Info about Tales of Berseria™:

Official game description:
  
A tale of emotion versus reason…  
In Tales of Berseria, players embark on a journey of self-discovery as they assume the role of Velvet, a young woman whose once kind demeanor has been replaced and overcome with a festering anger and hatred after a traumatic experience three years prior to the events within Tales of Berseria. Velvet will join a crew of pirates as they sail across the sea and visit the many islands that make up the sacred kingdom of Midgand in an all-new adventure developed by the celebrated team behind the Tales of series. Veteran Tales of character designer Mutsumi Inomata has personally designed Velvet and famous Japanese animation studio, ufotable, returns to animate the game’s breathtaking cutscenes; delivering truly epic and emotional storytelling in their unique style.

Release date: Jan 26, 2017

Categories: JRPG, Character Progression, Exploration, Story-driven Gameplay, Action RPG, Combat, Character Customization

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 60; verdict: Aggressive Monetization; summary: The analysis of user reviews reveals significant concerns regarding the monetization strategies employed in the game. Key issues include the focus on selling cosmetic DLC and the pricing strategy for remastered versions. While the game offers free unlockable costumes and accessories, the most appealing cosmetic items are often locked behind paid DLC, which has been a point of contention among users. Additionally, the pricing of remastered versions and the inclusion of DLC content have been criticized, suggesting a need for a more transparent and fair pricing model.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Improvement in Navigation and Explanation; summary: The primary issues highlighted by users are related to navigation and bugs, which significantly disrupt the gameplay experience. Additionally, the battle system and other mechanics are poorly explained, leading to frustration among users who prefer more guidance.
- Steam Deck: score 30; verdict: Great with Minor Issues; summary: The game runs exceptionally well on the Steam Deck, providing a seamless experience for most users. However, there are some issues with controller support and the combat system, which can be complex and difficult to manage. Despite these issues, the game is praised for its performance and story.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Dark and unique story (weight 0.6): The narrative is praised for its dark tone, unique perspective, and emotionally impactful storytelling. Players find the story compelling and different from typical saving-the-world narratives, with morally complex characters and a mature theme.
- Rich content and customization (weight 0.57): The game offers a vast amount of content, including a large world to explore, numerous side activities, and extensive customization options for characters and equipment. Players appreciate the variety of activities and the depth of customization available.
- Engaging characters and interactions (weight 0.55): The game features a diverse and well-developed cast of characters with engaging interactions and relationships. Players enjoy the character dynamics, dialogues, and the emotional depth of the characters.
- Positive overall experience (weight 0.37): Players generally have a positive experience with the game, finding it enjoyable and worth the time investment. The combination of story, characters, combat, and presentation elements makes it a highly recommended title.
- Fast and fluid combat (weight 0.35): The combat system is noted for being fast-paced, fluid, and enjoyable. Players appreciate the dynamic and satisfying combat mechanics, which are easy to learn but offer depth and tactical elements.
- High-quality presentation (weight 0.34): The game is praised for its high-quality presentation, including beautiful graphics, stunning art direction, and an excellent soundtrack. The visuals and music contribute significantly to the overall enjoyable experience.
- Velvet Crowe's character (weight 0.08): Velvet Crowe is highlighted as a standout character, praised for her complexity, development, and unique perspective as an anti-hero. Players find her character arc compelling and well-written.
- Engaging dialogue and cutscenes (weight 0.08): The game features engaging dialogue and well-done cutscenes, often in a 2D animated style. Players appreciate the quality of the dialogue and the presentation of the story through these cutscenes.
- Improved mechanics and camera (weight 0.06): The game introduces new mechanics and an improved camera system, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. Players appreciate these improvements, which contribute to a smoother and more enjoyable game.
- Comparison to other Tales games (weight 0.05): Players often compare this game to other titles in the Tales series, noting improvements in story, characters, and gameplay mechanics. It is frequently regarded as one of the best entries in the series.
- Replayability and multiple playstyles (weight 0.04): The game offers replayability with multiple playstyles and characters, making it worth playing through multiple times. Players enjoy the variety and depth provided by different playstyles and character options.
- Magilou's character (weight 0.04): Magilou is highlighted as a memorable and well-liked character, known for her comic relief and emotional depth. Players appreciate her unique personality and contributions to the story.
- Velvet's combat prowess (weight 0.04): Velvet is noted for feeling powerful and enjoyable in combat, with players appreciating her unique fighting style and the visceral intensity of her attacks.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive gameplay (weight 0.95): Gameplay is often described as repetitive and tedious, with excessive backtracking, grinding, and monotonous tasks that make the game feel dull.
- Poor story and pacing (weight 0.84): The story is described as boring, predictable, and poorly paced. It fails to engage players and is often criticized for being too long or convoluted.
- Dungeon design issues (weight 0.76): Dungeons are often criticized for being bland, repetitive, and poorly designed. They are described as maze-like, overly large, and tedious to navigate.
- Combat system flaws (weight 0.55): The combat system is criticized for being repetitive, confusing, and overly complex. Players report that it often devolves into mindless button mashing and lacks depth or challenge.
- Technical and performance issues (weight 0.4): The game suffers from various technical issues, including bugs, crashes, and performance drops. These issues detract from the overall gaming experience.
- Character and dialogue issues (weight 0.16): Characters are often criticized for being uninteresting, annoying, or lacking depth. Dialogues are described as excessive, inappropriate, or poorly written.
- Unmemorable music and locations (weight 0.12): The music and locations in the game are criticized for being unmemorable and generic. They fail to leave a lasting impression on players.
- Tedious equipment mechanics (weight 0.11): The equipment system is described as tedious and cumbersome. Players find it inconvenient and poorly designed, adding to the overall frustration.
- Slow movement and travel (weight 0.07): The game is criticized for its slow movement speed and poorly integrated fast-travel system, making navigation and exploration tedious.
- Difficulty and balance issues (weight 0.07): The game's difficulty is described as unbalanced, with some parts being too easy and others being unfairly difficult. This inconsistency affects the overall enjoyment.
- Censorship and narrative impact (weight 0.05): Censorship in the western release is criticized for affecting the narrative and overall experience. Some players feel that important scenes were cut out, detracting from the story.

Gameplay feedback:
- Complex combat system (weight 0.86): The game features a deep and intricate combat system with various mechanics such as combo chains, elemental weaknesses, and a stamina system tied to the Soul Gauge. Players can customize their combat experience with programmable combos and different skill sets.
- Open world and exploration (weight 0.64): The game offers an open world with various locations to explore, including dungeons and side quests. However, some areas can feel bland and repetitive, and the map navigation can be tedious.
- Repetitive gameplay elements (weight 0.62): Some aspects of the gameplay can feel repetitive, such as combat encounters and map navigation. The game also features a significant amount of grinding and farming, which may not appeal to all players.
- Character development and interactions (weight 0.62): The game emphasizes character development through interactions, skits, and optional dialogues. Characters have distinct personalities and backstories, which are explored through the narrative and gameplay.
- Visuals and animations (weight 0.47): The game features anime-style visuals and animations, with high resolution support. The scene art is simplistic, but the game includes various visual effects and animations for combat and storytelling.
- Difficulty and learning curve (weight 0.23): The game offers multiple difficulty levels, which affect enemy behavior, rewards, and player experience. The combat system has a learning curve and requires practice to master, but players can adjust the difficulty to suit their preferences.
- Equipment and customization (weight 0.11): Players can customize their characters with a variety of equipment and skills. The equipment system includes fusion, mastery, and enhancement mechanics, allowing for extensive customization options.
- Mini-games and side content (weight 0.09): The game includes various mini-games and side quests, such as card games and board games. These activities provide additional content and unlockables, but some side quests may be locked until later in the game.

Performance notes:
- Graphics quality varies (weight 0.17): Opinions on the game's graphics are mixed. Some players find the graphics modern and smooth, while others consider them outdated or average. There are also reports of graphics looking ugly at times.
- Mixed performance and optimization (weight 0.15): The game has a mix of positive and negative feedback regarding its performance and optimization. Some players report smooth gameplay and good optimization, while others experience bugs, crashes, and FPS drops.
- Game fails to open (weight 0.1): Some players have experienced issues with the game not opening at all, despite indications that it has launched.
- Frame rate drops (weight 0.1): There are reports of frame rate drops in certain areas of the game, affecting the overall smoothness of gameplay.
- Mods needed for stability (weight 0.01): Some players report that mods are required to achieve stable performance in the game.
- Stutters on newer hardware (weight 0.01): There are reports of the game stuttering on newer hardware, indicating potential compatibility issues.
- Sound issues in combat (weight 0.01): Players have noted that the sound in combat sections is overly bassy without reason, which can be distracting.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for JRPG fans (weight 0.37): The game is highly recommended for fans of JRPGs, anime, and those who enjoy revenge stories. It is considered a must-play for JRPG enthusiasts.
- Mixed recommendations on purchase (weight 0.35): Players have varying opinions on whether the game is worth buying. Some recommend waiting for the remastered version or buying it on sale, while others suggest it is worth playing for its story and characters.
- Purchase on sale (weight 0.34): Many players recommend buying the game during sales events for better value.
- Story and character strengths (weight 0.34): The game is praised for its strong story, emotional depth, and character development. It is recommended for those who value a good narrative and character interactions.
- Connection with Tales of Zestiria (weight 0.32): Players suggest playing Tales of Zestiria first due to story connections, which can enhance the experience of both games.
- Wait for future improvements (weight 0.28): Some players suggest waiting until future updates or versions for a better experience and value.
- Gamepad recommendation (weight 0.02): Playing with a gamepad is suggested for a better gaming experience.
- DLC opinions (weight 0.02): Opinions on DLCs vary, with some players recommending getting free DLCs while others find them entirely unnecessary.
- Average game quality (weight 0.01): The game is considered above average but not exceptionally amazing, indicating a moderate level of satisfaction among players.
- Immersive experience (weight 0.01): The game is noted for providing an immersive experience, which is highlighted as a positive aspect.

Other player notes:
- Edit compatibility on Steam Deck (weight 0.01): Players have reported issues with edit compatibility specifically on the Steam Deck platform.
- Playing with friends over Parsec (weight 0.01): Some players shared their personal experiences playing the game with friends using Parsec, indicating it as a notable feature or aspect of their gameplay.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.21): Players are frustrated by the game's repetitive combat system, which is often described as clunky, confusing, and overly complex. The excessive grinding, tedious dungeons, and poorly designed puzzles contribute to this frustration. Additionally, the lack of clear explanations for gameplay mechanics and the slow movement speed exacerbate the issue.
- Disappointment (weight 0.14): Players express disappointment with the game's story, which is often described as boring, clunky, and lacking depth. The characters are also a source of disappointment, with many players finding them uninteresting or poorly developed. Additionally, the repetitive gameplay and lack of innovation contribute to the overall disappointment.
- Joy (weight 0.11): Players find joy in the game's story and characters, which are often described as enjoyable, memorable, and well-developed. The combat system, despite its criticisms, is also a source of joy for some players who find it engaging and strategic. The game's art style, music, and voice acting are also frequently praised.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.09): Players enjoy the game's story and characters, which are often described as great, interesting, and well-written. The combat system, despite its criticisms, is also a source of enjoyment for some players who find it fun and well-crafted. Additionally, the game's exploration and side quests contribute to the overall enjoyment.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.06): Players feel satisfied with the game's story, which is often described as engaging, coherent, and well-written. The characters are also a source of satisfaction, with many players finding them vivid, believable, and well-developed. Additionally, the game's combat system, despite its criticisms, is praised for being fun and fluid.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Players are excited by the game's combat system, which is often described as fun, engaging, and innovative. The story is also a source of excitement, with many players finding it deep, emotional, and well-developed. Additionally, the game's characters and their unique qualities contribute to the overall excitement.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.05): Players are enthusiastic about the game's story and characters, which are often praised as well-developed, interesting, and engaging. The combat system, despite its criticisms, is also a source of enthusiasm for some players who find it deep and enjoyable. Additionally, the game's soundtrack and graphics contribute to the overall enthusiasm.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Players experience boredom due to the game's repetitive combat system and slow character movement. The predictable storyline and lack of engaging puzzles or exploration incentives also contribute to this boredom. Additionally, the repetitive tasks and overall gameplay experience can become tedious and uninteresting.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): Players feel nostalgic about the game's references and homages to previous games in the series. The game's combat and certain locations remind players of classic games, evoking a sense of nostalgia. Additionally, the game's story and characters can create fond memories that players look back on with nostalgia.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): Players admire the game's story, which is often described as engaging, unique, and well-written. The characters are also a source of admiration, with many players finding them complex, believable, and well-developed. Additionally, the game's graphics, art style, and soundtrack are frequently praised.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Players are engaged by the game's story, which is often described as well-written, well-paced, and unique. The characters are also a source of engagement, with many players finding them relatable, well-developed, and engaging. Additionally, the game's graphics and world-building contribute to the overall engagement.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Players feel anger due to the game's poor map design, which can lead to excessive backtracking and frustration. The combat system is also a source of anger, with many players finding it tedious and infuriating. Additionally, the overall dissatisfaction with the game's quality and content can contribute to this anger.
- Engaged (weight 0.02): Players feel engaged by the game's story, which is often described as strong, well-developed, and engaging. The characters are also a source of engagement, with many players finding them amazing, interesting, and well-developed. Additionally, the game's character interactions and skits contribute to the overall engagement.
- Sadness (weight 0.02): Players feel sadness due to the game's emotional story moments, which can bring tears and evoke strong emotions. The characters' struggles and despair, particularly Velvet's, contribute to this sadness. Additionally, the emotional ending and certain story passages can create a sense of sadness.
- Love (weight 0.02): Players love the game's storyline, music, world design, and combat, which are often described as well-crafted and enjoyable. The characters are also a source of love, with many players finding them lovable, well-developed, and dynamic. Additionally, the game's plot and character development contribute to the overall love.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players feel frustrated due to the game's combat system, which can be difficult to master and buggy. The tedious equipment system and audio issues also contribute to this frustration. Additionally, the difficulty in getting all achievements can be a source of frustration.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Players feel confused due to the game's story, which can be inconsistent and unclear. The battle mechanics are also a source of confusion, with many players finding them difficult to understand. Additionally, the lack of clear explanations for gameplay mechanics can contribute to this confusion.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the game's themes and characters, which can be relatable and engaging. The depth and range of characters are also a source of surprise, with many players finding them unique and well-developed. Additionally, the game's story can create unexpected moments of surprise.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Players feel disgust due to the game's boring and tedious puzzle design, which can be frustrating and uninteresting. The forced saintly plot is also a source of disgust, with many players finding it unappealing and poorly executed. Additionally, the overall dissatisfaction with the game's quality and content can contribute to this disgust.
- Empathy (weight 0.01): Players feel empathy for the game's characters, particularly Velvet, due to their emotional stories and struggles. The character depth and development contribute to this empathy, with many players finding them relatable and well-written. Additionally, the game's story can create moments of empathy and emotional connection.}