Halluci-Sabbat of Koichi is a fairly difficult 2D action game with colorful artwork, wonderful CG’s and some incredibly horrible translation issues. While I’m going to give this a generally positive review, it’s not an unqualified one. This game definitely comes with caveats.
I’d like to start off with the positives – the cg’s are gorgeous, and even the in-game sprites are nice (albeit a little low-res). The soundtrack is nice, and the few sound effects work well to provide you with cues as to upcoming attacks. This game has a lot of charm, and it’s one that I really want to like, just based on the aesthetics alone.
Of course, now we’ve got to talk about the two things that REALLY drag this game down. The translation is..in a word, abysmal. It’s laughably bad. It is “All Your Base” levels bad. Still, that would be a minor footnote, and probably would give the game a little extra charm, except for the fact this particularly godawful translation also applies TO THE TUTORIAL NOTES ABOUT HOW TO USE SKILLS. Thankfully the controls are relatively simplistic, so the pictures GENERALLY explain well enough…though there’s a ton of text that’s just nonsensical. Speaking of nonsensical, I’m not 100% sure about the plot. I think that it involves getting hallucinogenic mushrooms to get a bunch of witches high at their sabbat. I think. Again, the translation is SO bad that I’m having to jump to conclusions.
Combat is difficult, but thankfully you can tune things down to a more merciful level to give yourself a bit of leeway. And you’re probably going to want that, because THE GAME DOESN’T SUPPORT CONTROLLERS, and the dev is not promising. Cryptically in the forum they have only said “if necessary, we will adapt the pad” in response to a player asking if controller support is coming. That’s not reassuring, because this gameplay SUCKS with keyboard and mouse controls. Even with the difficulty tuned to its lowest, I found playing to be a struggle because of the precision they expect you to have. It’s just not intuitive at all, and no amount of keybinding is going to make it so. This game absolutely, unquestionably, ENTIRELY NEEDS controller support, and as of right now, the developer isn’t promising any such thing.
So, should you buy it? Well, it’s only $5 USD in Early Access, and a lot can change moving forward. The current version has 15 stages and a normal ending. The dev is promising ten more stages and two other endings (one of which is the true ending). As is standard, once it leaves Early Access, you’re going to see the price go up, though it appears the game will probably be no more than $10 USD. But be sure to check if controller support happens, because that absolutely will be the make or break for a lot of people.
CLICK HERE TO BUY HALLUCI-SABBAT OF KOISHI
The Chuck is a lifelong gamer who was born in Ohio, but now lives in much closer proximity to Mickey Mouse.
The Chuck has found his life to be a series of improbable and almost unbelievable events, starting when he was twenty and caught the bubonic plague from a prairie dog. He was as surprised as anyone when he found out that's something that can happen.
When he isn't gaming, The Chuck can be found enjoying baseball, (American) football, pro wrestling, and horror movies. He is most commonly seen in the company of one or more cats.
Reclusive by nature, The Chuck is (like most semi-feral creatures) reward-driven. Approach with caution and some form of treat.
Comment here