I’ve been playing this incredibly addictive game called Lapis x Labyrinth. It uses the kinds of slot machine-style tricks that mobile games use to get you hooked but it’s free after the initial purchase, there’s no DLC or cash shop or anything (although there is a more expensive physical release that comes with a bunch of extra goodies that I did get, things like a poster and soundtrack).
Something that interests me is that it was developed by Nippon Ichi Software and the creator credits seem to be largely people from or with connections to NIS, but it was published by SEGA. NIS is a big developer, making games like the Disgaea series, and they’ve been publishing their own and others’ games for many years now so I’m not sure why SEGA is involved, but I assume they just commissioned it or something. This stands out to me though because while it is very, very easy to recognize the NIS influence if you’re familiar with their game library, I have to say that this game distinctly reminds me of Phantasy Star Online, another SEGA title I was completely in love with back in the day. Unlike PSO this is a 2D platformer with a sort of Maple Story-like aesthetic, but it has the same format of primarily revolving around making your own custom characters and taking them through maze-like dungeons with warps for different floors and a boss floor at the end, and the equipment system also feels very similar in a way that seems to blend concepts like how PSO weapons can come with static elemental boosts and power grinds along with an item enhancement system similar to the innocents of Disgaea games. As you progress through the game, the focus becomes a lot about seeing how many unique and powerful items you can find to give your characters, because there are enough combinations of properties to make most of what you find pretty unique once you get to the higher levels and it keeps the grind worth it even for the kind of things you already have because it’s just fun to see what’s going to pop up next that you didn’t have yet, which also reminds me of PSO and its ridiculously extreme rare drop rates.
To anyone who is familiar with the above games and likes them, I highly recommend looking into this one. It’s been a lot of fun for me so far and also helps keep me focused sometimes while my mind is scattered without just draining my bank account in the process like so many other games do these days.