Comments 360

Re: Round Up: What Was Announced at Summer Game Fest 2025?

QiaraIris

Didn't even bother watching this since I won't degrade myself by watching Geoff smug punchable face ever again and even I'm a bit disappointed with these lineups. We're at the point where F2P gacha games are given platform on a game show now just because they paid for it.

Re: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (PS5) - Level-5 Returns with Its Most Addictive RPG Yet

QiaraIris

I absolutey adore every QoL improvements they added into this game including auto-switching Life where appropriate and one workbench to craft them all.

it made the addictive gameplay loop from 3DS even more addictive. It's been a while since I'm up till 3 AM for a game just to gather a few more things for the next day. As far as grindy, that's the core tennet of the franchise, so yeah it's to be expected. But at least with +EXP skill on your talent tree and +EXP equipments, the grind is not half as bad as the 3DS ones.

Re: Stellar Blade PC Dev Discussing Region Lock Issue with Sony

QiaraIris

Complaining about Denuvo in 2025 as if it’s still 2015 is the tech equivalent of insisting vaccines cause autism—outdated, debunked, and stubbornly immune to evidence.

Multiple benchmark studies—including those shared by Shift Up's own developers—have consistently shown that Denuvo’s performance impact on modern hardware is, at worst, marginal. We're talking about a few FPS here or there—hardly the game-breaking catastrophe some corners of the internet still love to preach about.

As someone with a high-end rig who plays games at max settings, I’ve never once found Denuvo to be the deciding factor between purchase or pass. What is a deciding factor? Whether the game is good. Shocking, I know.

But perhaps it's easier for some to blame DRM than admit it's time for a hardware upgrade—or worse, that their long-held belief might be outdated. Let’s be real: piracy is still a thing. And if developers want to put a digital lock on their stuff, I get it. You may not like it, but it’s not about you. That’s the part some people can’t seem to process. Denuvo isn’t there to make your life easier—it’s there to make stealing harder. And it's working. But sure, keep telling everyone that it’s useless and totally crackable while pirate forums cry in encrypted frustration

Let’s stop pretending Denuvo is the bogeyman it used to be. At this point, Denuvo fearmongering is less about facts and more about fragile ego. You don’t have a righteous cause. You have a lagging graphics card and a Reddit account. Kindly upgrade one of them. This scaremongering should’ve been left behind with Windows XP and conspiracy theory chain emails.

Re: Ghost of Yotei Dev: As Americans, We Knew How Ignorant We Were of Japanese Culture

QiaraIris

Do you appreciate Sucker Punch's approach?

Absolutely I do. Sucker Punch not only acknowledged their limitations as outsiders who tried to re-create a culture that's not theirs, but also humble enough to stay true to the spirit of said culture. For example, Jin Sakai wouldn't climb a sacred tori gate, or go into a temple and start destroying the props in it in the first game.

Re: Honkai: Star Rail Finally Reveals Fate/Stay Night Crossover, Archer Is a Free 5-Star for Everyone

QiaraIris

@Silenos Yeah he's a shield tank like Fu Xuan; I don't have him either but I occasionally used him from a friend to give them some credit. He's a good shield tank, definitely not a better healer than Luo Cha though (depends on what you're running your team with). Luo Cha is the best healer for Castorice till Hyacie next banner. Ling Sha is the best healer for Herta Prime.

Re: Iconic 90s Dating Sim Remake Dokyusei Makes Surprise Appearance on PS4

QiaraIris

Honestly, I played and completed all the routes on PC. If you are able, play it on PC with the full uncensored patch - the way it intended to be played.

Yes, there will be sex scenes with the full patch, but Dokyussei still manages to make it beautiful and respectful because at the core of the game it was still about consent.

But the patch absolutely unlocked much more than that. Just an excerpt from my review on Steam:

"Now let's get to meat of the game, this is first and foremost an adult Dating Game, so an 18+ patch is required to significantly improve the game and elevate the story. Playing this game without the 18+ patch honestly felt like a disservice to how well written the entire stories are. Not only having the patch unlocks nudity and sex, but it also made the MC feels a lot more human and relatable. Yes, he uses a lot of crude and adult jokes (being an 18 years old guy after all), but that make the moments of his chivalry and understanding (as well as his character's growth by the end of the game) really shines and charming. This is probably the best written MC I've played with in a long while for this genre (with 18+ patch). Not to mention it's amazing how self-aware this game was as some of the MC inner dialogues will break the 4th wall when you're trying to do something he disagrees with.

The 14 heroines covers all the woman archetypes for a dating sim, so you'll definitely find one of you'll vibe with. From gilded bird princess, a childhood friend, your kohai, all the way to the bombshell school's doctor that's really out of your league. All these heroines are very well written and each of their personality really shines that you can't help but play the game till you unlock all 14 different endings. I can't tell how many times I've laughed from the MC response or cried with the story as you progress..."

https://steamcommunity.com/id/QiaraIris/recommended/?p=3

One of the best dating games I've played, but only with the full patch.

Re: Persona-Like JRPG Varlet Announced for Worldwide PS5 Release in August

QiaraIris

Man, FuRyu always has some interesting game idea but the studio is severely underfunded. Monark for example, was such a great and fresh idea for its time, but the gameplay was such a mess.

These guys really deserve a good funding. Hopefully Sega will buy them off.

That being said, I will definitely get this as it seems like at least the production value has gone up.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 575

QiaraIris

Atelier Yumia. As someone who's been playing the Atelier series since the very beginning, it's really nice to see the game actually matures with their audiences.

The new combat system was great, the new open world gameplay loop was still addictive, and somehow they managed to make a new alchemy system that keeps the title fresh after all these years.

And easy 9/10 from me.

Re: Poll: PS5 Fans, Are You Sold on the Nintendo Switch 2?

QiaraIris

Replace? no
Accompany? yes.

it's the same way how I have both PS4 and Switch for their own exclusives. They're not competing with each other in my gaming ecosystem, they're complementing each other.

And of course there are my PS5 and PC as well for graphical intensive games, but Switch will always have its place for their own exclusives that I love. Fire Emblem and Xenoblade series were a good example, too bad the software launch titles for Switch 2 sucks. So I'll be holding off purchasing it, especially at CA$625 for base unit.

Re: Trails Fans Win 2025 as Trails beyond the Horizon Is Confirmed for Fall Release on PS5, PS4

QiaraIris

***** yeah, I did not expect it to be announced this soon but it'll be a day 1 regardless.

Words can not convey adequately on how excited I am that we're finally on the same release schedule with the Japanese as of Fall 2025. Two Trails games in a year and Sky remake global launch, we JRPG fans are eating good this year.

What a turnaround for a series that was so close to never see it released in the west before.

And of course I also can't convey adequately on how happy I am to see a grown-up Altina in the trailer, even knowing about it before. Kid grew up with me alongside the game just like Renee did.

Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows Soars Past 1 Million Players at Launch

QiaraIris

This article is certainly charged. There’s a way to report on this without resorting to incendiary lines like “Perhaps the threat of reprisals from Ubisoft for any unwarranted review-bombing campaigns has bad actors running scared?” - which does little more than make you sound like a third-rate gossip rag.

Ubisoft's success is commendable, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ubisoft+ exists, which is likely why they’re touting “one million players” rather than “one million sales.” Perhaps save the victory lap and smug commentary until actual financial ROI figures are reported.

After all, Veilguard also received glowing praise for its initial player count, and gaming outlets were quick to sing its praises. Yet here we are - its sales fell below expectations, as many of those early players accessed the game via EA subscriptions before promptly canceling.

At the end of the day, you’re supposed to be a journalist. Maybe focus on reporting rather than fanning the flames? Bias has its place in reviews and personal blogs - not in what should be an objective coverage like this.

Re: Saints Row Team Thrown Under the Bus: 'They Didn't Know What They Were Building'

QiaraIris

Raise your hands if you played the first 2 OG Saint's Row and said exactly this when they showed the "reboot" of Saint's Row?

Saints Row has two distinct camp of players, the OG Saint's Row camp (who played and loved 1 & 2), and the NG Saint's Row camp (who played and loved 3 & 4). There are maybe some stragglers here and there that loves a mix and match between these 4 titles, but either way, those were the distribution of Saint's Row gamers.

When the reboot was announced, they somehow managed to alienate every single gamers on those two camps (I honestly have no idea how their target for the game was). I still remember how the trailer and the announcement was received and yet this company and CEO dismissed our concern due to hubris.

Yet here we are, watching this overpaid piece of shuits (pun definitely intended) preaching the same thing everyone been saying on this game years before they get into this realization. What a clown...

Re: Don't Hold Your Breath for Super Impressive Sims-Like InZOI on PS5

QiaraIris

I'll be getting this on PC, and a 3070 with 16GB of RAM is not too much of a stretch these days. Calling that recommended spec "pocket heavy" just shows what people knows about the state of PC gaming right now.

Bear in mind that unless I'm misreading these things, InZoi is releasing in Early Access (at least that's what Steam marked it as). Not Advanced Access, but literally an Early Access where the game is still actively developed as it's released.

Personally, I'll wait till the full launch to try it. They'll probably be well optimized by then.

Re: Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land (PS5) - Relentlessly Charming JRPG Is a Must Play

QiaraIris

The Atelier series are that one game I keep getting on Day 1 when its released and they haven't disappoint me yet. I do love that their protagonists design grew up with their players and Gust somehow still managed to design a refreshing take on the alchemy system this late into the series.

Can't wait to deep dive into this new one with Yumia next week!

Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows' 'Canon Mode' Makes Fans Ponder the Point of RPG Options

QiaraIris

Is this canon mode includes disabling temple destruction or Tori Gate climbing?

Feel free to mark this comment, but this game is going to flop. Yasuke controversy aside, there are just way too many negativity surrounding it for the game to be able to shake it off any time soon. Public perceptions are important, and this title is not getting any major positive vibe at all.

Re: Civilization 7 Dev Promises Key Improvements Ahead of PS5, PS4 Release

QiaraIris

I'd like to thank everyone who actually paid up to CAD160 to beta test this early for the rest of us. I'll definitely wait till the definitive edition launched next year with a deep discount.

I mean, why companies even bother to invest in a QA team is beyond me. When they can just have their gamers actually paid them extra to test the game.

Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Failed Because It Wasn't Live Service, EA CEO Seems to Suggest

QiaraIris

I can't believe this dipshit is still the EA CEO, what a mental gymnastic he must have done to link the failure to live service game when most live service titles have failed, including their own rebranded FIFA games.

I also completed Veilguard and it was an enjoyable game. Albeit one of your team member literally never shut up about her sexual identity and how she doesn't belong anywhere in the middle of a LITERAL world ending threat.

"I don't know who I am?"
"Oh yeah?? well my people are being kidnapped and murdered by a blood cult, sit down!"

Maybe that's why it failed.