The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily Review Summary

Strategic and rewarding gameplay: The gameplay is described as strategic and rewarding, with a good level of challenge. It requires strategic planning and offers a unique twist on standard JRPG party-style battles.

Lovable and well-developed characters: The characters are widely praised for being lovable, well-written, and visually appealing. Reviewers enjoy their interactions, distinctive designs, and the effort put into fleshing them out, making the characters feel alive and engaging.

Engaging and well-told story: The story is described as engaging, enjoyable, and well-connected with multiple endings. It is praised for being interesting, easy to read, and having depth and unique themes, making it a compelling narrative.

Excellent music and art: The music and art style are highlighted as strong points. The soundtrack is described as excellent and fitting, while the art style is praised for being unique, beautiful, and impressive.

Good voice acting and performances: The voice acting is praised for being solid and enjoyable, with good emotional delivery. Character animations and performances are also noted as engaging, adding to the overall experience.

Unbalanced enemy mechanics: Enemies often spawn in excessive numbers and have higher levels than the player, making combat feel unfair and frustrating. Enemy placement and AI can also be poorly designed.

Frustrating difficulty curve: The game's difficulty can be challenging and frustrating, with a steep difficulty curve in later chapters. Players may find themselves stuck and needing to grind to progress.

Weak story and character development: The story is often described as bland, uninspired, and lacking depth. Character development is shallow, and players may not feel a strong connection to the characters.

Unreasonable mechanics: Certain game mechanics, such as enemy spawns and base capture rules, can feel unreasonable and poorly designed, leading to player frustration.

Limited character customization: Characters lack meaningful customization options, with progression primarily tied to leveling up and a limited skill system. There is no equipment or job system to diversify gameplay.

Deep strategic and tactical gameplay: The game offers a rich strategic experience with chess-like mechanics, requiring careful planning and tactical decisions. Players must manage resources, plan several moves ahead, and adapt to various challenges.

Character relationships and routes: The game features multiple routes and endings, with character relationships playing a significant role. Players can customize their team and experience different storylines based on their choices.

Supply lines and territory management: Players must manage supply lines and territories, which are crucial for healing and strategic advantages. Occupying territories and maintaining supply lines add depth to the gameplay.

Turn-based combat system: The game uses a turn-based combat system with a focus on tactical decisions and unit interactions. Combat follows a 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' system, adding a layer of strategy to battles.

Challenging difficulty: The game is known for its high difficulty, which can be challenging but is generally considered fair. Players can adjust the difficulty settings or use strategy guides to help them progress.

Game crashes frequently: The game experiences frequent crashes, including crashes on startup and during gameplay. This issue severely impacts the player experience.

Poor optimization issues: The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to high CPU temperature and low framerates in certain views, such as the map-view.

Cursor and control bugs: There are issues with the cursor disappearing, leading to softlocks, and other control-related bugs that hinder gameplay.

Long load times: Players report excessive loading times, which disrupts the flow of the game and affects overall enjoyment.

High system requirements: The game requires high system specifications, such as 32GB of memory and an RTX 4070ti SUPER GPU, which may limit accessibility for some players.

Recommended for strategy and turn-based fans: The game is highly recommended for fans of strategy and turn-based games, as well as those who enjoy challenging but fun gameplay.

Buy on sale: Some reviewers suggest buying the game on sale to get better value.

Recommended for Yuri fans: The game is recommended for fans of Yuri due to the main character pair, though it may not be a pure Yuri game.

Worth the price: Several reviews mention that the game is worth its price, suggesting good value for money.

Play on easier difficulty: Reviewers suggest playing on an easier difficulty or using strategy mode to enhance enjoyment.

Steam Deck: The game experiences frequent crashes and significant issues with controller support on the Steam Deck. Additionally, there are performance issues and problems with save files that affect the overall user experience.

External guides: The primary issues identified from user feedback include a significant lack of in-game guidance, leading to reliance on external resources for strategy and lore. Additionally, users have expressed concerns about the game's difficulty and level cap limits, which affect game balance and progression. There are also indications of language barriers, with non-English speaking users struggling with the game's difficulty and seeking external help.

Controller support and mapping: Several players have mentioned using controllers and Steam's Input mapper to play the game, indicating a preference or need for controller support.

Desire for accessible CG illustrations: Players have expressed a desire to view CG illustrations at any time, suggesting a need for easier access to in-game artwork.

Steam Awards nomination: The game has been mentioned for its nomination in the Steam Awards, indicating recognition and acclaim within the gaming community.

LGBTQ+ representation: The game includes LGBTQ+ representation, which has been noted by players.