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Megami Ibunroku Persona (PS)The Persona series is a unique one as it’s sort of the first Japanese RPG to break containment in the West since game journalists in 2011 collectively decided that Japanese games are bad and gay, actually, and Uncharted is the peak of video entertainment. Thankfully, we’re past that era, but while developers like From Software have kept Japanese games on the map, the humble Japanese role playing game remains a niche pursuit in English-speaking circles, compared to Japan where the RPG is still the “default” kind of game. Persona, though, has had wild success in the West,...

Animal Well (PS5): Even after having played it I have to say the first thing I think of when I think of Animal Well is Dunkey, which is just as well I supposed given that he is the only reason I played the game in the first place. The first big game from Video Game Donkey’s Bigmode publishing operation landed on PS Plus on day one, and since the man couldn’t stop memeing about it (on top of it getting rave reviews elsewhere) I decided to pick it up. This game would be my first encounter with the so-called “Metroidbrainia”...

Last year, I published a big list with bite-sized reviews of every game I completed in 2024. I intended to do the same this year, but as the list grew ever-longer, I realized that I was setting myself up for a novella-sized post at the end of the year, so I decided to break it up into monthly bits and start publishing them now. Once I catch up, this will also let me review each set of games with them fresher in my mind, as well. I’ve played so many dang games this year I’m not sure I remember how...