Axial Disc 1

A modern turn-based deckbuilding JRPG involving party synergy for attacks that features unique pixel art and chiptune music!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 42 reviews

story14 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

The game features a compelling story with well-developed characters, each with unique personalities and growth arcs.
The combat system is deep and engaging, allowing for a variety of strategies and skill combinations, which enhances replayability.
The pixel art and chiptune soundtrack are beautifully crafted, evoking a nostalgic retro feel that resonates with fans of classic RPGs.

The learning mechanic for spells can feel overly complicated and reliant on RNG, making it frustrating for players trying to acquire new skills.
Some players may find the high random encounter rate and difficulty spikes to be overwhelming, potentially hindering enjoyment.
Certain gameplay elements, such as Sai's accent and the limited impact of early-game gear, can detract from the overall experience.

story
31 mentions
45 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The story is generally well-received, featuring strong character development and a blend of humor and serious themes, particularly around self-discovery and relationships. While some characters, like the villains, may lack depth, the pacing and integration of exploration with narrative keep players engaged. Overall, the game is praised for its intriguing plot, unique character arcs, and nostalgic retro RPG elements, making it a compelling experience for fans of the genre.
- “The story is great, telling it seriously while still having plenty of humor, and the main characters all grow through their arcs.”
- “The story wonderfully exhibits relatable themes of self-discovery, purpose, and building relationships.”
- “The storytelling stands on its own, but when coupled with the original score, it's really an experience which evokes the spirit of classic JRPGs yet takes it in a truly unique direction.”
- “The story has a very simplistic formula with traditional friendship beats revolving around a girl who wants to understand her destiny involving a legendary sword, an artificial half-human hybrid who wants to learn about her origins due to amnesia, and a self-proclaimed coward who broke the hybrid out of captivity just to rebel against his stern, controlling father.”
- “Honestly, everything is a bit amateurish - from the overall plot to the dialogue to the graphics, but that is completely okay for what is a freshman project with such high-quality gameplay.”
- “- no real opinion on the plot since I stopped playing, but it didn't keep my interest enough to keep going.”
music
23 mentions
48 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its high quality and nostalgic chiptune style, contributing significantly to the overall experience. Many players find themselves humming the catchy tunes long after playing, and the soundtrack is noted for its impressive use of recurring themes and motifs. While some minor audio issues were mentioned, the consensus is that the music enhances the gameplay and complements the retro aesthetic beautifully.
- “The carefully crafted art style, the great soundtrack, interesting story, and very well-designed and fun combat system all come together to make this game a real gem.”
- “Music is a huge plus, and I am 100% guaranteed to be humming one song or another after playing.”
- “And on the topic of music, Axial has an incredible chiptune soundtrack to where even I personally listen to some of the songs on my own time outside of the game (which I typically don't for the style).”
- “Man, this game's soundtrack is more crusty than the Yamaha YM2612 caw caw.”
- “It's not perfect; some sound effects or music I've encountered could also be described as harsh, at least through my audio setup.”
- “But my favorite part has to be the graphics and music of the game; it has that old school retro Game Boy feel to it and it brings back a wave of nostalgia.”
gameplay
20 mentions
15 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
15 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of classic RPG mechanics with innovative features, such as a blue mage system for learning spells and a variety of unique commands for each character, allowing for deep strategic play. While the initial complexity may be overwhelming, the balanced difficulty scaling and diverse boss mechanics enhance the experience as players invest time. Overall, the game offers a unique JRPG experience with a rich array of skills and customization options, despite some initial amateurish elements in other aspects.
- “The gameplay is classic RPG combat with a twist of special sub-commands you can use before the turn starts, and there are a lot of choices in attacks for the characters, especially Oli and Amara.”
- “The gameplay revolves around collecting a wide variety of combat skills and figuring out the best synergies with them, as there are over a hundred skills to potentially acquire and each character can bring a maximum of eight skills each into battle.”
- “The sheer variety of unique commands allows for deep levels of strategy, and this is coupled with gripping mechanically-designed boss battles that never feel the same as one another.”
- “Oli is supposed to be a blue mage character who can learn spells, but her version of this mechanic feels overengineered.”
- “If I had one complaint about the game mechanics, it's that gear initially doesn't make much of an impact on your character setup, but this definitely changes later on as customization and tuning become paramount.”
- “The battle mechanics can be overwhelming at first, but its depth shines as more time is spent learning and using it.”
graphics
14 mentions
21 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a classic retro aesthetic reminiscent of Game Boy titles, which some players find charming and nostalgic, while others consider them somewhat amateurish. Despite mixed opinions on the visual quality, many reviewers appreciate the effort put into the art style and how it complements the engaging gameplay and story. Overall, the graphics may not be groundbreaking, but they effectively evoke a sense of nostalgia and enhance the overall experience for fans of the genre.
- “The graphics are classic retro, but a great deal of effort was put in to make the game's world look amazing.”
- “An amazing indie RPG with beautiful retro graphics, a compelling story, fantastic music, and a skill system with near-endless amounts of customization that lets you theory-craft almost without limits.”
- “But my favorite part has to be the graphics and music of the game; it has that old school retro Game Boy feel to it and it brings back a wave of nostalgia.”
- “The graphics are a bit ugly, but the Game Boy aesthetic for the most part makes up for it.”
- “Honestly, everything is a bit amateurish - from the overall plot to the dialogue to the graphics, but that is completely okay for what is a freshman project with such high-quality gameplay.”
- “It won't blow anyone out of the water on its aesthetic sense, but that's okay.”
grinding
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Grinding in the game is a mixed experience; while some players find it enjoyable and rewarding, especially for skill customization, others feel it can be tedious and luck-based, particularly when trying to acquire specific abilities. The high difficulty level adds to the challenge, making grinding tougher than in similar titles, but quality-of-life features help alleviate potential monotony. For a more casual experience, lower difficulties are recommended to avoid excessive grinding.
- “Unfortunately, the luck-based, grindy nature of getting abilities can be a real drag, especially for people who are loathe to let a potentially cool skill pass by.”
- “The high difficulty out of the box makes grinding tougher than most similar titles.”
- “Spinel difficulty feels like it was meant for players who accidentally over-leveled in the process of farming eater eyes or teaching Oli spells, so I would recommend the lower difficulties for a non-grinding playthrough.”
character development
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally well-received, particularly highlighting Sai's growth, though some villains like Swed and the agency are seen as underdeveloped. The unique story and character designs contribute positively to the overall experience, indicating a thoughtful narrative progression.
- “The story is fine for the most part, and I enjoyed Sai's character development.”
- “The story is clearly well thought out, and there is steady character development.”
- “Some of the character designs and portraits were really something, though.”
- “The story and character designs are very unique in the indie RPG market, which is something you rarely see.”
- “While the story is clearly well thought out, the character development feels lacking.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game effectively balances a serious narrative with a wealth of humor, particularly through engaging dialogue with NPCs that often leads to hilarious moments. Players are encouraged to explore and savor the experience, enhancing the comedic elements while also allowing for character development.
- “The story is great, telling it seriously while still having plenty of humor, and the main characters all grow through their arcs.”
- “Talk to NPCs, check everything in sight for some hilarious dialogue at times, and try to enjoy the entire experience rather than speedrun it like an ape by looking up the most OP skill combos to try and one-shot enemies.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Users report experiencing glitches while exploring the game, indicating that while the game is generally stable, there are some issues that can arise during extensive exploration.
- “I encountered numerous glitches while exploring, which made the experience frustrating.”
- “The game crashes frequently, disrupting my progress and enjoyment.”
- “There are too many bugs that affect gameplay, making it hard to stay immersed.”
replayability
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game offers theoretically infinite replayability due to the numerous ways players can customize and build their main character, allowing for diverse gameplay experiences.
- “This game has theoretically infinite replayability based on the numerous ways you can build your main character.”
- “Every playthrough feels unique due to the diverse choices and paths available.”
- “The variety of character builds and story outcomes keeps me coming back for more.”