Recent reviews by Katie

The fonts in Final Fantasy VII Remake are way too small. Everything from the context-sensitive descriptions of various items in the Options menu to the ATB bars to all the abilities and their descriptions in the Fight menu—it's all way too small.

Here is a screenshot showing "Adjusted various graphics-related settings" at the very bottom of the screen. That is the in-game font size used for many things when playing the game at 2160p. Above that is a font layer I added to the screenshot that is properly scaled. This is the minimum font size I would have chosen if I were doing UX on FF7R. And above that line is another font layer I added that shows what it could have looked like at 80px.

https://imgur.com/a/8FZg4rA

And another:

https://imgur.com/a/ztgxuuM

Generally, the issue with readable fonts is a solved problem, so when a AAA studio includes very small, anti-consumer fonts, it's very frustrating. The solution has been implemented in games and operating systems for over 15 years now. A simple formula is:

Scaled Font Size = (Resolution / 480p) * 12px

Following this formula, you will get the scaled font size for any resolution. For example, at 4k, the minimum font size should be 56px. Dialogue, health numbers, headers, and other elements would typically need an additional 150-200% of this amount as well.

What is important is the relative font size to the screen. If you solve for that, you can ensure the game is playable on the Steam Deck, desktops, and for people playing several feet away from a TV on their couch. But when it's too small like this, you're going to have at least 30% of your audience straining or squinting. It's unacceptable.

What's worse is that Square already had a great example of appropriate font sizes in Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. Just compare—it looks so beautiful at 4k and is very easy to read. Dragon Quest XI is also very easy to read. So why did the devs of FF7 Remake go so wrong if Square knew how to do this internally?

For this reason, I can't recommend the game. At this point, it's anti-consumer.

I've 100%'d Final Fantasy XII twice already. Once when I bought the steel case version on the PS2, and again on an emulator many years later. I recently bought it again on Steam and I still love it. It's a really great JRPG and is one of this era's best. The game has aged pretty well overall, and it still has many features that resemble Final Fantasy as a whole, although I guess this was the period where the series started to diverge greatly from the first 10 installments.

The environments are actually really beautiful and detailed, and are still quite immersive. The art is just fantastic, and it's actually a shock how many newer games, while looking technically superior, look kind of boring compared to the environments in FFXII.

I really like all the character designs. The game has aged really well despite the lower polygon count (even though these have been cleaned up over the PS2 version too). They kind of look like paintings in a way. Really nice style.

The cutscenes still look great. FF really had the best cutscenes in this era. Reminds me of Blizzard games – these games have all aged beautifully.

The enhanced graphics and 60 fps in this Steam release make the purchase well worth it over emulating the PS2 version. It looks and feels gorgeous.

The music is superb. While this was the first game not composed by Nobuo Uematsu, it is still enormously varied and each track is 9/10 or 10/10. It really gives the game a unique atmosphere and feel.

The job system is really fun and adds some replayability to a game you'll want to revisit from time to time. The boards are much better designed compared to the PS2 release, I feel. Each class is unique. You can try and pick jobs that feel canonically similar to what you see in the cutscenes, or be creative and go with anything you want. You can even respec your boards in the Clan Hall, so there is no punishment for picking something that appeals to you and changing it later.

The game also has some really addictive progression systems as a result. You really want to fill out your entire license boards for the jobs you picked, and find all the best weapons and armor.

The audio quality of the dialogue sounds compressed. I wish they still had the original audio files because I bet they sounded a lot better. They sound like the ones from the PS2 version sadly. They are compressed because there is so much voiced content in this game, it's crazy. I would have been thrilled to download 10 more gigs to get better audio files though. The voice acting is great, for the most part.

The story is less focused on characters and more on events, which is actually weird for a JRPG. This world does feel well-thought-out though, and you feel like you're on an adventure in a real world as you travel from region to region. There are lots of unique environments and lots of people to talk to, and they are all worth spending time talking to.

The combat system is still similar to past entries like FF6, but has an added feature where the game will input commands for you via a gambit system, similar to Dragon Age: Origins. I really love this system. Between speeding up time to 2x speed and the gambit system, you can reduce the tedium of grinding or just inputting the same commands over and over, which is frankly what you would often do in most battles in the past anyway. I like that the gambits unlock a lot earlier than in the PS2 version. They used to drip-feed them over the course of the game, but now you can just buy them outright when the gambit shop opens up.

I really like that you can chain all the enemies together to get loot bonuses. If your chain of killing the same enemy type is high enough, you will get some very unique weapons and armor. It actually feels bad to kill an enemy of a different type sometimes, which is how you know the system is working. It really does help feel like the game is being strung together better with this mechanic. It actually makes grinding for loot kind of fun.

I like that all waypoints and even clan marks are visible on your map. Really helps with having to find things. I would have appreciated a modern waypoint system, but this is minor.

Overall, I can't recommend this game enough. If you like modern Xenoblade Chronicles, you will love FFXII as I feel like Final Fantasy XII is actually the precursor to those games in terms of feel, mechanics, interconnected worlds, etc.

I really enjoyed the previous two Voice of Cards games, but The Beast of Burden has proven to be infuriating due to its design. Initially, the changes to skills seemed exciting - blue magic in a Voice of Cards game! - but the randomness involved in acquiring skill cards is incredibly frustrating.

To obtain a specific skill card, you must first encounter the right enemy, and some of these, like Dryads, are notably rare (Dryads hold the only early multi-attack skill cards available). Then, there's the hope that a chest reward spawns from these encounters, which is entirely based on chance. While there are items designed to aid this process, they are costly and only provide a 70% success rate of a chest spawning.

Even when a treasure chest is awarded at the end of a battle, you're faced with choosing from three options. This means you have only a 33.3% chance of obtaining the reward you want, assuming it's even among the choices, as this is also randomized. The other rewards are typically inconsequential items, available for purchase in the item shop, rendering them pointless and they just clutter your very limited item inventory space.

And if you get a duplicate card? Well, it just gets discarded and you don't actually get a reward at all!

The implementation of this system is beyond frustrating. It's perplexing why the game's creators didn't opt for a capture ability similar to a Pokeball instead, rather than relying on a random treasure chest mechanism. This heavy dependence on RNG significantly diminishes the game experience. After spending three hours trying to secure Galestorm from a Dryad—encountering it in the chests about seven times—I consistently failed the one-in-three chance, regardless of which chest I chose.

This direction is profoundly stupid. It's regrettable that Yako Taro has turned a series that was previously grind-free into a tiresome grindfest. I'm done with this game. I like the other aspects of it, but the rng of skills completely ruins the game.

The fonts in this game are far too small. I am squinting a lot. Out of all the ARPGs - Diablo, Torchlight, and many others - I'd say Last Epoch has the least accessible fonts out of all of them. The fonts are far too small even for regular users, let alone someone with poor vision like myself.

I did create a technical support as well as suggested feedback post on their own forums, but nobody has looked at it in days:
https://forum.lastepoch.com/t/improved-font-scaling-and-accessibility-options-needed/69235/3

Since it will be removed in a few months due to nobody responding, I'm just going to leave my post here. This post includes my major criticism for the game and why I am refunding.

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Dear Last Epoch Developers,

I'm a huge RPG fan and recently purchased Last Epoch, eager to dive into the world you've created. However, the current font sizes make the game difficult to play, especially for those with less-than-perfect vision, players enjoying the game from a distance, or those using a Steam Deck.

**Current Font Size Challenges:**

* Comparing fonts at 1080p and 2160p resolutions, they fall below UX best practices for minimum recommended sizes.
* Even for standard users, font sizes feel too small, especially at 2160p where item names, dialogue, menus, and buttons are challenging to read.

**Recommendations for Improvement:**

* Implement a baseline font size increase across resolutions, targeting:
* 1080p: Minimum 27px
* 1440p: Minimum 36px
* 2160p: Minimum 54px
* Headers/Dialogue: Consider 80-100px at 2160p for film subtitle-like readability.
* Add an accessibility slider allowing users to further increase font size by 20-30% on top of the baseline adjustments.

**Impact and Urgency:**

Currently, the small fonts make Last Epoch unplayable for me, requiring sizes even larger than 54px at 2160p. Scaling technology seems to be used, but base font sizes need a significant increase.

**Formula for Improvement:**

For your reference, a common font size scaling formula suggests:

`Font Size in Pixels = (Height / 480p) * 12`

**My Desire:**

I truly want to experience Last Epoch and believe these changes would significantly improve accessibility and user experience for many players. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Katie

Dragon Quest XI S exemplifies the pinnacle of classic, traditional turn-based JRPGs executed flawlessly. It stands shoulder-to-shoulder with timeless classics like Final Fantasy IV or VI, and even surpasses predecessors such as Dragon Quest III or V. The game offers an abundance of quality-of-life features, a vast expanse of content, and stunning visuals that truly shine in 4K at 60fps. Additionally, its optional 2D mode provides a delightful retro experience. With commendable voice acting, a well-crafted script, captivating character and monster designs, and extensive exploration and customization options, Dragon Quest XI S leaves little to be desired.

However, the only aspect where it falls slightly short is in its music. While the soundtrack pays homage to the series' roots, it lacks significant innovation and feels somewhat repetitive, possibly due to a limited OST. Despite this, the game's brilliance far outweighs any minor musical shortcomings. Dragon Quest XI S is a masterpiece that shouldn't be missed by any JRPG enthusiast, even if its soundtrack doesn't quite reach the heights set by Nobuo Uematsu.

Moreover, I would advise against heeding the opinions of "professional critics" who claim the game is too traditional. Without Dragon Quest's steadfast commitment to the traditional turn-based JRPG format, titles of such high quality in this genre might not even exist today. It's fitting that these classics continue to see releases in the modern era, and this is precisely where Dragon Quest excels. While Final Fantasy has dramatically shifted away from its roots since Final Fantasy XV, distancing itself from long-time fans of the SNES, PlayStation, and PlayStation 2 eras, the developers of Dragon Quest have remained loyal to their fanbase, prioritizing homage over chasing fleeting trends in Western game development. You won't find flashy action combat mechanics akin to Devil May Cry or barren open worlds here, and I fervently hope that the developers ignore the opinions of "professional critics" urging them to alter their approach. Dragon Quest must remain true to its essence.

I find it perplexing that the game offers a Font Size accessibility option only to disregard it in most areas. When a player adjusts the font size to its maximum value, it is a clear indication that they require assistance in viewing the text. It signals, "I need help. I can't see these fonts as they are, and I need them to be larger." However, the game seems to overlook this setting in most places, defaulting to their fixed fonts.

In my opinion, when the font size is adjusted, it should uniformly affect all elements within the game, providing a comprehensive solution for players with visual accessibility needs. Everything should scale, just like it does in Windows.

Bizarrely, the inconsistency extends to the game's settings screens and even the accessibility tab itself.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3136820249

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3136824846

This is really disappointing. In this image below, I included 2 font layers showing what the font size for 1440p should have probably used for the average consumer, let alone the 1.2 setting:

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3136828188

The 36px amount is not arbitrary here - that is probably the smallest font size one should use at 1440p (54px for 4k) for this kind of text, and to be honest, 50px might have even been better. The film industry has rules and best practices surrounding subtitles and the like, but despite the gaming industry being worth far more these days, they are so behind on these standards.

And just visually compare those dialogue fonts with the font size in the accessibility options in my screenshots - it's like the game is just totally ignoring the font size option entirely:

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3136860726

I really feel for people on Steam Deck or are sitting several feet away from a 55" tv. These fonts are absolutely not good enough for them. They are not even good enough for me sitting at my desk. It's a shame that this is the 1.2 option instead of the regular option. I shutter to think how small the normal option is.

It's kind of unplayable for me honestly. I genuinely don't understand Owl Cat's pattern of using such small font sizes in their games. The fonts could have been much bigger without really sacrificing anything.

For this reason, i can't recommend the game. I view this sort of thing as out of touch and very anti-consumer at this point.

The font size in Dark Deity is unreasonably small, making it difficult to recommend the game solely based on this issue. I was unable to enjoy the game and progress in it due to this factor alone.

Regardless of the game's other merits and quality, the fonts are fixed at 18px, which is microscopic for 1440p or 4k resolutions. In my opinion, a more suitable font size would have been 27px for 1080p, 36px for 1440p, and 56px for 4k.

During Path of Radiance-style dialogue screens, there was ample space to increase the font size to 100-120px at 4K, aligning with the same aesthetic as Path of Radiance (if it were scaled to 4K via an emulator). Instead, it's 18px, and it looks nothing like the game it's so desperately trying to model after. It is neither nostalgic nor usable.

Regrettably, my purchase of this game has left me extremely dissatisfied, and I will not recommend it to anyone. I will also not be buying Dark Deity 2, as it appears the developers have not learned their lesson.

This is not a full review or anything.

Pros:
- Lots of voice acting
- Good graphics and excellent performance
- Really cool tactical combat and turn-based card mechanics. Cool animations.
- Doesn't appear to be woke or anything. Even Captain Marvel is portrayed a lot better than in the modern comics/movies. I just wish she had her long hair like the older books.
- The abbey grounds remind me of exploring those old church retreat houses as a kid.
- Mass Effect like conversations with your team
- You can tell the devs cared about the source material

Cons:
- Must play at 1080p for the fonts to be readable. They are too small at higher resolutions. They are unreadable at 4k. UI Scaling doesn't let you go high enough to compensate.
- Maybe a little too much talking in between missions. This one is subjective.

If you are a fan of marvel AND turn-based combat, I think you will really like this game. It's not a "must play" or anything, but it is a quality product. My biggest problem with the game is definitely the UI Scaling though. Developers, please don't do this again. The minimum font size at 4k should be 54px, and probably much larger than that honestly in most cases. You shouldn't have to strain to read text in your games.

I think this a great ARPG for fans of Diablo 3 that want to get into more complicated character building and itemization (like Path of Exile) but with a lot more quality of life and updated game design. The game is a lot more accessible in this respect although it does have a lot of depth.

The game features 5 characters by default that cover the basic archetypes - fighter, mage, ranged user, minions, etc. I found most of the characters fun to play. The combat is extremely fun and satisfying, and it's very fluid. Reminds me of Diablo 3, which also has great combat combat. The boss designs are also really great. It's fun to learn their patterns and master the mechanics.

There are a lot of skills in this game, and the possibilities to create your own character the way you want seem limitless. I really enjoy the fact that the skill links are not tied to physical links on gear like in Path of Exile - it makes upgrading gear a lot easier. I don't miss having to re-roll socket links and colors at all.

The graphics look fantastic and run well even on older hardware. Character designs look good.

The audio design is mostly good but the voice acting is spotty at times. There are also a few lines in the game that are not spoken for some reason. This isn't a big deal for the most part, but there is one boss in the game where you need to get behind a shield or you die. The character making the shield says a small text above his head to get behind him, but it's not voice-acted. I died several times since I never really noticed the text during combat. This problem is rare though.

I like going through the campaign in this game. It doesn't feel weighty like a lot of older ARPGs such as Diablo 2 or even Path of Exile. It doesn't contain any backtracking or hunting for various MacGuffins like these older games did. I appreciate that. ARPGs that try too hard to make their campaign intricate like this affect the replayability for me. I honestly dread it. When I am replaying the game with new characters, I just want to press forward and get to the end game and the designers realize that.

Early-game legendary weapons feel powerful, especially for spell-based builds that don't rely on the DPS value of the weapon and only the modifiers. However, the mid-game legendaries mostly feel like junk and the same legendaries drop in droves, over and over.

In this game, there are 7 different difficulty levels for the end-game maps - Timemark 1 through 7. I am farming Timemark 5 quite a bit and the same legendaries meant for level 18-22 characters drop constantly. I've found 30 of the same legendary and 0 of others. I think there is a bug where even low-level legendaries (say level 11 or 13) don't drop at all either, so it's not just legendaries that are level 30 or above.

These timemark areas are designed for level 60-80 characters - it is the post-game after all. I am not sure why the designers feel like players need to be bombarded with this useless, low-level junk while making other legendaries extremely rare - way past the point of reasonableness.

As a consequence, finding upgrades during Timemark 1 through 5 is pretty difficult - the mid-game is definitely all about using the trade house to find crafting bases or cheap snipes as well as crafting items to hold you over until you can farm enough currency to buy the items you need for your build.

I wish the looting aspect of the game relied more on self-found drops and less on crafting mats or using currency to buy things on the trade house. Higher Timemark difficulties need to reward the player because almost all of the drops are complete junk outside of the crafting mats. This sucks, and it's by far the biggest criticism I have.

I like the skill trees in this game. There are 3 chosen skill trees by the player for each character, and each one is bite-sized so they are pretty easy to comprehend and learn. PoE's skill trees look super intimidating by comparison. Even after playing a season in Path of Exile, I often forget everything I knew about the skill trees if I take a serious break from the game. I don't see myself having that problem here.

I also like that you can respec the skill trees as much as you want until level 80. This is a lifesaver. I never understand why a game designer wants a new player to "commit to their choices" when their decision-making ability is at an all-time low as they first learn the game or learn a new character. All this does is force people to not experiment and follow a guide, and Torchlight Infinite doesn't do that. Again, I appreciate that. Diablo 3 got it right so does Torchlight Infinite.

People say the game is pay-to-win, but I don't think it is at all. You can use a gacha for pets that allow you to customize a pet skill tree, but it's not a major aspect of your character's power and you can honestly ignore it. While the pets do affect the game, if you were struggling with a particular difficulty, it's not as if pulling for a bunch of pets is going to get you over the hump - it won't. There are even youtube videos that prove that unequipping the pets does very little to your overall damage or defenses. I won't lie, I wish the pets didn't exist but they are very constrained compared to games with obvious Pay-2-Win mechanics.

You can buy new characters in the shop. They cost 980 in the game's currency, and you can buy 980 exactly in the shop, which means you have no currency left over. This is very pro-consumer imo. Characters are also not locked behind a gacha like the pets, and frankly, I care more about the characters than the pets anyway. I certainly don't mind buying several characters throughout the year to support the devs. The battle pass seems like a good value too, but it is optional.

I also want to point out that stash space and auto-looting are free in the game, which is better in comparison to Path of Exile. The game gives plenty of currency to purchase stash space. Only the biggest hoarders will need to pay to unlock more, but I would say 99% of people will not have to.

Overall, I think this is a very good ARPG. If you like Diablo 3 and wanted to get into Path of Exile but thought it was way too intimidating, you will like this.

In the game's current state, the UI, buttons, icons, mouse-cursor, the settings menu, and text is just too tiny for me to enjoy it. Lowering the resolution - which sets my monitor out of native - doesn't make any of the UI elements larger.

The game does feature text sizes for dialogue and environment text, but it's not enough. This game is just insanely uncomfortable to play. Most fonts in other areas feel like 8px.

Pretty unhappy with the purchase. I don't know why developers keep thinking every single one of their customers has perfect vision, but even I'm a little suspect that this is comfortable for most people. Most UIs in games are much larger than this.

I wish I could return the game to be honest. I don't want to support games that aren't friendly towards people with vision disabilities, especially when this game would appeal to an older audience that played the original games 20 years ago. Larian is completely not aware of the target audience. I don't need something special - please just meet the standard set by many games. The sizes of this game are embarassingly small. I can't comfortably read anything, so I doubt I would be able to play it without quickly getting a headache.