Crystar

Crystar combines a stunning supernatural setting with simple hack-and-slash fighting to draw you through a complex and profound plot that bounces betweens realms.

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"CRYSTAR is an action-RPG where Rei, the protagonist, battles through Purgatory to save her sister. The game features unique mechanics that allow players to use Rei's tears to craft weapons, armor, and summon guardians. The power of grief is harnessed as a gameplay mechanic, creating a unique and emotional experience."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 796 reviews

story428 positive mentions

gameplay121 negative mentions

The story is engaging and emotionally impactful, exploring themes of grief and redemption.
The art style and character designs are visually stunning, enhancing the overall experience.
The soundtrack, composed by Sakuzyo, is excellent and complements the game's atmosphere.

Gameplay is repetitive, with limited enemy variety and dull combat mechanics.
The game requires multiple playthroughs to unlock all endings, leading to a tedious experience.
The level design is uninspired, often feeling like a maze of similar environments.

story
1,107 mentions
39 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The story of *Crystar* is widely praised for its emotional depth and compelling narrative, focusing on themes of grief, redemption, and trauma as the protagonist, Rei, navigates purgatory to save her sister. While the plot features engaging twists and well-developed characters, many reviewers note that the gameplay is repetitive and detracts from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings about the game's pacing and structure. Despite its flaws, the story remains the primary draw for players, with many recommending it for those who prioritize narrative over gameplay.
- “Crystar is an action-adventure game where Rei Hatada gets lost in purgatory, and becomes empowered as an executioner of violent monsters in a quest to save her sister Mirai's soul.”
- “The story is the strongest aspect of this game.”
- “The emotional story is definitely where this game shines.”
- “The story is quite lackluster, although I do enjoy the extra information in the logs about the enemies.”
- “Sadly, due to its lackluster story, I simply couldn't get through this game without constantly skipping the dialogue and then rushing through dungeons just to be done with it.”
- “The story tries, but ends up falling flat on its own face because it couldn't go far enough to be interesting.”
gameplay
527 mentions
18 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Crystar has received largely negative feedback, with many players finding it repetitive, dull, and lacking in depth. While the combat mechanics are straightforward and occasionally engaging, they often devolve into a monotonous loop that detracts from the overall experience. However, some players appreciate the game's story and artistic elements, suggesting that those willing to overlook the gameplay flaws may still find value in the narrative and aesthetics.
- “The gameplay is very simple and refreshing, the story is not very complex but still fairly good.”
- “As a hack-and-slash, this game delivers a good experience; the gameplay is fun and engaging, and the controls are responsive and snappy.”
- “The developers added ways to speed up movement, like dashing and rushing, which makes the gameplay that much more enjoyable.”
- “The gameplay is so dull...”
- “One of the best stories I've ever experienced, trapped in the most mind-numbingly boring gameplay loop I've ever played.”
- “The gameplay will be boring for the majority of players.”
music
277 mentions
53 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the atmosphere and emotional depth, with many praising the contributions of composer Sakuzyo. While the soundtrack is often described as beautiful and fitting for the game's themes, some players noted that certain tracks felt generic or forgettable. Overall, the music is considered one of the standout features, significantly contributing to the game's narrative and aesthetic appeal.
- “The music is excellent, from the beginning to the very end.”
- “Power Sakuzyo's music strengthens the story greatly, conveying both protagonists' and antagonists' emotions, as well as the general feeling of locations.”
- “The visuals are incredible, the story has a great hook and beginning, and the music is some of the best I've heard out of a video game.”
- “The music is equally a bummer, it's generic at best and forgettable.”
- “What I mean is that the music doesn't have a strong presence.”
- “Story is also mostly badly written, and the music a major disappointment.”
graphics
181 mentions
48 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many praising the beautiful art style, character designs, and vibrant backdrops, which contribute to a strong aesthetic appeal. However, some reviews note that the graphics are reminiscent of early PS4 or Switch titles, lacking in detail and variety, particularly in animations and level design. Overall, while the visuals and music are highlighted as standout features, the gameplay mechanics are often criticized for being repetitive, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The visuals are incredible, the story has a great hook and beginning, and the music is some of the best I've heard out of a video game.”
- “The art style, especially in the little intermission stories, is fantastic.”
- “Beautiful game with great characters and an amazing aesthetic.”
- “On the technical side, Crystar's graphics and music are serviceable.”
- “Graphics: 6/10, standard for a JRPG engine, the environments and the themes were interesting but could've been developed further, felt like it was half done.”
- “Where it flops a little is details in graphics, like clipping, and awkward animations, that leave you locked for too long (mechanical problem, but manifests visually).”
grinding
90 mentions
0 % positive mentions
2 % neutral mentions
98 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the lackluster combat and the need to replay levels multiple times for achievements or story completion. While some appreciate the immersive elements and character designs, the overall sentiment is that the grinding detracts significantly from the enjoyment, making the gameplay feel like a chore rather than a rewarding experience. Players suggest that the game could benefit from streamlined mechanics to reduce the grind and enhance the overall flow.
- “But it is so tedious it is absolutely not worth the time spent retracing the same levels, especially as the true ending requires you to play through chapters 6-8 three times.”
- “The game is grindy, boring, and low effort.”
- “This game has some of the most repetitive combat, clunky controls, and arguably horrible padding/grinding.”
emotional
70 mentions
97 % positive mentions
3 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised, with many players noting its powerful storytelling that evokes strong feelings, often leading to tears. Themes of grief, depression, and sisterhood resonate deeply, creating an emotional rollercoaster experience that is both touching and thought-provoking. Despite some gameplay flaws, the game's ability to connect with players on an emotional level is highlighted as its standout feature.
- “Despite the flaws, this game hit me squarely in the 'traumatized teenage girl' center of my heart, and made me cry more than I'd like to admit.”
- “The story is the big draw to this game as it explores hard-to-process emotions like grief, anger, and survivor's guilt in an interesting and emotionally rich way.”
- “The emotional story is definitely where this game shines.”
character development
41 mentions
56 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its depth and engaging narrative, with many reviewers highlighting the strong arcs of the protagonists and the impactful plot twists that unfold over time. While the character designs and visuals are noted as stunning, some players feel that the story's pacing can be slow, with significant development only becoming apparent after several hours of gameplay. Overall, the combination of character development, story, and artistic elements makes it a compelling experience, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay repetitiveness.
- “I personally love the character development and how the story unfolds, the conflicts between characters and the plot twists.”
- “The story is amazing and the character development of several protagonists is very cool.”
- “Its narrative depth, stunning art, and character designs are top-notch, making it a must-play for fans of dark, story-driven JRPGs.”
- “The story has strong concepts, but is painfully slow and, unfortunately, plot and character development do not actually start showing true strength until like 6-7 hours in, and only becomes interesting (if a bit obvious) like 12-15 hours in.”
- “I try my hardest to not blame the game itself, but the story/dialogue-writers and character designers instead.”
- “This game has so many highlights, the character designs, the visuals (as simple as the maps are I find them surprisingly pretty), the music and most importantly the story of this game is quite engaging but man, the gameplay really is such a downside to it, I don't think the combat is bad per se but unfortunately the devs decided, for some strange reason, to make every main story mission be multiple floors, the combat is functional at best but when you have to do the same combat over and over what is dumb fun can become tedious pretty fast which is a shame because you would really want to keep going to see what happens next, especially since the final chapter story is so good, so do yourself a favor, turn easy ASAP and just try to get to the end of each floor right away.”
atmosphere
20 mentions
40 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
15 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its well-written characters and their interwoven stories, which enhance the overall experience. The carefully chosen music significantly contributes to the immersive environment, creating a captivating and engaging backdrop. Despite some gameplay shortcomings, the compelling atmosphere and intriguing narrative effectively draw players in and keep them invested.
- “In terms of characters, they are well written and their stories are well interwoven with the entire background of the game, creating a good atmosphere.”
- “The overall atmosphere in the game was very nicely made, with no one area being dull or bland.”
- “It's a great story and atmosphere, even if it is poorly refined.”
- “However, the story and atmosphere really do manage to draw you in - and keep you playing beyond the point where the gameplay is suggesting it's time to stop.”
- “But this is really where it shines because of the atmosphere the characters give off and the surrounding environment, which takes a unique type of somber tone.”
optimization
20 mentions
70 % positive mentions
15 % neutral mentions
15 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised, with smooth performance reported on high-end PCs, consistently achieving 60fps or higher. However, some users noted issues with UI optimization, such as an overly sensitive menu and poor default sorting for equipment, suggesting that further tweaks could enhance the experience. Despite these minor concerns, the graphics and performance are considered impressive.
- “Excellent performance, the game runs at 60 fps all the time maxed out.”
- “Great optimization, original story, beautiful characters (art).”
- “Terrible UI optimization, overly sensitive menu that presents a minor annoyance when you misclick (e.g., calling someone when you didn't mean to), garbage sorting for equipment (yes, I know you can change the sorting order, but it defaults to the worst one every time you switch out).”
- “I think the PC version could get some optimization tweaks.”
- “Performance-wise, the game runs completely smooth on a 1070 Ti locked at 144 fps.”
humor
12 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its blend of humor and darker themes, with players finding the plot twists and comedic moments both surprising and entertaining. While the story can shift from dull to absurdly funny, it also incorporates a comedy relief character that adds levity to the otherwise serious narrative. Overall, the humor is described as cute and effective, providing a lighthearted contrast to the game's more somber elements.
- “The plot twists in this game are hilarious in execution as I try to grasp what is happening, often ending up saying, 'Oh, now you're telling me this?'”
- “It was funny that there was a very dramatic fight at the end, and I stunlocked the boss, getting a 300-hit combo while only getting hit twice.”
- “Even sadness and despair are the main themes in the story as Rei progresses in purgatory to look for her missing sister, but there are some funny moments and a comedy relief character.”
replayability
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The game has low replayability, rated at 2/10, primarily due to its limited incentives for replaying beyond achievements and completing the monster compendium. Players noted that after a 24-hour playthrough, there isn't much motivation to revisit the game.
- “Play/replay value: 2/10”
- “Took me 24 hours to finish it, not much replay value if you don't care about achievements or completing all the entries in the monster compendium.”
- “Play/replay value: 2/10”
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is heavily influenced by PlayStation advertisements, which are prominently featured throughout the gameplay experience. While the game itself is well-received, the integration of advertisements may impact the overall enjoyment for some players.