At the news that a review copy came to Fate / Extella, I jumped up with joy. I felt as if it was not the first game this year, but the first game in my review career. I can’t fully explain why I had such a good feeling about this position, but I’m glad my intuition didn’t disappoint me.
I’ve never been on my way with the Fate series. The first games in this series were erotic visual novels of dubious quality. Fate / Extra, RPG from the universe, although I bought it – it never attracted me enough to give it a chance. I knew that there were also anime adaptations, and I fought in the Nitroplus Blasterz brawl: Heroines Infinite Duel. Despite this, I tried Fate / Extella, because I had no chance to play a new beat ’em up like Dynasty Warriors for a long time – I was like a child at the thought of the upcoming star.
The publisher was promising a fixed 60 frames, which I found hard to believe. I have a great distance to such information, especially if the game is also released on PS Vite. I felt my first concerns when I had to download the production to disk – the whole thing is less than 3GB. To cram a smoothly running game in such a small size, where we defeat hundreds of opponents in a few seconds? It seemed impossible to me.
I fired up and was immediately charmed. There are several modes to choose from from the main menu, but you should start with the main storyline before unlocking anything else. The story is divided into 3 parts, where we control various subordinates and we have the opportunity to look at the events from a different perspective. But… what is this all about? We, as a player, play the role of a hero or heroine who has the power to direct subordinates – strong warriors, modeled on various texts of culture. Warriors come in 8 different classes, each with a different fighting style. In this way, sometimes we will have to fight with a sword, sometimes with a huge lance, and we will also catch a bow. Unlike other representatives of the species, we have to take into account the fact that the weapon does not change. It is an integral part of the character and if we want to get to know its story, we have to learn how to play it. In this way, we will have to spend a good 20 hours fighting the battle for power over Moon Cell Automata – a computer that can make a dream come true.
After completing the story part, we can freely learn side stories of less exposed subordinates. Thanks to this, we get a production with which you can easily spend several dozen hours.
The fact that you can – we already know, but is it worth it? I mentioned at the beginning that the creators promised smooth animations and fixed 60 frames. I am surprised to confirm that they have kept their promise. Throughout my play with the title, there were no glaring drops that could spoil my impressions. You can see that the creators thought when designing the game. Most of the enemies look the same, in addition, they appear on the screen in waves, so they do not slow down the animation. The fight itself is simple and fun – we have 3 difficulty levels available. The enthusiasts of the genre can throw themselves into the deep water right away, the newcomers will be able to start their adventure more calmly. What surprised me and made me feel positive about the title was the strategic element. As in most games of this type, the map is divided into zones. The key to Fate / Extrella is to take over these zones. Each of them is assigned the appropriate number of keys, which we gain when conquering the area or lose if the enemy captures it. Get ready that in this title, the computer is awake and is still waiting for your territories. Looking at the mini-map is crucial, it is worth working out a tactic which rooms should be attacked first and which you should watch with increased caution. More than once I have lost a fight, because the opponent was the first to take over most of the area.
I really like this solution. Mainly because it adds difficulty to the game. Along with the fights, we develop our characters, their basic statistics increase, and we can also attach additional skills to them and develop them. That way, playing at the highest difficulty level could be the proverbial piece of cake. The strategic element means that, despite the physical advantage over hordes of opponents, we still have to think quickly and develop appropriate tactics. In this way, the creators add value to the game, making you want to go through it again by raising the bar.
In terms of audio-visual setting, unfortunately, the production is not overwhelming. The environment is uninteresting, the textures are of quite poor quality, but it does not hurt the eyes. The character models are refined, and it is they who play the first fiddle. You can see that the creators focused on mechanics and smoothness at the expense of graphics. It doesn’t bother me at all, in such a dynamic game I don’t have time to stop and stare at the walls. The music you hear in the background is not as distinctive and easy to remember as, for example, in Dynasty Warriors.
I am very happy that I had the opportunity to get to know this title. If it weren’t for the publisher’s kindness, I would probably postpone this purchase for some bigger promotions, especially since the beginning of the year cleans the wallet for a fan of Japanese productions. With a light heart, I can recommend Fate / Extella to anyone who is looking for a game that will simply give them a lot of fun and relaxation. It is not an ace in its genre, but it aspires to a higher shelf.
Portal rating: 7
We thank Marvelous Entertainment for submitting the game for review.
