YGGDRA: SURVIVOR

EDIT: I have fully completed the game now, so I am adding more to the review and more context to why you shouldn't buy the game. Don't buy this game, this is just a quick cash grab reusing assets of "Yggdra Refrain". [h2]What is "Yggdra Refrain"?[/h2] It is an offline version of a mobile gacha game that closed down (EoS)... a lot of times. The original version was called "Shining Maiden" and it was the most different in terms of battle system and story presentation. But the bases of the game were there. Then came Resonance, which was more like Refrain. Other versions like Re:Birth/Reverse came and went. It is too complicated to follow the all the markets and closures, so the only thing I am going to say is that they are all EoS. If I am not mistaken, the Thai one was the last one to close. People are happy when they hear an EoS game is getting some offline functionality. They could be just the story or limited gameplay. Preservation of games is something gamers are fighting for all over the world. Refrain is a premium game, so that means you can buy it and play without any premium currency. You can get everything in the game just by playing. Strangely, this was only released on PC, even though the games were originally for mobile. The porting didn't go well. Since this isn't a review for Refrain, I am not going to go into detail, but the game is currently in an undesirable state if you aim for preservation. You can read all the available story (that is incomplete; they didn't bother to give the story a conclusion). You can also beat all the stages. Probably you can say that is enough, but there are a lot of things that are broken in the game that don't allow you to 100% the game (like achievements and titles). Some people can't even open the game (Survivor has the same problem). [h2]So, why is buying "SURVIVOR" a problem?[/h2] Not only did they leave REFRAIN riddled with bugs, but they are releasing more "cheap-looking" games in quick succession (SPIN in the third semester and DECKBUILDING in the fourth). According to them, they are making the games to make the Yggdra characters known. I won't be mad with them if that is their reason. So, more interest in the characters -> REFRAIN gets more sales -> more money -> more chances of the bugs getting fixed. If they do that, I will recommend this game and all the next ones. The problem is that I don't think people are going to get more interested by playing SURVIVOR... [h2]About SURVIVOR[/h2] I am going to be honest, this game isn't bad. On a vacuum, without knowledge of REFRAIN, I would call it a good, solid game. A "Game of all Time", just another game of thousands on Steam. Sadly, with context, I can't see it in a positive way. Go read "xxadonisxx" review for an "unbiased" analysis. I am going to list some points about the game, no depth review. [list] [*]The game could be completed (getting all achievements) in around 10 hours. More if you like experimenting. [*]Contrary to what the store page says, the game has NO story. There isn't any dialogue or cutscene. The story isn't related to REFRAIN at all. "Hanamja" is just an original character created for this game I don't know the reason they did it. They could have used the main character of REFRAIN, that is also a guy who also doesn't fight, but can give orders to the girls. [*]"Hanamja" sprite is ugly, even his hands aren't attached to his body (like Rayman). This contrasts with the reused sprites. [*]The "story" tells you there are 100 floors. There are 120 (20 floors for each of the 6 difficulty tiers). The seventh (Abyss) is the endless mode. [*]You can't quit mid-run and continue later. This is only a problem in Abyss, since 20 floors runs are less than 30 minutes. Not being able to save your progress in an endless mode is bad (the truth is that endless is boring after getting all the characters to lv 8, every floor is the same and you are immortal with the proper build) [*]The arenas are too small and empty (only enemies). The scenarios/background are random, but they are just an aesthetic change; the enemies are the same regardless (at least having some visual and musical variety is nice). You fight the same enemies, which get stronger the higher the floor you are. Higher Difficulties add more enemy types and "Elite"-type of enemies, but you will still see the same slimes, bats, and trees over and over again. I would have preferred it if different difficulties had different scenarios and enemies. Abyss could be the random one. Every 20 floors, the scenario could change at random to give more variety. [*]Bosses don't require any strategy different from any other enemy/Elite. It is just staying close to them to deal damage and evade their attack. That means there isn't any strategy at all. [*]There are 32 characters, 8 per faction. Laroque Republic and Assyria aren't in the game, but that is understandable because they don't have enough members. While the selection is overall fine, some picks surprised me: - For Rosemary, I don't understand why Shirley was used instead of Helena (a more relevant character). Also Shirley without Amelia feels off. I would have added Ursula to have another "Seize Magic Club" member, maybe removing Mavis. - For Paul Vosk, it is strange Morana isn't in the game. I would remove Mia. Irma is another strange choice (because she wouldn't be outside running around). But I like her. A replacement would be Rebecca, who is a bit more story relevant. - For Melody Forest, Asagi is the one I felt was missing. I would replace Fubuki. - For Shavin Zara, I can't believe they didn't add Isuka, the "leader" of the faction. I would remove Lia. Also, Sapphire without Aisha feels off. I prefer Aisha myself. [*]If you find odd the way I wrote some of the names of the characters/factions, that is because I used the way they are in REFRAIN. They don't keep them consistent, even in REFRAIN itself. [*]The UI is horrible. Just compare it with the assets from REFRAIN, you can clearly see the lack of polish they have. [*]There really isn't a strategy in the position you "put" your characters. First, you can't change the position of the characters; they are added to the formation in the order they are summoned, that order is fixed. Second, while the position affects the direction your allies are attacking, it doesn't matter in the long run. Endgame teams are just all the characters you want in your team summoned as soon as possible to get the rune effects quickly. [*]The rune system is nice. It gives options for different builds, making you experiment with teams. But I wish you could get the boosts when you meet the requirements, not being forced to select them at the start of a run. For example, if you get 1 Rosemary character, you should get the effects regardless. Then, when you get 3, 5 and 8, you can get the enhanced effect of the corresponding tier. [*]Even if I sound too negative with the above points, the game is functional and easy to pick and play, without game-breaking bugs (there are still bugs, but they don't ruin the experience). [/list] Sadly, I had to remove some points, because it was too long for Steam. To conclude, if you like "Survivors"-like games, anime-style characters, don't care about story, want a cheap and short game, then buy it. There are hundreds of similar games, it is your choice. If you somehow discovered this game, looked at the store and found the characters interesting/to your liking (talking about the girls, not Hanamja), instead of buying this game, try Yggdra Refrain. If you wanted to try Refrain and you couldn't play the game because it doesn't start, or it freezes in the tutorial battle, then you are not alone. It is OK to complain.