- Stunning art and music create immersive experience.
- Unique, engaging combat system stands out.
- Compelling story and characters evoke emotion.
- Rewarding exploration with many secrets to uncover.
- Inconsistent difficulty and balance frustrate players.
- Annoying ghost mechanic disrupts gameplay flow.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 95% · Negative 5%. Score: 5 / 100
Positives:
- The game features a beautiful and unique art style, often pixel-based, with charming character designs and stunning environments. The visuals are complemented by an excellent soundtrack, creating an immersive and emotionally engaging experience. Many reviewers highlight the art and music as standout features.
- The combat system is a standout, offering a unique and engaging blend of turn-based and real-time elements. Players praise its strategic depth, innovative mechanics, and the satisfying feeling of mastering its intricacies. The system encourages experimentation and rewards tactical thinking.
- The game features a compelling and emotionally impactful story with well-developed characters. Reviewers praise the writing, narrative structure, and the way player choices influence the plot. The story often explores themes of revenge, loss, and cultural identity, creating a memorable experience.
- The game offers a well-balanced and polished experience with tight gameplay, a fitting length, and a good sense of humor. Reviewers appreciate the attention to detail, the immersive atmosphere, and the overall fun factor. The game is considered a hidden gem and a labor of love.
- The game is set in a unique world inspired by Mesoamerican cultures and Western themes, offering a refreshing perspective on colonialism and revenge. Reviewers appreciate the rich world-building, the exploration of complex themes, and the way the setting enhances the narrative.
Negatives:
- The game suffers from inconsistent difficulty, with unexpected spikes and poor encounter balancing. Some battles require numerous restarts due to randomness or unclear mechanics, leading to frustration. The combat system's depth is also criticized, with later battles relying on enemy quantity over strategic complexity.
- The ghost mechanic is frequently criticized for being annoying and frustrating, especially when managing multiple characters. Ghosts spawn close to the player, making it difficult to avoid damage, and their real-time actions disrupt the tactical turn-based experience. Some reviewers found the mechanic overwhelming and anxiety-inducing.
- The game suffers from poor keyboard mapping and UI design, leading to accidental restarts and misclicks. The placement of the restart button is particularly problematic, and the skill buttons are too small. These issues contribute to frustration and a lack of fluidity in combat.
- These points express personal preferences and emotional responses rather than specific, constructive feedback. They do not provide actionable insights into the game's design or mechanics. Therefore, they receive a very low importance score.
- The game's decision-making consequences are often unclear, leading to unintended outcomes and a lack of player agency. Choices sometimes have the same result or result in item loss without clear feedback. The inability to backtrack and explore further limits the player's freedom and sense of discovery.
Gameplay:
- The game features a unique blend of turn-based and real-time combat, requiring strategic planning and quick reactions. Players must anticipate enemy actions, manage resources, and utilize environmental elements to succeed. This hybrid system offers a fresh and engaging tactical experience.
- Characters possess individual skill trees that allow for customization and varied playstyles. Players can unlock new skills and abilities through experience gained from combat and exploration. The game encourages specialization, rewarding players who focus on specific attack styles and skill combinations.
- The 'Guilt' mechanic introduces consequences for player choices, manifesting as 'ghosts' that appear during combat. These ghosts disrupt strategic planning and force faster decision-making, adding tension to encounters. This system creates a dynamic relationship between narrative choices and gameplay challenges.
- These points are too vague and general to be useful. They lack specific details about gameplay mechanics or player experiences.
- The game features a multi-character narrative structure, with each chapter exploring the history and unique abilities of different party members. The non-linear story unfolds in an anthology style, gradually revealing interconnectedness and a larger overarching plot. This approach keeps the gameplay dynamic and engaging throughout the adventure.
Performance:
- The game generally runs well, including on Steam Deck and older hardware. Some users reported almost perfect experience on Steam Deck.
- Some players have experienced audio glitches, such as music looping or buzzing noises, particularly when multiple audio sources play at once. These audio issues can be distracting and require restarting the game in some cases.
- Some players have reported not receiving achievements for completed quests. This can be frustrating for completionists and those who enjoy tracking their progress.
- One player reported a visual bug where a character sprite lacked a walking animation. While minor, such visual glitches can detract from the overall polish of the game.
Recommendations:
- The game receives overwhelmingly positive recommendations, with many reviewers calling it a "masterpiece", "gem", or "instant classic". Reviewers highlight its high quality, unique gameplay, compelling story, and emotional impact, often stating it's one of the best games of the year or even of all time. Some recommend it even with its flaws.
- Many reviewers suggest trying the free demo to get a feel for the gameplay and determine if it aligns with player preferences. The demo offers a substantial amount of gameplay, allowing potential buyers to make an informed decision before purchasing the full game.
- Reviewers express excitement and anticipation for future projects from the development team. They believe the game's formula has the potential to be expanded upon in multiple games with different themes.
- The game's pace and length are well-suited for players who prefer a more relaxed experience. It's designed to be short and sweet, avoiding excessive time pressure or drawn-out gameplay.
- The game offers good value for its price, providing an excellent overall experience that is well worth the purchase. Reviewers highlight its affordability and the amount of content it delivers.
Miscellaneous:
- The game utilizes a simplistic pixel art style, which some found initially unappealing or difficult to distinguish characters, but grew on them over time. There are also limited save slots and unclear autosave intervals.
- The story is straightforward, well-paced, and features succinct and punchy dialogue that effectively differentiates the cast's personalities and motives. The narrative balances dark and humorous moments appropriately.
- The game consists of 5 acts, totaling 13-15 hours of gameplay, with new characters introduced at the start of each act. The game is replayable, allowing players to explore different builds and decisions.
- The game features rideable llamas. This is a minor but unique detail that adds to the game's charm.
- The main menu cannot be accessed from the battle screen, preventing saving, loading, or escaping until the battle is over or retreat. This is a significant inconvenience that can lead to frustration.
