This is not a full review of this game. What this IS, is a review based on the first hour or two into the game. Because although I managed to sit through worse games, this one genuinely nearly put me to sleep. If the game does get better later on, I'm okay with staying oblivious to that fact, because the beginning of this game is some of the least fun I've ever had playing a game.
Reading some of the reviews below that gave this game 5 stars gave me whiplash. Did we play the same game? Did I download the wrong thing?
Furthermore, the only reason I'm giving this game 2 stars and not 1 is because I feel like I'm not seeing something here. Perhaps there's a gem here that's hiding beneath the bile-sewn pile of corpses? A story that does something interesting? Maybe. Possibly. But am I going to look for it, in spite of this game's awful gameplay? Hell no.
And oh boy, does the gameplay suck. In fact, it capital S Sucks. This isn't inherently unique to black souls, but rather to almost every single RPG Maker game that uses this rendition(not that the later ones are much better).
Now, let me use this opportunity to talk shit about the engine used for this game. RPG Maker and all of its descendants are an unholy and incestuous union between brother and sister. A band of children that should've never seen the light of day. RPG Maker is an atrocity to the indie game world. An anathema to creativity. If there is a god out there, and he looks upon his fellow man with any kindling of light, this trend of using one of the most generic, flaccid engines to ever curse this earth will eventually die out.
What's funny is that this engine is pawned off as a tool for creating your own games, but the problem arises when every single one of these games use the same assets, sounds and combat system. The best example is the goofy song that plays in EVERY SINGLE sex scene in an RPG Maker game. You know exactly what song I'm talking about.
I'm all for accessibility to creation, better tools are created for people to make more interesting things that we each can engage with, and experience stories and games that we would have never experienced if it wasn't for these advancements. But man, this shit ain't it.
Following that, let me present you with another thought. The very first game you've ever played, it doesn't matter where you found it, what the game itself was or what sort of drivel storyline it contained, was still superior to 99% of RPG Maker games. (Quick preface. There are good games on RPG Maker, but they are good IN SPITE of using said engine, not BECAUSE of it.)
Rant over.
Now, sifting ourselves out of the tub of shit that is RPG Maker, let's turn our heads towards the elements introduced by the game itself.
Turns work something akin to some older turn based RPGs where your turn is decided on a so called "turn bar". The bar increases for everyone, but some increase it faster than others, therefor they gain more turns than their opponents. This is a fine enough mechanic. I have no issues with it. The problem is that it is, again, built on a pile of crumbling horseshit.
I genuinely have almost nothing to say about the other elements of the game, but here's a very quick rundown:
There's the soul system. It's effectively xp that's being withheld from you until you rest. All you get is just a regular level. There's no stats to choose from, nothing. I guess it works, if you have very low standards. It's boring, but it works.
You can kill the NPCs. There's no real incentive to it and it doesn't seem to do anything even if you do decide to do it.
You have the limited healing flask item, but this game is piss easy and moreover, you get a shit ton of healing items just having random mobs run into you.
When you find a bonfire, you feel relieved not because you're stressed about losing your progress, but because you realize that you don't need to redo a poorly constructed, randomly asset dropped map with a ground overlay that looks like an optical illusion intended to give you brain damage. Seriously, what in the unholy fuck is that overlay?
I didn't engage with a single porn scene because the game didn't entice me one bit to even try to see what happens, so I don't have an opinion on that aspect of the game. Having said that, from the looks of it, the artwork, while coarse, seems to be the most effortful part of this game.
The story beats themselves and the writing seem fine enough, and the beginning even managed to intrigue me for a brief moment. But the problem is that they're not worth bothering through a barebones RPG Maker game. The games that succeed usually neuter the original mechanics of the engine and re-code the engine into something usable. This game doesn't do that.
So, when all's said and done, this game sucks. When your game centers 95% of its content on the combat, and the combat is abysmal, you get a shit game, no matter what's hiding beneath. Maybe there's a good story here, maybe there's good character writing to come, but I won't suffer through to find out.
I would rather play Dark Souls 2 again, than this game. And that's a frightening thought.
