Desta's a vibe; from the art to the music, it's mostly a comfy time, but it really nails when to bring up the tension at the right times.
The gameplay is basically strategy turn-based dodgeball, with rogue-lite elements. You mostly need to beat your enemies and utilize the different skills Desta obtains as well as learning how to effectively use their teammates. It appears simple for the most part, yet the variety in skills and teammates makes for an addicting experience as you try to figure out the most effective strategies in dealing with enemies. This is probably best represented in challenge mode, where you're given a set of skills and characters for each challenge, really displaying how handy each skill and teammate can be in what sort of situation. The rogue-lite aspect does feel like the weakest part of the gameplay however. Never really felt like utilizing it much until after I was done with the main story, and it does somewhat break the pace of the narrative too.
Speaking of, the game is narrative-heavy; through playing ball, the goal of Desta is to explore their memories in this dream world and face conflicts with loved ones they've left unresolved; they're talking it out with people through a game of ball. While I've not had the same experience Desta has had, I definitely related to a lot of the themes and situations they've had with their friends and family, and how the dream world prepared them to talk to them, to clear up misunderstandings and unresolved feelings. The game really emphasizes the different kind of conflicts that can arise between different relationships, and the importance of communication between people to solve these issues rather than prolong them for longer than necessary. I really enjoyed it and the characters.
My major gripe would be that I wish the main game was longer, but I'm satisfied with the story and I found the gameplay addicting enough to replay it and engage with the roguelite aspects. Art's a vibe, adore the music, and its a nice lookin game. I recommend it.
The gameplay is basically strategy turn-based dodgeball, with rogue-lite elements. You mostly need to beat your enemies and utilize the different skills Desta obtains as well as learning how to effectively use their teammates. It appears simple for the most part, yet the variety in skills and teammates makes for an addicting experience as you try to figure out the most effective strategies in dealing with enemies. This is probably best represented in challenge mode, where you're given a set of skills and characters for each challenge, really displaying how handy each skill and teammate can be in what sort of situation. The rogue-lite aspect does feel like the weakest part of the gameplay however. Never really felt like utilizing it much until after I was done with the main story, and it does somewhat break the pace of the narrative too.
Speaking of, the game is narrative-heavy; through playing ball, the goal of Desta is to explore their memories in this dream world and face conflicts with loved ones they've left unresolved; they're talking it out with people through a game of ball. While I've not had the same experience Desta has had, I definitely related to a lot of the themes and situations they've had with their friends and family, and how the dream world prepared them to talk to them, to clear up misunderstandings and unresolved feelings. The game really emphasizes the different kind of conflicts that can arise between different relationships, and the importance of communication between people to solve these issues rather than prolong them for longer than necessary. I really enjoyed it and the characters.
My major gripe would be that I wish the main game was longer, but I'm satisfied with the story and I found the gameplay addicting enough to replay it and engage with the roguelite aspects. Art's a vibe, adore the music, and its a nice lookin game. I recommend it.