Chained Echoes

Game Trailers. (2022, November 26). Chained Echoes - Official Gameplay Trailer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CRib6s-L2k

Chained Echoes is a love letter to classic RPGs, taking inspiration from the likes of Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and other hit classics. This game is a turn-based RPG with open zone exploration, quests, and more! A gimmick this game introduced to make combat more enjoyable is called "Overdrive" which is a bar that will move left or right depending on the actions you take. There are 3 parts of this bar, the yellow/neutral part, the green/buff part, and the red/debuff part. Keeping the bar in the green will increase the damage you deal while also decreasing how much damage you take. Getting the bar in the red will double the damage that you take, so you need to choose your combat actions carefully as to keep the Overdrive cursor out of the red and ideally in the green. The game also has a phenomenal story that kept me completely hooked during my time playing, as well as having a wonderfull variety of different zones with a fantastic soundtrack to match! If you enjoy turn based RPGs, then Chained Echoes is a must to play!

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is the best open world game that I have ever played. Many open world games struggle to justify being open world, as filling a vast world with something to do around almost every corner is a monumental task. This is why Elden Ring gets my highest praise, delivering just that. There are so many different sights to see, secrets to find, items to collect, people to meet, and of course, plenty of unique bosses to fight. As far as gameplay is concerned, Elden Ring is a difficult yet very rewarding game, showing a mastery of the Dark Souls formula in a way that no other studio other than From Software themselves can replicate. If you enjoy RPGs or open world games, you owe it to yourself to journey The Lands Between to see just what it all has to offer!

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 may just be the greatest story driven RPG of all time, and that's really saying something coming from me! Baldur's Gate 3 is a comeback to the classic game series based on Dungeons and Dragons, of course, known as Baldur's Gate. Despite this, the gameplay of Baldur's Gate 3 is much different from the 2 classics that came before it, showing how much games have evolved since their release. Baldur's Gate 3 opts for a turn-based combat system, with segmented open-zone areas to explore. Of course, it would be wrong to skip over what may be Baldur's Gate 3's strongest aspect, that being the expertly crafted interactable story. The game is constantly putting you in scenarios where your actions will change the flow of the story, giving you a ton of control over where your journey takes you. Baldur's Gate 3 surpasses the classics, making it an absolute must to play for everyone who enjoys RPGs, especially those who like Dungeons and Dragons!