Even without knowing the term "isekai", you have probably at some point encountered a story or piece of media that follows its basic framework. A Japanese term meaning "another world", isekai stories deal with the notion of being adrift in a setting quite unlike one's own; they follow protagonists who are ripped away from a world much like ours and dropped into an unfamiliar place or time. Be it Edgar Rice Burroughs's depiction of Mars as a futuristic kingdom in the Barsoom books or the fantastical realm of Oz, the specifics matter less than the intent - to challenge the protagonist's preconceived notions and lead them to personal growth in the face of unexpected conflict. I lay all of this out for you because I think the intent with Heir to the Queen, a small-scale adventure game, was to hit the basic points of the isekai journey under the constraints of a threadbare budget and no larger media presence. That's speculation on my part, though, sinc...
2018 proved a fascinating year for games that I largely appreciated from the sidelines, as someone whose purchasing habits tend to be on the supremely budgeted side. Smash Bros got a sequel, Red Dead Redemption got a sequel, Far Cry 5 happened, a whole lot of studios collapsed in on themselves due to mismanagement and the deeply ingrained toxicity of the games industry… to reiterate, I said “fascinating”, not “uniformly good and respectful of all involved”. But now it’s 2019 and, despite it being three months into the new year, I’ve got things to say regarding the upcoming game slate. There’s still a substantive number of games whose release dates are nebulous and undefined, so I figure it’s a good a time as any to spotlight the ones I feel are most promising. Please note that this is not a confirmation that these games will, in point of fact, turn out well - just that, at present, these are the ones which based on pre-release material seem to have their affair...