Recent reviews by Shaddox

I did a few runs trying out things and this game sure turned out more interesting than expected! I stumbled upon it from a youtube video and knew I would like it.

The game puts its main focus on where it matters, which is the combat. The animations are quite satisfying to observe. What I didn't expect to like, however, is the magic system. The magic in this game is incredibly strong! The effects are strong, but the gems truly take things to the next level. You can manacheat like crazy to unleash spell after spell, which is incredibly satisfying. You can turn individual spells into AoE spells, then you can turn AoE spells into global spells.

There is also a layer of meta-progression where you can unlock more ease of life features sure as shops, rerolls, more hp, etc. and also make the individual characters stronger.

The translation is quite poor, both story-wise and UI-wise. At least with the UI it is somewhat passable, because of the tooltips showing exactly what it refers to, even though you will have no idea what certain relics do.

The story is quite fun and easy-going, with some light ecchi elements, but it's also incredibly chinese. You will find a lot of chinese idioms translated mot-a-mot, for example :

"Humans, don't refuse a toast and then drink a forfeit!"

This is referring to a common practice at Chinese social gatherings where if someone proposes a toast and you refuse to drink with them, you might be "penalized" by having to drink even more as a playful punishment.

Or how the red bandits are probably a reference to the Red Turban Rebellion in chinese history, and they praise Lord Aini (which means love you in chinese). Or talking about leftover women.

If you find any odd expressions, if you look them up, they make more sense in chinese.

I have an odd fixation with owning every dlc of a game, so I bought this one as well. The DLC here offers some deceptive value.
Decotine - a whole new character, with her own spells and minions.
While it is one character, the story is played in pairs, so there is a story between Decotine and all 4 of the other characters.
Journey to Chaos offers a whole new game mode where you operate a single character, but you can recruit from enemies as well, which are not normally accessible. This feels like it caters to more experienced players since the mechanics are not quite well explained.

Overall, this is a surprisingly good game and I wholy recommend it.

The AI tends to be quite spiteful and will perpetually check you if it has the opportunity. Furthermore, there are a lot of pieces that are capable of checkmating you by themselves. These things frustrated me at the start but stopped being a problem once I realized that this is a game that rewards you for taking the initiative.

Suicide bomb your portal mage into the enemy formation!
Portal in your mage into the enemy team, then bomb drop them your immortal for the slaughter!
Placate them in walls then force them to walk into their own demise with bombs!
Pick them apart like a frog picks up flies with your musketeer!
Turn your king into a one man slaughterhouse with your prince by your side!

Unlike many other roguelikes, you don't adapt to the game. Here, you force the game to adapt to you. Your rewards are dependent on how fast you kill the king so being as aggressive as possible is highly encouraged.
It was a little boring at the start, but it became a lot of fun once I figured out how to be as aggressive as possible and what pieces/artifacts help you in that regard.

If there is one word that I would describe this with, it would be : elegant.

Save me, Sakuya-san is as simple as is elegant. A delectable, sweet treat for those nights where you feel like you just can't continue anymore. The vibrant, warm, color palette along with the welcoming atmosphere gave me a moment of respite.

If you're looking for a short, comforting, pick-me-up moment before bed time, you can't go wrong with this.

I bought this after the first free weekend. It's definitely a game with a few interesting ideas and fans of roguelite games will definitely get some enjoyment out of it. What is in it is well tested, well polished and with only minor bugs (if any).

I have a few problems with the game though :

The replayability factor slowly fades away. There's simply very little character development. There are a lot of options but no growth, other than the levels and the perks. Some class exclusive perks would definitely help in this department. Maybe some talents. Hell, something to make each playtrough feel unique.

The multiplayer worked well enough for me at the start but nowadays I can connect to someone once in a blue moon. I guess it's down to luck.

I'm sure the game will get better with time but I'm kind of burned out of it due to multiplayer frustrations and very little playtrough varation. $15 for 24 hours of enjoyment is a fair trade, so here's my recommendation.

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Later edit : I tried the newest update and zombies are a step in the right direction!