First off: This game may not be for everyone. If you're looking for games to hand you regular progression without much effort, and never dare to set you back, stay away from this game. On the other hand, if you're looking for a game where failure leads to persisting consequences, then this game might be for you. But be also warned that the variety of random systems can still be quite rage inducing. The gameplay alternates between base management, planning and executing missions, changing up the pace in a natural way. Each of these phases offer their own interconnecting strategic challenges and lots of interesting decisions. These decisions get especially tense when you're in a dungeon. When the mission doesn't go so well: Do you abandon the mission to save your characters from persisting ailments or permanent death, but also risk missing vital ressources for planned tasks at the base? When the mission is going well: Do you risk exploring more? Character death or ailments often necessitate you changing up your strategies, because their strengths and weaknesses change. Each run into a dungeon is influenced by many different things: Where do you go? What's the mission? what level? Which characters do you pick? What combat and resting skills do they have? Who goes in what position? What provisions do you take with you? Probably more that I'm forgetting And last but not least: Great combat system! For each venture you choose up to four different characters of about fifteen unique classes, with four different combat skills each. Position plays a big role, as most skills can only be used from certain positions and influence with certain positions. Lots of them also change your or an enemy's positions. Same goes for the enemies. And I haven't even mentioned the light system! That said, I haven't finished the game myself, but stopped in the final dungeon, just because other games got in the way. Still, I loved the time I spent with this game!
This game has a cute and charming artstyle and atmosphere. It starts of quite strong, with multiple directions open at the start, each leading to multiple puzzles. The time limit adds a fitting sense of tension and urgency. That however, is all the good I can say about this game. I played it taking turns with my girlfriend, so we were two brains coming up with puzzle solutions together, having a clear advantage compared to most players. Most puzzle hints are rather cryptic, but we always figured them out, even if we had to put it down for a week in between. And that's a good thing, after all puzzles should be challenging. After a while though, we were met with a puzzle we couldn't solve even after a week. When we finally did decide to look up the solution, we were at the same time glad we did - as we would've never figured out the solution - and disappointed - because the solution didn't make any sense whatsoever; we couldn't even find an explanation on how you're supposed to figure it out online, just lackluster speculation. This happened a second time, in the exact same way. After about two thirds or more of the game, we were stumped a third time, but in this instance we didn't even bother looking up the solution and haven't touched the game in a year. Thinking about it now just gets me annoyed.
I was excited for this game, because I heard it lets you make impactful decisions affecting the entire world. That's true to some extent, but as many before me have said, it is surprisingly linear. What's most important in a roleplaying game to me, are limitations. Like if you'd play a thief in some other game, you might not be able to take on enemies head on, and have to find paths around them. Or, like in Tyranny, when you make decisions that some of your party members absolutely despise you for, you'd expect them to leave, or even fight you. But tyranny is extremely inconsequential when it comes to your party. A party member might tell you how horrible you are, and that they won't stick around, and then they do. They'll even wait for you to pick them up, if you leave them behind. When it comes to roleplaying in the main quest, there are some decisions you get to make, but there was one obviously stupid one the character just makes for you. To be spoiler-free and still a bit more clear: A character, who is seen as an adversary by you and your party, asks you to show him something. Even though everyone knows, that it's an obviously bad idea to comply, there was no option to not show him the item. I kept reloading and winding my way through the dialogue tree, but there was no way around it. Still: If you're looking for a CRPG just for the battle system's sake, I think it's really cool, and the game does give you a good deal of freedom in that regard.
In the beginning, SUPERHOT is very intriguing, the unique slow motion feature is fun and stylish. But even in the first few levels, something gets in the way of that style: After finishing a level, a replay is shown... While alternatingly flashing the words "SUPER" and "HOT" on the entire screen, getting in the way of the otherwise stylish view. But if nothing else, the "story" kept me going, because there are hints at something deeper. Later though, it's revealed, that there's really nothing there. Nothing really changes throughout the game. There is one ability being introduced later on, but otherwise everything's the same, and then it just ends. But the worst of all is, in the later levels, you keep being surrounded by enemies, and as turning around makes the enemies move, winning these levels really comes down to luck, that you're not shot in the back. At most, this game is worth a quarter of the actual asking price. I'm glad I bought it as a special offer, and I'm still a bit disappointed I got it at all. I don't think I'll ever buy the DLC I bought alongside it.
