Please don't apologize: we NEED to know when games are not worth our investment, be it of time or of money! There are simply too many goodies out there right now to waste our resources. It's a shame this didn't work out, as I love the team that made it and it's always exciting to see devs experiment with something new, but it seems like a mess all around. Here's hoping they figure it out in the future!
@ПетрШаповалов-г2п I was wondering if I just "outgrew" games or if there aren't as many good ones anymore. I rarely find ones that interest me anymore. If you have any suggestions that would be appreciated.
I still remember 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors from the DS where it would gray out dialogue you had already seen so you could skip it. And this was years ago! You'd know something changed in a conversation if the option was highlighted, and you always had the option to replay one you'd already seen by choosing the grayed out one. Sounds like this game could use something like that to no force you through identical cutscenes repeatedly.
Even more traditional visual novels like Clannad and Steins;Gate have been doing this for years. Hell, in any of Key's VN's you can just skip straight to the next unread text or choice, cutting down on a lot of tedium.
they should have just added the skip button for all the scene you have already seen, like every other visual novels made since the 190s. maybe they can patch it in.
@@TheGamingShelf They're acting on feedback, so they might - they added a FF option and Auto since then and are STILL patching things in (Noticed when I started playing it again yesterday, since the backlog was somewhat clearer
Sometimes you should take hints from successful classics. Majora's Mask pulled off time loop mechanics 23 years ago. When done right, it can be amazing!
@@thelastmotel Now that you mention it, I fell in love with The 7th Guest long before Majora's Mask! My cousin had it and it blew me away as a kid, such a good game.
On paper, a time-loop mechanic has a lot of potential. I love games like Gnosia, where you have to put yourself in different scenarios during each timeloop to gradually uncover the story and piece everything together. By the sounds of it though, Loop8 is made worse by its implementation of the mechanic, which is a crying shame. I don't get why it doesn't have a skip option for dialogue and cutscenes you've already seen, considering more traditional visual novels as far back as the 90's let you do this. Hell, Key's visual novels let you outright jump to the next choice or unread dialogue, so something similar to that could've made the prospect of playing this game a lot more bearable. I'm morbidly curious about this game, but I think I'll wait for a sale. The cheaper, the better
Trust me, I know it's tempting to try it. It does look really good on paper. But I promise you it's just a frustrating mess. If you REALLY want to try it then yeah wait for a deep sale.
@@christianflex4allthat's actually insane. Games selling for $60 after 3 years I mean. Also that's not an anime fan exclusive thing. A super fan in any fandom would do that
Is there no way to skip dialogue you've already read? If so, that's frankly insane. It's already a standard for visual novels with multiple routes, but a game where looping is the whole point?
@@TheGamingShelf That is absolutely nuts. It is incredible to me that a developer could release a game without such a basic feature when neglecting to include it makes their game so severely fundamentally worse.
Excellent review, thank you for saving me the money. I too was looking forward to this one because of the Persona vibes. Disappointing, but better to know now than later! Keep up the stellar work, my friend.
@@TheGamingShelf Like I said, better to hear it now than pay for it later! Your channel has become one of my favorites in recent weeks because your content is always sharp and to the point. Absolutely love it. I'll be keeping my eyes on your future reviews as well.
Seen a lot of reviews can honestly say i’m so disappointed given how beautiful the game looked had a lot of potential, i’ll wait till an extreme price drop to pick it up, great review as always Taylor 👌🏾
I got it early and have about 15 hours into it. I concur with most of your review, although I didn’t have the trouble you did with activating the portals. I was confused especially towards the beginning, but as I played more and more, deeper relationships with characters help reveal bits of the story. There are definitely some annoying things like that dang squirrel popping with 3-4 screens of dialogue out every time you get a “blessing”. The game explains almost nothing to you, but when you figure out the mechanics, it begins to make more sense. Even though it’s not what I thought the game was going to be, but the game was addicting for me honestly, and there is definitely charm. It’s important to know that the lure of this game is not the combat, but treating characters differently to get different endings. Combat is maybe 10% of the game - if that. Also the music is by far the BEST part of the game. Amazing ost.
Yeah I played the demo and both reviews from this and David's say they had to talk to everyone ect but I didn't need to do that and the combat is dialog/emotion base so there wasn't an issue with getting all these massive stats from all the 14 characters every time. Even the rep at Pax told me that. Also knowing where to go... it shows you where the people are that you need to talk to on the main map so I didn't see the issue there either. It's definitely a unique game that doesn't hold your hand and I think there is a certain way it's supposed to be played. It would be nice if you yourself are able to grasp it's concept better that you let people know what's up on other reviews and forums as I won't be playing it until after FFXVI but I definitely am looking forward to debunking some theories but hey, maybe it's everything they are saying it is. Either which way I am dying to try it out myself. 👍
The moment I boot the game and saw the first scene with Konoha I have visual novel vibes, love the waifus, the art, the music, the story, the potential... but the frustrating mechanics just don't let you appreciate that... It should have been a visual novel (╥_╥)
Just came here from Davidvinc’s review. As soon as you said, “not a Persona-like” and “is a roguelike”, I broke. Just canceled my special edition pre-order. Thank you for your honesty and for saving me $70. I’ll stick with the current game I’m playing (Yakuza 0)
Now that I think about it, I think there's a game that executed this "emotions going out of control turning people into monsters" and "time loop" combo better. It's Warframe's Duviri Paradox update.
dude i just checked the video because i was about to decide whether to try this or not due to the comments online, and after starting the video and being told the genres i neglected i was just ''oh this is totally not for me'' and the rest of the video just proved that people were right, its a shame, it felt like they had a concept but didnt knew how to implement it, i hope they dont give up and learn from this, they got potential altho this was a dude
@@TheGamingShelf Painfully, I agree lol - 5th playthrough, and i'm STILL trying to work out how to save people. Having killed Micchi twice and the teacher 3 times
There HAS to be a way to disable the stats and relationship reset mechanic of the game. If you go into the code there's probably a way to just directly set stats and relationships to something, but I have no clue how. I'm hoping someone find some way to deal with the boring looping problem.
I haven't really paid attention, but I think it gets easier to build relationships if you're on good terms during the previous loop, just like building other stats
The story was about the main character whom has the power to destroy the dimensional evils that came to wipe out the world. So the rest of the people all escaped to other universe while the school of the gifted kids/spirits is the last defense against the evil force. There is limited time "summer" that you need to build up relationships with a few strong allies to boost your chance to beat the evils, but if you fail and everybody dies except main character gets to relive the timeline again and again trying to find out a way to beat the evils. Sad thing you don't get to keep your relationship every loop, so you start fresh again and again😂.
I don't have many problems with the game, because this basically gives you the feel of "Your choices matter in this game" and other mechanics exclusive to the game, such as emotions which give you an idea of what you can do during the discussion, or if you should just wrap it up (As long as you don't get caught using Demon Vision, which happened to me TWICE now - once by Micchi, which made her hate my guts. And then AGAIN when I was caught by Saru, which surprisingly increased my friendship with him). The only two flaws I have with this game are 1. There don't seem to be any long term effects from a character's death, which would've been nice. i.e. Saru trying to comfort you if you kill a person instead of save them, or people talking about Kuni's death if she's the victim 2. Saving people is slightly confusing, because it's never explained in this game. Also, if you think the game's repetitive... due to the boosts in future loops, it's better to think of it as a New Game Plus instead of a different loop
shame this isnt so good.. the whole summer vibes reminded me a bit of an anime called Summer time render. And funnily enough that anime is getting a VN soon.. i guess that would be a better game for those looking for a summer/ seaside vibe game
Is there still some sort of dopamine hit maybe? Smething like accumulation money to buy the next weapon, or knowing you're gonna do better in the next run? Something that all roguelikes excels at.
Your relationship stats increase much faster after restarting the loop and and blessings from the squirrel character carry over. I probably should have mentioned that. Getting to know each character is really fun, but it becomes annoying have to repeat the same dialogue with each character 5+ times.
I like it, I'm 20 or so hours into the Switch release with 2 loops on my save, I haven't had any characters die as of yet and find the game pretty easy as I'm just grinding the friendship options constantly. There seems to be no 'punishment' for dating every character in the game and very little in the way of a need to use the vision system or even having a third character join you in the alternative dimension for battling up to now. There seems to be plenty of potential that they could have explored in this game and even really making what's there required to progress. I was very impressed by the graphics and setting of the game, it's exactly what I expected it to be and in some ways, I'm happy that it isn't more complicated than it is. I think if I did keep looping, it would become very annoying quickly but you can save before battling or after key events which helps in the search for whose been captured.
when you say dating sim roguelike i think like... the girls have different starting affection levels or story points so you can learn more about them through subsequent playthroughs not "oh you didn't figure it out... time to go back to the start!" also that thing with the in game clock is so strange, never heard of a game being like that lol. it is too bad the game is the way it is but thank you for doing the review!
What you’re saying would actually be cool! Sadly that’s not the case lol. I wish the looping mechanic was just stripped out because the dating sim mechanics are actually quite good.
I have to admit that I am _intrigued_ with what this titles flaws seem to be. Not giving players the option to fast-forward through dialogue when they just want to keep to the same path is amateurish, but at least that can be patched in. But the obtuseness of the hints, to the point where players are stuck looping again and again because they simply can't figure things out... like, a part of me wants to question that, poke and prod it- were there REALLY no hints given? Because when you say that you have done several loops where you talk to everyone in town and the loop STILL activates, then you have me thinking if they maybe RESET who the individual in question is supposed to be- that part of the random roguelike is that the infected character is NOT set in stone and they just randomly change it up. It really sounds like they designed this in the most obtuse and complicated matter imaginable. To ask outright- DID they ever change who the infected character? And also, something I wish you had clarified in the review- what WAS the "flag" you had to trigger in order to get the boss battle? Did you trigger the final confrontation with that chapters infected by talking to them, or going to a certain place, or performing a certain action or... did you genuinely never figure out HOW you triggered that flag? Was it genuinely just running around having no idea what to do until random happenstance lead to plot progression? Because that's the impression I'm getting here, and if so man, I'm going to steer well clear since it seems like it isn't even FUN to experiment and play around with the obtuse mechanics in my efforts to uncover what the designers want me to do.
That's part of the problem, the victim changes every time and you never know who it is, sometimes until it's too late. It might sound fun to try and experiment, but after you've cycled through the same introduction dialogue for the 5th time all intrigue goes out the window.
I received my copy in the mail yesterday. I'm only 2 hours into it, but I'm quite disappointed with it as well. The characters seem interesting enough, but the dialog choices don't seem to make sense. I can talk to a character who essentially tells me to go to hell and lose relationship points, then talk to the character again, choose flatter, and get a bunch of points. Also, the choppy animation during gameplay feels sloppy, especially the frame rate drops in battle (I'm playing it on a PS5). I'm hoping they'll at least patch it to run smoother and/or have a PS5 upgrade option.
I’m playing Loop8 now after borrowing it from the library.😅 It’s’ gameplay is mental - I feel your pain about 4 loops in a row without interacting and never understanding wtf is happening - I killed all of them, not saved. Maybe cos I was so frustrated! 😅
lmao!!! Alex and David tried to be nice but my boy Taylor is not mincing words!😂😂in all seriousness as i said on Alex's review this one hurts because i wanted this one to be a slam dunk , but it's getting dunked on instead😥😥yeah i can see why this game is frustrating now. sad. thanks for your honest review as always taylor and sorry you had to go through that😅😅
Thank You for the in-depth review! 😆 I look very forward to trying this out myself but not till after FFXVI. This game is very weird in it's presentation as it doesn't tell you much on how you are supposed to approach it. What I do know is I don't believe you are not obligated to talk to everyone all the time over and over. Yes the dialog is the same for each person at certain points in the game but should you have a repeat conversation with someone you are supposed to choose different answers for different results and endings. 👍
That’s kind of the problem, the game doesn’t really explain what you’re supposed to do. So you end up just talking to everyone all the time, crossing your fingers that you’re doing it right. That’s not exactly a fun way to play a game.
@@TheGamingShelf I agree, and I am not arguing with you. I found it amusing that you reached out to XSEED and even they couldn't explain. I am hoping that they listen to the feedback and make the effort to "do something" if the game is that convoluted. I remember the second time I played the demo and I spoke to the guy I believe in the park, and I had to find him again ( just like the first time ) but it seemed to change and I left the park and went looking for him and he was back at the park again? it was weird. If you haven't seen my other comments... XSEED reps at Pax E couldn't tell me much about the mechanics either other than where I might need to go since it doesn't tell you exactly other than that it was play the demo and get lost lol, not to mention they were the worst hosts at the show unfortunately.
There's something about it that has me intrigued, but man yeah it sounds repetitive and frustrating. Maybe on a deep sale? It seems like a 6/10 rainy day kind of game. Something you know isn't good but still has enough vibes to play.
Ya, from the promotional material I felt like this would be the case unfortunately. A unique and interesting concept for sure but definitely not one executed well.
Sounds like they tried to make this idea Work, but the Devs just could not do so. I think it sounded Good on Paper, but not in Practice. Instead of scrapping it they just cobbled together a bunch Patchwork Mechanics into a Frankenstein Monster of a Game.
I remember you previewing this in your other video and how excited you were. I thought of checking out because it gave me Tokyo Xanadu eX+ vibes. But I think that I am good not doing so.
Bullshit that'd be epic! After the daily cow and chicken butchering just rest at a fire and everything resets. Watch out for cunning foxes and wolves and bears among other things while you're out in the woods looking for cattle thieves.
It is certainly tedious could've just looped until a certain point. They didn't need to make it so you would start back to zero. The lack of backlog also hurts. Still interested in Ichika though. Was looking forward to this game, too bad it had major flaws. I'll just wait for eternights for the guilty pleasure game I'm looking forward this year.
sincerely, i killed my teacher at first fight, i couldnt even choose to save her. Nini just says something like ''it has to be like this, im had not a choice'' andi so i was like ''wtf? what i did wrong?''. Besides everyone is always at a ANGRY mood so they just hate me for trying to talk.... yes i hated so many things in the game and im about 6 hours gaming?
The trailer on the switch doesn't go into the USP which is really disappointing. Glad that I've watched this, since it seems like I should probably just rewatch Summertime Rendering.
Before I buy a game I’m unsure I always find a review from one that loves it an one that doesn’t preferably one that wanted to like it but was disappointed so they’re not just shittin on it. Somewhat regret findin someone that doesn’t like it first cuz I’m startin to wonder how hard it’ll be to find someone that loves it
@@TheGamingShelf That isn’t on you. I never shift the blame onto reporters or messengers I presume to be acting with good faith honesty. I regard reviewers in the same way.
i'm, making a review on this if only to clear up a bunch of confusion i have not finished it yet but i am on loop 1 without issue basically talk a ton build up freinship or affection i am afraid to build up hate the higher the bond level in a stat the more attacks with it do do not be in a rush to loop i know it can be boring to build up stats but if you talk to people you'll loop ALOT LESS if at all
The first loop is fairly easy, the subsequent ones are what get annoying. I talked to everyone everyday and no matter what I did I just never found certain characters before the loop reset.
Loop 8 is a game i always had reservations on whether or not it'll be good but after watching this review i know now i'm saving my money by not buying this confusing RPG.
While all that you said is true, this is also the only game in which you can date multiple characters without consequences as it is literally made to try and see what other female characters feel like. I try to see all these flaws of the game as its strength and when you play it knowing what you get into it is surprisingly fun. Instead of talking to the same people over and over again to struggle having the max link with them again try other characters every loop, just go with the flow and the game will not be that bad anymore. This is a good bad game that I personally think deserves a shot.
Plus, it's the only game which uses emotions as a heads-up on what you can and can't do. For example, if you notice a character with the "Happy" mood, you know that near enough anything would work. If a character expresses a negative emotion, you know that it'd be pointless trying to talk to them
Damn this is my third review on this game and you basically said the same thing about the confusing loop and random events this game had to be rushed or something cause there’s apparently no tutorial to guide you and that fox girl is practically plot useless.
Sometimes when you’re playing a game in the dark you never know if you’re opinion is the outlier or not, but I’m glad to see everyone seems to basically have the same opinion.
Wow thats a shame I was looking forward to that game for quiet some time welp guess I’ll wait for a sale at the eShop, not gonna lie are the character models suppose to look idk move less than 60 fps? It sorta bugs me a little.
Its a pity this game wasn't as great as expected. I had great expectations as I like dating games, visual novels and of course persona and other games with bond mechanics like scarlet nexus, tales of arise etc. Also, Marvelous games like harvest moon are great. But that repetitive dialogue thing seems like such a dealbreaker. I hate it when games make you redo stuff and re-read dialogue.
If this game interests you just play World End Syndrome. It has a similar setting, better characters and writing, easier to understand mechanics and it doesnt pretent to be an RPG for 5% of its playtime
Yup this is a pass from me. Disappointed with how it turned out. Oh well maybe they learn from this to make a sequel that is more deserving of what I feel their ideas were
I had the special edition pre ordered as soon as it was announced but I cancelled it as soon as I saw actual in game footage. It looks like it runs horribly (even if that was an aesthetic choice.... It's a very weird one if it was) and just looked confusing and weird.
@@TheGamingShelf yeah it ends up just looking really choppy and frankly, bad. This is one of the biggest let downs for me 😔. I was really looking forward to it. Now I just gotta cross my fingers for Eternights
I'm probably going to pirate just to see if it's as bad as you make it out to be but I REALLY hope this game get a sequel or something. I could see it being a niche hit if given the proper polish.
@@TheGamingShelf No problem. Reviews are meant to be precautions but not a stoppage on trying something new. I can always sell a physical game once I am done with it. Problem solved.
🎮 7 JRPGs I would Give A 10/10 👉 th-cam.com/video/HLJOEpQyB_0/w-d-xo.html
Please don't apologize: we NEED to know when games are not worth our investment, be it of time or of money! There are simply too many goodies out there right now to waste our resources. It's a shame this didn't work out, as I love the team that made it and it's always exciting to see devs experiment with something new, but it seems like a mess all around. Here's hoping they figure it out in the future!
I appreciate that :) That’s my goal; to inform you guys, good or bad.
>too many goodies
No, there is actually very small amount of them or they was already used and played trough and trough.
@ПетрШаповалов-г2п I was wondering if I just "outgrew" games or if there aren't as many good ones anymore. I rarely find ones that interest me anymore. If you have any suggestions that would be appreciated.
I still remember 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors from the DS where it would gray out dialogue you had already seen so you could skip it. And this was years ago! You'd know something changed in a conversation if the option was highlighted, and you always had the option to replay one you'd already seen by choosing the grayed out one. Sounds like this game could use something like that to no force you through identical cutscenes repeatedly.
999 is an amazing game! ❤
Most modern visual novels do that which makes Loop 8 choices even more frustrating
999 one of the greatest games I have every played. That ending.... like wowww
Even more traditional visual novels like Clannad and Steins;Gate have been doing this for years. Hell, in any of Key's VN's you can just skip straight to the next unread text or choice, cutting down on a lot of tedium.
they should have just added the skip button for all the scene you have already seen, like every other visual novels made since the 190s. maybe they can patch it in.
That would have definitely helped!
@@TheGamingShelf They're acting on feedback, so they might - they added a FF option and Auto since then and are STILL patching things in (Noticed when I started playing it again yesterday, since the backlog was somewhat clearer
Sometimes you should take hints from successful classics. Majora's Mask pulled off time loop mechanics 23 years ago. When done right, it can be amazing!
Exactly!
The 7th Guest did it perfectly well in 1993, as well
@@thelastmotel Now that you mention it, I fell in love with The 7th Guest long before Majora's Mask! My cousin had it and it blew me away as a kid, such a good game.
On paper, a time-loop mechanic has a lot of potential. I love games like Gnosia, where you have to put yourself in different scenarios during each timeloop to gradually uncover the story and piece everything together.
By the sounds of it though, Loop8 is made worse by its implementation of the mechanic, which is a crying shame. I don't get why it doesn't have a skip option for dialogue and cutscenes you've already seen, considering more traditional visual novels as far back as the 90's let you do this. Hell, Key's visual novels let you outright jump to the next choice or unread dialogue, so something similar to that could've made the prospect of playing this game a lot more bearable.
I'm morbidly curious about this game, but I think I'll wait for a sale. The cheaper, the better
Trust me, I know it's tempting to try it. It does look really good on paper. But I promise you it's just a frustrating mess. If you REALLY want to try it then yeah wait for a deep sale.
Thanks for saving me ~$50.
You’re welcome! I hate doing negative reviews but I hate recommending you guys bad games even more.
This is $50?
@@monstergelo1072 yea it’s an anime game and creators know anime fans will pay anything. There are still 3+ year old anime games selling for $60
yes! thank you
@@christianflex4allthat's actually insane. Games selling for $60 after 3 years I mean. Also that's not an anime fan exclusive thing. A super fan in any fandom would do that
Is there no way to skip dialogue you've already read? If so, that's frankly insane. It's already a standard for visual novels with multiple routes, but a game where looping is the whole point?
You have to manually click through all the dialogue. You can skip cutscenes but not normal character dialogue.
@@TheGamingShelf That is absolutely nuts. It is incredible to me that a developer could release a game without such a basic feature when neglecting to include it makes their game so severely fundamentally worse.
@@TheGamingShelf hopefully they patch it in
Excellent review, thank you for saving me the money. I too was looking forward to this one because of the Persona vibes. Disappointing, but better to know now than later! Keep up the stellar work, my friend.
Happy to help and sad to be the bearer of bad news 😝
@@TheGamingShelf Like I said, better to hear it now than pay for it later! Your channel has become one of my favorites in recent weeks because your content is always sharp and to the point. Absolutely love it. I'll be keeping my eyes on your future reviews as well.
i cant help but think of the endless eight from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya when i see Loop, 8, and Summer all one game title
Seen a lot of reviews can honestly say i’m so disappointed given how beautiful the game looked had a lot of potential, i’ll wait till an extreme price drop to pick it up, great review as always Taylor 👌🏾
Thanks bruvv! And yeah what a waste of potential.
7.99😎
I feel like you, me and @davidvinc went through a war we just couldn't win. LOL Great review, as always!
Haha agreed! I so wanted to like this game but yeah that was no winning here 😂
I got it early and have about 15 hours into it. I concur with most of your review, although I didn’t have the trouble you did with activating the portals.
I was confused especially towards the beginning, but as I played more and more, deeper relationships with characters help reveal bits of the story. There are definitely some annoying things like that dang squirrel popping with 3-4 screens of dialogue out every time you get a “blessing”.
The game explains almost nothing to you, but when you figure out the mechanics, it begins to make more sense. Even though it’s not what I thought the game was going to be, but the game was addicting for me honestly, and there is definitely charm.
It’s important to know that the lure of this game is not the combat, but treating characters differently to get different endings. Combat is maybe 10% of the game - if that.
Also the music is by far the BEST part of the game. Amazing ost.
Yeah I played the demo and both reviews from this and David's say they had to talk to everyone ect but I didn't need to do that and the combat is dialog/emotion base so there wasn't an issue with getting all these massive stats from all the 14 characters every time. Even the rep at Pax told me that. Also knowing where to go... it shows you where the people are that you need to talk to on the main map so I didn't see the issue there either. It's definitely a unique game that doesn't hold your hand and I think there is a certain way it's supposed to be played. It would be nice if you yourself are able to grasp it's concept better that you let people know what's up on other reviews and forums as I won't be playing it until after FFXVI but I definitely am looking forward to debunking some theories but hey, maybe it's everything they are saying it is. Either which way I am dying to try it out myself. 👍
Thank you! I Agree with you.
I’m glad you enjoyed it that we all did 😆
Maybe if the dialog changed every time a loop happened would be pretty cool.
If you're a writer on the other hand that wouldn't be feasible.
Yeah, whether is including clue that you already know, or someone that they never met but YOU as a player already have met them.
The moment I boot the game and saw the first scene with Konoha I have visual novel vibes, love the waifus, the art, the music, the story, the potential... but the frustrating mechanics just don't let you appreciate that...
It should have been a visual novel (╥_╥)
The looping mechanics are bs and definitely ruin the game :/
Moving this to the "Buy When On Sale" List. Thanks for the review.
Just came here from Davidvinc’s review. As soon as you said, “not a Persona-like” and “is a roguelike”, I broke. Just canceled my special edition pre-order. Thank you for your honesty and for saving me $70. I’ll stick with the current game I’m playing (Yakuza 0)
Happy to help and I’m sorry I had to be the one to break the bad news :(
Now that I think about it, I think there's a game that executed this "emotions going out of control turning people into monsters" and "time loop" combo better. It's Warframe's Duviri Paradox update.
dude i just checked the video because i was about to decide whether to try this or not due to the comments online, and after starting the video and being told the genres i neglected i was just ''oh this is totally not for me'' and the rest of the video just proved that people were right, its a shame, it felt like they had a concept but didnt knew how to implement it, i hope they dont give up and learn from this, they got potential altho this was a dude
I hope they update the game to give better clues or just a easy mode that allows the story to keep going
Would be nice! That would be the easiest way to remedy this game because when you’re not lost it’s actually pretty solid
@@TheGamingShelf Painfully, I agree lol - 5th playthrough, and i'm STILL trying to work out how to save people. Having killed Micchi twice and the teacher 3 times
There HAS to be a way to disable the stats and relationship reset mechanic of the game. If you go into the code there's probably a way to just directly set stats and relationships to something, but I have no clue how.
I'm hoping someone find some way to deal with the boring looping problem.
I don’t think there is, which makes this game baffling :/
I haven't really paid attention, but I think it gets easier to build relationships if you're on good terms during the previous loop, just like building other stats
"I even talked to Alex and David, and all of us were super confused!!!" My God, truer words were never spoken.
You know when all of us collectively can’t figure it out the game’s in trouble 😆
@@TheGamingShelf The three of you saved me $70.
This is exactly what I expected it to be, so I’m not disappointed. I’m happy I ordered it
Same - thanks to Song of Memories, i'm used to the whole "Time jump" system
The story was about the main character whom has the power to destroy the dimensional evils that came to wipe out the world. So the rest of the people all escaped to other universe while the school of the gifted kids/spirits is the last defense against the evil force. There is limited time "summer" that you need to build up relationships with a few strong allies to boost your chance to beat the evils, but if you fail and everybody dies except main character gets to relive the timeline again and again trying to find out a way to beat the evils. Sad thing you don't get to keep your relationship every loop, so you start fresh again and again😂.
I don't have many problems with the game, because this basically gives you the feel of "Your choices matter in this game" and other mechanics exclusive to the game, such as emotions which give you an idea of what you can do during the discussion, or if you should just wrap it up (As long as you don't get caught using Demon Vision, which happened to me TWICE now - once by Micchi, which made her hate my guts. And then AGAIN when I was caught by Saru, which surprisingly increased my friendship with him). The only two flaws I have with this game are
1. There don't seem to be any long term effects from a character's death, which would've been nice. i.e. Saru trying to comfort you if you kill a person instead of save them, or people talking about Kuni's death if she's the victim
2. Saving people is slightly confusing, because it's never explained in this game.
Also, if you think the game's repetitive... due to the boosts in future loops, it's better to think of it as a New Game Plus instead of a different loop
All I want is to play Onigiri again, but alas I have an Xbox and don’t see any decent anime games except the one I own codevein.
shame this isnt so good..
the whole summer vibes reminded me a bit of an anime called Summer time render.
And funnily enough that anime is getting a VN soon.. i guess that would be a better game for those looking for a summer/ seaside vibe game
Yeah man the summer vibes here were so good too! A shame the game didn’t turn out better.
Is there still some sort of dopamine hit maybe? Smething like accumulation money to buy the next weapon, or knowing you're gonna do better in the next run?
Something that all roguelikes excels at.
Your relationship stats increase much faster after restarting the loop and and blessings from the squirrel character carry over. I probably should have mentioned that.
Getting to know each character is really fun, but it becomes annoying have to repeat the same dialogue with each character 5+ times.
I like it, I'm 20 or so hours into the Switch release with 2 loops on my save, I haven't had any characters die as of yet and find the game pretty easy as I'm just grinding the friendship options constantly. There seems to be no 'punishment' for dating every character in the game and very little in the way of a need to use the vision system or even having a third character join you in the alternative dimension for battling up to now. There seems to be plenty of potential that they could have explored in this game and even really making what's there required to progress.
I was very impressed by the graphics and setting of the game, it's exactly what I expected it to be and in some ways, I'm happy that it isn't more complicated than it is. I think if I did keep looping, it would become very annoying quickly but you can save before battling or after key events which helps in the search for whose been captured.
when you say dating sim roguelike i think like... the girls have different starting affection levels or story points so you can learn more about them through subsequent playthroughs not "oh you didn't figure it out... time to go back to the start!"
also that thing with the in game clock is so strange, never heard of a game being like that lol.
it is too bad the game is the way it is but thank you for doing the review!
What you’re saying would actually be cool! Sadly that’s not the case lol. I wish the looping mechanic was just stripped out because the dating sim mechanics are actually quite good.
Reminds me of the Endless 8 arc from Haruhi Suzumiya
thanks for the review, the trailer had me really hyped but at least I can use my money on another game now
I never like making reviews like this but I’m glad I could help you save money for a better game!
I have to admit that I am _intrigued_ with what this titles flaws seem to be. Not giving players the option to fast-forward through dialogue when they just want to keep to the same path is amateurish, but at least that can be patched in. But the obtuseness of the hints, to the point where players are stuck looping again and again because they simply can't figure things out... like, a part of me wants to question that, poke and prod it- were there REALLY no hints given? Because when you say that you have done several loops where you talk to everyone in town and the loop STILL activates, then you have me thinking if they maybe RESET who the individual in question is supposed to be- that part of the random roguelike is that the infected character is NOT set in stone and they just randomly change it up. It really sounds like they designed this in the most obtuse and complicated matter imaginable.
To ask outright- DID they ever change who the infected character? And also, something I wish you had clarified in the review- what WAS the "flag" you had to trigger in order to get the boss battle? Did you trigger the final confrontation with that chapters infected by talking to them, or going to a certain place, or performing a certain action or... did you genuinely never figure out HOW you triggered that flag? Was it genuinely just running around having no idea what to do until random happenstance lead to plot progression? Because that's the impression I'm getting here, and if so man, I'm going to steer well clear since it seems like it isn't even FUN to experiment and play around with the obtuse mechanics in my efforts to uncover what the designers want me to do.
That's part of the problem, the victim changes every time and you never know who it is, sometimes until it's too late. It might sound fun to try and experiment, but after you've cycled through the same introduction dialogue for the 5th time all intrigue goes out the window.
You do realise that such a function DOES exist? (Certainly stopped my sanity slowly draining away whenever I got a new unnecessary blessing, lol)
I received my copy in the mail yesterday. I'm only 2 hours into it, but I'm quite disappointed with it as well. The characters seem interesting enough, but the dialog choices don't seem to make sense. I can talk to a character who essentially tells me to go to hell and lose relationship points, then talk to the character again, choose flatter, and get a bunch of points. Also, the choppy animation during gameplay feels sloppy, especially the frame rate drops in battle (I'm playing it on a PS5). I'm hoping they'll at least patch it to run smoother and/or have a PS5 upgrade option.
I’m playing Loop8 now after borrowing it from the library.😅
It’s’ gameplay is mental - I feel your pain about 4 loops in a row without interacting and never understanding wtf is happening - I killed all of them, not saved. Maybe cos I was so frustrated! 😅
Well, off to "Pick up when on sale" pile you go, I guess
lmao!!! Alex and David tried to be nice but my boy Taylor is not mincing words!😂😂in all seriousness as i said on Alex's review this one hurts because i wanted this one to be a slam dunk , but it's getting dunked on instead😥😥yeah i can see why this game is frustrating now. sad. thanks for your honest review as always taylor and sorry you had to go through that😅😅
Good review, almost bought this. Thanks.
Sooo did you watch Summertime Rendering ? That anime that had loop 8 vibes
YES!!!!!! i was thinking the same! god Summertime Render is a masterpiece
We need a review for Love esquire. That game is right up your alley
Never heard of it! What kind of game is it?
Well, that's a shame. I canceled my preorder yesterday because I was unsure of the quality. Guess I did the right thing. I'll wait for a price cut
Probably smart as sad as it is.
What's with fox girl's idle combat animation? 😅
Pretty intense right? 🤣
Dammit... I was kinda hyped, thanks to you at last I'll save money and avoid an even bigger dissapointment
Yeah I hate to be negative but I’d rather be honest.
@@TheGamingShelf nothing wrong with that man, you're only the messenger.
Thank You for the in-depth review! 😆 I look very forward to trying this out myself but not till after FFXVI. This game is very weird in it's presentation as it doesn't tell you much on how you are supposed to approach it. What I do know is I don't believe you are not obligated to talk to everyone all the time over and over. Yes the dialog is the same for each person at certain points in the game but should you have a repeat conversation with someone you are supposed to choose different answers for different results and endings. 👍
That’s kind of the problem, the game doesn’t really explain what you’re supposed to do. So you end up just talking to everyone all the time, crossing your fingers that you’re doing it right. That’s not exactly a fun way to play a game.
@@TheGamingShelf I agree, and I am not arguing with you. I found it amusing that you reached out to XSEED and even they couldn't explain. I am hoping that they listen to the feedback and make the effort to "do something" if the game is that convoluted. I remember the second time I played the demo and I spoke to the guy I believe in the park, and I had to find him again ( just like the first time ) but it seemed to change and I left the park and went looking for him and he was back at the park again? it was weird. If you haven't seen my other comments... XSEED reps at Pax E couldn't tell me much about the mechanics either other than where I might need to go since it doesn't tell you exactly other than that it was play the demo and get lost lol, not to mention they were the worst hosts at the show unfortunately.
I still want to support it thought so buying it on sale and not completely skip on it.
Probably for the best 👍
There's something about it that has me intrigued, but man yeah it sounds repetitive and frustrating. Maybe on a deep sale? It seems like a 6/10 rainy day kind of game. Something you know isn't good but still has enough vibes to play.
Once guides for this game come out you’ll be fine. Until then you’ll just poking around the dark with everyone else.
It feels very lag tbh. Like gameplay or when you are walking. It just feels weird and not smooth.
Rather buy blue reflection and play
yes bc that's fps anime direction that's why
Ya, from the promotional material I felt like this would be the case unfortunately. A unique and interesting concept for sure but definitely not one executed well.
If ever it receives a patch or something, will you be doing a follow-up on it?
Definitely! I try to talk about game updates when relevant.
Just imagine you're watching that one Haruhi Suzumiya episode(s)
😵💫
Damn 😣I love games in small Japanese towns. I played Persona 4, four times. I was ready to say take my money but I’m glad I saw this.
Money saved.
Sounds like they tried to make this idea Work, but the Devs just could not do so. I think it sounded Good on Paper, but not in Practice. Instead of scrapping it they just cobbled together a bunch Patchwork Mechanics into a Frankenstein Monster of a Game.
@TheGamingShelf would you recommend this game if it ever went on a deep sale?
Maybe. It really depends on how patient you’re willing to be. I just think at a fundamental level the game is a bad idea and not fun.
I remember you previewing this in your other video and how excited you were. I thought of checking out because it gave me Tokyo Xanadu eX+ vibes. But I think that I am good not doing so.
Oh man I WISH it was like Tokyo Xanadu! Sadly it’s nothing like it.
Just beat it earlier today, and, in spite of the poor reception, I actually ENJOYED it! 😮
Good to see that someone else is looking at the full picture, instead of thinking "Is this supposed to be a Persona rip-off?!"
"It's a Dating Sim-Roguelike"
That's dumber than my idea for a Farming Sim-Soulslike.
Bullshit that'd be epic! After the daily cow and chicken butchering just rest at a fire and everything resets. Watch out for cunning foxes and wolves and bears among other things while you're out in the woods looking for cattle thieves.
It is certainly tedious could've just looped until a certain point. They didn't need to make it so you would start back to zero. The lack of backlog also hurts. Still interested in Ichika though. Was looking forward to this game, too bad it had major flaws. I'll just wait for eternights for the guilty pleasure game I'm looking forward this year.
sincerely, i killed my teacher at first fight, i couldnt even choose to save her. Nini just says something like ''it has to be like this, im had not a choice'' andi so i was like ''wtf? what i did wrong?''. Besides everyone is always at a ANGRY mood so they just hate me for trying to talk.... yes i hated so many things in the game and im about 6 hours gaming?
I spent $50 on this. Sad i didnt see this sooner. Lesson learned
That’s why you gotta inscribe so you don’t miss JRPG reviews ;)
Personally, I liked it. I beat the final boss this morning in just 3 loops.
So, this is Summer Time Rendering?
Basically haha
Really had high hope for this game😢
Me too. No one’s more bummed to report this than me 😔
The trailer on the switch doesn't go into the USP which is really disappointing. Glad that I've watched this, since it seems like I should probably just rewatch Summertime Rendering.
Before I buy a game I’m unsure I always find a review from one that loves it an one that doesn’t preferably one that wanted to like it but was disappointed so they’re not just shittin on it.
Somewhat regret findin someone that doesn’t like it first cuz I’m startin to wonder how hard it’ll be to find someone that loves it
I was so looking forward to this game. Such a great looking anime world. So sad. Thanks for the review.
Oh lord…I almost sprung for the collectors edition. You do good work my man.😭👍
Thank you! Even if it’s bad news I always try to keep it honest.
@@TheGamingShelf here’s hoping Eternights delivers. I wanna believe that game won’t s*ck.🙏
This game looked so good :(
Truly tragic news. This was one of the now rare few nowadays presumably non-ero I was looking forward to. It was even #1 on my Steam wishlist.
I hate to be the one to let you down :/
@@TheGamingShelf That isn’t on you.
I never shift the blame onto reporters or messengers I presume to be acting with good faith honesty.
I regard reviewers in the same way.
Only the loop is the problem. Hmm the visual and turn base looks good. I still get it and the main character can transform
You have to have patience trying to figure out the cryptic clues or you’re gonna want to throw it out the window lol.
This is too bad, I was looking forward to this one.
Me too =(
i'm, making a review on this if only to clear up a bunch of confusion i have not finished it yet but i am on loop 1 without issue basically talk a ton build up freinship or affection i am afraid to build up hate the higher the bond level in a stat the more attacks with it do do not be in a rush to loop i know it can be boring to build up stats but if you talk to people you'll loop ALOT LESS if at all
The first loop is fairly easy, the subsequent ones are what get annoying. I talked to everyone everyday and no matter what I did I just never found certain characters before the loop reset.
If you select Japanese audio is the opening song in Japanese?
I couldn’t tell you, I never tried.
More like Loop8 Fiasco, amiright?
I bought it played twice and am returning it today. Waste of my time.
Loop 8 is a game i always had reservations on whether or not it'll be good but after watching this review i know now i'm saving my money by not buying this confusing RPG.
Smart move. There are so many others coming this summer worth saving for!
While all that you said is true, this is also the only game in which you can date multiple characters without consequences as it is literally made to try and see what other female characters feel like. I try to see all these flaws of the game as its strength and when you play it knowing what you get into it is surprisingly fun. Instead of talking to the same people over and over again to struggle having the max link with them again try other characters every loop, just go with the flow and the game will not be that bad anymore. This is a good bad game that I personally think deserves a shot.
Plus, it's the only game which uses emotions as a heads-up on what you can and can't do. For example, if you notice a character with the "Happy" mood, you know that near enough anything would work. If a character expresses a negative emotion, you know that it'd be pointless trying to talk to them
As soon as i saw the combat, i was like: "uh oh..."
There might as well not be combat. It's so basic and infrequent.
Damn this is my third review on this game and you basically said the same thing about the confusing loop and random events this game had to be rushed or something cause there’s apparently no tutorial to guide you and that fox girl is practically plot useless.
Sometimes when you’re playing a game in the dark you never know if you’re opinion is the outlier or not, but I’m glad to see everyone seems to basically have the same opinion.
Boyfriend dungeon is another dating sim rogue like and it’s pretty good 👍
I’ve heard of that but never played it! Might have to give it a try.
I'm glad I wait for your reviews, still it's so disappointing this game was one I have been looking forward to
Wow thats a shame I was looking forward to that game for quiet some time welp guess I’ll wait for a sale at the eShop, not gonna lie are the character models suppose to look idk move less than 60 fps? It sorta bugs me a little.
It’s definitely an intentional design choice to have them move the way they do. I don’t really understand it but you get used to it after awhile.
I will be waiting to see if they patch some quality of life mechanics. Disappointed to say the least. Good review!
I hope they do! Some better tutorials and hints would be incredibly helpful.
Its a pity this game wasn't as great as expected. I had great expectations as I like dating games, visual novels and of course persona and other games with bond mechanics like scarlet nexus, tales of arise etc. Also, Marvelous games like harvest moon are great. But that repetitive dialogue thing seems like such a dealbreaker. I hate it when games make you redo stuff and re-read dialogue.
if you want play something no cliche and generic this game is for you
Combining a roguelike with a visual novel just sounds like a terrible idea.
It is 😆
Huh. Bummer.
Oh... Roguelike...
Yeah :/
Was thinking of getting this, but I've seen 2 bad reviews now, so i guess this is a skip.
Probably for the best, sadly.
It sounds all bad but I actually like these types of games lol insta buy!
Don’t I say I didn’t warn you! 👀
If this game interests you just play World End Syndrome. It has a similar setting, better characters and writing, easier to understand mechanics and it doesnt pretent to be an RPG for 5% of its playtime
Unfortunately the looping aspect was the part I was least interested in 😆
Yup this is a pass from me. Disappointed with how it turned out. Oh well maybe they learn from this to make a sequel that is more deserving of what I feel their ideas were
I had the special edition pre ordered as soon as it was announced but I cancelled it as soon as I saw actual in game footage. It looks like it runs horribly (even if that was an aesthetic choice.... It's a very weird one if it was) and just looked confusing and weird.
I don’t really understand the animation design choice. It’s very odd. You get used to it after awhile but full frames would have been better.
@@TheGamingShelf yeah it ends up just looking really choppy and frankly, bad. This is one of the biggest let downs for me 😔. I was really looking forward to it. Now I just gotta cross my fingers for Eternights
this might be interesting if it is an anime, and not a game
Agreed! The looping aspect could be cool, as a game mechanic though it’s just annoying.
Damn I was really looking forward to that game...
Me too =( No one’s more disappointed than me.
Yeah, guess i'll just wait for Eternights instead.
Same! Can’t wait to press R2 to hold hands
I'm probably going to pirate just to see if it's as bad as you make it out to be but I REALLY hope this game get a sequel or something.
I could see it being a niche hit if given the proper polish.
The potential for something incredible is all there, it’s just ruined by this bizarre looping mechanics
Sister Vs Sister not looking to bad now, eh?
This guy 😏
I'm still buying it and try it for myself before I decide 😊
Best wishes! Don’t say I didn’t warn you ;)
@@TheGamingShelf No problem. Reviews are meant to be precautions but not a stoppage on trying something new.
I can always sell a physical game once I am done with it. Problem solved.
Cool setting, but the mechanics of this game would make me hate it
Probably! It made me hate it haha
Plus I don’t follow the story?
damn... here goes my copy back to amazon for a refund.