ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos
- February 18, 2021
- MyDearest Inc.
- 20h median play time
Get on SteamIn ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos, players enter a futuristic world where humans live in an underground colony, protected from alien creatures. As Coco, a skilled pilot and member of the Terra Security Squad, players must protect the colony and uncover the truth behind the alien attacks. The game features mech combat, exploration, and decision-making that affects the story's outcome, providing a unique and immersive experience.
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
Cloud
Oculus Quest
Oculus VR
PlayStation
PlayStation VR
Reviews
- The voice acting and music are superb, enhancing the emotional impact of the story.
- The story is engaging and well-written, with multiple endings that encourage replayability.
- The VR experience adds a unique level of immersion, making players feel like they are part of the narrative.
- The gameplay is limited, with minimal interactivity and a focus on reading rather than action.
- Revisiting scenes can become tedious, as some dialogue cannot be skipped, which may disrupt the flow of the experience.
- The English voice acting is inconsistent, with some performances feeling flat compared to the Japanese cast.
- story154 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely praised for its emotional depth, engaging characters, and memorable music, often drawing players into a compelling narrative experience that can evoke strong feelings. While many appreciate the branching paths and replayability, some critiques highlight issues with pacing and reliance on flashbacks, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, it is recommended for those who enjoy immersive storytelling in a visual novel format, particularly in a VR setting.
“The story is clearly aimed at softies like myself, so yeah, prepare to cry.”
“The story itself is a rollercoaster of emotion - though there are numerous dead-end paths befitting the labyrinth symbolism, knowledge acquired from each one is retained without breaking immersion, and gradually leads to the way out.”
“The story hooked me in way harder than I expected, and the multiple branches as well as the ability to jump directly to different points in the storyline really increase replayability.”
“The story is overly reliant on flashbacks to make you care for a certain character, which in turn only made me hate her.”
“While the story is slightly tighter than Tokyo Chronos, it is still tedious to have to go through entire portions of the game again and again multiple times to finally get to the true ending.”
“The story might make just a minimum of sense if you smoke some illegal substances first; to me, the story was inconsistent, extremely fragmented, and close to the worst garbage I've seen in a long time.”
- music84 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its memorable compositions and seamless integration with the story, enhancing emotional moments and overall atmosphere. With a diverse soundtrack featuring beautifully vocalized songs and impressive production values, it elevates the gameplay experience, particularly during key scenes and mech battles. Some users noted minor issues with volume balancing, but overall, the music is considered a standout element that significantly contributes to the game's charm and immersion.
“Holy cow, each song is memorable and there are moments where it syncs so perfectly to story beats.”
“The music was amazing and really felt like part of the game, not just playing over the game.”
“The music especially deserves a nod, because not only is it good in isolation but it is used to great effect throughout the game.”
“In some parts, the music was so loud that the only way I could follow their dialogue was through the subtitles.”
“[i] Minor gripe to the developers; do a better job balancing dialogue volume and music.”
“The mech battles would not be half as awesome if it wasn't for the blaring pop music in the background that makes everything feel orgasmically grand and exciting.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users noting that while the visuals are engaging and creatively presented, they fall short of expectations for a 2021 release. Some appreciate the unique art style and immersive VR experience, but others point out low fidelity and limitations in graphical capabilities. Overall, the visuals are described as beautiful yet in need of improvement, particularly for a game inspired by anime aesthetics.
“As for the gameplay, while on the surface it is just a visual novel, the VR immersiveness and visuals absolutely create a unique and fun experience to play through the game with.”
“It's beautiful in both graphics and story, and I can't recommend it enough!”
“+ although the game is actually very limited in its graphical capabilities, it hides this fact very well through its clever use of lore and visual tricks to hide the parts of it that don't look good, and put the parts that do front and center.”
“But the graphics are a little bit disappointing for the game that was released in 2021.”
“I know that this game was made based on anime (in terms of graphics), but the graphics could be better than this.”
“Graphics are passable.”
- emotional20 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game delivers a deeply emotional experience, with a storyline that captivates players and elicits strong feelings, often leading to tears. Players note that the emotional impact intensifies with multiple playthroughs, revealing various sad and heartfelt endings. Despite some minor critiques of voice acting, the overall narrative is praised for its dramatic depth and ability to engage players through a mix of excitement and poignant moments.
“Very emotional and with a storyline that pulled me in and held me until the (very satisfying) final ending.”
“The story was very touching and brought me to tears.”
“Without going into spoilers; the first play-through is the tip of the iceberg, and almost all the emotional payoff comes through the subsequent runs.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this visual novel is minimal, focusing primarily on narrative rather than action, but it excels in creating an immersive VR experience that enhances the storytelling. Players can make choices that influence outcomes, and while VR interactions are limited, the integration of branching paths into the narrative is praised as seamless. Overall, the game is recognized for its unique concept and engaging presentation, despite some critiques regarding the depth of gameplay mechanics.
“As for the gameplay, while on the surface it is just a visual novel, the VR immersiveness and visuals absolutely create a unique and fun experience to play through the game with.”
“There are many options to choose from during the gameplay that actually affect many outcomes.”
“I've not seen a visual novel so seamlessly integrate the nature and mechanics of its branching paths into its own story before.”
“This is a visual novel; the gameplay is close to nonexistent, but it's not the point.”
“My only real gripe is that while the VR space is used well for presentation, it's not really utilized all that well gameplay-wise.”
“Please be aware that it is a visual novel, so the focus is on the narrative rather than any sort of action gameplay.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is significantly enhanced by fluid character animation and a compelling soundtrack, which plays a crucial role in both the plot and overall ambiance. Reviewers highlight how the music effectively elevates the immersive experience, contributing to a captivating atmosphere throughout the game.
“Music plays quite a big role in this game, both plot-wise and atmosphere-wise.”
“Plus the soundtrack really kicks up the atmosphere in the game.”
“Character animation is fluid, and the music brings out the right atmosphere.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is generally well-received, with excellent sound quality and solid performance at high resolutions, particularly with finger-tracking for index controllers. However, the English voice cast is noted to be uneven, which may affect the overall experience, while the Japanese voice cast is recommended for a more consistent performance. The game's visual style, being primarily 2D, contributes to its smooth performance despite the lack of complex polygons.
“Sound quality was great, and performance was excellent using index resolution at 200%. There are no real polygons in this game/app; it's animated 2D surfaces with a few decent NPCs, and you have finger-tracking for the index controllers.”
“Most of the English cast did a good job, with only one character really standing out for their sub-par performance, though that could have been a directing issue.”
“Between the Japanese and English voice cast, I recommend Japanese as the English cast is a bit uneven in terms of performance. However, not needing to read the spoken lines (assuming you aren't fluent) makes English a more fluid experience, especially during the mech battles.”
“The optimization in this game is severely lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during intense moments.”
“I encountered numerous bugs that hindered my gameplay experience, making it frustrating to progress.”
“The loading times are excessively long, which disrupts the flow of the game and makes it feel unpolished.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, similar to its predecessor, Tokyo Chronos. Despite a slightly improved narrative structure, the necessity to replay large sections multiple times to reach the true ending remains a frustrating experience.
“The way to progress in this game is still tedious, just as it was in Tokyo Chronos.”
“While the story is slightly tighter than Tokyo Chronos, it is still tedious to have to go through entire portions of the game again and again multiple times to finally get to the true ending.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is consistently praised, with players frequently expressing that it elicits genuine laughter. Overall, the comedic elements are a standout feature, contributing significantly to the enjoyment of the gameplay experience.
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is robust, with each branching path significantly expanding the story and character arcs, encouraging players to explore all endings. The 15 hours of content provide a deep and engaging experience that enhances player investment in the characters.
“The full game has about 15 hours of content to get all the endings, and each branch adds huge swaths of story and character development, so you really feel compelled to play through them all.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game's replayability significantly enhanced by its engaging story and multiple branching paths, along with the option to jump to different points in the storyline, allowing for varied experiences on subsequent playthroughs.
“The story hooked me in way harder than I expected, and the multiple branches as well as the ability to jump directly to different points in the storyline really increase replayability.”
