- Engaging tactical puzzle combat with rewinds.
- Refreshing charm with stylish retro visuals.
- Diverse character abilities and customization options.
- Weak story, dialogue, and underdeveloped characters.
- Frequent technical issues and localization problems.
- Shallow minigames and supporting systems.
Emotions
Players feel Satisfaction from the game's high overall quality, particularly its well-executed and strategic combat system, which offers rewarding tactical depth and synergy. The appealing presentation, including art style, soundtrack, and UI, combined with strong writing and engaging characters, also contribute significantly. Furthermore, features like easy strategy rewinding and a general lack of bugs enhance the smooth and enjoyable experience, meeting or exceeding player expectations.
Enjoyment primarily stems from the game's strong presentation, encompassing its distinctive visual style, art direction, and stellar music, which collectively create an appealing atmosphere. The engaging combat system, unique gameplay mechanics, and compelling writing with excellent characters and dialogue also contribute heavily to players having a consistently good time. The overall 'vibe' and similarity to beloved series like Persona or SMT further amplify this positive emotional response.
Excitement is generated by the game's refreshing and unique qualities, particularly its phenomenal music, fresh combat mechanics (often described as chess-like), and engaging visuals. The desire to delve deeper into the world, explore its charming aspects, and anticipate future playtime or content also drives this emotion. Many players are excited by the game's overall quality and its ability to break them out of a gaming slump, often noting its similarity to beloved series like Shin Megami Tensei.
Appreciation arises from the game's distinctive artistic vision and overall craftsmanship, particularly its unique blend of influences and systems. Players value the brilliant puzzle-like tactics and engaging combat, alongside the captivating atmosphere, art direction, and dynamic soundtrack. The game's personality, goofy tone, and thoughtful design details further highlight its quality and individuality, earning player admiration.
Disappointment stems from perceived shortcomings in core game mechanics and content. Players are let down by the lack of a traditional leveling system, shallow or unrewarding minigames, and a general lack of strategic depth or engagement in combat. Further dissatisfaction comes from issues such as poor game pacing, unappealing protagonist personality or design, and low-quality dialogue or translation.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 93% · Negative 7%. Score: 7 / 100
Positives:
- The combat system is highly praised for its unique, tactical, and puzzle-like nature, often compared to games like 'Into the Breach'. Players appreciate its depth, strategic planning, snappy execution, and the forgiving rewind mechanic.
- Players find the game to be a breath of fresh air, offering a unique and charming experience that stands out from similar titles. Its overall polish and enjoyable gameplay loop are frequently praised.
- The game's art direction is consistently lauded, with many noting its unique blend of stylized 3D and pixel art, reminiscent of classic Persona/SMT titles. The visuals, character designs, UI, and overall aesthetics are described as highly polished, charming, and full of personality.
- The game's soundtrack receives widespread acclaim, described as phenomenal, funky, and perfectly fitting the game's mood and atmosphere. It enhances the overall experience and encourages players to linger.
- Players are immediately drawn into the game's world, appreciating its strong atmosphere and "hang-out" vibes. This creates a desire to explore, interact with NPCs, and engage with the social aspects without feeling pressured.
Negatives:
- A significant amount of feedback points to the combat system as highly repetitive, with frequent battles that become stale due to lack of variety in enemies, battlefield design, and strategic depth. Players felt that new abilities were gained slowly and didn't significantly alter combat, and character customization options were limited or unimpactful. This, combined with high combat frequency, led to player fatigue.
- Many players found the main story monotonous, poorly written, and lacking depth in character development or plot twists. The dialogue was frequently criticized for being stiff, repetitive, "internet-y," and contributing to a lack of immersion. The main protagonist, Faye, was specifically called out for her overwhelming personality and design, further hindering player investment. Pacing issues also made the experience feel drawn out and unengaging.
- Players reported various technical problems, including game crashes, frequent "unexpected errors," and specific boss fight bugs like instakill zones hitting outside marked areas. Additionally, the game contains numerous grammatical errors and typos, and the Spanish localization was criticized for being inaccurate, unorganic, and too heavily influenced by a specific regional dialect.
- Players found various supplementary game systems, including minigames, base building, and relationship management, to be lacking in depth and variety. Minigames were often described as too similar or basic, offering little incentive for repeated play or significant rewards beyond minor relationship boosts. Base features were also criticized for their lack of interactive functions.
- The game's user interface and control scheme for keyboard and mouse users were deemed problematic. Specific issues include unresponsive buttons, an unpolished feel for general movement and interaction, and a jarringly unstylized mouse cursor.
Gameplay:
- Characters are divided into combat and support roles, each with unique movement patterns, attack styles, and specific 'gimmicks'. Combat involves character combos, elemental reactions, and energy-consuming special techniques (ultimates), all drawing from a shared action point pool. Skills and abilities can be unlocked through side quests, shop purchases, or story progression, and further customized via equipable skill slots.
- Combat is described as a turn-based, isometric tactical puzzle, heavily focused on positioning and action points, similar to 'Into the Breach'. Players must negotiate win conditions and aim for star ratings based on efficiency within a set number of turns. A key feature is the ability to rewind and undo moves infinitely, even after beating a battle, providing high fault tolerance and encouraging experimentation.
- The game follows a distinct cyclical structure, typically spanning 10-14 in-game weeks. Each week progresses with daily activities like plot, relationship building, and mini-games (e.g., cooking, fishing), culminating in a weekly boss battle. The setting is a school on an isolated island, balancing 'school life' activities (NPC interaction for skills) with combat-focused demon incidents.
- The game includes a relationship system where character affinity is built through dialogue choices and mini-games. Interestingly, even failing a mini-game can still contribute to relationship progress. Reaching higher relationship levels (up to level 4) unlocks specific companion stories, though romance is noted as a minor part of the overall experience.
- Combat encounters feature diverse victory conditions, often requiring players to defeat a specific number of enemies, prevent enemies from reaching a backline, or have characters reach designated victory squares. Achieving higher ranks (e.g., A-rank or three stars) adds further constraints like turn limits and no casualties, pushing players for optimal play.
Performance:
- Players note the game runs smoothly on Steam Deck for extended periods (e.g., 5 hours) without needing setting changes. This indicates strong out-of-the-box optimization for handheld play, based on limited feedback.
- Initial player feedback suggests the game's PC system requirements are normal and reasonable. This implies accessibility across a typical range of gaming hardware configurations, though based on limited feedback.
Recommendations:
- Many players express strong enjoyment, recommending the game as fun, addictive, and an instant favorite. Some are so confident they purchased on launch or expect yearly replays, showing high satisfaction with the core gameplay.
- The game is particularly recommended for players who enjoy tactical RPGs (TRPGs), grid-based combat, games with spooky themes, or the style of older Persona titles. This suggests a strong appeal within certain niche audiences.
- Players recommend engaging with the game's side quests, suggesting they add value to the experience. Additionally, pursuing all A-rank clears offers a challenging objective for dedicated players seeking extra replayability.
Miscellaneous:
- Many initial reviews serve as placeholders to show support for the developers, often before extensive playtime. Reviewers generally express enjoyment, with specific appreciation for the 3-star fight challenge system.
- Players frequently compare the game's design and mechanics to a compelling blend of elements from "Persona" and "Into the Breach." This suggests a successful fusion of narrative and tactical gameplay.
- Reviewers highlight a unique stylistic integration within the game, combining design philosophies commonly associated with both "American" and "Japanese" aesthetics. This creates a fresh and identifiable art direction.
- The game is noted for its extensive incorporation of film-related dialogue and cultural references. This significantly contributes to its distinctive narrative and world-building.
- Players are aware of and anticipate a Day 1 patch for the game. This indicates an understanding that post-launch updates will address initial minor issues or refinements.
