ShogunRok

I think we can all appreciate the honesty, and it's a good move for everyone involved.

Well done SEGA on just being sensible.

@Rich33 Just checked this after seeing your comment and mine's also showing a greater amount for 'Other' on the widget.

Maybe it's more of an approximation compared to checking manually? Weird!

@Yagami Without wanting to put you off playing them, you're looking at hundreds and hundreds of hours, minimum.

The earlier games are quite a bit shorter than the later ones, but they're still chunky — typically between 40 and 60 hours.

When you hit Cold Steel 3, we start getting into 80 to 100 hour territory.

As a rough estimate (based on my own playtimes), it takes around 750 to 800 hours to play through all of the currently localised games in chronological order. That's 11 games, including most side content, played at a decent pace.

Having said that, most (if not all, i can't quite remember) games have a 'turbo' mode that speeds all gameplay up. If you utilised that often enough, it'd probably cut the total time down by a surprising amount.

@Fluberuper You mean the big final dungeon with the repeat boss fights and stuff? I didn't mind it too much because I really enjoy the combat system, but I can definitely understand why you might think it was a slog.

@Kraven Thought so — it'd be interesting to know how many other players think the same.

@Kraven Is Chapter 3 the one in the desert city? Only reason I ask is because I felt as though the storytelling dragged during that section (it's really well paced through the rest of the game, which makes it stand out in my mind).

@LifeGirl While it does make for an eye-opening comparison, let's just celebrate Dragon Ball racking up really impressive sales without dunking on other games.

It's not really worth the negativity.

@Gaia093 Arena fighter where the goal is to stay away from your opponent long enough to write their name in the Death Note.

Experience the shockingly rapid downfall of a beloved franchise, now in HD!

@McBurn No, if you beat a story dungeon before the mission deadline, you get all of the remaining days as free time.

@Rich33 Unfortunately I think this is a harder sell because the story mode isn't as detailed or as easy to follow to as the adaptations in the Naruto Storm games. It might seem quite overwhelming if you don't already know Dragon Ball.

That said, there's a lot of stuff in this game, and that alone could keep you hooked as long as you wrap your head around the combat system. It's a shame there isn't a demo!

It might be best to look up the story mode on YouTube and see how you feel about its presentation, etc.

@Drago201 Yeah I got wrecked by Great Ape Vegeta the first few times I fought him.

I ended up turning the difficulty down so I could continue through the story mode, and I eventually went back to fight him on normal and managed to win since I had a better grasp on the mechanics. Still really hard though!

If anyone's got questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

Can't stop playing this game, even though holding block and constantly charging ki has basically crippled my right hand.

Aiden Pearce would be rolling in his grave

@KundaliniRising333 It's the same system as you'll find in the Persona games. Basically, the game takes place across a day-to-day calendar (this one stretches several months). Some days are just dedicated to story beats — so it'll just be dialogue and events and then you move to the next day.

But many of the days are shaped by your actions. If you go to a dungeon, that's one day. If you go hang out with a Follower, that's half a day — and so on. But these free days are ultimately limited in number, because the next story beat is going to happen on a set date.

So it's essentially about managing the time that you're given within the confines of the game. Your time is limited, but it's more of a structural thing than an actual time limit, if that makes sense. It's not like there's some clock that's constantly ticking away as you play — the calendar is there to keep the story moving along at set intervals.

Your second paragraph is pretty accurate in that sense.

@MikeOrator I played the vast majority of the game with the Japanese dub and found it to be fantastic.

However, from what I've heard of the English dub, it's very, very high quality. Most of the characters have regional British accents and it's perfect for the script, like the Dragon Quest games. The only sticking point I have is with the protagonist and his fairy companion, who have American accents, and it definitely stands out compared to everyone else.

Overall though, I don't think you can go wrong with either dub. The Japanese version is more "safe" if you're used to playing games with a Japanese dub, but the English dub deserves a lot of praise for how varied and authentic it is.

@CthulhuFhtagn Haha, thankfully Metaphor feels different enough to Persona in terms of atmosphere and tone that it didn't really feel like I was reviewing the same game again.

But yeah I've reviewed a lot of long RPGs this year and it does start to grind you down. It's important to take breaks and play something different if you can!

@tabris95 Hmmm, that's a tough one. For me, Metaphor avoids a lot of the more cliched writing you'd find in modern JRPGs because of its fantasy setting, and it does subvert expectations every now and then.

But if you really didn't like what was in the demo, I'm not sure whether the full game will change your mind. Obviously it expands on things quite a lot, and the stakes are raised — and you get to meet many more characters — but the style of storytelling and dialogue tone is very much representative of the full game.

Again, I do think the story goes in some really interesting directions to the point where it becomes quite unpredictable, but you personally might still find it to be underwhelming.

I think based on what you've said, I'd wait until it's on sale and then consider jumping in. Or maybe you could look up some playthroughs on YouTube etc., to see whether upcoming story beats catch your eye.

But yeah, overall, if you found the demo to be a slog, I'm not sure I could recommend the full game. The demo's obviously quite limited in scope, but you can probably already tell how the wider game will feel.

@HeeHo Yep, there are a couple of Trophies specifically that can only be unlocked on NG+.

@Jedihillis Hmmm, I suppose it depends on what you're looking for in the story, but Metaphor picks up quite a bit after where the demo ends and you're given more of a narrative purpose.

I'd say it's a well paced plot overall, but if isn't quite resonating with you from the start, it's hard to say whether it'll hook you later, or whether it'll keep you hooked throughout.

It might be best to watch a chunk of a playthrough on YouTube or something, just so you get an idea of how things go story-wise. At least then you can make a more informed decision.

@sikthvash @Cloud39472 Just on the topic of the Pros / Cons, they're not necessarily of an equal weight. So Metaphor's Cons aren't really a huge deal when taking the whole game into account — the Pros outweigh them by a lot, if that makes sense.

The Pros and Cons are really just there to give you a summary of the review. So if a game's got a lot of Cons but still a really high score, then it's basically saying that the Cons don't drag the game down to any significant degree.

@Sveakungen Nah, as far as I can tell, it's the same as the demo, which is a shame. Like the review says, the art direction is amazing, but the actual graphics are pretty poor from a technical perspective. The AA is rough throughout (but it feels like something that should be patched).

@Enriesto I found the main story dungeons (which are obviously the most important) to be perfectly fine. They have some interesting gimmicks and they're quite fun to explore.

It's really the optional dungeons that drop off in terms of quality. They're very basic in terms of layout and they're dull visually.

But yeah, the dungeon design wasn't enough to truly hurt my time with the game. You're going to be concentrating on the combat and your characters' progression anyway, so the actual dungeon issue fades into the background more often than not.

@Ooccoo_Jr Yeah my final playtime was around 90 hours, so it's slightly shorter than Persona 5.

That said, there's a lot more stuff in Metaphor that's optional. Optional dungeons, bosses, etc. And they all boost the runtime significantly.

Thing is, I wouldn't recommend missing out on the optional stuff — a lot of it will keep your party around the right levels and get you good equipment.

Like Sammy writes in the article, our review will be published this week before launch.

It's a surprisingly big game (I'm still unlocking characters!) so we wanted to make sure the review is comprehensive and not rushed. Thanks for your patience!

If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review let me know and I'll try to answer them.

Picking a top five for GOTY this year is going to be difficult...

Make is so anyone who doesn't own Knack gets rejected instantly. Only true fans are allowed.

@Shad361 @QiaraIris Only technicality is 'Mini' Goku from the new Dragon Ball Daima anime, who's locked behind pre-orders.

Additional DLC characters are also planned, so this roster's definitely going to break 200 in time.

If anyone's got any questions about the DLC I can try to answer them. Just let me know.

@Melee_Ace I'd love to but really strapped for time at the minute. If I do get a chance to boot it up, I might write something.

Early impressions I've read online seem very positive, though.

@LuXifer It was, yeah. The original release was very buggy and it took quite a few updates for it to get back on track.

Its reputation took a beating because of the launch version, but by most accounts it did get a lot better, and plenty of people say it was a really enjoyable game once the issues had been ironed out.

However, it did struggle to retain players, even with the improvements. It's been plodding along until now with only dedicated players, and the hope will be that this Aeternum version will breathe new life into it.

Just a reminder that the ratings directly influence our 'Best Games' lists, so try to be honest with your score!

@Cikajovazmaj It is possible that physical editions are relatively limited for some reason.

But even if Sony did limit retail shipping, those numbers are still surprisingly low, to the point where we almost certainly would have heard about shortages.

@Kienda Haha, unfortunately I don't know! The game doesn't have any voice acting, so I've never actually heard it being said.

However, the game's made by a French developer, and in French, 'sauge' means 'sage', and it's basically pronounced 'soo-j'.

So my best guess is Sauge's name is pronounced 'Soo-j'.

@LogicStrikesAgain Yeah you'd imagine most sales will be digital, but even so, previous first-party PS5 games have done much, much better than this at retail, which makes you wonder about its wider appeal.

@OldGamer999 "Vote with your wallet" is a cliche but it's absolutely true.

@EchoRange Sadly not. There are no tangible rewards (cosmetic or otherwise) outside of the van upgrades, which are needed to progress through the game anyway.

@Hyena_socks It's mostly just travelling around, but when you get to certain locations (like ruins) there's an emphasis on light platforming and some puzzle solving with the various van upgrades you unlock. It's very straightforward in terms of gameplay.

There is a decent amount of dialogue as well, but it's not voiced and characters tend to get to the point quite quickly, so it's not like a visual novel or anything.

If anyone's got any questions about the game I can try and answer them — just let me know.

Outside of The Plucky Squire going straight to Extra, this feels like some real bottom-of-the-barrel stuff.

It'll be interesting to see how Dragon's Dogma 2 runs on it. Because if the Pro can get that thing hitting a stable 60fps, it's working miracles.

@Robocrop_Duster Yep, there's an armoury option for making your helmet visible at all times during gameplay.

Campaign cutscenes will still show the characters without their helmets, though.

@Drago201 Depends how much you can get for a suit in this economy!

$800 console incoming

@themightyant Not yet, they're still releasing character trailers every week or so.

Square Enix continues to be the industry's most baffling big publisher.

I just feel sorry for Bend. Imagine having this guy follow you around like a bad smell. Hoping the team's next game completely overshadows any take he could possibly have.

Never seen anything like this saga. It'll go down in infamy.

@Ashina Wolverine State of Play confirmed!

I think you've got to be a right miserable git to look at something as colourful and charming as Astro Bot and think "graveyard of dead games".

I get where the sentiment is coming from, but I can't possibly agree.