AfroBear
2 reviews liked by AfroBear
Sea of Stars
2023
I played this some time ago so forgive me if my details are a little hazy.
I was unbelievably excited for this game from the announcement. Sabotage Studios produced my favourite metroidvania game, The Messenger, and knowing that this game was in the same hands was all I needed to know.
It is an absolute love letter to games like Trials of Mana, Golden Sun, Chrono Trigger and Mario RPG. It blends gorgeous spritework, great animation, fantastic music and captivating worldbuilding to weave one of the better RPGs in the last ten years.
The combat is fun and interesting, the perfect attack and defence system feels like more than just a 'bonus damage'. It actively influences your decisions in combat frequently, and is often a huge factor on whether or not you'll even use certain moves.
The characters are incredibly charming, my only true complaint about the game is that it sometimes feels like Valere and Zale can be overshadowed by the other characters in the game. Realistically, this isn't that big of an issue. They are meant to act as an audience insert, and they serve that function very well.
The game is full of the signature Sabotage charm, quirky and bizarre and charming and fun. It's a game that WANTS you to play it and have fun. And thanks to the gamut of accessibility options and unlockable difficulty tweaking within the game, you can!
The game has a plethora of content, and working to get the true ending and 100%ing the game was enjoyable for every single second. I really can't speak enough on how this game is an excellent RPG and manages to be fantastic for both new players and long-time vets of the genre. Would absolutely recommend, and can't wait to see more.
I was unbelievably excited for this game from the announcement. Sabotage Studios produced my favourite metroidvania game, The Messenger, and knowing that this game was in the same hands was all I needed to know.
It is an absolute love letter to games like Trials of Mana, Golden Sun, Chrono Trigger and Mario RPG. It blends gorgeous spritework, great animation, fantastic music and captivating worldbuilding to weave one of the better RPGs in the last ten years.
The combat is fun and interesting, the perfect attack and defence system feels like more than just a 'bonus damage'. It actively influences your decisions in combat frequently, and is often a huge factor on whether or not you'll even use certain moves.
The characters are incredibly charming, my only true complaint about the game is that it sometimes feels like Valere and Zale can be overshadowed by the other characters in the game. Realistically, this isn't that big of an issue. They are meant to act as an audience insert, and they serve that function very well.
The game is full of the signature Sabotage charm, quirky and bizarre and charming and fun. It's a game that WANTS you to play it and have fun. And thanks to the gamut of accessibility options and unlockable difficulty tweaking within the game, you can!
The game has a plethora of content, and working to get the true ending and 100%ing the game was enjoyable for every single second. I really can't speak enough on how this game is an excellent RPG and manages to be fantastic for both new players and long-time vets of the genre. Would absolutely recommend, and can't wait to see more.
Cassette Beasts
2023
Wow. I was not expecting to absolutely fall in love with a pokemon clone, though calling it a 'clone' feels disingenuous to the game's actual level of polish and mechanical complexity.
The type matchup system is the absolute star of this game, it is both complicated and simple. Types interact with each other in the classic pokemon style, but all effective or ineffective types have unique effects based on which ones they are. Use water on a fire type? You extinguish them and lower their attack. Use fire on a plastic type? You melt them, turning them into a poison type. This system is the beating heart of the game, and every single battle becomes a gentle push and pull of what you're going to do with your type matchups. It's truly fantastic.
The difficulty is also excellent, I'll confess I pushed up the difficulty somewhat to make it a bit more challenging as an experienced pokemon player, and it really met me with that challenge. The AI makes smart decisions consistently, powerlevelling did not make me overpowered and I had plenty of incentive to make sure I was tailoring my party to each battle.
The AI 'captains' use loopholes and intended exploits in the game to really make you think about the type system. From ones that take advantage of specific type weaknesses resulting on 0HKOs, to a fight where the AI actually uses accuracy debuffs and buffs to gimmick you into dying slowly. All of these are also incredibly on theme, being from a 'Hacker' who cheats to win and a 'Blade Mistress' who kills her enemies with a thousand cuts.
Mixed media representation is something I always crave more of, and without spoilers, this game delivers in droves. I was absolutely delighted whenever I came across any of these examples, and the fact that they were mixed media both makes sense and is plot relevant.
Speaking of representation, the game has fantastic LGBTQ+ and PoC representation. Not only can you choose your pronouns and have a plethora of customization options, there are also plenty of these folx represented within the game!
Overall, I can't sing enough praise about this game. My only complaint would be the price of the DLC vs the length of it. The DLC has great content, but at the current price is a huge ask.
I absolutely adored this game, I cannot wait to see what comes next for this studio. It may not seem like it but I've withheld so much I want to talk about to try and keep this review somewhat readable. Absolute must play if you love RPGs.
The type matchup system is the absolute star of this game, it is both complicated and simple. Types interact with each other in the classic pokemon style, but all effective or ineffective types have unique effects based on which ones they are. Use water on a fire type? You extinguish them and lower their attack. Use fire on a plastic type? You melt them, turning them into a poison type. This system is the beating heart of the game, and every single battle becomes a gentle push and pull of what you're going to do with your type matchups. It's truly fantastic.
The difficulty is also excellent, I'll confess I pushed up the difficulty somewhat to make it a bit more challenging as an experienced pokemon player, and it really met me with that challenge. The AI makes smart decisions consistently, powerlevelling did not make me overpowered and I had plenty of incentive to make sure I was tailoring my party to each battle.
The AI 'captains' use loopholes and intended exploits in the game to really make you think about the type system. From ones that take advantage of specific type weaknesses resulting on 0HKOs, to a fight where the AI actually uses accuracy debuffs and buffs to gimmick you into dying slowly. All of these are also incredibly on theme, being from a 'Hacker' who cheats to win and a 'Blade Mistress' who kills her enemies with a thousand cuts.
Mixed media representation is something I always crave more of, and without spoilers, this game delivers in droves. I was absolutely delighted whenever I came across any of these examples, and the fact that they were mixed media both makes sense and is plot relevant.
Speaking of representation, the game has fantastic LGBTQ+ and PoC representation. Not only can you choose your pronouns and have a plethora of customization options, there are also plenty of these folx represented within the game!
Overall, I can't sing enough praise about this game. My only complaint would be the price of the DLC vs the length of it. The DLC has great content, but at the current price is a huge ask.
I absolutely adored this game, I cannot wait to see what comes next for this studio. It may not seem like it but I've withheld so much I want to talk about to try and keep this review somewhat readable. Absolute must play if you love RPGs.