Review from an Outsider

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Eonhetwo
Red Slime
Posts: 48
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2020 4:56 am
Location: Usa

Review from an Outsider

Post by Eonhetwo »

First and foremost, this is obviously a game dedicated to the community of OHR and slimesalad. I am not aquainted with all that too much, so many of the little references were lost on me.

That being said, I'll be reviewing this game from an outsider perspective, so keep that in mind. Regardless of anything, this game deserves a review on this site, even if from one uninitiated into the depths of OHR culture.

Hati's Bizarre Adventure consists of a tight, cohesive and fairly simple gameplay loop, divided into three sections. You play Hati, who with her summoned fae mouse Natalia and Canine rival Mi'la, work in a "flower shop" as maids.

The first aspect of the game loop consists of managing which lady does which task throughout the day. Each lady has an activity they can do in the morning, afternoon and evening. These include things like cleaning, washing dishes, cooking, shopping for food, or even delving into the basement below the house to spar with jellies. These chores take a toll on your lady's HP, so sometimes they will need to rest in lieu of a task. Once you pick which lady performs which task, the day is displayed in an automated fashion, with random events sometimes occuring.

Each chore for each lady has a corresponding level that can be raised by having them do the task. When someone gains a level in a chore related skill, they will usually gain some benefit that will assist them in the second aspect of the gameplay loop, exploring the dungeon. There will also be a funny quip that they'll say!

Once the working day is complete, you'll have a choice to do one of a few things. On one hand, you could spend the evening interacting with either Vulpe (the foxy owner of the flower shop) or one of the two ladies in your party. This is an opportunity to see the relationships between the characters evolve, and also to learn new skills useful in dungeon battles. On the other hand, you can explore the dungeon, which is the final aspect of the gameplay loop.

Delving the dungeon consists of mainly combat and item collecting. You'll battle goblins, skeletons, gremlins, dragons, acidic blobs, dark knights, insane mages, undead assassins among others. In between battles, you'll run into smiling friendly slimes doing strange party rituals, and also a top hat wearing salesman who sells various items.

The way the game plays out is like this; You have an in game month to do what you have to do. So you'll have the ladies do chores to gain levels, which unlocks nightly meetings to gain special powers. Eventually you run out of money, and have to delve the dungeon to grind for cash. As you battle monsters, your resources will diminish until you are either out of skills and powers, or one of your party members gets knocked out, which sends you back to the house. Then you use the money you made to afford food to cook and heal and work to level up to do it all over again.

Ok, so that is the gameplay in a nutshell. It's simple, but it's addicting. I beat the game in one sitting, and a big part of that lure to continue was to see the progression of my skills and summoning abilities.

Another alluring aspect on display here are the characters and the unfolding story. This is heavily anime inspired. It's definitely a story that any anime fan has seen before, but it's very fun and light hearted to experience.

There's a thin veneer of sexual tension to almost every aspect of dialogue in this game. Sometimes it comes off as cheesy and overbearing, but that's apart of the charm. Natalie ya know, she's the classic naive perverted fairy. Vulpe is the seasoned flirt. Mi'la is the serious, combat devoted type who has a hidden soft side. Hati is a more neutral, rational character, like most anime protagonists meant to evoke empathy from the player.

Something else worth discussing is the combat system. If you're familiar with D&D 5th edition, you'll feel right at home with this system. It's fairly simple; each character has a 'to hit' stat, a 'save' stat and an 'AC' (armor class) stat. These are modified by certain weapons, items or abilities. When an attack is made, the attacker rolls a d20 (20 sided die) and adds their 'to hit' stat, and tries to beat the opponents AC. Sometimes, an enemy will make a special attack, and you'll have to roll a save against an arbitrary number (In D&D this would be called a save DC or difficulty challenge).

The animations are well done, with flashy particle effects and nice sounds. I did feel that battle was a tad slow. You choose what all of your party members do before the turn occurs, so I found myself just clicking a few times and then sitting back and watching it all unfold for a good minute or two. Strategic options were somewhat limited, so I was never at a loss about what I should have my characters do.

Eventually, the thirty in game days will pass and you'll have to meet your destiny in the depths of the dungeon. I won't spoil anything here but I will say, the ending that I got (I suspect there may be multiple endings? Idk) left me feeling very satisfied.

All in all, this is a very fun way to spend a few hours. Quaint at times, erotic at times, friendly at times, tense at times, it's a very feel good game. While it didn't necessarily elicit strong emotion from me in any one direction, it gently tugs in several directions, providing a basically fulfilling experience.
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