Games worth discovering

Labyrinth of Galleria (First Impressions)

2K View2023-02-15

Released: 14 Feb, 2023

Price: $49 USD

Labyrinth of Galleria on the surface, appears to be a difficult pill to swallow. During my first three hours of play, I didn't feel like I was playing a general game, but rather a very long novel game with an overwhelming amount of tutorials in the form of in-game question marks throughout the labyrinth, as well as pop ups later on indicating information I had already discovered on my own.

I'm aware of the types of games that NIS frequently creates, which frequently feature a lot of speech cut in between the actual turn-based gameplay, but I never feel prepared for the barrage of long drawn out dialogue they supply.

It gets to the point where I'd rather play the game than sit back and listen to or read about the world's lore and story, double for when nothing exciting occurs.

Immediate concerns

Eureka's English VO

The game begins with extremely long and drawn-out speech.

This doesn't bother me too much because it establishes the context for the narrative and the reasoning for what is happening and why you are there.

Her voice is the main issue. It's awful because of what I presume is poorly translated "feeling" underlying her spoken dialogue. She sounds arrogant and unpleasant in one instance while attempting to sound excited. It comes off as mocking the Witch of the Mansion, like old school anime voice overs.

She's not great, but she expresses some decent energy through some of the gentler tones of emotion; I just don't like her regular tones which seem forced.

The Japanese voice over is lovely and fitting.

Using items

It appears that you cannot presently use any equipment in combat. This is something I'm not used to seeing in most RPG games I play; generally, you can utilize items to assist you in battle when all of your characters are dying and you don't have enough mana to heal them with your healers. Before you may heal allies, you must either leave the fight or complete the encounter.

Perhaps it will become available later in the game? It's questionable because so many menus aren't accessible until the game sequence start is completed.

The barrage of tutorial pop-ups

I'm fine with a few useful hints to help me navigate the game, figure things out, start fighting and tactics, and so on. However, the blend of extensive novel-like texted narrative appears so overpowering that you can't help but forget the majority of what is being detailed without really focusing hard to do so.

The instruction is more distracting than beneficial. Text and images are one of the worst methods to introduce you to a complex game. We've reached the point where most games, particularly titles like Disgaea, lead you through each menu to do the thing they're attempting to teach you before abandoning you.

You're essentially skipping through a lot of visual based conversation on how to use every single unique menu the moment you obtain access to the game outside of the narrative. I enjoy novel games, but this is a little too much for me.

Especially when it's upwards to 4 or more panels of explanations for each one.

Menu navigation

Certain menus use an unusual navigation method that is difficult to grasp at first. Setting up your Pacts with the Souls, in particular was confusing.

This is most likely due to my being overloaded with a lot of information, and there are still a lot of menus and sections that have yet to open up, giving the impression of a very in-depth and tough learning curve on the surface.

Customization

I really enjoy this type of unit editing

You can create your own characters, name them, and customize their styles and leveling curves. You can have a soul with 100% focus and level scaling with raw power. It's as simple as that, there appears to be 12 characters to choose from, each with a unique color and appearance. I have yet to see anything else.

If you want to give your puppets some personality, place yourself or a loved one or friend with their specified attributes inside the puppet. This is mostly for role-playing purposes, which is a fun and lovely touch if you're like that. They also show which characters are male and female, if you're ever confused.

Graphics & Audio

No real concerns so far

The graphics are as good as I've come to expect from NIS. The soundtrack isn't overly loud, and it fits the game's vibe perfectly. Might be a bit repeatitive.

The grunts and sound effects from the weapons you've chosen for each of your puppets and such work out great and feels fitting to the overall games style.

Conclusion

I'll need a lot more time exploring the combat & menu

The first three hours were primarily spent trying to figure out the game's mechanics, where everything was, and what I needed to do to survive.

Personally, I believe that the game overwhelms you with information at first, and that after things settle down, you can take a breath and learn at your own pace.

I'll be playing it for a few more hours to unlock the rest of the menus and see how deep this game truly goes. I've played games like Disgaea before, and while they were good I normally couldn't get past the excessive dialog.

My initial thoughts on this game come to a close with the caveat that, while others may disagree, that is what makes gamers unique. You don't have to share their interests or agree with them and are welcome to critic me on mine.

If you want to catch me on one of my streams or locate me on social media, you may do so at the following locations, I'm always playing something new.

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- Pawkt

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