Oninaki (2019)

I finished the demo, and I have to say, I don't think I have any choice but to buy the full game when it releases.

The dialogue and story is 100% ungripping, though it is definitely trying to do some unique things, it still manages to have no charm while doing so. And the fact that there is no music in the dungeons is such a strange decision, I just opened my music player and chose my own soundtrack and played it on repeat LOL.

But despite that, the gameplay is just fun enough that I keep getting drawn back to it, and the best indicator of whether or not I want to buy the game isn't an intellectual exercise in debating its pros and cons, it's just the fact that I kept opening up the demo to make more progress, and I still want to play more.

I had preordered this on Play-asia a month or so back, and was stoked to see a demo available - well I have to say that after burning through 50 hours of Final Fantasy XII... I just don't know if I can do another RPG so soon. :( I tried playing Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization right afterwards and it's so difficult going from "king of the world, save the universe and murder everything with my death stick and perfectly tuned party" to "I literally have the strength and skills of a newborn baby, I get killed instantly by boars."

Oninaki busted out the RPG lingo just about immediately, and I realized that I wasn't really having fun with the combat. Especially after playing FFXII, the combat system of which I adored.

That being said, I canceled my preorder and am officially taking a long break from JRPGs - probably won't go back to any RPGs actually until Planescape Torment, and only after Link's Awakening, the best Zelda game ever made right alongside Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask.

Currently I'm obsessed with Automachef and Moonlighter - just beat level 7 in the former and the second dungeon on the latter. Amazing few months approaching but I'll be taking it easier on the RPGs and playing some of the shorter titles available.

So I am playing the demo and there are some things I really like - the overall graphics and presentation, the menus, sound effects, UI, etc, everything is beautiful. The gameplay is a little bit straightforward, but quite satisfying for someone who likes simple level of complexity. (read: not a billion different combos and special moves and gameplay mechanics)

But... what does this game have against music? Why is every area so silent, with just some atmospheric noise...? The dialogue also seems about as stilted and dry as the dialogue in the studio's past two games seemed to be. (I have not played them, just seen glimpses) The characters don't stand out at all and each line of dialogue feels written to straightforwardly convey whatever idea the plot demands.

I'm going to finish the demo, and I keep getting drawn to play more because the gameplay is really cool. I'd like to buy the full game eventually, but the lack of music and the weak characters/dialogue is holding me back a bit.