Recent reviews by ulrickai

Honestly spent more time on just the Demo than I thought I would. Feel like it's one of the few rhythm games that's really clicked for me. Just love the feeling when you finally know how to do every part of the song and you really feel your fingers move to every sound of the song. Can't wait for the full game and find more songs to love.

Current favorite song: Glass Cages (even though it has an odd bug where the placement of the Zombies change in different runs)

Note that I'm reviewing this game on Version 0.8.4 so some things may change by then

The game is pretty fun but a little bare bones. As a card game, it gets that feeling of wanting to play a round or two and then after a while, wanting to come back for another short run later when the mood arises. As a video game, there doesn't feel like much more to do or to be interested in. The gameplay is somehow both simple and complicated. Simple in that it's easy to understand what you're suppose to do once you get a hang of it. Complicated in that, it feels like some of the rules aren't explained as well as it could be. There is a tutorial but it feels a little lacking. When playing the tutorial, it makes you go through the sequence of one battle which isn't so bad since it doesn't last too long but I personally would have preferred one where it's cut into segments of the required mechanics that you need.

There isn't much of a story in the game itself (I imagine you'd get more story with it tie-in manga?) and while there is a talk function with the other characters, it's fairly simplistic. It's serviceable but does feel like it could have more so that it doesn't feel like you're just jumping from one fight to another.

The cards, their art and the animations are nice enough. It does feel like there isn't too many different cards per deck which does limit the possible strategies a little but there is enough there that you can easily make a few decks. Though it kinda shows that there isn't too many cards to per deck in that the booster packs in them is only 3. Which I guess works for the game aspect and minimal cards but feels a little lacking as a booster pack as a card game. Not a big issue just something to take note off.

The UI... it's fine. I feel like there are some parts that could be better in that sometimes to go back from a menu, I can press the right click, at some I can't. Some places going back to the previous menu you press the left UI button but sometimes that's not the case. An example is the card shop where I had no idea how to go back from opening a booster pack since once you open on, to go back, there is a UI button on the top that's difficult to see so I just ended up closing the game the first time and when buying a starter pack, it kinda just buys the pack without a confirmation menu so ended up wasting a bunch of the currency on that for something I just wanted to check out. These are just minor nitpicks though. The UI does what it needs to but it could be improved in consistency which would make navigating the game feel a lot nicer.

I got this game a while back but only recently played it due to hearing there were a lot of bugs before. I didn't notice much during this current update but did run across one where the card's effect is it copies the enemy monster and once it did the game stopped functioning. I can't recall the card it was copying but it didn't seem to have that problem anywhere else. So other than that one bug, didn't really notice anymore.

Overall, a fun enough game that could use some... well a decent amount of work but with what it has now, it has enough time of enjoyment to recommend.

Pretty fun game. If you wanted Hades to be more simple but wanted Vampire Survivor to be complex, you get this game where it falls right in the middle of the two... Plus some Diablo for the Equipment system. Considering at the time of this review this game is in Early Access, it seems like a really good game already and there's more to look forward too. Though lets breakdown some of the nice stuff along with some of the stuff that can be improved.

Note: Since this game is in Early Access and I only really have 3.8 hours of game time at the time of writing this review, there might be some things said here that might be outdated at a later time or might already be in the game but I have yet to come across it.

There is a nice amount of upgrade paths you can get. Along with the different characters, the variations on gameplay is a decent amount. That said, sometimes you do end up using certain combinations to get far into a run. I wouldn't say it's simply that there is a "best" combination of skills, I think it's the limitation of so far, only having 1 stage as far as I can see. Since much like Vampire Survivor, groups of enemies appear at certain tine intervals, you end up relying on a combination that works for the certain pattern of enemies. When the game eventually adds more stages, that would likely change since the enemies that might appear may need you to at least try other combinations.

The Equipment system is fine. While some of them can add to a build, I do wish the amount of certain states was more defined so rather than getting a good version of certain equipment, it was more towards getting a nice combination of stats instead and being able to play around the builds in that way. Basically instead of looking for a 5% in summon damage to replace the 2%, it's more about looking for something with a 10% Summon Damage with 10% Skill Damage to replace my just 10% Summon Damage.
Also while I don't think it's a deal breaker for the game not to have it, it'd be cool if some rarer equipment added buffs that are almost like skills themselfs like if a specific sword did burn damage on baseline.
Apparently there are some rare equipment that basically do give you a skills and they're pretty cool. So add that on to the list of praises I can give to the game

The characters are nice. They all feel like they have their own motivations and alliances and it's cool that the playable characters chat to each other. I think just adding more dialog and maybe some resolutions to some of either stories would enough and maybe some more playable characters in the future. Technically I don't even think you'd need to add more playable characters per se and just more dialog would likely make it go a long way.

All in all the game is at a good place in my opinion. Some minor changes here and there, some extra additional content and maybe some quality of life changes, and I think the game will already be a really grand game.

So far, initial impressions are good. Feels like if you mixed Megaman and Hades and somehow added MORE anime. Which I like actually. It's enjoyable enough, though can be a little easy in the early levels. Clearly made with a lot to do and more to unlock as you keep playing which is nice. All the bright lights everywhere can be a bit much visually and the music isn't anything amazing though once you get passed that, there's enough here to keep you entertained if you like this sort of gameplay.

I played the game in it's Early Access form and while I enjoyed it, it was missing some stuff to make it great. I noted several possible changes that I would have personally liked in my previous review for the game. Though while they didn't really add too many of those changes that I may have wanted, it does add a lot that makes the game more enjoyable than I would have thought.

If you're reading this before having played the game, then here is a brief summery of the gameplay. The game is a rogue-lite game where while there are set areas per map, you areas you get per map are random. What's unique about the game is you are able to change between two skull forms that you pick up from specific areas. Each skull has different attacks and skill and they're all varied enough that most of them don't really feel the same. The combat is a little basic but also has enough variation between the skulls that makes it interesting to play around the different combinations.

Now how is the 1.0 update? Really really fun actually. They introduce a way to upgrade weaker skulls that adds some interesting ways to really go about the game. Do you simply go with the newer potentially better skull or do sacrifice it to get some materials to upgrade the skull that you're used to into something so much grander? Certain style of gameplay suddenly change that weaker skulls have the potential to more utility for you in the long run rather than switching to rarer skulls that you might not like the game style of.

There are also new areas per map and they add enough variation that it doesn't get old anymore playing through the older areas. The first boss is now also harder for better or for worse but it does tell you early on if you're better off resetting or continuing with the current build you have. I only recently got to the first new map and dang those enemies are not messing around. They are interesting enemies that have enough familiarity to their lower tier counterparts that you can have a feel for how to take them on but different enough that using the exact same tactics will likely get you killed.

There is so much to love about the full release of this game. It's an interesting challenge to older players and there are nice additions that makes it fun to jump into if you're just getting started. As a whole, the game became from an alright quickly pick up when you want something to do type game to one that you'll actually want to spend a lot of time just playing different build and in general just having tons of fun with. Plus apparently more to come in the future so the game is only going to get so much better from here.

Side note: Those maids in the second map are skill quite the hassle to deal with.

I would like to state that my use case for this programs may be a little untypical for what this program is.

So, how is this product? It's alright. It has some basic functionality that if you intend to make a simple manga or story, this can do that. The interface is fairly easy to use and the templates they provide are varied enough. If you don't see a pose or a facial expression that isn't in the templates, you can make your own and while simple, they are able to give a good amount of custom expressions and you're hearts desires amount of poses. As a program to make a simple manga, you're able to do quite a bit with how the panels are layed out and shaped. They give a good amount of various items, scenes and backgrounds and if you find that you need to add something in, you are able to import pictures that you might want to add. With all that said, it doesn't get too far from being able to make something "simple".

The amount of customizations is are limited in the parts that I personally find that matters. The character maker is too limited. You can choose their hair, eye color and clothing but not too a large amount (especially for the male characters). The hair styles are generic basic ones and the clothing options is too little and you can't really edit the clothing, their face shapes are also not something you can really change much and I mentioned earlier that you can make a good amount of expressions but not really shape the eyes. This ends up with characters looking too similar with each other or not having enough differences. If you could edit some of these parts a little more, like being able to choose a hair style and edit parts of it to make it looks longer, shorter, larger, thinner, messy, neat and for the clothes, even just being able to change the color would really enhance it even with the limited options.

The amount of 3D items is also limited. You can add any 2D picture but since the 3D is so limited in the amount you add, it would be nice to be able to add 3D models of desk or chairs or lamps or something but as far as I can tell, it doesn't have that option. Which I would personally this program stand up as a standalone program so having a bunch more 3D models would be nice as well. Talking about 3D though, something that may not be important but it would be nice to have are lighting controls. The scene ends up looking a little flat due to the basic lighting. If you could add a way for you to choose the light source or sources, that would really liven up the scenes.

There are a lot more minor issues I have, (some loading glitches, the custom posing could be a little bit more intuitive) but if you just need something to make simple visuals to your story or wish to use this programs as a base and do edits in another programs, this is good and even great for that. If you are someone like me, who wanted to able to customize the scene and more importantly a character to your liking and want to use this program as a standalone program for those, it CAN be but not with more complex ideas and visuals. Once again, not a bad program and for the price, it's pretty good for what it is and what it wants to achieve.

Review Update for Version n.5. Update thoughts on movement

As of now, I only tentatively recommend this game. It's not bad and a good game is here somewhere but it's missing out on some factors that can make is a good mecha game. For now, lets start with the good stuff:

-It's a mecha game! It's oddly rare to see mecha games on PC so it's nice to have one here.
-The mecha designs are alright, it could use to be a little less rectangular shapes here and there but nothing too bad
-The Graphics are nice. I'm not someone what cares if something looks graphically impressive so take this with a grain of salt
-I like that there are quite a bit of ways to customize your mecha

Now, on the not so great parts

- Flying the mecha seems... stiff. I'm not sure if it's just the animation or the fact that after moving, your mecha just seems to stop in place rather than having continues momentum. Seems like the update has made the movement a little better. That said, it does still need a bit more work but it's nice knowing that it's being worked on. Things like dashing should have more forward momentum then that of regular movement. Something I thought would be nice is if they made an animation showing small rockets on the front and back of the mecha so it justifies it staying in place. While not something I would fault the devs for not adding, I personally think it would be nice to see to justify the sudden halt in space.
-Melee seems lacking. Melee is mostly used during a QTE or when facing off against an opposing mecha. It seems a little lacking in that respect to be honest considering that the melee combat against an enemy mecha doesn't seem too responsive either. Being able to quickly use a melee attack if an enemy is in range would be nice, much like how it is in another mecha game, Virtual On.
-Just expanding on the Enemy Mecha Battles, it would be nice if there was more you could do in these segments other than defending, light attack and heavy attack. I imagine that mecha on mecha battles are meant to be a big selling point to the game so being able to use the space around you and use a wider range of attack options could really enhance the experience.
-Navagating through the menus is a little inorganic. This one may vary from person to person but I feel like it could easily be cleaned up so not a huge issue really.

Some things I'm more neutal about:
-Voice acting isn't too bad. Could use some work but I've heard worse from larger funded projects.
-Story is a little lacking but it's fine really
-Not my type of soundtrack but it's fitting enough.

So yeah, there is a good game, maybe a great game in here. With a bit of polish here and there as well as some reworking on a few systems, I feel like this game can easily be something to look forward to.

Fast paced and easy to learn. It's great for short sessions though not too sure of it's payment method at the moment. For some context, I got this game from the Humble Monthly Bundle like what I assume a good few others.

In short it's a tower defense game with cards as your attackers. You can choose a hero to play which give certain abilities or buff as the round progresses. You send out troops that take control of the bridge between you and the opponent to gain exp for your hero. Your goal is to manage to break though your opponents defenses and have your troops attack the enemy's hero. The stronger the card, the more the cost to use them. From what I can tell from my a bit over a hour play, it's kinda balanced. They set you up with a few challenging solo enemies at the start which after defeating a few, gives you a reward of having a chance to get better monsters. My time in online play was pleasing as well. I lost but the reasoning why I lost was easy to understand. You see, the hero he got is able to to revive monsters after he gets enough exp to do so. He's monsters were mostly low in cost and they eventually out numbered me and soon enough out powered me. I was able to put up a fight for a while but in the end, my lack of realization for his plan cost me and I lost the game. Yes, I lost... by getting Zerg rushed. It was interesting to see what other strategies can come about with similar monsters but a different hero. All in all, a fun game.

So where does the RNG fall in? Well mostly in the card you can draw in. As far as I can tell, they don't seem too unbalanced since the stronger monsters are harder to bring out anyway. I guess an issue you can face is that if you need a type of monster (ranged, melee, or building) it's up to RNG to decide it for you. There are some RNG in the rounds themselves though but only a minor one. Most the monsters you summon. Like mentioned before, there is the use of card. A bad hand can give you a bad day but it's also how you utilize your monsters and how you set up your deck.

So like I mentioned before, I got this on a bundle. So you view on it price-wise is a little biased. That said, for a game you pay for it, seems to rely a bit on micro-payments. As of writing this, the game is on early access so I don't know if it will stay this way or the game will become a free to play later on but at least if you got it around the time I wrote this review, you get a free DLC which gives you a lot of the paid currency and some boost in exp and such. The amount given is quite a lot and you can easily purchase a hero you like, a map/arena you like and even some chances to get some new monsters. I haven't the need to use any of the paid currency at this time and the card and the heroes on rotation seem to do me alright. So as of now, the payment method is particularly unfair but it is something you should consider when buying this game.

The game is fun. Nothing about it is too offensive, it seems balanced and the strategies you can utilize make it a challenge in higher levels. It's pretty cheap as well though depending on how the developers go through the game (making f2p or keep their current model) it might be fair to consider a price drop before making any rash decisions. All in all, not bad.

As of the time of writing this review, this game is on update 0.9.2.

So I'll start out saying this isn't my cup of tea of a game. I'm not so into the top down, click to attack type game. I don't hate the game type but I'm not too big of a fan either. So bare with me when I say that this game is a solid 'It's OK'.

So lets start here. Gameplay-wise, it plays a lot like your regular MOBA (they really need to find a new name for those type of games). It's main difference, which is a big one, is you forget the idea of fighting smaller units and towers and skip on to the hero vs hero fights, you know one of the best parts of those games (in my opinion at least). The cooldown times are reduced quite a bit from games like Dota and the like and round are about 2 mins or so. The gameplay is fast paced and quite enjoyable because of that. Now here's where I persoanlly have an issue witht the game. It doesn't feel fast enough. I don't mean the rounds don't go by fast enough, I mean the characters themselves. They feel slow. Since the shield/dash button is on a cool down and for some characters, quite a long one, it doesn't feel like I can squeeze out of a bad situation. Even if the character does have an evasive move, it doesn't go far so the enemy is able to quickly catch up to you and start getting beat up quite badly again. Also remember how I said they're on a cooldown, even with the cooldowns being heavly reduced in comparison those MOBA type games, they're still quite long for those evasive type moves so it's you're likely going to lose quite a lot if not most of your life before you can escape.
Now with all that said, I recognise this problem as a personal one. I prefer fast evasive movements in games and this game isn't one of them. This game is more about hitting at the right time and to time your moves accordingly, which is why this game is still a good game. It's good at that. Planning out how to use your abilities at the right time and the right place is where this game shows it skill.


tl;dr: Gameplay is like the hero vs hero part of MOBA games and it's more about a game of timing and planning rather than evasive skills.

So I don't have too much of an issue here since I play this game pretty casually. Though I can see why others would have some issues with it. Getting into a game can take a while though this might be a issue with where I'm located. Though I think the bigger issue is the actual matchmaking for some. You can face some pretty skilled people that will just obliterate you. I don't mind it too much, since it least I get to see how skilled teams play but I can see how it would frustrate others.

From what I can tell, the characters are pretty balanced. Though I feel as though Ruh Kaan is a little in the strong side in terms of damage and health and Oldur seems to have a too little health for what he is. That could just be me though. Character design wise, I prefer the look of the females more than the males. That just seem to have more variety and color, to me. Just a small thing though.

Not a bad game but I can't say it's a game that I see myself playing hours upon hours on.

So in the time of writing this review I've played about 11 hours and the game has been out for almost 3 days. Just putting this on record since I will mention some bugs that may not be here in the future.

I quite like this game. It has some problem here and there but nothing that'll turn me off about it.


So 11 hours in, I guess that's a good place to be in for a first impression on a JRPG. So like many JRPGs, it's a slow burn. For a Tales game, it might be one of the slowest burns. In terms of story, it's pretty standered... in the start. That said, it does take a while before it gets intesting. Combat is pretty much the same way. With the initial skills and the enemy difficulty, combat doesn't start too interesting. A suggestion for the start, I suggest using your partner character (Mikleo) and if you're an old time Tales player, try going for the higher difficulties. Ok, with that initial start, lets get into some detail.


The game looks nice. From how the enviorment looks, to the character models there is a ton of appeal to the game visually. There are however some shortcomings. You will notice that the outline for the characters aren't as clean as some would like. It's not too big of an issue unless you're really looking for it though. There are also times when the characters are holding something and it looks like it kinda flouts there but I imagine that's more of an engine problem than anything. There is also one particular part in the first dungeon that doesn't look to amazing. You'll come across a certain door with a certain "seal" and well it doesn't look like it fits into anything else there. Now for some bugs. There are some parts of the game where the background shutters and the character models get streched out. That said, I've come across at most 5 instances of this in a 11 hour period. Any other problems, I either didn't see or mind.

TL;DR: Looks nice, a few graphics glitches.

Like mentioned earlier, the gameplay in the START is a little bland. Older Tales players will find the combat simplistic in easier difficulties and New Tales player may find it fun in the start but slowly see it get a little old. This can be remedied a little by playing in higher difficulties or starting out with Mikleo (your first partner Character). NOW I did try to mention and ingrain into those reading this how it STARTS this way, hinting it might not be so later. It does take a while for the combat to become more exciting. This Tales game relies on more dashes and side movements. At a later point bosses will actually become a challenge and simply attacking is a possible stratagy but you will be opening your items menu a lot or replaying the same battle quite often. Learning how to move around in the free space and doing quick dashes is where this particular Tales game shines. As where other Tales games have a nice amount of free movement, this one lets you see how to make use of larger spaces and timing your quick dashes. This battle system isn't perfect though. It does need a lot of work and we can only hope the next installment will have that. Though at this time, there is enough here to make for a fun and interesting experience.

TL;DR: Fun combat that relies on more open movement and quick dashes though starts out very simplistic. Will look forward to this in future installments.

As a whole, there is a lot to do and fun to be had but I will say, it's a little simplistic at some parts. First off, the vast open world is great. A lot to look at, a few secrets here and there. That said, I kinda wish there was more. Going back the the fact I'm 11 hours in, I wish I was back tracking already. The map is very comprehensive... a bit too much though. Looking through the world gives you treasure and some hints that give you some Action Points... and that's kinda it. I mean there are some extra places to got to but nothing too interesting or even have access to until maybe quite a while from now. They also easily point out where your next objective is with an easy marker which kinda kills the need to pay attention to some parts of the dialog. It's not entirely a bad thing though. This means that you don't get lost in the map and considering how large it is, getting lost would be pretty easy. It's just a little easy is all.
An interesting system at a later part of the game though is being able to unlock new bonues in ther area by fighting or offering items you don't care for. It gives the player some busy work if they decide they just want to mess around of a bit. Most of the other systems are skill there like how you can set how characters act in battle, to some things that your character does while just moving around passively. The way items are handled are nice to in that several of the same item might not actually be the case since some might give a different skill bonus from other ones. Generally the old systems that Tales players have had but made a little bit more intesting. One last thing about the systems, cooking system is non-existent in this game which I personally liked but some of you may not to that's a toss up for good or bad. Ok last thing for this section which is a little bit of a sour subject amoung you all. This game is Locked to 30 fps. Personally I don't mind it. Even in 30, it still looks, moves and plays wonderful. I do understand the points people have when they would like a game to be in 60, but for me if it was on 60, that a bonus not a requirment. This is not to served as a warning or to turn people off on the idea or to accept my or anyones ideals, I'm just pointing out that this game is at 30 fps. Ok, I think we go through that alright... I hope. NEXT

TL;DR: Exploration aspect could use some work, no cooking system, same as many Tales games with some additions.

To Old Tales Players: It's a Tales game with some extra political aspect that I personally like. Story-wise is interesting but what really shines are the interesting assortment of characters. So nothing too new in terms of Tales game but has interesting aspects added in to keep it fresh.
To New Tales Players: You're the Chosen hero (spoilers) that battle the evils of the world with your interesting assortment of friends. There's some intersting ways the game deals with some politics though the shine of Tales games are it's characters not as much with the story. Not that it isn't interesting though.

TL;DR: Uhh, it wasn't too long, I don't think I need to add anything much here, though if I must, Boom bam, powers, friendship, done.

This is a game worth getting in my opinion. Old Tales Players will find that the combat in particular starts out simplistic and bland but keeping to it will later yield some ways of playing that may vary form other Tales and gives a interesting insight on how later installments may have for us. Newer Players will find the Story a little slow and might become bored of the battle system early on. To them I urge them to do their research on the game. See if you'd like how the game is played and how systems appeal to you. If you aren't sure of what you see, wait for it to go on sale. To those who already bought it keep to it. It's a long ride and it takes a long while before it starts getting good.
To Both: Do your research. The game does have some bugs that may have something to do with your hardware. If all else fails, wait for a new patch that might have a fix for you. This game is wonderful and it'd be a waste for you to not enjoy it.