Recent reviews by Space Geisha

I immediately bought this after completing the demo. It is everything I could ever want in a game: old-school JRPG feel, Octopath world with updated battle system, extensive (but not overwhelming) town building mechanic, beautiful soundtrack.

It's very linear, but you can tell the person who made it really loved Chrono Trigger, so it scratches the old school JPRG itch.

One of the most unique and visually stunning games I have ever played.

This is an underrated hidden gem. If you love 2DHD SNES JRPG era style games, this is a Tactics game with a martial arts twist.

I'm convinced the people saying "this isn't a Dragon Age game" are just upset they can't be evil. The combat system is a significant upgrade. The world is gorgeous. The customization is wild. The story picks up where Inquisition left off. You make difficult decisions constantly. AND THE BABY GRIFFON IS THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED IN ANY GAME!

My only complaint is the companions are kind of a slow burn and make you miss the old cast until much later in the game. The romances are minimal, and there isn't a drastic change in how characters react to your choices, although the developers seem to have spent a hell of a lot of time on how dynamically they interact with each other.

UPDATE: I've now played through the free single player mode three times now (there are something like 10 different endings) and thoroughly recommend it for any fans of FF Tactics style games.
The gacha mode adds some fun background to the story but does have a daily content limit, which is honestly a good thing if you get addicted to the lotto reward grind.

Editing for a more nuanced take: Yes, you can tell a lot of love and thought went into this "game". I still cannot recommend buying it if you are looking for an FF Tactics style GAME. It's more or less just an interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" story/political debate class simulator.

My first play through took about 25 hours, and - not exaggerating - less than half of that was actual game play; that 25 hour mark includes me getting bored and fast forwarding through most of the dialogue for the second half of the game because there is just a ridiculous amount. For comparison, my first New Game+ play through, skipping all cut scenes, took less than 10 hours.

My total played time is for 4 routes, so I will give them credit for making me OCD about checking off all of the various characters and endings. Unfortunately, that's the only draw. The "tactical" battles are quite shallow and only require a little bit of strategy for a couple of very specific encounters on Hard mode, and the most interesting combat decisions you'll ever make only has to do with one very specific ending, where you split up your characters into 3 teams. Otherwise, only buy this if your enjoyment comes from the branching stories and having to persuade your party into going along with your decisions.

I originally bought this game because it was review bombed by anti-woke idiots and I wanted to see what all the pearl clutching was about. I'm so happy I did. It's a JRPG masterpiece. Everything I ever wanted out of an HD Suikoden sequel!

If you use Steam to force controller support, it turns what would otherwise be an unplayable game into an amazing console JRPG!

I had been a little bit depressed since beating Octopath Traveler 2 and not finding anything that holds my attention in the same way. This is the first game to scratch a similar itch. While not a masterpiece, it was obviously created with such love and checks all the old school SNES JRPG boxes! Chrono Trigger style skill system with an active twist on turn based combat, Zelda style dungeon puzzles, and Relics allow you to customize the difficulty level. Definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a feelgood (albeit linear) chill on the couch experience. (Also check out Child of Light and obviously Octopath Traveler 2!)