PC Gamer has reviewed the upcoming Action RPG Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom:

 

Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom Review

What is it? An open-world action JRPG built around a great kingdom building sim.
Release date: March 23, 2018

Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom has done a fabulous job of hiding its best feature. It's an open-world action JRPG, but at its heart is a building sim where you've got a top-down view of a dollhouse-like kingdom. You raise buildings, generate resources, assign personnel and research tactics and sciences. Managing your kingdom is not just a thing to do between quests. It's the reason you quest. It's what connects Ni No Kuni 2's many ambitious systems and keeps them running, and more than anything, it's what keeps me coming back.
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When it wasn't surprising me with yet more stuff to do, Ni No Kuni 2 impressed me by streamlining RPG basics with modern improvements. Instead of having to tediously pick up items, you automatically hoover up loot. Instead of the JRPG thing where you load into a pocket dimension after bumping into an enemy, if you see an enemy in a dungeon, you approach and fight normally, which improves the flow of dungeon-crawling, makes it easier to gauge enemy strength, and makes exploration tense. These are things I wish every game did.

Ni No Kuni 2 is gorgeous, charming and constantly evolving. Its combat is layered and exciting, and polished by a medley of systems that let you finely tailor your play style. Its globetrotting coming-of-age story is a bit saccharine, but it's told well, and packs an ending that still occupies my thoughts. But its crowning achievement is tying all that and more into an involved and deeply satisfying kingdom building sim, one that enhances every other part of the game.

Score: 90/100

Thanks henriquejr!