Investment Policy

I always look forward to December when 4Gamer, a Japanese gaming site, does their annual interviews with heads of big game studios in Japan. Atlus, the team behind Persona, is almost always part of it, and they usually tease what they’re up to without giving away too much detail. It’s fun trying to read between the lines and guess what they’re working on next!

While fast travel is convenient in many open-world games, sometimes it’s more enjoyable to explore naturally or simply use the game’s movement systems. Games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt really benefit from fast travel, and even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Red Dead Redemption 2 aren’t traditional RPGs, they also make good use of it. Now, let’s move on to the games that do prioritize a slower pace.

Just as Final Fantasy 14 released its latest update, version 7.4, players in North America experienced frustrating server problems. Many were randomly disconnected from the game, though not everyone was affected. Initially, Square Enix and players thought a cyberattack was to blame, but it turned out a problem with equipment managed by the Japanese company NTT was the likely cause. Some resourceful players found a temporary fix by using VPNs to route their connections around the faulty equipment while Square Enix worked on a permanent solution.

Let’s be real, I’ve seen so many games launch broken and basically fall apart. But it’s rare to see one actually turn things around and become something amazing. When it does happen though, those games can end up being some of my all-time favorites. I’m gonna highlight five games that seriously pulled off an incredible comeback from a really rough start.

Developed by AdHoc Studio, Dispatch quickly became a standout indie game in 2025. It tells the unique story of Robert Robertson III, formerly the superhero Mecha Man, who now works as an emergency dispatcher for a team of reformed supervillains. Despite strong competition from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Dispatch received nominations for Best Debut Indie Game and Players Voice at The Game Awards 2025. It’s been incredibly well-received on Steam, earning an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating with 97% of players recommending it.