Etrian Odyssey Nexus, while being a series best-of game, actually does eschew a fair few things. Gone are the airship segments from Etrian Odyssey 4, gone are the fantasy classes from Etrian Odyssey 5, and the prescribed storytelling in the Etrian Odyssey Untold games is gone as well. But on the latter front, it has been replaced by a form of in game storytelling that is arguably the best for the kind of gameplay experience Etrian Odyssey seeks to deliver.

See, you no longer have cutscenes or a grand setup or anything. At first glance, the setup is disappointingly reductive—gather a group of (custom made) adventurers, and set out to discover the secrets of Yggdrasil, as well as the islands of Lemuria. However, the game slowly dishes out its story for the player via events and NPC dialog in dungeons as you explore, slowly adding more flavour and a framing context to the world you are exploring, as well as giving the player choices to make in the moment. It’s an excellent way to have the story remain ambiguous and in some ways player driven, and echoes, in many ways, the kind of storytelling that you expect from Souls—minimal dialog at strategic points, ands some crucial choices, to give some shape to the amorphous mass of ambiguity that otherwise tantalizingly beckons you on (albeit not necessarily done that well, obviously).

"The game slowly dishes out its story for the player via events and NPC dialog in dungeons as you explore, slowly adding more flavour and a framing context to the world you are exploring, as well as giving the player choices to make in the moment. It’s an excellent way to have the story remain ambiguous and in some ways player driven."

Etrian Odyssey players are also probably well aware of the fact that the games emphasize player choice in a multitude of other ways. Take, for instance, your party composition. As already specified, your party is a guild of custom characters. You have to pick five characters, and give them classes (from an absurd total of 19), then set out with them to trawl the labyrinths. Everything here matters—what class you picked, what character you picked (you can have more than five characters in your guild, just five on your party at a time), where you place said characters in your battle formation, all of it. It’s not just enough to pick the right characters for your party to make sure you have a well balanced constitution capable of facing any hazards the dungeons may throw at you—even where you elect to place your characters in a two row formation during battles can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Things get crazier later when subclasses are introduced, giving another dimension of choice not just in how you choose to develop a character, but in the roll they are expected to play in battles.

Battles themselves are simplistic affairs, relatively speaking. They’re standard turn based affairs, although they can be difficult, especially if you are underprepared. Planning only takes you halfway—you also need to prepare for multiple eventualities. The Force Boost and Force Break mechanics from Untold 2 make a return here, adding yet another layer of risk and reward management to the proceedings

Battles themselves are only one kind of hazard that dungeons throw at you, though, and it’s the dungeons that are the star of the show here. They start out relatively simplistic, if a bit long for those unprepared or unfamiliar with how Etrian Odyssey does things, but over time, they grow until they are sprawling, labyrinthine webs, with unique aesthetics and atmosphere, multiple gimmicks strewn across their floors, hazards, enemies, secrets, branching paths, loot and treasure, events, and more.

"It’s the dungeons that are the meat and bones of the Etrian Odyssey experience, and in Nexus, they are the best they have ever been in the series."

It’s the dungeons that are the meat and bones of the Etrian Odyssey experience, and in Nexus, they are the best they have ever been in the series. The game also makes multiple concessions to try and appeal to newcomers. Etrian Odyssey puts you in a first person perspective, and has you explore dungeons, and map them out as you go along on the bottom screen, requiring you to mark paths, walls, hazards, loot, and more (this, by the way, is where the whole reliance on the two screens comes in from). There’s a thrill to this manual cartography that is akin to, for example, gradually removing the fog of war from a map in a strategy game, or uncovering the whole map in a Metroidvania, but it’s more personal here, because your map is your map—it’s uniquely yours, guided by your experiences, your preferences, and your tendencies and priorities.

The map making emphasis has traditionally been the most alienating aspect of the series for newcomers, however, and the series has been trying to meet players halfway through the years. Nexus too does that—there’s an auto mapping feature that takes care of most of the mapping for you, leaving you to note points of interest and the like (making this mapping system most similar to Breath of the Wild) that you can opt in to if you want. Series veterans will probably choose to stick to manual map making.

That kind of array of options is ultimately what Etrian Odyssey Nexus is about, which is fitting, as it is meant to be a celebration of the series so far. Atlus has hinted that the franchise will live on, and move to the Switch, and that’s excellent—but even if it does, it will be greatly changed, since it will no longer have access to a persistent second screen. Which means that this may well be Etrian Odyssey’s final hurrah, at least in the sense that we know it. While some of that sense of celebration can feel dampened by sheer franchise fatigue (as mentioned previously, there are a lot of Etrian Odyssey games on the 3DS), on the whole, Nexus does a great job of ushering out its series, as well as the hardware that it has been beholden to all this time.

This game was reviewed on Nintendo 3DS.

Wargroove

The long-awaited, turn-based tactics game inspired by Advance Wars is nearly here. Chucklefish’s Wargroove offers a whopping 12 Commanders to play with, including Caesar the dog because of course a dog can command armies. Each Commander has special Grooves or abilities that can turn the tide of battle along with their own respective campaigns. Players can customize their own missions as well and also partake in local and online co-op or PvP. Wargroove’s retro goodness comes to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and PC on February 1st.

Trials Rising

After the experimental action in Trials of the Blood Dragon, RedLynx thankfully returns to its bike riding, platform puzzle roots with Trials Rising. You’re still navigating silly obstacles in exotic locations like Paris and Mount Everest, and yes, you’re still trying not to look bad while doing it. With a custom course builder and the new Tandem Bike mode, which sees two players controlling one bike at the same time, Trials Rising promises more challenges and hilarity than ever when it releases on February 26th for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC and Xbox One.

Jump Force

Shonen Jump’s top names and Asta from Black Clover collide in one of the biggest crossover fighting games yet. Jump Force is developed by Spike Chunsoft and features 3v3 tag team fighting. Heroes like Ichigo from Bleach, Goku and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, Luffy from One Piece and Naruto from Naruto Shippuden will collide, much like how the anime-aesthetic collides with the lush real world visuals. Jump Force is out on February 15th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Far Cry New Dawn

Post-nuclear Hope County meets roving bands of Mad Max-esque maniacs meets…Expeditions to other random parts of the USA? There’s certainly a lot going on in Far Cry New Dawn as it continues the story of Far Cry 5 and introduces two new villains with the Twins, Mickey and Lou. It’s still the same Far Cry shooting you know and probably love but there’s a stronger RPG bent with gun crafting, damage numbers and so on. On the plus side, Guns for Hire and Fangs for Hire return along with a new mechanic that continually escalates the difficulty of outposts. Far Cry New Dawn is out on February 15th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Metro Exodus

4A Games returns to the gaming fold with Metro Exodus, its post-apocalyptic first person shooter based on Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novels. The story sees Artyom and friends traveling the continent by locomotive, experiencing different seasons and challenges en route to the far east. As seasons change and new threats emerge, you’ll have to make use of extensive gun customization and special weapons like the crossbow to survive. Artyom’s exodus starts on February 15th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Anthem

Okay, so the VIP access demo had some issues which took a while to resolve. But once players actually had a chance to play Anthem, BioWare’s upcoming looter shooter? It was pretty good! The full game promises a lot more with more World Events, bosses, story missions, and customization options for its four Javelins. The post-game Elder Game also seems extensive enough with Grandmaster difficulties, epic loot and the potential for over-powered builds. Anthem is out on February 22nd for Xbox One, PS4 and PC, and we can’t wait to see how it evolves further.

Dirt Rally 2.0

Dirt Rally, the Dark Souls of Sega Rally games, will be getting a follow-up soon. Along with the weather system in Dirt Rally 2.0, stages will face degradation, making the roads even more difficult to get a grip on. Dirt 4’s My Team is featured here as well as players hire experts to maintain their car and set-ups are easier learn (in theory) thanks to the new tutorials. With FIA World Rallycross Championship cars and circuits spanning Argentina, Australia and the USA, Dirt Rally 2.0 will have plenty in the tank when it arrives on February 26th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Crackdown 3

Big, loud and boisterous like its leading man Terry Crews, Crackdown 3 is finally upon us after multiple delays. The story may be straightforward – head into New Providence to dismantle the threat of the Terra Nova organization – but hunting down gangs and their bosses feels much more exciting. Different bosses and gangs can actually retaliate against you at any time, making for an even more dynamic open world. And if you’re interested in just wrecking the whole world, then the Wrecking Zone mode will be your playground as it features a fully destructible city and competitive multiplayer. Crackdown 3 releases on February 15th for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC.

Etrian Odyssey Nexus

In Etrian Odyssey Nexus, the mysteries of the archipelago of Lemuria are uncovered by various explorers. Atlus is describing the game as the  “definitive Etrian Odyssey experience”, and will appeal to both newcomers, as well as fans. Etrian Odyssey Nexus will be the last game in the series that will launch on the 3DS so you might want to give it a go if you still have your handheld.

The Lego Movie 2 Videogame

TT Fusion is making another Lego video game and water is still wet. You can’t argue with the series’ formula though and The Lego Movie 2 Videogame will offer environments and characters from both films to bolster gameplay. With new characters and some scenes from the movie to help transition between missions, The Lego Movie 2 Videogame could make for another fun time-waster with that signature Lego humour. It’s out on February 26th for Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Etrian Odyssey X was announced to be coming to the Nintendo 3DS back in April, and the game released in Japan on August 2, just a couple weeks back. We’ve been wondering when the game would be released in the West, and it looks like we will have to wait a while longer. Publisher and developer Atlus has just announced that Etrian Odyssey X will release in the Americas and Europe, and will be renamed as Etrian Oddysey Nexus, on February 5, 2019 for $39.99.

In this game, various explorers gather together to uncover the mysteries of the archipelago of Lemuria. It is being described as the definitive Etrian Odyssey experience by Atlus, and is made to be enjoyed by both newcomers and veterans. There will be a total  of 19 classes to choose from, along with a brand new class known as the Hero class. This will be the last game from the series that will be released for the Nintendo 3DS, so you might want to pick it up if you still have your 3DS with you.

To go along with this announcement, Atlus have also released a few screenshots for the game’s Western localization version. Take a look at them below to catch glimpses of dialogue, the battle screen, the world map, and even the box art. Once again, watch out for Etrian Odyssey Nexus releasing in the West on February 5, 2019.