This is the best tactics RPG I have ever played outside of the Fire Emblem series. It's approach to the genre is taken from Tactics Ogre which I have never played, so it's completely fresh to me while delivering the same satisfaction any great strategy game brings. Level, class, unit building, positioning, equipment, and tactics all matter greatly on the battlefield. It feels so good to make several small alterations right before the start of a battle to turn the fight in my favor. It does go a bit too far in this though. There are way too many classes and equipment to keep track of. I would often forget what class is good for what leading me to regularly reread descriptions, and for equipment, I just started using the optimize button. I didn't want to be bothered. It makes me appreciate how streamlined Fire Emblem is in comparison while still delivering the same level of satisfaction as a strategy game. I even started skipping battles because they were taking too long. 5 vs. 5 battles just were just too time consuming with all the active and passive animations as each character would get several in one battle once everyone is promoted.

The overworld map had its hooks in me. I did everything there was to do: restored all the towns, fought all the optional battles, discovered all the secrets, gathered all the resources. I couldn't move on to the next battle until I scoured every area the game allowed me to go. It played a much larger role in this game than I've seen in other tactics RPGs.

The story did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't even get into the characters. The art looked fantastic, but there wasn't enough personality in the writing to keep me interested. I also didn't like how party member conversations had to happen in specific places on the map. I would build the bond between two characters I get early in the game, and I couldn't see their conversation until I reached an area I wouldn't get to until the second half of the game.

it's a well-made game but it's weird that this is the one that picked up all the hype. if we're being completely honest there's nothing here that's going to set the world on fire, but its systems - the ones that are here, anyway - work together in ways that many comparable games (early access resource-managing city builders) simply don't.

i'm still a sucker for historicity and small-scale operations in this kind of game so i love how this has been tailored around small populations (even in the battles), forcing you to be really deliberate with how you place buildings and allocate your workforce. i wish there were more interesting decisions in how you negotiate with the terrain beyond just "place food buildings in green zone", but that's not really part of the vision for this version of the game, not in the way i'm imagining. there are teasers of features to come, though, that i think could push this towards being an actual standout among its genre. implementing "smell" and similar environmental factors that limit the placement of your buildings could easily make up for a map that is (gorgeous! but) perhaps too generous to the player in this build.

i don't want to make it sound like the game completely lacks challenge. natural resources and population are already fairly important to play around, since you're probably stretching your workforce fairly thin before you even bother with the combat. it's possible to cook up the cushiest possible starting scenario and still burn through your starting allowance of seasonable weather and minted currency in such a way that leaves you in a rut: unable to construct at a reasonable rate, unable to trade, unable to fully staff the buildings to keep your existing industries going. the selection of buildings in the game are also fairly customizable (for a game this far from release), allowing players to expand or modify buildings to push their production, consumption, and efficiency in different directions as needed.

in short - if you read nothing else - i'm not really wowed by this yet, but with a start this strong i'm expecting that to change by the time it makes its full release. it really needs some more features that create some friction for the player beyond resource management, because right now that's where most of the game lies. it's a promising beginning, but i hope the dev isn't going to allow themself to be bullied into changing their plans for the game based on impatient early access feedback. trust the vision.

Finished pepper grinder
Let me get this out of the way, i ain't no 2d platformer dude, these Mario/Celeste of the worlds never appeal to me, I just found the concept of jumping on platforms boring.

But holy shit PG is freaking awesome. finished it in 1 sitting, this game throws the pressing A to jump out of the window, instead incorporating a unique mechanic, u are grinding throw walls, water, snow etc etc, gameplay LOOP freaking slaps, and among these things, there are setpieces moments where u equipe different kind of weapons not gonna spoil.

Visuals are also good pixelated stuff, Story is basic, levels are also pretty basic looks-wise wish they were as unique as the gameplay.

Bosses are also good.
8/10

A really well designed, beautifully presented and unique-feeling game, which is all I could ask for.

There's a lot of customization you can do with the units which can feel overwhelming but seeing your hard work pay off is extremely satisfying.

The story is a fairly typical SRPG fantasy tale, but the presentation makes it feel really good to witness. The fully 2D world is a pleasure to look at, the Japanese voice acting resonates deeply, and the soundtrack is spectacular and moving.