Recent reviews by Chris P

Best way to play this is to stream with the boys and just pick the most stupid options possible, and getting shocked everytime that dialogue works.

The game feels like a cluster of different systems from different CRPG games. From the accuracy cap, to the D&D Rolls, to team synergy and permadeaths. The game does not offer anything new, but it offers everything you want from these type of games.

A lot of frustrating mechanics tho, and some even does not make any sense. Stunned target can still avoid your attacks (no dodge debuff whatsoever), an obstacle like a rock or totem with 0 dodge can apparently sidestep my ranger with 60 dexterity. And the enemy with 0 accuracy can hit my character who is all out on dodge.

Elevation in the game feels negligable as most of the levels are randomly generated apart from the main storyline. and these levels does not offer much difference in them. For example, the archer class has a passive that gives boost to damage if you are above an enemy 10% per tile of elevation, capping at 50% damage boost. but I believe I never experience a 5 tile height difference in any of the levels in the game. The only time that elevation is relevant is when moving to and the tile is 2 stacks higher, restricting access to allies and enemies who are not flying. but other than that, it feels that the elevation mechanic is more of an afterthought that they added on the last minute.

Customization on characters is also very linear, it would be nice if you can mix some trees of other classes to your character but the game only offers certain trees that are available through respective classes. It does not make the game progression boring at all, but I would like it even more if more customization is given to the players.

Plot of the game is very cheesy, campy, typical jrpg tropes and if you want to play the game just for the plot. You are either lying or wasting your time.

The first playthrough is enjoyable, and for those who want more challenge, there are some custom difficulties and modes available to the game, making use of your knowledge of the events and utilizing them to make the most op character/party.

For what its worth and for what it wants to be, the game is very clear on it and I appreciate that they deliver for the most part.

7.5/10

A great metroidvania game with a lot of thematic concepts.

Gameplay wise, the combat does not differ too much to other metroidvanias, giving adequate arsenal to the players to tackle the game in their own way. movement/ access-enabling attacks are given when a main boss is given. and A LOT of backtracking. A praise needs to be given for giving the map indicators of when there is something left to explore on that area of the map. I hope future games would implement this quality of life, specially games that have a lot of backtracking.

The strong point of the Ender lilies lies in the themes and consistency of said themes of the game. at the start of the game, your character, lily, is a kid who just awoke from a slumber. with this in mind, the way you evade on the early parts of the game looks like your character is stumbling, struggling to get out of the way. While the spirit, who comes in the form of your attacks, kills the enemy for you. given that, the gameplay at the start does feel clunky and restrictive. as you progress further and purify more spirits, the game also becomes more fluid given that you are being helped by multiple spirits thematically. when the character is purifying spirits, you can see in her model that purifying affects her state. thus, there are changes in her model at certain progression points. the care given for these details is what I found endearing in this game.

The soundtrack is another highlight of this game. I cannot help but to praise the beautiful melancholic melody that's going to play in your ears throughout the game. It is one of the best melodic soundtrack that I heard from a game. It also play along with the theme. Boss fights in this game also have a melancholic and soft melody instead of an epic one since the bosses are knights or servants of the castle. It is telling you there is not animosity, its all just sadness,regret, and hopelessness. When you attack the boss it feels sad and painful. and the soundtrack amplifies that feeling.

I have a few nitpicks in this game. The unnecessary level system, and the difficulty.

The level system on this game can be entirely erased and no one will give a damn. It does not give any major advantage as a way to pace the game properly, it does not give any reward as health upgrades are given by collectibles, and the spirits has their own linear progression to be more effective. I would rather have another system that is integrated to the spirits so that they can do more than having a level system that gives no reward aside from a minor boost in damage which is barely noticeable. they even give this system achievements. one of them is reaching the max level. and if you are a completionist, This will most likely the last achievement you will get.

The difficulty of this game feels way to easy (NOTE: I finished the game 100% but did not try the New game +. this insight only applies for the base game and not new game+). The most times that I died on a boss is less than 5. and it is on the early stages of the game since movement are heavily restricted. The movements of the enemies are simple and predictable apart from few outliers, which makes counter skills very effective and viable. This also applies to the bosses. The only time the game becomes "difficult" is when the damage creep starts. Enemies will progressively deal more damage proportional to the areas of the game. the deeper you are, the harder they hit. Because of that, the worms that you encounter throughout the game can range from tickling your health bar to eradicating half of your health depending on where you are, but it's the same worm nonetheless, same moveset, same behavior, the only difference is their damage and health. Thankfully there are an adequate amount of enemy variety that re-using them does not feel cheap.

Overall the game is a solid metroidvania game with strong points in its themes. The game is also much more accessible than other hardcore metroidvanias and should be a good introduction to the genre. A solid 8/10

Because of the high regard that people around me gave this game, I read the novel with criticism in mind. Just to forget that I was trying to be a contrarian and proceed to praise how they handle the script, pacing, and plot so well. The story also tackles certain sensitive topics with such care that it does not need to shove it on the readers mouth and let the complexity and beauty of the dialogues offer the reader a new perspective.

this VN is deeply...human. It is one of, if not the best written story I have ever read.

10/10 and as we call it on recent terms, an ABSOLUTE CINEMA

Very Good Monster Collecting game. The Progression system encourages the player to find different synergies between monsters and skills by not limiting the customization in terms of skills in a monster. That being said, it also breaks the game by finding overpowered synergies between skills if you experiment hard enough (though this problem does not affect majority of the gameplay as you can only access such skills on monsters in the later levels).

The Multiplayer is alright, the common misconception is that you can play with your friend throughout the story, but no. There are only selection of encounters you could fight with other players. Good aspect of the multiplayer is that if you catch a monster along with another player, both of you get the monster, encouraging cooperation amongst the player. And yes, this includes shinies (or the equivalent of shinies in this game). Monster trading and duels are also present in the game though a little bit lackluster. I would prefer if the game has skill trading since the skills has rarity and have different affixes along with it that can enable some builds.

Soundtrack is an ABSOLUTE BANGER. The only complain i have is that the vocals in the ost does not kick in till you fuse with your partner. I also wish that the game has complete voice-over rather than partial voice-overs. It is actually quite inconsistent since some of the dialogues have full voice overs and then cut to partial voice overs afterwards. maybe a post-prod thing given that they are indie but it is not a big deal to be bothered by.

The only think that i did not like was the post-game content. It basically revolves around re-fighting bosses, captains, rogue fusions, along with side quests that are basically randomized between 7 different types and you repeat these same 7 quests over and over again till you farm the threshold that is needed for you to access the next ACTUAL post-game content. The problem lies in the demand of farming. making you farm for 100, 120 and even more for a certain material that drops from re fighting the bosses that increase their level by 5 everytime you defeat it, or repeat the same tedious tasks again and again. Every "farm" that you do gives you 1 of this item btw. meaning you have to FIGHT THE BOSSES AND/OR DO THE SAME REPETITIVE QUESTS 100 TIMES OR MORE before you access the actual post-game content. and yes, the only encounter you can farm with your friends WILL NOT DROP THE ITEM YOU ARE FARMING FOR when you play multiplayer. you need to do it solo for it to drop.

Overall, the game is pretty fun. I couldn't drop it the moment i played it for days and was begging my friend to go home after work early just to play the game with me.

TL;DR

+Multiple Customization to not limit the players on how they want to play
+Experimentation between monsters and skills are encouraged
+BANGER SOUNDTRACK
+Good level design & platforming
+Rewarding Multiplayer by giving catched monster equally

+/- Inconsistent voice over

-Game can easily be broken, given a proper setup
-Post game is too grindy
-Multiplayer experience is affected by the post game grind demand

Overall 8/10. Still miles better than pokemon

A Good monster collecting game. Has some balancing issues with exp where you can easily over level the enemies by twice their level even without hard grind. at some point i am battling lvl 50 coromons with my lvl 99 one. thankfully it does not affect bosses as they have their own unique traits that can fight toe to toe with your over leveled coromon.

Banger soundtrack, Banger gameplay, and Balanced for the most part. Everything in this game is just meant to satisfy you (HUH)

You love to see a Small team, spearheaded by One person, and Crowdfunded by the community do better than majority of Triple A companies.

The Game Systems in the game are designed to be simple, but free. In a way that the game gives you a lot of options to tackle a fight differently (via Character Variety, offering versatility per character build in terms of its uses, meaningful consumables) while keeping its progression simple in order to not break the game and keep the flow of the game smooth (Linear Gear progression with a little bit of customization, No level ups and major upgrades to character are tied with a boss fight/ a story point)

Side quests are handled beautifully by limiting its numbers, as well as making it available at certain story points that correlate to said side quest event. Side Quests are also more rewarding with an actual plot and not fetch quests. Even gathering the Crew members for your Clan has some sort of story for each one. It really shows that none of the content exist just to bloat the content of the game. It feels as if they actually planned these things to be in the game, which is rare nowadays.

Soundtrack is hidden banger. It occasionally have some orchestral schabang that is commonly used to wow the ears of the player. In this game however, it is surprisingly tamed. Though none of them truly stuck with me, The quality of the music is there. Noticably, the Horns take the lead of the music for most of the part which range from epic to solemn.

The Plot of the game starts off strong and continues to be strong at the latter part of the game. I do have some issues on how the pacing for the last act is and how the game ended, but none of them are so bad that made me hate the game, just some inconsistencies such as characters making stupid decisions or too convoluted plot devices that either leaves the story with plot holes, or make the actions of the characters in the previous Acts/Episodes inconsistent. With all that said, Every significant character in this game is well written, and their development throughout the game is also handled well. It feels like every character has their own ambitions and goals rather than revolving their story around the main character.

Another sidecomment on this game is on its exploration. Due to the plot, the player is limited access to many things in the game, it is not until you get your major mobility throughout the map that exploring starts to get fun. However, the said device will be present 10 or so hours in the game. that leaves the player leaving areas where they can't access or even soft lock them by placing a difficult monster. Which may be a turn off to other players, specially completionists. Having that said, it is also given that there are a lot and i mean A LOT of backtracking if you want to complete the whole game or experience it thoroughly.

If you are an fan of JRPGs or RPGs in general, I recommend you give it a try. try to be patient with its limiting features early game. Believe me I dropped this game after 7 hours before, but I'm glad I picked it up again.

This game is made by devs who know and love classic JRPGs

The gameplay is the same as any other jrpg with a gimmick of timing your attacks/specials in order to maximize the effectivity of your moves. The enemies on the other hand, has moves on their turns where they cast a spell, and the player is given the option to use their turns to attack effectively in the order that is given to cancel the enemy's attack, or to use it elsewhere such as healing, recovering mana, or setting up for the next spell of the enemy. In the later parts of the game, some enemies can be quite deceptive with their attacks, often casting spells that does not do that much but require a lot of conditions to cancel it, adding a layer of complexity to the simple yet, engaging gameplay of Sea of Stars. The amount of QoL in this game is absolutely insane. You can tweak the game as hard as possible, or make the game as accessible as possible for new/casual players

QUICK NOTE: I do recommend turning on the relic that gives enemies boost in defense when casting a spell and increase player damage when they are not casting spells as it makes the gameplay loop of the game much more engaging, rewarding, and balanced overall.

The sound design in this games is amazing. Different soundtrack has different iterations, depending on the day/night cycle or even certain part of the game. They also smoothly transition and the soundtrack remains strong consistently throughout the game. Sounds such as attacking, moving, using tools, magic, using boosts has this certain charm into it. I am not one to critique such aspects of a game, but this game made the quality so obviously good that I cant help noticing it.

The Equipment system and Leveling up system, which are the only customization for your character is very simplistic, which compliments to the game's design as it limits the player to not break the gameplay loop and keep it more engaging in that way. Equipments are linear, most of the time just a direct stat upgrade to the next tier. Accessories tweaks the gameplay of your character by a bit, but is limited by 2 slots for each character. Artifacts adds stat boosts or improves QoL of the gameplay. Leveling up is the most reliable way of getting strong, but the game paces it so well that you cannot over level and break the game yet again. This is a much preferrable system than bombarding the players with 10 different power up system then ruin the game's balance.

The only thing weak link of this game is it's story, specifically the pacing around 75% of the game. I did not do any of the side missions before fighting the final boss the first time and i thought the pacing was off. The story stops being compelling at a certain point and the strongest points of the plot are all revealed 40% through the game. Plot devices are handled really well as one member of the cast's role is to explain various relics scattered throughout the game. All of these relics has well written history about it which is good, but most of the relevance of it in the main story of the game is underwhelming at best, and inconsistent at worse.

The game also follows various cliches that most of JRPGs have such as having collectibles that relate to the secret ending, hidden bosses, optional quest respective of the different party members, a cheeky easter egg from the developers, and ONE TROPHY THAT IS UNACHIEVABLE WITHOUT GOING INTO NEW GAME+ (:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD)

Defenitely one of the better JRPGs that I have played in recent memory. 8/10

Basically a divinity game but its all combat, which is a lot of fun. Suffers from from minor glitches like character model bugging out the whole screen after dying, Druid's Shapeshifting skill cannot be disabled manually, Player model not appearing when inventory is opened, audio bugs, and so on.

It has a lot of replayability and the combat is deep, but not complex. Much more forgiving than other Tactical RPGs so its a good introduction for casual players of the genre.

a good, solid 7/10