employ to cause havoc in a near future Japan.

The Good:

• Simple but fun gameplay.
  
• Interesting skills.
  
• Fairly good animation.
  
• Sexy anime girls being bad asses.
  
• Playable characters are all obtainable via playing the game and not spending any money.
  
• Fairly interesting story / lore that's not hidden behind naked ninja girls covered in juice.
  
• Lots of good looking characters to just look at.
  
• Good action music.

The Bad:

• Game was clearly designed to be a mobile game, and has all the pitfalls of a mobile game, including...
  
• Long grind for later game progression.
  
• Gacha for Supporters and Weapons adds a degree of RNG to player growth.
  
• New characters are held behind a paywall for the first two weeks of release, requiring players to either pay real money or wait two weeks (and paying an in-game currency) before recruiting a new Taimanin
  
• AP / Stamina system can get pretty invasive at times, forcing you to either stop playing, or use resources to keep playing.

Additional Notes:

• Art in Action Taimanin removes nipple bulges and cameltoe from original hentai VN designs / art.
  
• Game is not censored from original Japanese release on Steam as far as I can tell.

Overall, it's a fun game. It's free, so there's no need to feel bad for picking it up and dropping it if it doesn't interest you. It does make me want to see a mid to full budget Taimanin game in a similar vein as games like Oneechanbara or Devil May Cry however.

It's a game with potential that was squandered to be a mobile game. I find it as a good game to kill time with, like many other mobile games.

Good if you want to see girls in tight clothes do cool things for little investment.

EDIT:

Five years later. I'm still playing this game. I've spent a good amount of money on it but never felt like I needed to. I just wanted the nice costumes.

Reviewer Notes:

• Controller used: Dualshock 4 (Sony Controller)
  
• Playthrough: Three playthroughs. No Enhanced Difficulty.
  
• Game Build: Build Current to 10/20/2019
  
• TL;DR at the bottom.

Code Vein is Shift's effort into making an action RPG set in the ruined city known as the Vein, a ruined cityscape ravaged by unknown horrors and a frenzied monster known as "the Queen". You become a Revenant in this destroyed world and are thrust into hunting a food source for others like you before being found by the idealistic Louis into finding the source of food for all Revenants. Along with Louis, recruit and befriend other Revenants as you explore the city and fight off the Lost, Revenants who have lost themselves and prowl the land attack Revenants on sight. As you traverse the city, unlock the keys to not only your past, but the pasts of your friends, and those who came before you and learn the truth about the city and why it came to be, and why it remains as it does.

Pros:

• Native full PS4 controller support (Button prompts included)
  
• Incredibly robust character creator.
  
• Strong gameplay with a lot freedom of choice on play style overall, making your character feel even more like your own.
  
• Great graphics and artstyle.
  
• Decent pacing overall.
  
• No bouncing off walls with attacks.
  
• Engaging story with great characters.
  
• New Game Plus.
  
• Multiple endings help replay value.
  
• AI partners are actually smart and useful, but are not necessary in case you want a higher difficulty.

Cons:

• Combat can feel a bit clunky thanks to inability to change attack direction in some scenarios
  
• Game is a bit short (my first playthrough was around 32 hours, taking the time to find all items, complete all side quests, etc)
  
• Some minor moments of the game freezing during fights (may be my hardware)
  
• "Exalted Reputation" Trophy takes too much time and basically necessitates you have a friend help you with it.
  
• Game slows down / halts experience gain for abilities if you are "over leveled" and is not inherently clear when this is the case.
  
• Some areas are frustrating.

A fantastic game that I would argue is very much worth a 60 USD price tag, in spite of its general length being relatively short. It has a strong and coherent story and it all ties together rather nicely, no matter which ending you get. Many of the systems in the game only bolster it, and the ones that could be better are only an inconvenience at the very worst (such as co-op having the distress signal function as opposed to a lobby of some sort). If you're a fan of games in the genre, it's most definitely worth a buy.


Great game, worth 60 USD. Character creator is one of the strongest I've seen in a game yet. Io is best girl, I will fight people who say otherwise.

Updated: 11/26/2019

Reviewer Notes:

• Controller used: Qanba Arcade Stick (Sony Controller)
  
• Playthrough: Single Player only. Two playthroughs.
  
• Game Build: Build Current to 09/15/2019
  
• TL;DR at the bottom.

"River City Girls" is Wayforward's foray into the Arc System Works property known as "River City Ransom". It stars Kyoko and Misako as they break out of detention and fight through various locales and beat up a lot of people as they make their way through River City to save their kidnapped boyfriends from an unknown villain! With some minor RPG elements, this game is a solid beat 'em up for one or two players. With really good pixel art and an amazing soundtrack, this is an enjoyable tale of Kyoko and Misako's (mis)adventures through the titular city.

Pros:

• Native PS4 controller support.
  
• Smooth graphics.
  
• Great soundtrack.
  
• Overall feel of the game is a love letter to old-school beat 'em ups.
  
• Hidden secrets for the completionist that don't feel necessary for those who may not care.
  
• Fun gameplay
  
• New Game Plus
  
• 4 playable characters (2 unlocked after beating the game)
  
• Fun references to older games such as Double Dragon.

Cons (Fixable with UserXpMod located https://v1.steam.hlxgame.cc/app/1049320/discussions/0/1633040337762777417/ ):

• No button prompts for PS4 controllers (will show XBOX controller button prompts instead)
  
• Controllers cannot be remapped.
  
• Framerate can cause issues if it goes too high (such as attacks being inconsistently unusable)
  
• Interact button is the same as Light Attack, so it becomes annoying fighting enemies near by shop or zone entrances
  
• Some items are bugged and only work as intended with Misako

Other Cons:

• No online co-op. Can be gotten around via use of software like Parsec, but native support would be preferable.
  
• Grinding for money and / or EXP can get a bit annoying, if going for 100% completion.
  
• Item boosts / store bought accessories are not shared between characters, so you have to buy and use every single item and accessory for all 4 (2 default and 2 secret) characters to max them all out (you only need to max out one character for the achievement however.)

With all the cons, it's a bit hard to recommend this at the base price of 30 USD. It's still a very good game, but it still has many flaws and may not be for everyone, even those who like the side scrolling beat 'em up in the first place. While a lot of these issues can be fixed with use of a mod (linked earlier in the review), the lack of online co-op is a bit frustrating, as many people's first hope would be to play this online with friends. I did enjoy the game quite a bit, playing it a lot over the last week, it's probably a game you'd want to wait for a sale, unless they fix some of the more glaring issues. The game also has a very meta story and sense of humor, which may fly over the heads of the layman, but would make more sense to people more invested in the series.

Overall, it's a very good game, but the 30 USD asking point is a bit high, and should be factored into before making a purchase.

Good game, some or most problems are fixable with mods. 30 USD is a bit high of a price point. Preferably wait for a sale unless you really want it.
NO ONLINE CO-OP AS OF THIS REVIEW
Game supports Steam Remote Play. Not traditional online co-op.

Disclosure: I am a backer of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a Metroidvania created by the man widely regarded as the father of modern Castlevania, Koji Igarashi. It's a very solid game with few flaws in a time where modern games are constantly inundated with obnoxious business practices or low quality assurance.

The game opens with Miriam on the Galleon Minerva sailing toward a demonic castle that had spontaneously been summoned and started spreading demons across the world. From there, you meet up with your friends and allies to make your way through the castle to defeat the one who summoned it, Miriam's friend Gebel. While the story isn't an amazing one that will stick with you for ages after completion, it serves its purpose nicely, clearly laying out Miriam's motivation for starting her journey through the castle.

Note: I played this game with a Dualshock 4. While this game does not have native Dualshock 4 support, Steam's controller settings can be used to allow use of Dualshock 4s without third party software.

From there, you get a taste of the controls, which are incredibly solid. Buttons are responsive and the game feels very good to control. As you make your way through the castle, you gain new abilities such as a Double Jump that allow you to traverse areas of the castle you were unable to access before. Each ability gained is streamlined rather well. Furthermore, there are (not-so) hidden techniques that inform you how to use special abilities with certain weapon types. While these techniques can only be used by specific weapons at first, mastering them allows you to use them with any weapon of the same type.

There's a plethora of hidden items to find, many demons to hunt, and many abilities to learn. Many of which are incredibly fun and satisfying to use, ranging from throwing axes to summoning a giant metal fist to punch your enemies.

While there are many weapons and abilities that are fun to use, unfortunately they are not balanced well. Some weapon types feel weak overall (like the Whip or Spears). Even though some weapons and abilities feel relatively weak, they are still fun to use however.

The game starts off rather difficult, but as you gain more abilities and weapons, you find yourself getting very strong, very fast. The late game is significantly easier than early game because of how much stronger you can get, to the point that you can double your attack speed, move faster, have significantly higher defense with a decent chance of outright negating damage all together.

After you beat the game once, you open up NG+ and Hard mode, which add enemies and increase their stats, which increases replay value, but it's not necessary to get all the achievements. For further challenge, there's also Nightmare mode, which reduces your level cap to 1, essentially forcing a handicap on yourself. There's plenty of replay value to be had.

Not to mention there's upcoming (free) DLC for the game which will further boost the game's longevity.

The sound design is amazing, with the music setting the tone of each individual section of the castle and having a good amount of energy in the places where it's needed, or calming when it needs to be. Sound effects all convey the action on the screen very well too, making it even clearer what's going on.

However, the game is not perfect. There are a few bugs and I encountered a crash at one point (I have not been able to replicate it however). Hitboxes and hurtboxes feel deceptively large or small in very few instances. But these problems are very small drops in a large pond.

This game is definitely worth a look if you like the genre. The logical conclusion of what Castlevania should have become and with all the positive reception, proves that there's a place for this sort of game in the world.

This has been a Robot Maid Review. I thank you for reading, and I hope to see you again.

WARNING: THIS GAME IS NOT PROPERLY AGE GATED AND FEATURES ADULT CONTENT (Nudity)


Game was purchased by and reviewed for Early Access Watcher

Review of Build 0.87 (Current as of 04-22-2019)

Fight Angel is a 4-Button Fighter designed for fanservice in mind. That's it. That's the only selling point. The overall game is pretty awful. Almost everything about this game is weak, especially compared other fighting games of comparable prices.

The 4 buttons you have are Punch, Kick, Avange, and EX.

While Punch and Kick are self-explanatory, Avange is a stronger attack that has a rather long start up and EX which, when combined with a command input, will make that command input stronger at the cost of some special meter.

Each character has an extremely limited pool of moves they can use, many of which don't feel like they differentiate one character from another. From a gameplay standpoint, you can find yourself just mashing Punch or Kick and noticing that it'll work against the AI for the most part. Combos (especially more complex ones) are unfulfilling because damage output is relatively weak. Hitboxes and input delay are on par with other at least decent fighting games, so there's no complaints about those.

Visually, the game doesn't look... bad. It's nothing special, but the colors are vibrant and it's usually pretty easy to see what's going on. The character models are all very same-y as well, but whether they look good or not is up to the individual.

The "music" consists of two tracks which are about 20 seconds each played on a constant loop depending on whether you're in the main menu or in a fight. Neither track is particularly good and it very quickly becomes old and annoying. Then you have the sounds of the fights and the voices of the girls are only okay. Nothing to really write home about, but the voices are rather low by default.

Animations can feel stilted at times, which is somewhat natural for a 2D fighter utilizing 3D graphics, but here they seem to be extra jarring and it's very noticeable in a lot of spots.

Overall, this is most definitely not worth 20 USD. If you're looking for a fighting game, go find another one. There's plenty of other good fighting games at this price or slightly higher. If you're looking for fanservice, you're still probably better off going somewhere else because the camera angle and the gameplay don't really complement the fanservice aspect.

This has been a Robot Maid Review. Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you again.

Review of build as of 09-03-2018

Reventa is an Early Access title where you take control of one of two Replicants as you hack and slash your way through a facility filled with nothing but killer female robots in an effort to restore your current Replicant to full power to give to an unnamed client. While the plot definitely isn't the strong suit, it does have some background lore which is potentially interesting. It's just a shame that the game isn't that good.

While the controls are a bit unintuitive by default for keyboard, it can be rebinded for your comfort, so that's not an issue. However, the actions are pretty ridiculous. Oddly, there's two dodge motions. One is a combat dodge that is manageable, but it relies on an energy guage which passively regenerates. The other is a dodge roll that sends you careening in a direction with little control on stopping. While this isn't too bad, the only available level can be a bit annoying to regain your bearings in the enormous empty rooms. Moving through these large rooms isn't too bad, as you can move pretty fast, but sometimes you move too fast to the point of lack of control. This is only a minor issue however, with the main one being that combat just isn't that great.

The movement can also be a bit wonky and get you clipped into the geography, but the times I did encounter it, it was easily fixed by dodging or jumping so while it's not a huge issue, it's something that should be addressed.

Combat has two main aspects, an attack button which is just a generic attack and a defense button, which negates damage but, if timed properly, can slow down all enemies, grant an invulnerability period for you, and allow you multiple attacks. The problem with this is that this is all combat ever is. You can simply spam your guard action, effectively only allowing a few attacks through while activating the slow down effect, which lasts enough time to simply kill upwards of five enemies at once. This trivializes combat, effectively removing any challenge because you can simply constantly activate guard to fish for the perfect parry and then go ham on any survivors. There's an execution system in the game, where you can get a short cutscene kill on enemies if you perfect parry them while they are at low HP, but there's currently no practical application for this mechanic... Meaning there's not much reason to do it except to meme on an AI opponent

Soundwise, it's nothing particularly noteworthy, but it's not bad either. The voicework is alright, but it definitely needs a bit more.

I'm not going to sit here and say this game doesn't have potential. It does. But even with a 4 USD pricetag, I think this needs a bit more time in the oven. There's really not much to review here, but what is there has been done better before, by others. It's an ambitious project and it would be interesting to see it succeed, but what's here isn't worth the price, even if the price is arguably pocket change.

This game is short, and this game is bad. But I'll elaborate on everything.

One praise I'll give is that this game does promote aggressive gameplay as you have a small pool of HP, but you regain HP as you deal damage to your enemies.

Story is non-existent. If you're looking for a story, leave this game.

The combat is fairly simplistic, which is fine, but the difficulty is a wee bit artificial as hit stun lasts a bit too long and easily gets you killed because there are many situations in the game where you're just hit-stunned until death. The final boss has a particularly egregious example of this. Hitboxes are also a bit deceptive, with your sword sometimes clearly passing through an enemy but failing to register a hit.

The first major issue is the control. Not only can you not remap controls for gamepad (or change sensitivity / invert look without third party programs), the controls are so clunky and stiff that it actively takes control away from you. When you attack, you have to commit to the direction you are attacking in, even when you continue your combo. This can be an issue when you're dealing with several enemies that can 2-3 shot you. On top of that, the game has a hidden lock on system which will lock on to the first enemy you hit and will not lock off until that enemy is dead. So if you decide to switch targets or simply disengage to get a bearing, the camera will constantly try to focus on a seemingly random enemy, ripping control from you.

None of the enemies are particularly interesting either, even the final boss can pretty much be stunlocked for 90% of the fight.

Graphically, this game isn't really bad, but not terribly interesting either. The main heroine is also a slightly customized model rip of Evie / Evy from Vindictus / Mabinogi: Heroes/

Even for a 4 USD game, this game is pretty pointless. It has a small glimmer of potential, but it's pretty much buried under a fairly bad game.