Beloved Rapture
- October 7, 2024
- Rapturous Studio
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam"Beloved Rapture" is a mid-length retro-style JRPG that focuses on storytelling, exploring themes of trauma, friendship, existentialism, and LGBTQ+ experiences. The game features turn-based combat with six playable characters, dynamic battles, and no random encounters. With a focus on exploration, players can discover riches, loot, and mini-games as they journey through Johan's conflict in a world beyond his comprehension.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging story with interesting characters and a nostalgic SNES-style RPG feel, making it enjoyable for both new and seasoned RPG fans.
- Beautiful pixel art and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- The game encourages exploration with rewarding secrets and treasures, providing a satisfying gameplay loop.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including softlocks and crashes, which can disrupt the gameplay experience.
- Some gameplay mechanics, such as the combat system and questing, feel unpolished and could benefit from more depth and balance.
- The dialogue and writing quality is inconsistent, with some lines feeling awkward or poorly translated, detracting from immersion.
- story87 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its ambition and engaging characters, with many players finding it interesting and rich, though some criticize its pacing and dialogue flow. While the narrative includes mature themes and LGBTQIA+ elements, opinions vary on its depth and execution, with some noting plot holes and convoluted elements. Overall, the story is seen as a strong point of the game, despite some technical issues and design flaws that can detract from the experience.
“The story is very interesting and rich.”
“The story arch together with the stunning pixel art and 16-bit soundscape (including a great and fitting soundtrack) form a cohesive, exciting, and unique experience.”
“So far this story has blown my mind in ways I haven't seen in many years!”
“Lackluster patches focused more on combat 'balance' and new content creation over fixing the content they have already, soft/hardlocking out of quests constantly happens.”
“The game has a quest list you can look up, but it mixes up main quests with side quests and it's pretty annoying to try to figure out what you missed and what you haven't.”
“But it’s all in service of a very mediocre and underwhelming story, so ultimately, I cannot recommend this game.”
- music25 mentions
- 72 % positive mentions
- 16 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many reviewers praising its nostalgic SNES-inspired sound and engaging compositions. The soundtrack is described as immersive and fitting, enhancing the overall experience with memorable battle themes and emotional scores that resonate with players. Overall, it is considered a standout feature, with some even ranking it among the greatest soundtracks of all time.
“The story arch together with the stunning pixel art and 16-bit soundscape (including a great and fitting soundtrack) form a cohesive, exciting, and unique experience.”
“The battle themes will have you banging your head, the exploration songs will fill you with wonder and excitement to explore, the emotional scenes will grip at your heartstrings, and the villages and cities are filled with personality and atmosphere.”
“Many of the songs deserve to be heralded right next to the greatest classic soundtracks of all time.”
“This has instantly shot up to one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.”
- graphics24 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received a mixed response, with many praising the beautiful pixel art and nostalgic 16-bit style reminiscent of classic RPGs like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. While the art and animation are generally well-designed and consistent, some players reported bugs and performance issues that detracted from the overall experience. However, the developers are actively addressing these problems, and the game's artistic effort is evident and appreciated by fans.
“The design of the monsters/characters is very reminiscent of the Dragon Quest games, and the pixel graphics are very pleasing to look at, very nice.”
“The art style is reminiscent of the 16-bit SNES era, and the effort and love put into this is evident.”
“The graphics are absolutely beautiful, from the sprite animation and battles to the carefully crafted environments that feel so dynamic, giving each map its own unique feel and vibe.”
“The game was released pretty buggy with crashes, hard locks that required alt-F4, graphical errors and collision errors, player inventory bugs, combat bugs, lag, and frames struggling to render on the old engine. I make it sound terrible, but the devs are actively working to fix reported issues.”
“Some character lines were very unnatural sounding given the game's aesthetic, but even that is fine if you want to polish it with a more modern-sounding style; it just wasn't consistently implemented.”
“Art style + graphics”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its elegant mechanics and enjoyable experience, while others criticize its untested elements and clunky execution typical of RPG Maker games. Early chapters struggle with item progression and enemy weaknesses, leading to a less engaging experience, though the overall charm and purpose of the gameplay shine through. Despite its flaws, the game offers a captivating story and deep characters, appealing to fans of indie retro JRPGs.
“Gameplay is elegant and provides for a charming, enjoyable time.”
“The characters are deep, the gameplay is fun without being overwhelmingly complex and everything feels like it has a purpose.”
“The writing is great and digestible, the pixel art is astounding, and the gameplay is really a masterclass in understanding that 'anything is possible'.”
“These issues are heavily coded gameplay features and the amount of work to fix them will be harsh.”
“I think the gameplay struggled for my affection in quite a few aspects.”
“Mechanically, 80% of it feels untested.”
- stability7 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its numerous stability issues, including crashes, graphical errors, and various bugs that hinder gameplay. While the developers are actively addressing these problems, players are advised to wait for patches before diving in, as the experience can be quite rough at launch. However, some users report a smoother experience on specific platforms like the Steam Deck, indicating that performance may vary.
“The game runs great on the Steam Deck (OLED) without any tinkering, and can be limited to 60 Hz, 5 W TDP, and 400 MHz GPU without any detriment.”
“The game was released pretty buggy with crashes, hard locks that required alt-F4, graphical errors and collision errors, player inventory bugs, combat bugs, lag, and frame struggles to render on the old engine. I make it sound terrible, but the devs are actively working to fix reported issues.”
“Despite its buggy end, the game plays well and has an okay story. I'm recommending it because it's a good game at its core, but for the love of God and all that is holy, get this game in a month or more when the bugs are fixed because that end game is rough.”
“Buggy, sluggish, clunky, and easy to glitch out and get stuck.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find that grinding is unnecessary in the game, as encounters are manageable without it, leading to an easy experience. The abundance of chests filled with meaningful loot enhances exploration, making it rewarding rather than tedious.
“Chests, chests everywhere... and each contains meaningful loot, making exploration rewarding and not tedious.”
“I have a natural tendency to take every encounter I come across, and by the end, without any grinding, the game was way too easy.”
“The grinding in this game feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found myself spending hours grinding for resources, which became more of a chore than an enjoyable part of the game.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game masterfully blends lighthearted wonder and nostalgia with profound emotional depth, creating a powerful experience that resonates deeply with players. The music enhances this emotional journey, evoking excitement during exploration and gripping heart-wrenching moments in the narrative. Overall, it stands out as a JRPG that effectively captures a wide range of emotions.
“It's hard to describe how masterfully the developers have melded the lighthearted feelings of wonder, nostalgia, and fun with the deepest cutting shock and emotional turmoil I have seen in a JRPG in over a decade.”
“The battle themes will have you banging your head, the exploration songs will fill you with wonder and excitement to explore, the emotional scenes will grip at your heartstrings, and the villages and cities are filled with personality and atmosphere.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of character dialogue is criticized for its reliance on ellipses, which detracts from the natural flow of conversation; alternatives like stuttering, repetition, or exclamatory speech would enhance realism and engagement.
“The character dialogue feels unnatural; they use ellipses when stuttering, but repetition or exclamations would be more fitting.”
“The optimization of character speech is lacking; it often disrupts the flow of conversation.”
“The use of ellipses in dialogue makes interactions feel awkward and unrealistic.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from the absurdly inept behavior of the monsters, who lack basic AI features like line of sight or awareness, leading to comically ridiculous interactions where players can stand directly in front of them without being noticed.
“The monsters are hilariously dumb; they didn't even program in line of sight or monster awareness into the game, which has been an easy thing to do since RPG Maker 2000. Even tons of free games have it, but here you can stand right in front of a monster, and unless they touch you, they are ignored.”
“The dialogue is filled with witty one-liners that had me laughing out loud. The characters have such a quirky sense of humor that it makes every interaction enjoyable.”
“I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously. The absurd situations and over-the-top scenarios keep the gameplay light-hearted and fun.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its engaging battle themes that energize players, exploration music that inspires curiosity, and emotionally resonant scenes that evoke strong feelings. Additionally, the vibrant villages and cities contribute to a rich and immersive environment.
“The battle themes will have you banging your head, the exploration songs will fill you with wonder and excitement to explore, the emotional scenes will grip at your heartstrings, and the villages and cities are filled with personality and atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion that I expected from the game.”
“Despite the vibrant visuals, the overall atmosphere is dull and fails to engage the player, making exploration feel tedious.”
