A prequel that feels more like it was made for convenience rather than necessity. It has a handful of moments that will pique the interest of a hardcore Utawarerumono fan but it doesn't ultimately deliver something as gripping as Mask of Deception. Without saying too much, the mystery boxes the story leaves for you to mull over once the game is over just aren't that interesting.

The transition from turn based strategy to a more tradition ATB battle system isn't graceful either. I don't even think the developers were very confident in this new battle system because its very easy to overlevel which basically allows you to kill enemies on the overworld without even having to enter a battle. 70% of the game was me just auto killing everything and occasionally having to fight a boss legitimately occasionally.

As a big fan of Utawarerumono, my biggest fear was that Monochrome Mobius was going to be a flop that might tarnish my love of the previous games and while I don't think Monochrome Mobius exactly hit that mark, I feel very confident that I should probably quit while I'm ahead. I don't have much faith in this series going forward.

Just an overall letdown.

There are a ton of flaws in this game which make it clear it's a lower budget experience, but in spite of them I still find the world and lore of Utawarerumono to be fascinating. It has a wholly unique style, and this game's simplistic turn-based gameplay was enough to satisfy me so that I could experience this world. The visuals are rough with some low quality assets and frequent frame dips, the story's pacing is all over the place with some fairly blatant plot holes, and the gimmick to the battle system is mostly pointless and confusing (turn order being based on a wheel, but it's often challenging to tell who comes next in the turn order). There's still a lot to love here in spite of these flaws, though it's not a game I'd wholeheartedly recommend to many people.