Cris Tales Stadia Review
Cris Tales Stadia
Publisher:
Developer:
Genre:
PEGI:
Comments:
Coming from indie developer Dreams Uncorporated is the charming JRPG, Cris Tales. With a striking art style and exciting storyline, Cris Tales looks to breathe new life into the well-established JRPG genre. Not an easy feat to do, in a niche that so many people are passionate about, and one that has been the muse of many a dev before. Can this indie title carve a spot for itself in the esteemed world of timeless JRPGs, or will it be buried in the mountain of games that just didn’t quite hit the mark? Let’s dive in and take a look!
Let’s get this straight. Cris Tales may be one of the most visually pleasing games I have ever had the opportunity to play. I mean truly, the execution of this art style is a wonder to behold. I don’t think there is anyone around who could deny its beauty. Unfortunately, for me, this was the best feature that Cris Tales had to offer. The time-traveling story arc is laid out just fine, with its own little spin on an old-as-time (pun intended) plot device. The cities are fun to explore until the novelty of exploring such beautiful landscapes transforms into strain at needing to scour each part of these areas, in all three of your timelines.
That brings us to the main flaw of Cris Tales, its tempo. There is a lot of seemingly unnecessary empty time and extra clicks where a slight streamline would really have improved the overall user experience. This branches from combat to dialogue to even just saving the game. Yes – I really do want to save and I only want to click once to do so. I don’t care what I am overwriting. As I grow older I have less and less patience for games that seem to stretch out their playtimes with empty space, something that Cris Tales employs quite frequently.
The combat system is relatively simplistic, and at times can feel a little flat, but it is still a positive feature of the game overall. The quick-time extra button mashing for bonus damage gets dry very quickly, but the overall attacks and abilities make combat one of the best parts of Cris Tales. As previously mentioned, it is a fairly simple combat system, which makes it nice and accessible – but don’t come here looking for the ultimate strategic turn-based fighting.
The dungeons are the pinnacle of difficulty for Cris Tales, combining combat, puzzles and ability usage in a way that somehow stays fresh. Personally, I would’ve much preferred a heavier emphasis on this part of the game and had less time spent running back and forth throughout the cities – although if I had drawn a city that nicely I probably would want my players to have to spend quite a bit of time looking at it, too.
We reviewed this game on Google Stadia, and I cannot explain how much I love this platform. Especially for singleplayer RPGs like this one, Stadia is the most convenient way of playing games available. There are no download times and the ability to play on and easily switch between PC, TV, or mobile device is a godsend. I truly cannot say enough about how excited I am about the future of Stadia and cloud gaming.
Overall, Cris Tales is a competent JRPG whose artistic design and accessible style and slower tempo will certainly appeal to a more casual gamer. Those looking for combat-heavy or strategically straining titles may want to give this one a pass.
To grab your copy of Cris Tales on Google Stadia, CLICK HERE.