I spent just under 60 hours in this world so I must have enjoyed it. It is pretty bog-standard stuff held together with a daft plot, usual tropes and repetitive, terrible dialogue but it did the most important things I want from a RPG.
The cast are a lovely bunch to spend time, there is always a sense of wonder when you get to a new area thanks to the amazing art, and there is always a constant sense of progression. As long as you take your time and not speed run the thing, it never gets grindy too.
I played on easy as I'm generally rubbish at ARPGs but I did enjoy the combat where I threatened to make it become annoyingly trivial and timewasting. You still get a sense that you're working out how best to quickly and efficiently carve the monsters up and the bosses still give some challenge. Some of the powers you get are samey but there is enough variation so each button does something different and useful.
The rest of the combat is controlling where and when you use the team's special powers that mostly boil down to knocking monsters on their arse if used at the right time. One is useless unless it's in the air, another useless unless they're brewing a spell, etc. It sounds like on all difficulties the team-mates do a good job of not dying or getting in the way too.
The first half is definitely better than the second half. It felt like it hit a point where all the chat in the combat was exactly the same. It's not a big budget game, it's punching above it's weight and that's one of the examples of where it cuts corners. Doors open with a slight gesture and a fade to black, the occasional cel animated cutscenes look out of place but I guess it's a cheap way to outsource some work, and it's pot luck if dialogue is voices. There seemed to be no reason or rhyme to that.
But it gets the basics right and I'd love another one please!!!
The cast are a lovely bunch to spend time, there is always a sense of wonder when you get to a new area thanks to the amazing art, and there is always a constant sense of progression. As long as you take your time and not speed run the thing, it never gets grindy too.
I played on easy as I'm generally rubbish at ARPGs but I did enjoy the combat where I threatened to make it become annoyingly trivial and timewasting. You still get a sense that you're working out how best to quickly and efficiently carve the monsters up and the bosses still give some challenge. Some of the powers you get are samey but there is enough variation so each button does something different and useful.
The rest of the combat is controlling where and when you use the team's special powers that mostly boil down to knocking monsters on their arse if used at the right time. One is useless unless it's in the air, another useless unless they're brewing a spell, etc. It sounds like on all difficulties the team-mates do a good job of not dying or getting in the way too.
The first half is definitely better than the second half. It felt like it hit a point where all the chat in the combat was exactly the same. It's not a big budget game, it's punching above it's weight and that's one of the examples of where it cuts corners. Doors open with a slight gesture and a fade to black, the occasional cel animated cutscenes look out of place but I guess it's a cheap way to outsource some work, and it's pot luck if dialogue is voices. There seemed to be no reason or rhyme to that.
But it gets the basics right and I'd love another one please!!!