Info about Battle Chasers: Nightwar:

Official game description:
Steam Greenlight
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About the Game
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Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an RPG inspired by the classic console greats, featuring deep dungeon diving, turn-based combat presented in a classic JRPG format, and a rich story driven by exploration of the world.  
*   Classic turn-based combat inspired by the console RPG greats, with a unique overcharge mana system and incredible Battle Bursts.  
*   Beautiful, randomly-generated dungeons loaded with traps, puzzles, secrets and loot.  
*   Explore an overworld peppered with hidden dungeons, rare bosses and randomly appearing friends and foes.  
*   Action oriented, randomly-generated dungeons loaded with traps, puzzles and secrets. Use each hero's unique dungeon skills to survive  
*   Build your adventuring party by choosing three of six available heroes from the classic Battle Chasers comic series, each with unique abilities, perks, items and dungeon skills  
*   Dive into the deep crafting system, using the unique ingredient-overloading system to create epic items!
The best-selling comic book Battle Chasers was first released in the late 90s and quickly generated a passionate cult following.

Release date: Oct 3, 2017

Categories: Turn-based RPG, Dungeon Crawler, Procedural Generation, Character Progression, Crafting, Party-based Combat, JRPG

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: High external guide dependency due to bugs and missing instructions; summary: The main 'Wiki Tax' stems from a lack of in-game instruction for quest objectives and a critical spawn bug that halts progression. Players rely on external guides for quest steps (ultimate weapons) and community fixes (shared saves, wiki) to bypass missing or broken game mechanics.
- Proton/Linux: score 0; verdict: Works Well; summary: The dataset contains no Linux or Proton compatibility feedback. All reviews are about game difficulty and story, with no mention of crashes, performance, anti-cheat, or required tweaks. Consequently, there is no evidence of Linux-specific problems.
- Steam Deck: score 10; verdict: Seamless; summary: The game delivers a flawless Steam Deck experience according to user feedback, with no reported technical barriers such as crashes, launcher issues, or unreadable UI. Minor localization errors exist but do not impact compatibility or performance on the handheld device.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00
  - Reasoning: The first quote indicates that while $30 is considered a solid price for enthusiasts, a fair price for marginal fans is around $20. The second quote supports $30 as acceptable for full price. Together, they suggest the community perceives a fair base price ranging from $20 (sale price for wider audience) to $30 (full price for dedicated fans).
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 40.0h
  - Story completion: 30.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews provide explicit game completion times: one reports 40 hours for full completion including all side content, another reports 31 hours for game and all side content. For story completion (main campaign only), one review states 'about 30 hours just to finish the game' and another (translated from Spanish) reports 30-40 hours for the main campaign. No reliable evidence for typical session length or endgame playtime hours is found in the reviews, so those metrics are set to null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game initially hooks with strong art style and progression promise, but the extremely slow combat animations and repetitive encounters create a slog early on; fun picks up once character perks and loot systems become meaningful, yet the repetitive loop leads to a drop in enjoyment over time.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Character progression and perk system engagement
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: slow combat animations; repetitive random encounters; tedious early traversal; lengthy start/end-of-combat sequences; boring loot and samey enemies
  - Unlock drivers: perk-based progression system; skill and gear customization; rewarding dungeon exploration; fishing minigame and secrets
  - Conditions: patience for slow pacing; tolerance for repetition and grind; appreciation for turn-based JRPG mechanics; preference for deep character building over story
- Player Archetypes:
  - Old-School Turn-Based RPG Fan (buy)
    - Motivation: To relive classic turn-based RPG experiences with deep combat mechanics and character progression.
    - Playstyle: Strategic turn-based combat, careful party building, may engage in New Game+ for additional challenge.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: old school gamer; JRPG fan; turn-based combat lover
    - Reference games: Final Fantasy; Phantasy Star; Octopath Traveler; Ruined King
  - Casual Relaxed Gamer (sale)
    - Motivation: Relaxed entertainment and stress-free gameplay that fits into a busy lifestyle.
    - Playstyle: Casual exploration, skipping story, enjoying combat without excessive grinding; may use mods to reduce grind.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: casual gamer; parent; busy adult
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Completionist Grinder (buy)
    - Motivation: To achieve full completion, collect all achievements, and maximize character builds.
    - Playstyle: Systematic grinding, revisiting dungeons, managing multiple characters, using New Game+ for all content.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: completionist; achievement hunter
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Comic Franchise Fan (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience a faithful adaptation of the beloved comic series and see favorite characters in a game.
    - Playstyle: May focus on story and character connections, but also enjoy the combat; could be casual or completionist depending on personal preference.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Battle Chasers comic fan; Joe Mad fan
    - Reference games: N/A


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:
- Engaging turn-based combat (weight 0.64): Multiple clusters highlight the turn-based combat system, praising its mechanics, overcharge system, and satisfying impact. This is a core strength of the game.
- Beautiful visuals and art (weight 0.53): Players consistently praise the game's visuals, with specific mentions of a comic book art style and general gorgeous aesthetics. The art style is a major positive point.
- Excellent turn-based RPG (weight 0.47): Many reviews recommend the game specifically to fans of turn-based JRPGs, comparing it to classics like Final Fantasy. The game delivers a deep and fun strategic experience.
- Great overall game quality (weight 0.23): A significant number of players simply call it a great, fantastic, or masterpiece game, indicating a high level of overall satisfaction beyond specific features.
- Outstanding soundtrack (weight 0.19): The soundtrack and sound design receive high praise, with multiple reviews calling it standout, outstanding, or haunting. Audio is a significant strength.
- Fun and easy gameplay (weight 0.17): The game is consistently described as fun and easy to pick up, with smooth gameplay that remains enjoyable. It is accessible to many players.
- Deep crafting system (weight 0.13): The crafting system is noted as competent, well-thought-out, and deep, enabling powerful builds and a snowball effect. It adds meaningful progression.
- Flexible perk system (weight 0.11): A simple yet powerful perk system allows for multiple builds and free respecs, giving players freedom to customize their characters freely.

Common complaints:
- Story is mediocre and forgettable (weight 0.43): Players widely criticize the story as generic, clichéd, and lacking depth. Many find it unengaging and feel the ending is unsatisfying.
- Repetitive and monotonous gameplay (weight 0.43): A recurring complaint is that the gameplay loop, including combat and dungeon clearing, becomes quickly repetitive and boring. The game requires excessive grinding to progress.
- Reserve party members gain no experience (weight 0.26): Only three active party members are used, and those not in the party do not earn experience points. This forces tedious grinding to level alternate characters and discourages team swapping.
- Combat animations are too slow (weight 0.25): Players criticize the long-winded combat animations at the start and end of battles. The inability to skip or speed up these animations makes fights feel tedious and slow.
- Difficulty spikes and imbalance (weight 0.14): The game features ridiculous difficulty spikes later on, with normal enemies sometimes too strong and bosses too weak. Level disparity makes difficulty swing wildly.
- Characters are bland and uninteresting (weight 0.13): Reviewers note that both main characters and the cast lack charisma and development. The characters are seen as generic and fail to create emotional attachment.
- New Game Plus implementation is punishing (weight 0.12): New Game Plus removes previous progress except for some perks and logs, ramps up difficulty without story value, and discards items and levels. This discourages replaying.
- No sequel despite cliffhanger ending (weight 0.11): The story ends on a 'to be continued' note, but no sequel has been announced. Players express disappointment that the cliffhanger may never be resolved.
- Leveling becomes very slow (weight 0.11): Experience point gain is slow, especially around level 8 and beyond. This forces players to grind repeatedly to keep up with level requirements.
- Walking speed is very slow (weight 0.1): Movement on the world map and in dungeons is perceived as too slow, which adds to the overall feeling of sluggish gameplay.
- PC version has stutter issues (weight 0.06): The Windows version of the game suffers from hickups and stutter problems, affecting the overall experience on PC.
- Enemies are generic reskins (weight 0.06): Many enemies are just reskins with few exceptions, contributing to the feeling of repetition and lack of variety in combat.
- Bestiary completion is tedious (weight 0.05): Completing the bestiary is frustrating because a specific monster is hard to spawn, making it almost impossible to achieve full completion in a single run.
- Second playthrough is boring (weight 0.05): With no surprises and slow pacing, a second playthrough becomes boring. The lack of replay value is a notable downside.
- World map navigation is clunky (weight 0.05): World map sections break immersion and navigation feels clunky, adding to the overall frustration.
- Bug: Chinese UI missing attribute labels (weight 0.05): A bug exists where character attribute names are missing when using Simplified Chinese, only showing HP and MP. This affects usability for Chinese-speaking players.

Gameplay feedback:
- Turn-based RPG core (weight 0.49): The game is fundamentally a turn-based RPG with JRPG mechanics, similar to Final Fantasy 7. It features a party of three from a roster of six, with distinct roles and synergies.
- Procedurally generated dungeons (weight 0.37): Dungeons feature randomized tile sets, rooms, and layouts, offering high replayability. This randomization is a core feature, with some dungeons having modular design.
- Dungeon crawling exploration (weight 0.36): The game involves dungeon crawling with exploration, traps, puzzles, secrets, and loot. It is a key gameplay loop with various difficulty options.
- Party of three system (weight 0.27): Players choose three from six available characters for their active party. Each character has unique skills and synergies, emphasizing strategic team building.
- Overcharge mana system (weight 0.26): Turn-based combat uses an Overdrive or overcharge mana system where mana builds up gradually or can be spent strategically. This system includes Burst abilities.
- Fishing minigame (weight 0.21): A fishing minigame with rarity tiers, rods, and bait tiers is included. It rewards items like Shadow Coins and ties into the bestiary.
- Dungeon difficulty levels (weight 0.21): Dungeons offer selectable difficulty levels, ranging from simple to legendary, affecting rewards and challenge. This adds replayability.
- Overworld grid navigation (weight 0.16): The overworld is navigated on a grid-like map with predefined paths. It includes exploration and treasure hunting.
- Character progression system (weight 0.15): Characters level up and gain new skills. There is a progression system that includes leveling and skill trees.
- Crafting and enchanting (weight 0.14): The game includes a crafting system for weapons and equipment, allowing enchantments and creation of legendary items.
- Replayable dungeons (weight 0.13): Dungeons are designed to be repeatable with semi-randomized elements, encouraging multiple playthroughs. This is a key feature for prolonged engagement.
- JRPG style gameplay (weight 0.13): The game follows a classic JRPG style with exploration, turn-based battles, and minigames. It has an exploration-focused world map.
- Dungeon randomization with difficulty (weight 0.09): Procedurally generated dungeon layouts are combined with three difficulty settings (easy, hard, legendary). This creates varied challenges.
- Dual talent trees (weight 0.09): Each of the six characters has two talent trees, allowing for build customization and specialization. This adds depth to character development.
- New Game Plus mode (weight 0.08): A New Game Plus mode is available, allowing players to carry over progress and experience the game again with increased difficulty.
- Burst ultimate abilities (weight 0.08): Burst or ultimate skills function like limit breaks, providing powerful attacks that can be used in battle. These are part of the combat system.
- Perk customization system (weight 0.08): A perk system allows for stat upgrades and skill customization, enabling personalized character builds.
- Legendary difficulty dungeons (weight 0.08): Dungeons at legendary or mythic difficulty offer increased legendary drops and greater challenge, attracting dedicated players.

Performance notes:
- Crashing at start or play (weight 0.14): Multiple players report frequent crashes on launch or during gameplay, including on brand logos and within seconds of starting. This is a widespread stability issue.
- Performance drops on some systems (weight 0.13): Frame drops and stuttering occur on lower-end hardware, during rain, enemy waves, and on select Nvidia GPUs. The game can have hiccups and slowdowns on certain configurations.
- Good optimization on modern systems (weight 0.09): On mid to high-end hardware, the game runs smoothly at 1440p/85Hz with no major issues, demonstrating good optimization for many players.
- No significant bugs for many (weight 0.09): Several players report zero crashes and no major bugs after dozens of hours, suggesting a stable experience for some configurations.
- Runs on older devices (weight 0.08): The game has low system requirements and runs on older hardware like an old iMac and even on Big Sur, making it accessible.
- Steam Deck issues and fixes (weight 0.06): While many say the game runs well on Steam Deck, one user reports an upside-down video glitch fixable with Proton GE. Overall platform is playable.
- Softlocks and unclickable bugs (weight 0.04): Bugs can cause softlocks or make objects unclickable, forcing restarts to continue. This is a major frustration for players.
- Switch performance problems (weight 0.04): On Nintendo Switch, the game suffers from sluggish menus and long loading times, indicating poor optimization on that platform.
- Action zones are hardware heavy (weight 0.03): Action zones demand much higher hardware specs than the map and battle screens, creating an uneven performance profile.
- Buy Back feature causes slowdown (weight 0.03): The Buy Back option accumulates all items, leading to performance degradation. This is a specific design issue affecting gameplay.
- DX9 mode has camera issues (weight 0.03): Using DX9 mode results in blurry camera problems, which can be avoided by using a different renderer.

Recommendations:
- Great for JRPG fans (weight 0.25): The game is highly recommended for fans of JRPGs, especially those who enjoy classic or simple, cute JRPGs with special effects and western-style art. It appeals to a broad range of JRPG enthusiasts.
- Worth buying overall (weight 0.22): Many recommend the game for purchase, with some saying it is worth the full price and others strongly urging immediate buying, especially if on sale.
- Excellent turn-based combat (weight 0.22): Players strongly recommend the game to fans of turn-based combat, praising it as a must-play for turn-based RPG lovers and those who value tactical depth.
- Buy on discount recommended (weight 0.13): Several reviewers suggest purchasing the game at a decent discount rather than full price, highlighting it as a good value during sales.
- Not for story seekers (weight 0.11): The game is not recommended for players looking for a strong narrative or deep character development, as it lacks in story depth.
- Great for comic fans (weight 0.08): The game is highly recommended for fans of the comic series, suggesting it is essential or very appealing to that specific audience.
- Good for turn-based RPG fans (weight 0.06): The game is recommended for players who enjoy turn-based RPGs similar to those from the Final Fantasy era or classic Japanese tactical RPGs.
- Suitable for grinding fans (weight 0.06): Reviewers indicate the game is a good fit for RPG fans who do not mind grinding, as it caters to those who enjoy turn-based grinding gameplay.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.39): The game suffers from excessive grinding, difficulty spikes, and bugs including softlocks, save file corruption, and crashes. Slow animations, lack of speed options, and poor quality-of-life features like non-shared XP and tedious crafting further compound the frustration.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.33): Players enjoyed the balanced turn-based combat, engaging story and characters, and the charming comic book art style. The gameplay loop, including dungeon exploration and rewarding progression, kept them hooked for many hours.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.26): Players felt the game provided a polished, well-balanced turn-based RPG experience with satisfying combat and customization. The game respected their time, offered good value, and delivered a rewarding experience without excessive grind.
- Disappointment (weight 0.24): The weak story, lack of character development, and unbalanced progression system let down players, especially fans of the series. Design issues like non-shared XP and a lack of promised sequels contributed to the disappointment, making the game feel incomplete.
- Excitement (weight 0.11): Players were excited by the game's beautiful visuals, smooth animations, and innovative turn-based combat system. The promise of a sequel and the game's addictive nature created high enthusiasm.
- Boredom (weight 0.09): Repetitive combat, slow pacing, and a lack of novelty in later stages made the game feel monotonous. The grind and uninteresting loot caused players to lose interest quickly, especially on repeat playthroughs.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.06): The aesthetics, gameplay, and music evoked memories of classic RPGs like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. The connection to the original comic books added to the sentimental value.
- Annoyance (weight 0.05): Annoying issues included the required grind without fast battle options, overused enemy types, and performance problems. Non-shared XP and slow combat made party management and progression feel cumbersome.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players appreciated the comic book art style, high-quality voice acting in multiple languages, and the unique combat mechanics that kept them engaged.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): The art direction, especially by Joe Madureira, and the game's visual details, deep combat, and rich content earned admiration. Players found the game's design and overall quality to be outstanding.
- Love (weight 0.02): The deep battle system, gorgeous art, and semi-randomized dungeons were loved enough to inspire multiple playthroughs and purchases of the comics. The game's overall experience was highly enjoyable.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.02): Slow movement and battle speed forced some players to use speedhacks. The lack of balanced leveling options and a shallow, non-immersive story led to dissatisfaction.
- Tedium (weight 0.02): The long-winded animations, repetitive forced combats, and difficult bestiary completion made the game feel tedious. Minion encounters, in particular, were seen as a chore.
- Amusement (weight 0.02): Players were amused by the enjoyably tropey characters and specific humorous moments, such as the talking fish joke and the zeppelin encounter. These moments provided lighthearted relief.
- Surprise (weight 0.02): Players were surprised that the game exceeded their low expectations, particularly with its quality despite being a potential cash grab. The hard grind for the bestiary achievement also surprised players.
- Delight (weight 0.02): The excellent soundtrack, top-notch voice acting, and exceptional value at a low price delighted players. The combination of OST, art, and turn-based combat was particularly pleasing.
- Impressed (weight 0.02): The hand-drawn art style, dungeon design, overcharge system, and deep crafting mechanics impressed players. The high quality and attention to detail across graphics, crafting, and world-building stood out.
- Mild disappointment (weight 0.01): Players were mildly disappointed by unvoiced dialogue despite strong initial voice acting, slower combat than desired, and imperfect New Game+ balance.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arose from unclear turn order despite maxed stats, the game suddenly becoming boring, and crashes occurring despite seemingly adequate hardware.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiastic players recommended the game to JRPG newcomers and strongly endorsed it. They expressed a readiness to play a sequel if it maintained the same quality.}