Recent reviews by Iria

Koei Tecmo is on fire this year. This game is incredible, and I’m not even someone who typically enjoys roguelikes—though after playing this, I’ve definitely developed a taste for them. The more you play, the more fun and engaging it gets. The depth of theorycrafting and build experimentation far exceeds most games in the genre. With a massive roster of playable characters, solid graphics, and a great soundtrack, there’s a lot to love here.

At first, you’re going to get wrecked. You might even feel like the game is too hard or notice that Dynasty Warriors characters seem weaker than their Samurai Warriors counterparts—a familiar dynamic for fans of the Orochi series. Samurai Warriors characters, with their speed and agility, tend to have an easier time early on. If you’re struggling with a fresh save, try someone like Hattori Hanzo, prioritize speed upgrades, and ease yourself in. Then unlock Tadakatsu Honda and emphasize attack and defense or regen builds. The movelists and playstyles are nearly identical to the main Musou games, but as your account levels up (boosting universal stats like HP and attack power across the board), Dynasty Warriors characters become more viable. That said, some characters are solid from the start.

Character balance is a mixed bag. S-tier characters like Tadakatsu Honda, Lu Bu, and Keiji Maeda dominate, while others feel borderline unusable on a fresh account. Zhou Tai, for example, has strong single-target potential but struggles in most scenarios until the late game. If you want increased challenge and are skilled at games like these, pick one of these bums.

All of this makes the game incredibly engaging. Experimenting with different characters and builds is part of the fun, and as you refine your skills, you’ll notice real progress. Eventually, you’ll reach a point where no bad build, poor RNG, or weaker character can stop you. Boss fights are pure knowledge checks—once you understand their patterns, even the final bosses feel easy to avoid.

After completing the main game (six bosses), you unlock higher difficulty levels where enemies hit harder, have increased stats, and use different attack patterns. The replay value is insane—I’m 20 hours in, and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. If you’re a completionist, there’s plenty to keep you busy.

I highly recommend this game. Even if you’re not into roguelikes, this one might just change your mind. It plays like a SHMUP fused with a roguelike and a Musou game—an addicting combination that’s hard to put down.

Dynasty Warriors is back, and it's better than ever.
The old wisdom still stands: Do not pursue Lu Bu.

The best Tekken since Tekken 5... and the best Tekken for Dead or Alive players. Former DOA4 designer and DOA5/6 director Yohei Shimbori worked as the assistant director for Tekken 8. Shimbori implemented tons of DOA-logic into Tekken, which really helps bridge the divide between the two games if you're from DOA.

Not the most complex, but my all-time favorite SHMUP game. I like it better than the 2nd game. The art and characters are too good. I love Marion forever (I have a Marion acrylic keychain on my mic stand which was a limited thing I bought in Akihabara years ago). Probably have 1000+ hours on this game over the years. I have it on PS1, Rom, Switch, and now steam. 9.9/10 (I hate the final stage/boss).

I need an addiction counselor; I can hear the music and sounds of skeletons dying echoing in my ears even when I'm not playing. This game is somehow relaxing and chaotic.. RPG elements and quests lines makes me feel there's always something to do. Do I wanna go for a clear? Am I searching for a specific piece of armor to bring back? Doing side quests? Experimenting with builds? Game of the year over FF16, Diablo 4 and Street Fighter 6.

Best SF in 100 years. Needs Karin, though.

What trash. Looks gorgeous compared to console, but the matchmaking is even worse (believe it or not). There are times you'll literally try to get a match going for 30 minutes. Constant disconnecting, always searching for players in full lobbies, etc. I tried. Uninstalled. Might return in 6 months after severe patchwork (unless they shut the servers down before then).

Highly recommended. I thought this was probably just a fail GO app that you'd find in a phone app store.. where your only option is fighting bad AI and the online is completely dead. NOPE.. was surprised to learn this taps into OGS server/has good AI too (although it still feels way too mathematical and unnatural) . Nice visuals! I've been playing GO since 2003 but stopped around 2016.. I've been bodied nonstop since returning and my OGS rank dropped like mad.. But this is an attractive way to get back into the flow of things. There's a lot of extra modes.. including a career mode lol You can tell the people who worked on this REALLY loves Go and are lifelong players.

It has Darkstalkers games.

This game is fantastic. The music is great. Noel is waifu. Akiha is imouto.