Recent reviews by Fraytoria

Not quite done yet so I'll update when I finish - I'd say this is "the" Atlus JRPG experience. Everything from the Persona/SMT franchise feels streamlined and efficient here, like the ultimately polished version of this type of experience. Dungeons are bespoke, rapport events happen every time you talk to someone, the juice on everything feels sooo good... I mean, if you're not a fan of JRPGs you probably still won't like it but it's really an incredible experience all around.

Since they're going back on the PSN requirement, I'll edit my review.

I've been enjoying this game mostly solo so my experience may not reflect the intended audience, but I've been thoroughly enjoying this game as a mostly "brain-off" affair on somewhere in the 6ish (out of 9, I think?) difficulty spectrum. It's been great for me when I don't really feel like doing much, can just make some progress on some cool cosmetics.

I rather enjoy the "battlepass-like" system, tons of stuff for you to do here if you play from time-to-time like I do.

This is a top-tier Metroidvania. It's short, sweet, doesn't withhold the fun traversal from you for overlong and has some of the least limitations on it's movement mechanics I've seen. This, simply put, makes traversal a joy instead of a chore. Regain your double jump after you bounce off a wall? Genius. The soundtrack has some real gems, there are some fun postgame things to do and a neat bonus mode after you beat the game (and a masochistic one which deletes your save file when you die, great for some I'm sure!)

I wouldn't classify this as a hard game but it does have some challenging bits for sure. The power fantasy from a few of the late game combinations is ecstasy.
If you like Metroidvania's, you owe it to yourself to play this game.

This is my GOTY 2023 and I don't think that's going to change.

In a sea of soul-less, cash-grabbing, micro-transacting games that are only interested in your dollar, Sea of Stars feels like a game crafted from the depths of the soul. There is a care in the construction of the game that I rarely see. Have to backtrack to a place? Well, after you leave now there's a convenient path back to the rest of the world. Quality-of-life is part of it but even small flourishes in different areas add to the feeling of care and love put into this game.

This game might have a bit of a slow start but once the train starts it never stops. At one point I was telling friends that I thought I was almost done and that was like, a third of the way through the game!

The action command system ala Paper Mario is used here to great effect, including some really surprising twists on the convention that I was delighted to discover later on.

Exploration via a world map is handled masterfully and you feel that gradual growth of your powers in the ways your traversal evolves throughout the game. There are a ton of secrets to be found and most importantly, they are all hinted at in the game in some way. You can (and I'd recommend) trying to complete this game to it's final secret without using a guide! A rewarding challenge to be sure.

There's a really great message here about being in charge of your own destiny and that there is a mighty power in working hard and persevering, even if you aren't a "chosen one". I enjoyed the progression of the story and got really surprised by a few of the twists!

I backed this game on Kickstarter but didn't really go into it with any expectations; I just thought a game inspired by Chrono Trigger with a soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda sounded like a banger and I with nearly 9 HOURS of soundtrack, it absolutely is!

I could probably write about this for hours but the game is worth the asking price and more. I'd recommend going for the final, final ending. Well worth your time.

I rarely finish games. I have nearly 100%'d this one.

Total in-game playtime after getting the "final" secret: 39 hours 56 minutes.

I thought it was really good! In a lot of ways, the original felt like a "great idea but limited in execution" but this feels like a triumph of Metroidvania design. There were memorable bosses, a solid soundtrack, tons of fun build options to play around with and lots of collectibles with satisfying rewards. This is up there on my list of Metroidvanias and if you like the genre you owe yourself a playthrough IMO.

"Makes you feel like a cat" but unironically. Fairly short game but I enjoyed my time with it thoroughly!

Great Visual Novel-style game. Clearly the developers have played VN's before because there some neat QOL features here like seeing the different choices that are yet to be explored at a given juncture. Took me maybe 3-4 hours total, YMMV based on reading time!

From the soundtrack and sound design to the combat and the characters, this game is a gem through and through. OMG AND THE ART STYLE OH MY GOODNESS. Relatively short (which to me is a boon honestly because I have WAY more games than I have time), Death's Door did some really awesome things with the old-school Zelda formula and includes one of my favorite implementations of a Post-Game (no spoilers). This is a MUST PLAY.

Beautiful pixel art, fantastic characters and great writing. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and it enchanted me all the way through the finale. I also poured a silly amount of hours into the Earth Born rogue-lite mode for no reason other than enjoyment. Loved it, big recommend! <3

One of the few games I've finished this year and certainly worth your time. This game is not entirely as it appears and I would highly recommend going into it as blind as possible. An exceptional exercise in immersive UI design. If you have any interest in games that utilize cards as mechanics, definitely give this a shot. The game is more focused on the story than the gameplay although the gameplay is certainly competent and if you're not interested in a story-driven game it may behoove you to look elsewhere. Standard Daniel Mullins faire here; check out Pony Island if you need an explanation of what that means.