I’ve a confession to make. I hate it when historic documentaries embody scenes with actors and/or junior manufacturing employees reenacting essential moments. It undercuts the 2 key causes I’m watching — to be taught stuff and to faux I’m good while doing so. Plus, come on, I imply, they appear to be cosplayers on the Renaissance Faire. Nothing towards that, however once more, who’re you attempting to impress right here?
The DioField Chronicle is form of like a historic documentary peppered with cosplaying Renne Faire volunteers. Additionally, there’s gameplay. We’ll discuss in regards to the gameplay, don’t fear. Gameplay is essential in video video games; it’s proper there within the identify. However first, indulge me additional on this rant, received’t you? Or simply skip forward, however I promise, that is related. I believe.
There’s a charming world right here. You’ll be able to examine it within the library. Characters talk about it, often at size. Significantly, it’s a rock-solid basis. Good lore. Nothing particularly unique, maybe, nevertheless it gels, and I had a good time flipping via the progressively bigger in-game codex.
Troublingly, nearly all of the time when the forged will get collectively to research the more and more sophisticated political state of affairs and decide the most effective plan of action, I really feel like I’m sitting there, you realize, chomping on a type of large turkey drumsticks (I obtained it without spending a dime as a result of I threw axes at a medieval dartboard with reasonably spectacular outcomes), nodding alongside like the remainder of the viewers. There’s valuable little urgency in any of it, and I can’t assist however assume I’m lacking a chunk of the plot. The voice appearing, whereas stable, is seldom full of life sufficient to cease me from specializing in my poultry.
Good moments assist to punctuate the tasteless narrative. Each time they occurred, I hoped it was the beginning of a development. As a substitute, the subsequent couple of hours have been droll once more. There’s a neat wrinkle towards the top. I believe everybody who performs The DioField Chronicle will wish to discuss it. So, there’s that.
Lots of the probably extra emotional moments that should have hit like a truck — er, a wagon? — are illustrations moderately than cutscenes. Don’t get me fallacious, they’re attractive, however in a greater world, presumably, a world by which the great of us at developer Lancarse had extra money, they’d have occurred through in-game graphics. And I wouldn’t really feel as very like I’m being advised this story, moderately than seeing it with my very own eyes.
Alternatively, there’s the true cause to play this sport, which is its comparatively stable tactical battle system.
Fight happens in real-time, although with the power to pause at any level, which I’m grateful for as a result of I by no means fairly obtained the grasp of utilizing my DualSense controller to maneuver my items round with out it feeling cumbersome. I’m not holding that towards the sport, although. I believe it’s a me drawback. However it wasn’t a lot of a difficulty, anyway, since I may simply click on pause each 5 seconds like an anxious and fearful participant.
Not that I had all that a lot to be troubled about, I suppose. You see, The DioField Chronicle isn’t a tough sport. In truth, I’d wager it’s a bit too straightforward. What helps tremendously is the inclusion of bonus aims that reward you for fulfilling sure circumstances. Efficiently doing so, particularly on first runs of a stage, can truly get a contact tough at instances.
Items, items, items. You’ll deploy 4 of them, however actually, you’re deploying eight, as a result of one other quartet could be assigned, one after the other, to your lively (and visual) celebration. Doing so expands their set of abilities, and that’s essential when The DioField Chronicle doesn’t have a ton of them to attract from — however neither do your items. Whereas I’d have appreciated to see extra selection, there’s a goodly asterisk hooked up; practically each ability feels purposeful and appropriately situational. I seldom stopped to marvel why I used to be shackled with one thing lame.
Asterisks additionally apply to the category system. There are solely 4 major courses. On paper, that’s a bummer. Nonetheless, each particular person unit provides its personal twist, its personal id, in order that there’s a significant weight behind deciding who to convey to battle (and who to degree up accordingly). I usually discovered myself replaying levels simply to check out celebration compositions, which in flip earned me extra of the improve assets essential to advance everybody’s a number of kinds of ability bushes and construct up the money to equip all of them within the shiniest accessible gear.
Criticism has risen towards The DioField Chronicle for failing to shake issues up a lot from the primary chapter to the final. Obstacles and aims which may really feel recent early on do put on out their welcome by the top, and there are too many cases of slim and linear paths main from one batch of baddies to the subsequent. I largely echo these complaints, however by some means, it didn’t actually trouble me within the warmth of fight. I suppose that’s the signal of a enjoyable battle system when it might overcome the trimmings of its environment to nonetheless really feel partaking.
It’s against the law {that a} soundtrack scored by the killer combo of Ramin Djawadi and Brandon Campbell solely has a handful of standout tracks. Your mileage could range, although that’s all the time a bizarre factor to say in evaluations because it kind of applies to all the things reviewers sort. However nonetheless, music appreciation is subjective as heck. I simply wasn’t terribly impressed. Maybe my lofty expectations have been my very own undoing on this division.
The DioField Chronicle is enjoyable to fiddle with. It eschews a wealth of customization choices in favor of a slimmer, some may say extra streamlined, expertise the place each device of the commerce has its price. Its world constructing eclipses its story, and whereas protagonist Andrias Rhondarson’s snarky nature and co-star Waltaquin Redditch’s eerie nonchalance make for some memorable conversational bits, I can’t shake the feeling that, narratively, it’s simply the crust of what might need been. What may have been.
No less than they obtained actual actors on the stage, and possibly I can finish this piece as bizarrely as I started it by reiterating how tasty that turkey drumstick actually is. The meat’s the gameplay in Sq. Enix’s newest technique role-playing sport. The story’s that low-cost beer you’re consuming with it.
Disclaimer: Assessment code offered by the writer Sq. Enix.