SKALD: Against the Black Priory

SKALD: Against the Black Priory is a neat little retro-style RPG all about doom and destruction. It employs a unique RPG system built from familiar DNA, with a well-woven story that knows exactly when its welcome has worn out. The biggest issues are the clunkiness of the battle system at early levels (which arguably only enhances the game’s theme and atmosphere) and depressing plot. Skald is not a grand 100+ hour JRPG, but a short and competent RPG module.

Blasphemous 2

Blasphemous 2 might be the sequel closest to its predecessor that I’ve ever played. Sure, there’s lots of little tweaks and differences, but the vibe, the aesthetic, the experience are all exactly the same as the first. Which is great, because Blasphemous is fantastic.

The 46th Locked Room / ４６番目の密室

The 46th Locked Room is a murder mystery by Alice Arisugawa told from the point of view of a character also named Alice Arisugawa, but not that Alice Arisugawa. Many Japanese mystery authors have multiple series and Arisugawa is no exception, except the narrator character in both is name Alice Arisugawa. The narrator of the Arisugawa books I’ve read so far is a university student, and so the series is called the Student Alice series. The narrator of the other “Alice Arisugawa” series is a writer of mystery novels (just like real-life Alice Arisugawa), so it’s called the Writer Alice series. And if that wasn’t confusing enough, in the Student Alice series the narrator is the author of the Writer Alice books, and in the Writer Alice series the narrator is the author of the Student Alice books.

I’ve enjoyed the Arisugawa novels I’ve read so far, and it seems that the Student Alice series is expected to have five novels, but Arisugawa has been sitting on four for almost two decades at this point. The Writer Alice series, however, keeps getting new entries. So I was very eager to see exactly what the books that have been delaying the final Student Alice novel was like! And, to be frank, I’m not impressed.

Shudder of the Mailer Daemon / メーラーデーモンの戦慄

Shudder of the Mailer Daemon is the final book of the Lychee Kamiki series about everyone’s favorite high schooler prostitute detective. It’s probably the weakest novel of the bunch, but a fitting finale to the series.

Monster Sanctuary

Monster Sanctuary is a great monster-catching metroidvania. That’s two distinct genres, so let’s break down how to intersect.

Death on Gokumon Island / 獄門島

I’ve read several Kindaichi stories that I just haven’t reviewed because they’ve all been bad, but not quite as bad as It Walks By Night, so it felt difficult to muster the energy to write when I’d just be making the same points as in that review, but with less gusto. However, Death on Gokumon Island may by the best Yokomizo book I’ve read so far. Don’t interpret that as me liking it, because I don’t, but it’s not a steaming pile of problematic trash, which is a nice change of pace for Yokomizo.