The artwork, worldbuilding and original music are the strongest parts of this game, but are unfortunately dragged down by the uninteresting gameplay and story presentation. There is not much strategy in the turn-based combat as winning fights boil down to killing the enemy as quickly as possible. There are some resource management and random events to make exploration more interesting. The main character dying will send you all the way back to town however, with no way to preserve progress, and party members have permadeath, so if one of them dies during exploration your run is as good as done. This can get annoying and feels very much like a way to artificially extend playtime. While the world presented is interesting, the execution of the main story feels lacking in places. Most characters speak in a very contemporary and casual way unfitting of the fantasy setting. The progression of events or character dialogues also do not always feel natural. The protagonist in particular has a very generic personality despite her unique look. The general lack of voicelines for the vast majority of dialogue and the heavy use of what sounds like stock sound effects also undermine the otherwise great visual presentation. The permadeath mechanic does not feel as impactful as it should be, as recruitable party members seem to just be modified versions of the same splash arts with equally generic dialogue and abilities. To add insult to injury nobody in-game seems to care if one of them do die. In spite of all that, this is game with a charming and unique visual identity. Areas in the town area feel alive with each area offering insights into the setting. The gameplay, while mediocre, still feels satisfying when you overcome difficult odds. The collectible costumes is something I love in games and they put a lot of effort into those. The faults of the game also seem more forgivable when considering that this is the studio's first attempt at a RPG. Buy on sale.
