Recent reviews by PeaceToUkraine DearthToRussia

For who is this game?

For those who really want confirmation that Diablo 2 era Blizzard died when they asked if you had phones.

The good:
- The quality of sound effects seems better than Diablo 3
- The animations are buttery smooth, like a console gamer's brain

The bad:
- That same console gamer's brain is what Diablo 4 is aimed at it seems
- *Looks under the hood* oh it's a mobile game with fancy graphics
- The stench of MMO and monetisation is worse than the stench of what I assume to be garbage in New York City. If you haven't been there, it reeks
- Why in the actual flying fork do we need/want a dodge roll? What is WRONG with you Blizzard? Do you need an adult? Or do you hate adults now?

Review in progress.

As a thorough 2002 original enjoyer, I have _thoughts_.

6,5 hours in:
For the love of all that is holy, good and nutritious, DO NOT USE THE ALTERNATIVE (SPECIAL EXTENDED) SOUNDTRACK. The original was amazing, and the extended version is simply too much.
"Oh, you're trying to enjoy the serenity of the village? TOO BAD, WE GOT SOME VOCALS AND HALF A DOZEN SYNTHESIZERS FOR THAT."
"Oh, you're in an emotional scene? WE PAID FOR THE EXTENDED SOUNDTRACK, SO OPEN WIDE HERE IT COMES"
Please, consider using the original. The 2002 Utawarerumono original is a classic and, as the Jedi would put it, it was a more elegant soundtrack for a more civilised age.

Played during the free weekend. Thanks for reminding me why I play RPG's on PC and not in sandboxes.

This is a labour of love.

Yes, there is jank. But it's the HOLY MOLEY THEY TRIED SO HARD AND GOT SO FAR jank, not the I PAID 60 BUCKS, WHY CAN'T YOU MAKE A DECENT GAME jank.

The Mastery system is interesting, the different characters are _muy_ different, it oozes ambition and ideas. Are some parts a bit undercooked? Sure, but there are so many ideas that you'll eat your fill regardless.

If your idea of a great time is "I wonder what would happen if someone went into their shed and made a loveable XCOM: Enemy Unknown, ADD edition" this is your jam.

It's interesting. There could be a bit less jank though - all movement breaks once something gets shoved into what should have collision (enemies stop moving, player characters need to toggle an attack prior to being able to move), death animations don't care for collision, toggling attacks and movement feel counter-intuitive and the flow of combat seems a tad fragmented. I could ascribe the sluggish movement on the map to realism, but it could be a tad snappier.

Characters seem varied and interesting though so far and with a more intuitive flow the combat could be a hoot!

Let me preface this by sharing that I am writing this because I care, not because I am a hater.

The strength of the first entry (I have played Mechanicus, not the DLC) was not the combat - the combat was serviceable. It was the atmosphere.

To this day, there are a number of games that are paragons of a specific virtue: passion (Recettear, Stardew Valley), fairness (FTL sans expansion), storytelling (Ever17), 3rd person combat agency (Horizon Zero Dawn), game feel (Chrono Ark) and so on.

Mechanicus positively OOZED atmosphere. The SFX, UI, hostility of the tomb (to be fair I would have preferred if after, say, selecting an option 3 times the result would be shown on mouse over on that playthrough), OST, oh my lord the OST... I respect that it is hard to rival a paragon, but if this demo is the result of putting emphasis on the combat side of things, I have concerns. It doesn't feel right. Combat feels like a chore and I don't feel immersed.

I'm going to leave it on my wishlist, but my enthusiasm is sorely dented.

The demo feels like a console game. Which is like describing a movie as 'Hollywood.'

It's NOT a compliment, it is utter condemnation. The demo is vapid and forgettable. Good thing I can now remove the game from my wishlist.

Original review:

Made with heart and care!

Update:

But then I 100%'ed the game and, whilst I stand behind my original review, I would like to elaborate for the sake of reciprocating what this game gave me. Not acknowledging the dedication and brow-furrowing stimulation with a more elaborate review feels like a disservice.

Chrono Ark is a roguelite (featuring persistent meta-progression) with a narrative layer. The narrative layer is decent and helps build on the roguelite gameplay loop, which is the meat and bones of the game. Don't get me wrong, most of the characters have sufficient characterisation and personality to be either likable or less so and there is some potential to get to know them better as well as some contextual winks and nudges during banter and runs, but due to general interchangeability it makes sense that character-driven progression outside of you as protagonist is limited. Not ABSENT, limited.

Now, the core gameplay loop... It's amazing. It has a learning curve, the story starts off with a slow burn after the initial kick in the behind leaving you to get to terms with it but then, once you start finding your footing it opens up and becomes a JOY. There are a number of ways to mitigate the impact RNG has without making runs samey, the power level of different characters is not wildly disparate, most of the characters take a bit of exploration to use effectively but there is only 1 (out of '20ish' -nudge wink no spoilers) that I would consider gimmicky. The ability to set certain cards as abilities is extremely clever and truly shines at expert difficulty for reasons that are too in-depth for the purpose of this review.

Final considerations:
A concern that I've heard is that there is mild nudity - the game most assuredly does not rely on feminine... talents to keep your attention. The character in the battle bikini uses fire effects and a homemade flamethrower. The frilly black and pink outfit one of the characters wears I sort of ascribed to a Korean version of gyaru and I found her tropeyness more of a sticking point than her presentation - a rare miss that did not hinder my enjoyment whatsoever.

DID I MENTION HEALING WHIP? There's a healing whip. Yes it's played mostly straight and it is surprisingly clever!

I'd like to harp on what I described before as the gameplay loop - when it comes to roguelites in my opinion their effectiveness at being good/fun is feeling FAIR. Very rarely have I felt that losing a run was unreasonably out of my control and even then I'm unsure if it wasn't simply a case of variance. My gold standard for fairness is FTL: Faster Than Light without the DLC, it comes close enough for me to recommend switching to expert mode ASAP and not looking back. Hard work is its own reward ;)

There is a mod that adds a modicum of voice acting for a number of characters. GET IT, even if you don't understand Japanese it adds character and is really well done. I hope the devs will implement voice acting in their future project. Maybe give the Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children devs a poke in the ribs if they want to go the Korean route, there's plenty of talent on the Japanese side of things assuredly.

There is a very small number of awkward phrasing and typos (maybe 3 over 150 hours) so consider hitting me up if you want support on the English front Al Fine ;)

In closing:
I can't wait to see what the devs come up with next. It's supposedly called Deception Engine, as long as it has the same properly dosed amount of mild unhingedness and addictive fun I shall be chomping at the bits.

Can't recommend gacha to anyone.

Update: completed a single playthrough after 51 hours (including a couple of hours of AFK'ing because eating and all that so let's say mid 40s). This game is made with heart and skill. It feels like those who made it took their job seriously whilst taking themselves not too seriously. I had a great time and plan to 100% it.

Review after 4,5 hours:

I am a cute girl doing cute things. Come at me bro.

Atelier Ilyasviel is a good time so far.

Long live turn-based combat!