Elements II: Hearts of Light

*Note that this review is based on a file that is downloaded on the [url=https://www.soulcatapult.net/download]developer's website[/url] on 1 March 2022, patched with the "Update - 11/27/2021" patch. The developer states that the [i]Steam[/i] version is broken. *One achievement is unobtainable in both versions. The only way to get it is from downloading the depot version. [b]My Playtime:[/b] 64.1h (100% achievement, finished most contents, also replayed the game in the depot version until the end) [b]My First Playthrough:[/b] 57.2h [b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (3+ acheivements, depends on your playstyle) [b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (47+ achievements). [b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No. [h1]Intro[/h1] [b]Elements II: Hearts of Light[/b] is the second episode of the [b]Elements[/b] series, which is set far in the future after the first episode. It still features a lot of playable party members that you can choose from, along with tons of optional quests and secrets to find. [b]Pros:[/b] - 14+ party members to form a party member of five - A lot of optional things to do - 2 difficulties [b]Cons:[/b] - Minigames require no room for error in the normal mode - Random crashes - Slow waiting time after each battle [b]Specs[/b] Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 [h1]Should you play this game?[/h1] [b]Yes.[/b] [i]If you like to play RPG Maker games with a lot of optional content and don't mind grinding, play this game.[/i] [hr][/hr] [h1]In-Depth Review[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] Despite the deformed look in both cutscenes and portraits, [b]Elements II: Hearts of Light[/b] is made in great detail. Some areas remind me of the first game due to their theme and mechanic, and although most of them use the same mountain setting, they still look different from each other. However, the same can't be said to towns. Buildings look too similar, and the vast map size doesn't help to make them engaging. It's also easy to get lost in town, and the slight stutter that you have to experience as you walk through these areas is not pleasant. The cutscene is one of the improved aspects of this game. Characters still use different sprites to portray their expressions, but some are completely replaced by their animation counterpart. The smooth animation and precise timing make it easy to immerse with the story whenever anyone is having a moment. [h3]Story[/h3] The game tries to reveal its plot as you play. If you have played the first game, the plot is pretty much similar with some tweaks on the characters and bosses. The main concept is still the same - you need to kill a bad guy before they try to destroy the world. That's not a bad thing though, as it's not the only thing that the game has to offer. Characters are the strong point of the game. Despite the numerous amount of characters, they aren't forgettable at all. Each character has their past and concern, along with their reason for joining the group. Some optional cutscenes are also available to let you see what they are doing whenever they are taking a break. It was fun seeing them whenever this happens. [h3]The Game[/h3] [b]Gameplay[/b] The game starts linear with you having to visit places. Dungeons are usually short except for some that can confuse you with their switches. Some areas will only unlock after you use a certain switch, which will block another path in return. You have to go back and forth until you figure out how everything works. The numerous amount of mechanics can turn people off from playing the game. Moreover, some can be complicated to remember, especially when combined with other mechanics that you need to learn. Revising them can also take extra effort since you need to go to a certain place to do that. This makes the optional mechanics to be forgotten easily, especially since they won't matter once you are overpowered. [b]Attribute System[/b] It's easy to get overpowered. The game introduces an attribute mechanic where your party's status will get boosted permanently after each battle. Although it can be hard to defeat enemies in the first area, you just have to defeat them over and over to make the next area easier. However, this mechanic is a double-edged sword, as there are attributes that can also lower your stat permanently. You need to be wary of your attribute, which translates to checking your active party members since they contribute greatly to it. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2755563545 [b]Enemies[/b] The introduction of the attribute mechanic makes all strategies useless. Characters feel similar since you can just spam normal attacks to defeat bosses easily. I don't even need to buy gears since their stats are capped, nor check which weapon is effective against the boss. Other mechanics such as the day system that can make a certain element stronger also don't matter as I can defeat the boss easily on the day when they are overpowered. On the good side, this encourages you to use other party members once you capped the others. Grinding is encouraged. The attribute system is not the only thing that forces you to engage in battle - elemental shards will also be obtained later on, allowing a character to learn skills after a skill is used several times. Enemies are also placed in narrow places at hyper speed, making it hard to avoid most of the time. You'll spend most of your time fighting enemies this way, although luckily, they will mostly die in 1-2 hits as long as you are using the right build. [b]Minigames[/b] Most minigames involve running and avoiding enemies, with and without a time limit. It can be taxing to replay them sometimes, especially since they allow no room for error. Moreover, you have to go through these ordeals again if you choose to revisit the area in the future. Luckily, you can always switch the game's difficulty to make them easier. [b]Length and Difficulty[/b] I finished the current content in 57.2h. I assume that the game is finished halfway due to the number of regions that I need to explore. Most of my playtime was spent finishing the optional contents though. There are just a lot of things to do in the game, and you need to go back and forth between places to finish them all. You might find the game boring sometimes, especially since you'll engage in battle most of the time, but you'll get used to it. The game offers 2 difficulties, but I don't find any reason to switch to the easier one. For starters, they won't give attribute increases after each battle, which helps to make your character overpowered. I figured that it's easier to play in the harder difficulty because of it. [b]Problems[/b] The game stutters whenever I'm exploring towns. I also experienced random crashes in my playthrough. Lastly, you need to wait for a few seconds after each battle before you can move. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] The most problematic issue that I found in the game lies in its mechanic. You need to spend some time to learn them at first, and there are just too much to learn. Luckily, you don't need to remember everything as most mechanics will be useless once you are overpowered. However, it's also easy to screw up your build if you are not careful, and the fact that you need to grind to bypass it can also cause a problem. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed playing the game. There are a lot of optional things to do and I was never bored doing them. You might need to go back and forth several times for it, but that will also help you become overpowered from the battles. Those who don't care about optional content also can rush toward the story without penalty. The game is more on the easy side though, so I won't recommend it to hardcore players. If you are a casual player that likes to play [i]RPG Maker[/i] games with optional content and grind, feel free to try it out, but note that the game isn't finished yet.