- Addictive gameplay, charming atmosphere, quality characters.
- Engaging open-world exploration, unique town restoration.
- Excellent voice acting, nostalgic retro aesthetic.
- Simple, tedious card gameplay.
- Clunky and frustrating driving.
- Repetitive mascot incidents.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 97% · Negative 3%. Score: 3 / 100
Positives:
- The game is described as addictive and engaging, with a compelling gameplay loop that keeps players hooked. Its relaxing yet engaging nature makes it suitable for long play sessions, with reviewers noting its ability to captivate them for extended periods.
- The game is praised for its unique and charming atmosphere, driven by high-quality art, character design, and well-written dialogue. The characters are engaging and quirky, contributing to the game's overall appeal and positive reception.
- Reviewers highlight the game's engaging open-world exploration, filled with collectibles, secrets, and side activities. This encourages players to fully explore the game's world and adds depth to the overall experience, providing a sense of discovery and reward.
- The game features a unique setting with a focus on town restoration and exploration. Players are motivated to improve the town, contributing to a rewarding sense of progression and making exploration worthwhile.
- The game features excellent voice acting, particularly the Japanese cast, including notable voice actors from the Yakuza series. This adds to the game's charm and authenticity, enhancing the overall audio experience.
Negatives:
- Several reviewers found the vehicle handling to be clunky and floaty. Cars easily get stuck, and collisions reset speed, making driving frustrating.
- The card-based gameplay is criticized for being too simple and lacking strategic depth. Additionally, slow animations and a lack of auto-play or skip options make it a tedious experience.
- The mascot crises become repetitive, and the collectibles associated with them are uninspired. Reviewers wished they could skip the repetitive events.
- Managing multiple deity tasks and turning in quest items can become overwhelming. Critical collection quests get lost among less important ones.
- The main storyline is predictable, and the world-building is underutilized. The agency aspect takes over the narrative.
Gameplay:
- The core gameplay loop involves a mix of open-world exploration in a customizable vehicle, business/management simulation, and collection tasks. Players manage a mascot agency (or shrine), recruit deities/mascots, complete tasks for townspeople, and improve the town while balancing finances and repaying debts. There is no combat.
- Players recruit deities/mascots and send them on missions, which can trigger card-based minigames when unexpected events occur. These minigames involve using 'support hero' cards to overcome challenges and influence mission outcomes. The success of these missions impacts rewards and progression.
- Driving and vehicle upgrades are integral to exploration and progression. Players can customize their truck with upgrades like nitro, jump, drift, weapons, amphibious capabilities, and even a glider, unlocking new areas and items as they progress through the story.
- Cards can be obtained from town residents, vending machines, or by requesting residents to become allies. Players can upgrade cards using resources gained from completing town resident tasks or by purchasing upgrades from vending machines.
- Mascot battles become monotonous and simple after the initial amusement. The core difficulty of mascot battles sometimes feels like it comes down to resource management to avoid them.
Performance:
- The game exhibits excellent performance, running flawlessly, including on the Steam Deck. This indicates good optimization and accessibility across different hardware configurations.
- The game provides a smooth driving experience. Vehicles don't crash, and a 'one-click respawn' feature prevents players from getting stuck, ensuring uninterrupted gameplay.
Recommendations:
- The game is receiving overwhelmingly positive reception, with many reviewers highly recommending it and some even considering it a Game of the Year contender. Reviewers highlight the game's unique and memorable experience, fun factor, and overall high quality, especially for an indie title. Some reviewers express strong attachment to the game and characters.
- The game is particularly recommended for players who enjoy specific genres and themes, including simulation management, open-world exploration, collectathons, and a quirky sense of humor. It also appeals to fans of Japanese subculture themes like tokusatsu and Yakuza, as well as those who enjoyed similar games like Paradise Killer. Some reviewers highlight the driving aspect and unusual adventure.
- Reviewers advise players to manage their in-game finances carefully and prioritize subcontractors to avoid financial problems. This suggests that the game has a management component where resource allocation is important for success.
- Some reviewers suggest the game is worth buying if it's on sale or if the player has even a slight interest. This indicates that the game might not be a must-buy at full price for everyone, but it's worth considering at a lower price point.
- If you like the art style, don't hesitate to buy it directly.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is set in a quirky, Showa-era Japan, reminiscent of the Like a Dragon series. The story involves a Yakuza member managing a failing shrine, blending Yakuza elements, business simulation, and nonsensical comedy.
- The game has a very small number of hidden achievements. This may affect the replayability for achievement hunters.
- The game's narrative centers around a town election and a curse linked to the Yakuza's influence. This plotline introduces unique conflicts and challenges for the player.
- The game's bizarre worldbuilding may require some initial investment from the player to fully appreciate. Players may need to adjust to the game's unique setting and concepts.
- This point is not specific and does not provide constructive feedback. Therefore, it receives a very low importance score.
