DEEP 8

Deep 8 is a highly individualistic RPG-maker-like game. It touches a lot of disturbing topics and therefore is not suitable for children. For me, it was a highly-enjoyable ride in which I admired the way that topics were treated that haven't been elaborated on much in games so far. While the first 20-30 minutes of the game didn't get me hooked and I struggled a little with the (in my opinion) ugly character design (it was good to replace the original renders with pixelated ones), there was soon a moment in which it became quite evident how dark and also creative this game would be. From an interesting combat system, via cool riddles and highly-memorable characters and impressive world-building till great twists, Deep 8 had really a lot to offer and I will remember it as one of the best rpg-maker-like games that I've played so far (and those have been quite a lot). It is hard to sum the game up without spoilers, so let's just call it a surprising, dark and weirdly enjoyable odyssey that you won't forget easily. The game world is very well thought-out and makes sense, and it is one of a kind. Remember when you played mass effect and thought, whoa, they built their own world, a space opera without copying from existing space operas? That's kinda the feeling I also had while advancing through Deep 8's main story. Different races, different places, a lot of surprises, nothing that you have seen before too often. Drawing inspiration from typical JRPGs, Deep 8 is a little grindy at times, but this is compensated perfectly by the fun combat system. This is a 100% recommendation for people who can deal with adult topics and are open for quite some "wtf" moments, which in the end all make sense. The story unfolds in a very satisfying way. Deep 8 is a game that deserves support. If you enjoy darker rpg-maker-like games such as Vampires Dawn and similar, this is for you. But the most attractive aspect of Deep 8, which also made me ignore with ease its (few) shortcomings, is this one: Deep 8 is exactly what the author had in mind, and nothing else. There was a great idea for a game world and a story, and that was made into a game made with visible passion. Seriously, what is there not to like about it? I'd love to see a successor to Deep 8, and of course I have a recommendation for the developers: More of this! :) P.S.: the playtime indication is wrong, it took me a little more than 30 hours to beat the game.

I can form an opinion now and I must say that Deep8 is a good game with work behind it and it breaks with those opinions about RPGs and certain stigmatisations due to use certain editor/platform for gamedev. It is clearly inspired by games from the 90s and more specifically Final Fantasy (7), which is not a problem. The combination of portraits/models 3D and cinematics with the 2D pixelated environment is curious, I think that together with the game systems and the animations, use of particles and so on is the spearhead of this game. Some movements of characters and enemies are a bit orthopaedic, but these are trifles that for my taste do not make the game suspend and deserves a chance.

Giving this game a thumbs up due to how unique it is, and because I would love to see more games made by creative individuals rather than soulless corporate cash grabs. That being said, I ended up quitting Deep 8 because the mini-games ruined it for me. I don’t know why some rpg devs do this. Turn-based combat and resource management is interesting enough on its own, why ruin it with horrible mini-games? You don’t see Call of Duty interrupt their gameplay with chess matches. Metroidvanias don’t “shake things up” with rhythm dance sections. RPG game devs, here’s the thing: RPG gamers actually enjoy RPG mechanics. We’re not gritting our teeth through turn-based battles hoping and praying for the trickiest platforming ever to come and visit. I’m really sour about this because I really wanted to see what would happen, this game’s story is so interesting, the characters are so unique. Such a shame!

This is a game anyone who has ever wanted to make or play projects made in RPG Maker! The Battle System is different from most RPGs you'll play--you WILL NOT be mashing "A" to get through battles. You'll need to plan your way through even simple battles at first, then it gets easier. The Story and characters are not the typical RPG fare and, in my opinion, a refreshing twist on many tropes. If you like retro pixel games with a bit of EDGE, PLAY THIS. You WILL thank me later!

Ok so this one is abit tricky to review, I did refund this game, that said I do recommend it. Pros: -Very Strong personality, like one of the strongest ive seen, this game has heart. -Traditional Jrpg turnbased mechanics. -Interesting skill tree, i particularly loved some of the spells like.. FloorFart... -Fast forward options x3 and x10 -Very well thought out puzzle design, the first dungeon has a few puzzles and they are better thought out than most AAA games nowadays, I wont go into detail for spoilers but I really did enjoy them. -Character personality, this is a big one for me, most games... probably as much as 99.9% of games will have character dialogue, but you never know what your characters are thinking, its one of the ways that video games and movies are still inferior to books, however this game addresses that complaint of mine. You ALWAYS know what the character is thinking as when they give their normal dialogue there is also a blue parenthesis section in there as well that is their inner thoughts, its a nice level of character development. Cons: -Ugly as sin, I love pixels and ps1 era polys. But the polys are like reboot from the 90s and the pixels were worse than anything ever released on the snes, even so I would still have happily played through. -Unbalanced - this is a big one, the enemies are oddly unbalanced, they die in 2 or 3 hits, but meanwhile CAN and do wipe your part in just as many. Heal dont heal all the way so they enemies can output more DPS than you can heal. -Slow clunky controls - so this one has the squared off movement style classic in old jrpgs, this doesnt bother me because i grew up on those and love them, but for some its a non starter. The biggest problem is the speed of movement, the game has an x3 and x10 fast forward option by holding a button, and you absolutely NEED to use it. On normal speed the game feels like running through waist deep water, on x3 it feels like an almost normal speed game and x10 feels like an x2 game. So good thing those options are there or i wouldnt have gotten as far as I did. All told I DO recommend this game, it is not a bad game, it is not without its issues however. It feels like an early access title due to the unbalanced combat and the sluggish controls. Honestly if those were patched I would definitely give the game another try. The personality alone would make it worth the asking price. The looks con I listed is trivial, Unbalance and Sluggish controls bring down what would otherwise be a very good Indie title, I hope those get patched.

I really enjoy playing Deep 8 and will definitely recommend it to anyone who wishes to play it.

TLDR: A successful J-RPG, very atypical in many ways, tackling themes that are rare in video games. I was strangely sad to finally leave this universe and these characters. I highly recommend it. 👍 👍: Atypical and strangely endearing characters. 👍: The very special atmosphere, with its bizarre 3D. 👍: The OST, with some tracks cleverly using stereo, very rare! Special mention to the track "Sabres Absturz." 👍: The scenario, which gradually gives full meaning to the game's weirdness... You've never seen these themes tackled in a video game! 👍: The various interconnected systems that make combat and build choices super interesting. 👍: A strangely captivating challenge, it's been years since I've enjoyed doing a bit of level upping! 👍: Really cool post-game challenges. 👍: RPG Maker 2003 pushed to its limits. ☹️: The beginning of the game is unnecessarily hard and requires a bit of level-up, those damn rabbits! ☹️: The jumping system is frustrating, but you can activate automatic aids in the menu. ☹️: Some inconsistencies and rushed moments in the script. Note: Don't forget to activate the "Controller" mode if you're using a Gamepad.