All tagged Square Enix

NieR Replicant Review: Ambitious Storytelling Excellence Marred by Underwhelming, Frustrating Design

Many people love NieR Replicant because of its ambition, unconventional approach to gameplay and storytelling, and such ambition is admittedly alluring. While it doesn’t shield my eyes from the clear issues that hold the game back from true greatness, I still feel that NieR Replicant is a game that deserves to be experienced, if only to get more people thinking about how games can continue to telling captivating stories only capable through the medium of video games.

5 Easily Accessible, Beginner Friendly, and Must-Play JRPGs for Genre Newcomers

The JRPG genre is not as hard to get into as some may think. The games discussed here are proof that the genre is capable of being welcoming to newcomers. Regardless of which JRPG you start with, know that the genre is beloved for a reason. They transport players to other worlds to explore, offer various characters to talk to, and deliver gameplay experiences that can be strategic, stylish, and satisfying.

Final Fantasy VII Remake and Cyberpunk 2077: Two Opposite Sides of Hype Culture

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy to announcing a project, nor is there a one-size-fits-all strategy for promoting a game pre-release. However, the differences in CD Projekt Red and Square Enix’s approach to marketing their biggest titles of 2020 do highlight that some strategies are more healthy and responsible than others. In an age where hype culture is so prevalent in the realm of gaming and in a year where two games suffered significantly different fates in large part due to how they were hyped and presented to the public, the term “hype responsibly” rings ever true.

Octopath Traveler: The Effect of a Frustrating Shortage of Character Interaction

The separation of characters' stories and the frustrating limits of the characters' interactions with one another create a narrative experience that feels very fragmented. This fragmentation causes Octopath to feel like it hosts a party of characters that happen to be going on quests that take them in the same direction, rather than a party of characters that feel like they're going on a quest together.