Digitally Downloaded

Over time (and at least one additional replay) I’ve become more comfortable with the tonal dissonance beating at the heart of XC2. And it’s not like I was ever unhappy with either the fan service or the serious narrative. It was just the juxtaposition that threw me at the time. So, while this might not be my favourite title in the overall series, I do think it is magnificent, and all the better now we can see the creative vision that the developers had for it in the first place.

Overall, the changes made to the four stories in this Blue Reflection collection don’t compromise the central thesis of the series (even with Sun and that pesky male character): These are truly, almost painfully ethereally beautiful magical girl JRPGs with a relentlessly wholesome message behind them. I have no idea if Koei Tecmo sees a future in something this niche, but even if this collection is the grand sum of the Blue Reflection vision, it’s an enormously heartwarming 100 hours that will linger with you long after you stop playing.

If DDNet were a buyers guide site, then I would find it difficult to justify giving this collection a high score, but only because if you already have the Switch Remaster you’d have to be a hardcore fan like me to consider the Switch 2 release. But we’re not. DDNet is here to celebrate good art, and FFX and X-2 are both genuine masterpieces, and this is technically the best version of both games you can get. I’ve certainly appreciated the excuse to play through them again.

I realise that I’m not the target audience for Splatoon Raiders, and I’m sure those that are the target audience will get a great deal of value out of the depth of its systems. And from Nintendo’s point of view, it’s a relatively low-cost project to fill the release schedule until the next big thing (Fire Emblem) comes along. I do, however, suspect that just about everyone, from the diehard fans to me on the spectrum of Splatoon advocacy, will ultimately wish that the first proper single-player outing for the franchise were a bit more than it turned out to be.

Obviously, I’m square in the target market for eBaseball, but I’m over the moon with the quality and depth of eBaseball 2026, and I’m so glad that Konami is finally recognising that there are fans of Japanese baseball outside of Japan. If Konami being able to take its license global is a sign that the NPB itself is looking to bring the league to global audiences too, then so much the better. Lord knows this is one sport and one example of a sporting league where American dominance might finally be challenged, and that would be for the good of the global sport.

Culdcept Begins is so very difficult to put down. A game only takes around half an hour to play, but one game is never going to be enough. Between players of equal skill, victories will always come down to the thinnest of margins, and then you’ll want to choose a different deck and try a different playstyle to counter your friend the next time. Blissfully microtransaction-free (it would have been very easy to make Culdcept very expensive), Culdcept Begins is everything a good digital board game should be.

I do think that Ragnarok is a sign that the fledgling series (of one title so far) could go the wrong way. I appreciate that the DNA of a free-to-play property is the Granblue name, obviously, but the console titles should be an opportunity to build the name into something meaningful. Not just continue to churn out endless content to keep people playing.

It’s just that we’re in the middle of a flood of high-quality JRPGs, from indie through to the big blockbusters, and Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad does limit itself in a way that doesn’t do it any favours. The creative and narrative vision is bold and respectable, but offering a poor aping of what many would consider to be the finest game ever made in service of that creative vision was an ill-advised move.

I’m splitting hairs with these critiques, but they highlight why I ever-so-slightly prefer the Pokémon games over Digimon here. This is a very good, entertaining JRPG in its own right, and plays (and looks) gorgeous on the Nintendo Switch 2). It’s moreish, like the monster-collecting RPGs are at their best. It just ever-so-slightly lacks the X-factor that Game Freak’s property has. It’s not quite as charming or quite as refined. But there’s no shame in coming second to Pokémon, the biggest IP in the world, and this is arguably the best Digimon title we’ve ever seen.

I wouldn’t necessarily classify Gothic 1 Remake as “accessible.” It’s still a Eurojank RPG, albeit one that has far fewer bugs and glitches, and is far more playable, than we used to get with the genre. However, while it might still be for a niche audience, this is very much an example of how to do a remake correctly. The developers have addressed the big issues in the original Gothic, while maintaining and building on everything that made it such a cult icon.