Etaine: Magic Survivor / 伊泰恩：魔法幸存者 Reviews

TLDR; A mechanically sophisticated Survivors-like that will push you to bettering your play and strategies. Amazing game, a tad frustrating if you want too 100% it. The mechanics on this Survivors-like are great. If you want to beat the challenges and grab those achievements, you really need to make use of all of them. I found myself hitting a wall about halfway through the game. I couldn't just slam my head against the same trial and hope to come out the winner, I had to start REALLY paying attention. When I did, I felt like a genius as I cracked challenge after challenge, improving as I went along. The good? Obvious, challenging Survivors-like that rewards your understanding of the game. No other game in the genre has made me feel this clever. Next, the characters and their quirky bios. I will never stop laughing at one of the girls' occupation being, and I quote, 'Autistic Girl.' There's a level of mistranslation and jank that bring a little smile to my face. The bad, oh boy, does it hurt me to say this. Despite the game actively encouraging you to beat those challenges and 100% it, the engine can't keep up. Yeah, at the higher levels, the game tanks with all the mobs, exp gems, and bullets it has to keep track of. The problem is that the game will tank your character's movement, but your enemies can shoot and move just fine, causing you to take hits and damage you previously could outrun. So you're punished for the game's poor performance, but the enemies aren't. A true tragedy. There's also some generic Survivors-like assets in here, but that's barely an issue. I only mention this because some people might want more effort from a genre that's easier to program. A tarnished gem is what Etaine is. Lots of great mechanics and ideas, held back by an engine that punishes you unfairly when it craps out. However, for the challenges it presents, it will make you a better strategist and more attentive player. I actively got better at these games from playing Etaine, and I was no slouch to begin with. Worth a buy, but be careful if you're achievement hunting.