After finishing Ikenfell, I can’t help, but feel a strange sense of calm. Apart from a few scenes etc… that purposely very lightly lean into horror aesthetics, this game is just so cosy from start to finish.
The visuals remind me of the GBA, but is very clearly it’s own distinct thing. The music beautifully mixes chip tune sounds with instruments such as an acoustic guitar. I can wholeheartedly say that at least 4 of Ikenfell’s songs are going on my playlist after writing this review. This game’s presentation is flawless.
The combat is extremely rewarding to learn and always offers something new and how getting new spells is tied to levels you always feel like you are getting a new tool often enough that lasts the whole game, but still gives you enough time to play around with the final spell. My only complaint on the combat would be how it felt it fell off for me towards the end (Tbf my strat revolves around increasing defence and having regen) as bosses and even some regular enemies felt like damage sponges. The only real time combat overstayed it’s welcome though was having a few final boss phases too many, genuinely closer to 10 phases then 0 iirc.
The story is so pretty, like the rest of the game. Every character, especially the party members just feel so fun, unique and real. While the story may be investigating a magic school that has lost the plot, the character interactions is where it shines.
Lastly I want to touch on some Switch specific (as far as I can tell) issues. Whenever I would open the game from sleep mode my Switch would freeze (This may have had something to do with my Switch settings and having the usb wired connection for pro controllers on) and the final boss I noticed some performance issues with a drop in frame rate. I get sometimes games need to choose between visuals and performance on Switch, but when you have stuff like quick time events drastically changing how much damage you do/take and how potent buffs/debuffs are being effected by a frame rate drop feels way poorer then any visual sacrifice. Genuinely scared my Switch was gonna crash during the end.
In conclusion, Ikenfell is way worth the experience. In 20 or so hours I have experienced one of my favourite jrpgs and is a very unique take on the tactics genre. If you have any desire to play Ikenfell just do it. ❤️
The visuals remind me of the GBA, but is very clearly it’s own distinct thing. The music beautifully mixes chip tune sounds with instruments such as an acoustic guitar. I can wholeheartedly say that at least 4 of Ikenfell’s songs are going on my playlist after writing this review. This game’s presentation is flawless.
The combat is extremely rewarding to learn and always offers something new and how getting new spells is tied to levels you always feel like you are getting a new tool often enough that lasts the whole game, but still gives you enough time to play around with the final spell. My only complaint on the combat would be how it felt it fell off for me towards the end (Tbf my strat revolves around increasing defence and having regen) as bosses and even some regular enemies felt like damage sponges. The only real time combat overstayed it’s welcome though was having a few final boss phases too many, genuinely closer to 10 phases then 0 iirc.
The story is so pretty, like the rest of the game. Every character, especially the party members just feel so fun, unique and real. While the story may be investigating a magic school that has lost the plot, the character interactions is where it shines.
Lastly I want to touch on some Switch specific (as far as I can tell) issues. Whenever I would open the game from sleep mode my Switch would freeze (This may have had something to do with my Switch settings and having the usb wired connection for pro controllers on) and the final boss I noticed some performance issues with a drop in frame rate. I get sometimes games need to choose between visuals and performance on Switch, but when you have stuff like quick time events drastically changing how much damage you do/take and how potent buffs/debuffs are being effected by a frame rate drop feels way poorer then any visual sacrifice. Genuinely scared my Switch was gonna crash during the end.
In conclusion, Ikenfell is way worth the experience. In 20 or so hours I have experienced one of my favourite jrpgs and is a very unique take on the tactics genre. If you have any desire to play Ikenfell just do it. ❤️