I figured I'd review the demo since I already laid out my thoughts on the original game (which you can read here.). I won't be giving a score for it, seeing as the full update isn't out yet, but from what Ackk Studios have shown so far with Nameless Psychosis, I've been pretty impressed. I have my doubts that this update will fix all of YIIK's problems, but at the very least I see this game becoming something that is fun to play.
The most immediate thing I noticed was the updated presentation. YIIK is doubling down on the weird imagery, now aided with more inventive camera angles. It still comes off as the developers trying way too hard to tell an abstract narrative, but I can at least appreciate what they're going for this time around. It's a notable improvement without veering too far away from their original art style. The UI also got a massive overhaul. What was once barren and a horrible slog to navigate, has now turned into something that I would describe as not only functional, but also imbued with much-needed character. This might sound like a back handed compliment, and in some respects it is, but I do appreciate the effort they put in reworking the UI. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the new opening sequence. The visuals are fine, but the musical choice doesn't compliment the editing and it creates a disconnect. It seems like they were trying to recreate an anime opening, but they should have probably opted for a more energetic song than the one they ended up going with.
On the subject of music, Nameless Psychosis features some new tracks and I dig them quite a bit. The menu theme was the stand out track to me, going for a lounge type song that for some reason reminds me of The Cardigans. Maybe it's the lead singer that heavily reminds me of the Swedish pop group. The new tracks are much more subdued compared to the game's original tracks, which I think works in YIIK's benefit. They also seem to be more thematically consistent, instead of the "try out whatever the fuck we want" approach the original game went for.
The biggest upgrade that YIIK received in the demo is easily the combat. Gone are the days of having to play the most frustrating mini-games only to do minuscule amounts of damage. Instead, we get the Karta system. Characters now work with three card slots in which they can equip unique cards that give them battle abilities, stats and passive abilities. They also act as a shield from damage, and once they've been destroyed you'll eventually start taking regular damage. Once you get it with an attack with no more cards, you will enter a bleed state, where you begin to lose health as a battle progresses. The Karta system feels like a direct response to the criticism that the original combat system was incredibly slow and tenuous, and it at the very least makes combat much faster and more engaging. I worry that the system can become a bit overwhelming, as I don't think I had fully grasped it by the time I was done with the demo, but I at least came out of it much more positively. There's also the issue of readability when in the bleed state, as it was hard to figure out when your health would tick a point of HP or not. Hopefully they improve on this aspect of the combat, and if they do, they might have something special on their hands.
If there's anything that I wasn't sold on is the story. Many of the issues I had with the original story are still present here, with an added layer of abstract story telling. They seem to be setting something up with Rory's sister, possibly hinting that foul play was a foot, but the way it's been told is so far isn't winning me over. Alex is still the same, overly verbose and long-winded character that he was in the original, but this time they use a framing device when he's monologuing, having him essentially do so on a stand-up stage. I see this as both reinforcing the fact that he is this self-centered character, as he literally becomes the center of attention, as well as adding some visual flare to when he just rambles on and on. I feel this was a misguided attempt at conveying this idea to the player, but they do use these moments to deliver some genuine laughs (at least I think that's what they're doing). They seem to be leaning more into the fact that Alex has become a giant meme online, which does do a decent job at conveying that we probably shouldn't be taking him so seriously all the time.
I liked what I played, but I'm not entirely convinced that this will be the update that radically changes the perception of the game, at least from a story telling perspective. At most, I think this will be the best version of this story. Maybe I'm wrong, and the new story updates will blow me away and will dramatically change the quality of the story, but I'm somewhat doubtful of that. At least the game is fun to play this time around, which is already a massive improvement over the original.
The most immediate thing I noticed was the updated presentation. YIIK is doubling down on the weird imagery, now aided with more inventive camera angles. It still comes off as the developers trying way too hard to tell an abstract narrative, but I can at least appreciate what they're going for this time around. It's a notable improvement without veering too far away from their original art style. The UI also got a massive overhaul. What was once barren and a horrible slog to navigate, has now turned into something that I would describe as not only functional, but also imbued with much-needed character. This might sound like a back handed compliment, and in some respects it is, but I do appreciate the effort they put in reworking the UI. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the new opening sequence. The visuals are fine, but the musical choice doesn't compliment the editing and it creates a disconnect. It seems like they were trying to recreate an anime opening, but they should have probably opted for a more energetic song than the one they ended up going with.
On the subject of music, Nameless Psychosis features some new tracks and I dig them quite a bit. The menu theme was the stand out track to me, going for a lounge type song that for some reason reminds me of The Cardigans. Maybe it's the lead singer that heavily reminds me of the Swedish pop group. The new tracks are much more subdued compared to the game's original tracks, which I think works in YIIK's benefit. They also seem to be more thematically consistent, instead of the "try out whatever the fuck we want" approach the original game went for.
The biggest upgrade that YIIK received in the demo is easily the combat. Gone are the days of having to play the most frustrating mini-games only to do minuscule amounts of damage. Instead, we get the Karta system. Characters now work with three card slots in which they can equip unique cards that give them battle abilities, stats and passive abilities. They also act as a shield from damage, and once they've been destroyed you'll eventually start taking regular damage. Once you get it with an attack with no more cards, you will enter a bleed state, where you begin to lose health as a battle progresses. The Karta system feels like a direct response to the criticism that the original combat system was incredibly slow and tenuous, and it at the very least makes combat much faster and more engaging. I worry that the system can become a bit overwhelming, as I don't think I had fully grasped it by the time I was done with the demo, but I at least came out of it much more positively. There's also the issue of readability when in the bleed state, as it was hard to figure out when your health would tick a point of HP or not. Hopefully they improve on this aspect of the combat, and if they do, they might have something special on their hands.
If there's anything that I wasn't sold on is the story. Many of the issues I had with the original story are still present here, with an added layer of abstract story telling. They seem to be setting something up with Rory's sister, possibly hinting that foul play was a foot, but the way it's been told is so far isn't winning me over. Alex is still the same, overly verbose and long-winded character that he was in the original, but this time they use a framing device when he's monologuing, having him essentially do so on a stand-up stage. I see this as both reinforcing the fact that he is this self-centered character, as he literally becomes the center of attention, as well as adding some visual flare to when he just rambles on and on. I feel this was a misguided attempt at conveying this idea to the player, but they do use these moments to deliver some genuine laughs (at least I think that's what they're doing). They seem to be leaning more into the fact that Alex has become a giant meme online, which does do a decent job at conveying that we probably shouldn't be taking him so seriously all the time.
I liked what I played, but I'm not entirely convinced that this will be the update that radically changes the perception of the game, at least from a story telling perspective. At most, I think this will be the best version of this story. Maybe I'm wrong, and the new story updates will blow me away and will dramatically change the quality of the story, but I'm somewhat doubtful of that. At least the game is fun to play this time around, which is already a massive improvement over the original.