
Set in the Lands Between, the 2022 title takes the Dark Souls formula and transfers it to a vast open-world that is absolutely stacked with bosses, secrets, and quest lines. Monitoring this bar plays a significant role during battles and forces players to strategize and plan ahead rather than just doubling-down on the same few abilities.įromSoftware has been crafting fantastic Metroidvania games for more than a decade, and Elden Ringis a top contender for the company's greatest achievement. The biggest addition is the inclusion of a constantly evolving meter with three stages depending on the area the player finds themselves in, they can either receive a boost in performance or suffer more damage from enemies. The narrative is well-thought-out and develops nicely over the rather long campaign.Ĭhained Echoes' combat has all the makings of a conventional turn-based system, albeit one that changes a few things up to keep things fresh. Utilizing 16-bit visuals, the game takes place in a world defined by an endless war, which serves as the background for a rat race-style story that finds multiple groups pursuing a MacGuffin that could bestow one nation an edge over their enemies. Inspired by the '90s masterpieces that dominated consoles, Chained Echoes is a modern throwback that provides way more than just a nostalgia trip. In a year that produced Atelier Sophie 2, Rune Factory 5, Soul Hackers 2, and Star Ocean: The Divine Force, the best "JRPG" might have been an indie project by a German developer. Outside of Palaces, Persona 5 Royal transforms into a social sim, where players attend school, work part-time jobs, and go on dates. Once inside one of these creatively-designed Palaces, the heroes must steadily carve a route to an epic boss fight, all the while facing off against Personas that the protagonist can recruit to his cause. The game follows the Phantom Thieves, a group of teenagers who acquire the ability to change people's hearts by invading their subconscious. The same cannot be said about Persona 5 Royal, the latest mainline entry in the franchise. RELATED: Things You Never Knew About Persona Localization Their storytelling and social sim sections hold up well, but their dungeons can be somewhat boring to complete.

They are an easy recommendation for fans of the genre, provided they go in with the knowledge that these are relatively old games by this point. Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable are both among the best single-player JRPGs on Steam. While the main SMT titles are still largely console exclusives (with one exception), Atlus' Persona spin-off series has started to make its way to PC. Once upon a time, JRPG fans needed to pick up a PlayStation or Nintendo console if they wanted to play most of the Shin Megami Tensei games however, that is beginning to change.
