Info about Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark:

Official game description:
Missions and Monsters DLC
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About the Game
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Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is a story-driven, turn-based tactical RPG set in a fantasy world with a touch of steampunk. Take control of the Arbiter Kyrie, an agent of the Immortal Council tasked with preserving stability and order throughout the land, and lead your troops through difficult encounters.
*   **Experience an epic and mature story**, unfolding through over 40 story encounters and topped with challenging end-game content.
*   **Classic tactical combat battles**, with rugged terrain and elevation, taking place on beautiful hand-drawn environments.
*   **A deep and complex class system** with over 30 classes and 300 abilities lets you truly customize every one of your characters through the selection of their class, sub-class and passives. Carefully craft the character you envision, be it a versatile generalist, a dedicated spell-caster or a mighty foe-crushing specialist!
*   **Customize your troops' appearance** your way, by selecting their portrait, outfit, colors and overall visuals from a wide selection.
*   **Equip your army** with over 240 pieces of equipment, either purchased, gathered from fallen enemies or created from crafting.
Centuries ago, a brutal beast of destruction rent the world asunder. In this time of need, the first Immortals came into their uncanny powers, powers so great that they succeeded in destroying the beast ravaging the land, where all else had failed.
To prevent such destruction from ever happening again, the Immortals banded together to form a Council that would enforce order and stability on a global scale, stepping in at any hint of war or chaos.
The Immortals might be vastly powerful, but they are few. Even they can't oversee all of the lands. This is why they rely upon their mortal agents, the Arbiters, to guard the land's people from the more day-to-day dangers they face. Arbiters range over the land, rooting out bandits, unruly monsters, and crooked officials; their word is law.
But one Arbiter uncovers the deepening corruption pervading her own order, and it falls to her to halt the spread of a threat as dire as the brutal beast of yore.
Strongly influenced by games such as Final Fantasy Tactics (original and Advance versions) and Tactics Ogre, this tactical RPG stands on its own as a worthy successor of those classics, bringing a slew of improvements and additions to the tactics genre.

Release date: Apr 30, 2019

Categories: Turn-based Tactical, Tactical RPG, Character Progression, Job System, Customization, New Game+, Mod Support

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 10; verdict: Fair / No Predatory Monetization; summary: The user reviews confirm the game has no microtransactions, no pay-to-win, and no predatory monetization. It is a single purchase with optional DLC expansions, which players find fairly priced and worthwhile.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Low Dependency; summary: No significant external data dependency complaints found in user feedback.
- Proton/Linux: score 0; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game exhibits excellent Linux/Proton compatibility. All user reviews confirm it runs perfectly out of the box on GNU/Linux and Steam Deck without any issues.
- Steam Deck: score 75; verdict: Inconsistent with Launch Issues; summary: The game has mixed Steam Deck compatibility: many users report excellent performance, but a critical launch failure (black screen) and a save sync issue are present, making the experience broken for some users.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $15.00 - $30.00
  - Reasoning: Reviews indicate that $30 is the full price and is considered fair by some dedicated fans, while others question its value after years of release and heavily recommend waiting for a sale. This suggests a fair base-game price range that accommodates both the full price for enthusiasts and a lower sale price for general players, resulting in a range of $15–$30.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 90.0h
  - Story completion: 40.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The 30-50 hour estimate and the specific 40-hour comment both refer to completing a single playthrough, which aligns with story completion. The 90-hour report describes finishing the game with all desired content (side quests, class builds, etc.), representing game completion. No explicit session lengths or endgame-only playtimes are provided; session length cannot be reliably inferred from battle durations, and endgame is not separately quantified.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game is enjoyable from the start but becomes increasingly grindy, repetitive, and tedious during the middle and endgame, causing a significant drop in fun.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: N/A
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: N/A
- Player Archetypes:
  - FFT Nostalgia Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: Reliving the Final Fantasy Tactics experience
    - Playstyle: Carefully building and customizing characters across many classes, grinding for abilities and permanent stat bonuses.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: retro tactics fan; old player of War of the Lions
    - Reference games: Final Fantasy Tactics; Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
  - Disappointed Genre Purist (no buy)
    - Motivation: Seeking a worthy successor to classic tactical RPGs
    - Playstyle: Critical analysis of game mechanics and comparison to genre benchmarks
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: seasoned Disgaea player
    - Reference games: Final Fantasy Tactics; Disgaea; Ogre Battle
  - Min-Maxer Theorycrafter (sale)
    - Motivation: Optimizing character builds and breaking the game's mechanics
    - Playstyle: Meticulously crafting classes, grinding for permanent stat bonuses, and testing synergies
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: min-maxer
    - Reference games: Final Fantasy Tactics; Shin Megami Tensei
  - Casual Tactical Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoyable tactical gameplay without excessive grind or frustration
    - Playstyle: Customizing difficulty, using auto-battle, and exploring character customization at a relaxed pace
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Fire Emblem; XCOM


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:
- Spiritual successor to FFT (weight 0.51): This game is consistently praised as a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics, with many reviews noting it modernizes and improves upon the classic tactical RPG formula. Fans of FFT will find the gameplay, class system, and combat deeply familiar and engaging.
- Deep character customization (weight 0.38): The game offers vast customization options for characters, including classes, subclasses, abilities, and appearance. The class system is particularly praised for its complexity and the ability to create unique builds.
- Adjustable difficulty settings (weight 0.19): Players appreciate the extensive difficulty customization options that can be adjusted mid-game, allowing both newcomers and veterans to tailor the challenge to their liking. This flexibility makes the game accessible to a wide audience.
- Excellent tactical RPG (weight 0.17): Many reviewers consider this a well-balanced and excellent tactical RPG, highlighting its class system and customization as standout features. It is frequently described as one of the best games in the genre.
- Strategic and satisfying combat (weight 0.16): Combat is highly strategic, rewarding, and satisfying, with addictive gameplay mechanics. Players find the tactical battles exciting and engaging.
- Auto-battle reduces grind (weight 0.11): An auto-battle feature is available, which reduces grind by allowing AI-controlled combat with customizable behavior settings. This is seen as a convenient quality-of-life addition.
- Fun and enjoyable game (weight 0.1): Overall, the game is described as very enjoyable and fun, with many players expressing high satisfaction. It delivers a solid tactical RPG experience.
- Enjoyable for genre fans (weight 0.08): The game is particularly enjoyable for fans of the tactical RPG genre, fulfilling expectations for strategic depth and turn-based combat. It appeals strongly to genre enthusiasts.

Common complaints:
- Story is weak (weight 0.38): Many reviews describe the story as simple, predictable, cliché, or unoriginal, with weak twists and a lack of memorable characters.
- Injury system annoying (weight 0.21): The injury system and enemy healing/resurrection mechanics are frequently criticized for making battles tedious and frustrating.
- Battles too long (weight 0.19): Battles are reported as overly long and slow, often requiring grinding to progress, which makes the game feel like a time sink.
- Art style poor (weight 0.19): The art style is described as cartoony, childish, or off-putting, with inconsistent character artwork and outdated graphics.
- Grinding required (weight 0.19): Players complain about excessive grinding for classes and skills, a confusing leveling system, and many classes feeling samey or useless.
- Characters boring (weight 0.13): Characters are often labeled as boring, predictable, lacking charisma, or flat, with few interesting personalities.
- Inferior to FFT (weight 0.11): Comparisons to Final Fantasy Tactics and other SRPGs suggest this game lacks the depth, personality, and polish of its predecessors.
- Poor controls (weight 0.1): Controls and UI are described as terrible, unintuitive, and plagued with nested menus, making navigation frustrating on both keyboard and controller.
- No camera rotation (weight 0.07): The inability to rotate or tilt the camera during battles makes navigation and tactical assessment difficult.
- Final boss weak (weight 0.06): The final boss is underwhelming and not challenging enough, leading to a disappointing endgame experience.
- No in-battle save (weight 0.06): The inability to save during battles is a persistent frustration, forcing players to replay long fights if interrupted.
- Lacks depth (weight 0.06): The story lacks depth and character development, with little to do outside of main progression.
- AI is stupid (weight 0.04): AI is criticized as stupid and exploitable, failing to apply strategy, which undermines tactical gameplay.
- Nothing amazing (weight 0.04): Some reviewers find the game fails to stand out, offering nothing particularly amazing or memorable.
- Ugly portraits (weight 0.04): Main character portraits are considered visually unattractive, detracting from the game's presentation.
- Music repetitive (weight 0.04): The music becomes repetitive quickly, failing to maintain interest over long play sessions.
- Cannot steal gear (weight 0.04): A specific complaint is the inability to steal equipment, with only random consumables available, limiting strategic options.
- No endgame content (weight 0.04): Endgame content is lacking, with only grinding available after the main story, reducing replay value.
- Game won't launch (weight 0.04): Some players cannot launch the game at all, encountering a black screen or cursor, indicating a critical technical bug.
- RNG frustrating (weight 0.04): RNG-based hit chances lead to frustrating misses even at high percentages, making combat feel unreliable and unfair.

Gameplay feedback:
- Classic Tactical RPG Homage (weight 0.47): The game is repeatedly described as a spiritual successor or homage to classic tactical RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle, with turn-based tactical combat and a traditional strategy RPG feel. It is praised for evoking the old-school SRPG experience.
- Deep Job and Class System (weight 0.37): Players highlight a deep job system with many classes, class mixing, multiclassing, and hybrid combinations, enabling extensive character customization. The system includes advanced jobs and flexible class customization.
- Customizable Difficulty Settings (weight 0.16): Multiple difficulty settings and extensive customizable difficulty options are available, including sliders that affect various aspects and can be adjusted mid-game. This allows players to tailor the challenge to their preference.
- Traditional Turn-Based Tactics (weight 0.13): The game is a traditional turn-based tactics title with grid-based combat and speed-based turn order, appealing to fans of classic strategy RPGs. It features squad management and over 30 classes.
- Permanent Mastery Bonuses (weight 0.09): Mastering classes provides permanent stat bonuses and ability bonuses that carry over even when switching jobs, encouraging deep progression and experimentation within the class system.
- New Game+ Mode (weight 0.08): The game includes a New Game+ mode with carryover options, allowing players to start a new playthrough with retained progress for enhanced replayability.
- DLC Adds Content (weight 0.08): DLC expands the game with additional missions, monsters, extra classes, and monster taming, adding more content for players to explore.
- Skills and Positioning Depth (weight 0.08): The class system involves skills, ability leveling, complex skill combinations, and strategic positioning, providing depth to character progression and combat tactics.
- Replenishing Item System (weight 0.08): Items have limited uses per battle but replenish for free after each encounter, encouraging tactical usage without long-term resource anxiety.
- Deep Character Customization (weight 0.07): Extensive character customization is available, covering class combinations, abilities, subclasses, counterattacks, equipment, and even appearance, giving players deep control over their units.
- Auto-Battle AI System (weight 0.06): An auto-battle AI system with strategic role assignment allows players to automate fights by assigning behaviors, easing grinding or routine encounters.
- Debuffs and Status Effects (weight 0.06): The game includes debuffs, status ailments, and buffs/debuffs as part of its combat mechanics, adding tactical nuance to battles.
- Unique Leveling Twist (weight 0.06): The level progression system features a unique twist or twist on traditional leveling, likely offering an innovative approach to character growth that distinguishes it from standard systems.

Performance notes:
- Great Steam Deck performance (weight 0.11): Multiple users report stable performance and no bugs or crashes on the Steam Deck, with one user noting the game does not drain battery and another mentioning suitability for long sessions.
- Good Linux compatibility (weight 0.03): The game runs perfectly on GNU/Linux systems, indicating broad compatibility across Linux distributions.
- Art style hides framerate issues (weight 0.03): The colorful art style ensures the framerate is not an issue, making the game visually smooth even at lower performance levels.
- Game fails to launch sometimes (weight 0.03): The game fails to launch on hardware that previously worked, indicating a potential regression or compatibility issue.
- Works with keyboard and mouse (weight 0.03): Controls work fine with mouse and keyboard, providing a satisfactory input experience for PC players.
- Medium optimization level (weight 0.03): The game is described as medium optimization, suggesting it runs adequately but not exceptionally well on various hardware.
- Controller lag issue (weight 0.03): Controller input lag is reported, affecting gameplay responsiveness and accuracy.

Recommendations:
- Great for FFT fans (weight 0.44): This game is strongly recommended to players who enjoy Final Fantasy Tactics and similar tactical RPGs. It offers a familiar grid-based turn-based experience with deep customization and strategy.
- Good for tactics fans (weight 0.3): General recommendation for turn-based strategy and tactics game enthusiasts. The game provides a solid tactical RPG experience with class diversity and storytelling, making it worth playing.
- High quality and value (weight 0.17): Positive general recommendations with emphasis on high quality and good value for playtime. The game is seen as a worthwhile purchase for tactical RPG fans.
- Buy on sale only (weight 0.12): Many reviewers advise waiting for a sale due to price concerns. The game is considered a good value when discounted but may not be worth the full price for some players.
- For deep strategy fans (weight 0.08): Recommended for fans of deep strategy and build customization, but tolerance for flaws is needed. Newcomers may also enjoy it if they accept some imperfections.
- For old-school SRPG fans (weight 0.08): The game is specifically recommended for old-school SRPG fans who dislike puzzle gimmicks. It offers a straightforward tactical experience without unnecessary distractions.
- Not recommended by some (weight 0.07): A small segment of reviewers strongly advise against purchasing the game, citing it is not worth the price or enjoyable. This feedback is limited in frequency.
- Decent but not great (weight 0.04): The game is described as a decent tactical experience, though not exceptional. It is considered okay for fans to try but not a must-play.

Other player notes:
- Players use mods (weight 0.02): Players use mods as a tool to tailor the game experience to their personal preferences, indicating that the game does not fully satisfy default player needs.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.19): Players are frustrated by the lack of non-combat content, grind-heavy class systems forcing suboptimal leveling, and unbalanced difficulty that spikes after level 40 with unfair enemy mechanics like constant healing and high miss rates even at 97% hit chance. The injury system, poor UI/controls, and long, repetitive battles without in-combat saves exacerbate the tedium.
- Disappointment (weight 0.15): Players feel let down by the game failing to live up to expectations as a successor to Final Fantasy Tactics, citing a generic story, flat characters, and a slow-paced, pseudo-strategic combat system. The cartoony art style, poor character designs, and lack of memorable narrative or atmospheric depth contribute to the sense of unmet potential.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.15): Many players find the game satisfying as a worthy spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics, praising its deep class system, fair challenge on Hard difficulty, and strategic combat that rewards thoughtful builds. Features like New Game+, customizable mercenaries, and a balanced progression system with rewarding AI battles provide high replayability and value.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.09): Players enjoy the game's deep job system, skill customization, and engaging tactical combat that encourages theorycrafting and build experimentation. The charming story, witty dialogue, and strong class balance keep battles interesting throughout, while the auto-battle and grinding options provide a fun, manageable pace for progression.
- Excitement (weight 0.06): Excitement stems from the game's incredibly flexible class system and deep strategic elements, which allow for creative combinations and satisfying synergies that keep players engaged for over 50 hours. The faithful homage to Final Fantasy Tactics with modern improvements and a wide variety of difficulty settings generates anticipation for replayability and future content.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players appreciate the game's respectful homage to classic TRPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics, with a wide variety of job classes, fair difficulty that respects player intelligence, and quality-of-life improvements that streamline the experience. The developer's clear passion for the genre shines through in the deep customization and well-executed tactical mechanics.
- Annoyance (weight 0.03): Annoyance arises from the injury system adding unnecessary tedium, repetitive music, poor menu and unit placement controls, and unbalanced enemy starting positions that force unfair engagements. The lack of clear multiclass explanations and reliance on guides, along with stalling AI and required DLC to fix base issues, further grate on players.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Boredom is driven by repetitive combat encounters, a shallow and predictable story with flat characters, and overpowered classes that remove strategic depth. The tedium of required grinding and long, drawn-out battles against similar enemy AI compositions makes progression feel monotonous and unchallenging.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia is evoked by the game's clear inspiration from classic tactical RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle, with similar art style, job systems, and combat mechanics. Players fondly recall their childhood experiences with these games, appreciating the modern refinements that honor the original formula.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise comes from the game's unexpectedly high quality and addictive nature, with many players losing track of time and spending over 50 hours. The visual style, initially off-putting, often grows on players, and surprising story moments and meta narrative jokes add depth beyond initial expectations.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger stems from frustrating game mechanics like instant-kill water levels without proper swim gear, broken skill descriptions and healing systems, and poor AI that makes auto-battle aggravating. Players feel misled when the game is perceived as an autobattler rather than a true strategy title, and unbalanced difficulty design seems to push them to quit.
- Amusement (weight 0.01): Players find amusement in the smart AI's comical behaviors, like reviving enemies, pushing characters off ledges, and chasing low-HP foes, as well as the rogue thief's dirty tricks and special attacks. The over-the-top epic vocals in the final battle and humorous build interactions, such as drowning from enemy skills, add a lighthearted tone.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is driven by the desire for a sequel or future content from the developer, as the game successfully fills the niche for fans of FFT or Fire Emblem. Players look forward to more engaging story progression and expect increased enjoyment on subsequent playthroughs with a deeper understanding of the mechanics.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is directed at the protagonist Kelly's bravery and charm, as well as the game's outstanding music by Jan Morgenstern. The deep, highly customizable build system and tough but enjoyable battles are praised as among the best in the genre, despite slightly inferior graphics.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game is rooted in its addictive dual-class system and combat that allows game-breaking strategies, comparable to FFT. The engaging story and characters, combined with depth that surpasses other titles, led players to earn all achievements and feel a strong emotional attachment.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from the mismatched art styles between portraits, sprites, and backgrounds, which create a jarring visual experience. Players also don't understand the game's high positive reviews given its bizarre water mechanics (e.g., moving underwater but dying instantly if pushed), and its perceived inferiority to older classics like FF, Disgaea, and Chrono Trigger.
- Impatience (weight 0.01): Impatience results from excessively long side missions that take 30-40 minutes instead of being streamlined, and the slow pace of story progression. Players lose patience after spending too much time building up characters without advancing the narrative, leading to a desire for faster pacing.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement is sustained by the deep strategic elements of AP assignment and character optimization, with challenging AI that effectively uses terrain and targets weak units. The extensive customization and party building keep players invested in the narrative, encouraging careful strategy and character attachment.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Relief is felt when a difficult enemy is finally killed, especially after prolonged battles, and from the absence of post-launch monetized content common in other games. Improved hiring mechanics compared to Final Fantasy Tactics also provide a sense of relief from cumbersome recruitment systems.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy comes from the replayable combat mechanics and wide variety of builds, which provide a tactical satisfaction similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. Players express gladness for having played the game thoroughly, as it masterfully executes the genre's core appeal.}