Disgaea 5 Complete Review Summary

A deep, replayable RPG with a witty story, rich character customization, and standout art and music is marred by tedious grinding and occasional performance hiccups.

High replayability and content: The game offers a vast amount of content and high replayability. Players can spend hundreds of hours exploring various gameplay mechanics and systems.

Engaging and humorous story: The story is noted for being engaging, humorous, and sometimes dramatic. It includes comedic elements and is well-received by players.

Fantastic and deep gameplay: The gameplay is widely praised for being fantastic, deep, and exciting. It is considered the best in the series, with high replayability and many gameplay elements.

Best in the Disgaea series: This game is considered the pinnacle of the Disgaea series, offering the best gameplay and mechanics. It is seen as the most content-rich and complete version of any Disgaea title.

Great music and art: The game is praised for its good music, art, and animation. The soundtrack and voice acting are also highlighted as strong points.

Excessive grinding required: Players find the grinding aspects of the game to be tedious and time-consuming. This can detract from the overall enjoyment, especially for those trying to optimize their gameplay.

Rough PC port: The PC port of the game is poorly optimized, leading to frequent crashes and overall poor performance.

Missing intro cinematic: Some users experience a black screen with only audio during the intro, indicating a missing or corrupted opening video.

Repetitive gameplay elements: The game features repetitive operations, formulaic gameplay, and repetitive dialogue, which can make the experience feel monotonous.

Poor PC controls: The mouse and keyboard controls are not well-optimized, leading to a subpar gaming experience on PC.

Grid-based tactical combat: The game features a strategic turn-based combat system with grid-based battles, emphasizing tactical planning and execution.

Extensive character customization: The game offers deep and extensive customization options for characters, allowing players to tailor their characters' appearances and abilities to their preferences.

Item World mechanic: The Item World is a unique feature that allows players to level up their items and enhance their stats, adding depth to the gameplay.

Deep progression systems: The game features deep character development and progression systems, including reincarnation and leveling mechanics.

Grind-heavy gameplay: The gameplay is heavily focused on grinding, which can be tedious and time-consuming but is necessary for character development and progression.

Freezing issues on Windows 11: The game frequently freezes on Windows 11, particularly after specific updates like KB5048667. This issue causes the entire PC to become unresponsive, requiring a system reboot.

Intro and movie playback issues: Several players have reported issues with the intro and movie playback, including black screens, audio-only playback, and missing opening videos.

Graphical glitches and issues: Various graphical issues have been reported, including minor visual glitches, texture glitching, and significant graphical flickering. Some players also experience geometry breaking.

Performance and optimization problems: The game suffers from performance issues such as extreme slowdown, poor optimization, and frame stutters. Some players report CPU spikes and severe processing drops during data loading.

Compatibility with Linux and Proton: The game runs well on Linux with Proton, indicating good compatibility. Some players have noted that it runs perfectly on Linux with Proton.

Recommended for Disgaea fans: This game is highly recommended for fans of the Disgaea series and tactical RPGs. It offers complex gameplay and quirky JRPG elements that long-time fans will appreciate.

Deep and complex gameplay: The game is recommended for players who enjoy deep and complex gameplay mechanics, including character customization and grinding. It offers extensive content and replayability.

Grinding and optimization focus: The game is recommended for players who enjoy grinding and optimizing character attributes. It offers deep gameplay mechanics and extensive content for those who like micromanaging.

Wait for improvements: Some reviews suggest waiting for improvements or purchasing the game on sale. It may not be worth the full price due to current issues and the extensive time commitment required.

Not for beginners: The game may not be the best choice for newcomers to the series. It is recommended to start with earlier installments or other tactical RPGs first.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 200.0h.

Story completion: 60.0h.

The game becomes significantly more enjoyable and engaging after completing the main story, which serves as a tutorial, and unlocking post-game content and customization options.

Reported time to anchor: 24h.

Friction: Tedious grinding; Repetitive story and music; Initial learning curve with UI elements.

Unlock drivers: Unlocking the cheat shop; Customizable difficulty and progression settings; Revamped Chara world; Varied character-building systems.

Grind Enthusiast: Focused on grinding and perfecting character builds. Motivation: Grinding and min/maxing characters. Stance: buy.

Franchise Fan: Enjoys the series' unique mechanics and story. Motivation: Loyalty to the Disgaea series and its gameplay. Stance: buy.

Gameplay Strategist: Focused on understanding and mastering game mechanics. Motivation: Strategic and tactical gameplay. Stance: sale.

Steam Deck: The game experiences significant issues on Windows 11, including crashes and graphical glitches, while performing well on Linux and Steam Deck. Controller support issues and frequent crashes are also notable problems.

Linux and Proton: The game runs well on Linux with Proton, with only minor visual glitches reported. Users suggest that Linux is a more stable platform compared to Windows 11, which has significant issues. Overall, the Linux/Proton experience is positive with minimal tweaks required.