Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune
- February 1, 2022
- IceSitruuna
- 39h median play time
Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune doesn’t do anything particularly new, but fans of Metroidvanias will find it well worth their time.
Get on Steam
Get on Epic Games Store"Frontier Hunter: Erza's Wheel of Fortune" is an action-packed RPG set in a vibrant fantasy world. Embark on an epic journey as Erza, a skilled huntress, and discover the secrets of the legendary Wheel of Fortune. Customize your character with various weapons and skills, and form alliances with other hunters to overcome challenging foes and bosses in this immersive and exciting adventure.
Mac OS
PC
Playstation 5
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- Engaging gameplay with a variety of combat styles and character swapping mechanics that enhance the experience.
- Visually appealing with a vibrant art style and decent graphics, creating a captivating environment.
- Solid character progression and customization options, allowing players to tailor their playstyle through RPG elements.
- The story is somewhat forgettable and lacks depth, making it less engaging for players seeking a strong narrative.
- Some technical issues, including input lag and collision detection problems, detract from the overall gameplay experience.
- Limited replayability due to a lack of meaningful backtracking and exploration mechanics typical of the Metroidvania genre.
- story82 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it forgettable or simplistic, often noting that it doesn't detract significantly from the overall gameplay experience. While some appreciate the engaging quests and character interactions, others criticize the dialogue quality and translation issues, leading to a perception of a shallow narrative. Overall, the story is seen as serviceable but not a primary draw for players, who tend to focus more on the gameplay mechanics.
“The storyline in 'Frontier Hunter' is engaging and well-crafted.”
“The narrative unfolds through compelling quests and character interactions, offering a mix of intrigue and adventure.”
“Overall experience: 'Frontier Hunter' is a standout title that successfully combines stunning visuals, engaging gameplay, and a captivating story.”
“It may sound harsh, but most of the cutscenes could have been cut and reduced to dialogue boxes, and the story wouldn't have suffered at all.”
“Shallow story; the ending feels very underwhelming, with only two characters talking and nothing about companions and their relationships.”
“The story and dialogues are somewhere between very basic and nigh-senseless, made worse by some translation mishaps, but that detracts little from the stylish gameplay.”
- gameplay67 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Frontier Hunter" is widely praised for its smooth mechanics, engaging combat, and innovative customization options, making it a standout in the action RPG genre. While some players noted minor bugs and occasional clunky controls, the overall experience is described as fun and accessible, with a blend of RPG elements and metroidvania exploration that keeps players invested. Despite some criticisms regarding level design and story depth, the core gameplay remains solid and enjoyable, appealing to fans of the genre.
“The gameplay and its gear mechanics are brilliant.”
“Gameplay: 'Frontier Hunter' excels in delivering a gameplay experience that's both accessible and deep.”
“The crafting, RPG elements, and classic Metroidvania feel all make for a solid game with a good balance of fun and varying difficulty.”
“I really did give it an honest try, but the frankly bland (and way too huge) level design makes the gameplay start to wear out its welcome around the 10 hour mark.”
“Very boring and basic gameplay, awful game design (first mission is a fetch quest) and even though the voice acting is really good (which is Japanese even if you pick English language) the story itself is a snooze.”
“It feels like several mechanics just aren't there.”
- graphics47 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the vibrant anime art style and beautiful environments, while others criticize the character models and dated 3D graphics, particularly during cutscenes. Overall, the visuals are described as solid and engaging, contributing positively to the gameplay experience, though some users note room for improvement. The game's aesthetic appeal, combined with its innovative mechanics, makes it a standout in the action RPG genre.
“The game shines with its breathtaking graphics and art style.”
“Amazing graphics, gameplay, presentation, and music!”
“Great little metroidvania with awesome graphics and solid mechanics.”
“Graphics: 6/10”
“Graphics - apart from the three main characters and a few other females, the character models are pretty jank, especially when in motion for cutscenes.”
“The visuals are sadly on the weak side.”
- music27 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many reviewers highlighting its dynamic and fitting nature that enhances the overall experience. While some noted that it may not be groundbreaking, others praised it as a standout feature, comparing it to high-quality soundtracks from well-known titles. Overall, the soundtrack effectively complements the game's moods and settings, contributing to both emotional moments and combat excitement.
“The soundtrack of 'Frontier Hunter' is a highlight, featuring a dynamic score that complements the game's various moods and settings.”
“The music enhances the emotional impact of key moments and intensifies the excitement during combat.”
“The soundtrack didn't captivate me initially, but after listening to it outside of the game, I found it to be particularly pleasing.”
“Music and graphics are fine, nothing fancy.”
“The initial tracks are soothing or cheerful, reflecting the initial mood of the game, but the music turns gradually more dramatic and foreboding as the scale and nature of the real threat are being unveiled.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is mixed; while there is no farming required to progress the story, players find the resource collection and equipment modification tedious and time-consuming. Although some grinding is necessary for unlocking weapon slots and gathering ingredients, power-ups and buffs are generally accessible without excessive effort. Overall, the game features a balance of grindy elements and achievable goals, though some players may find the initial overwhelming enemy encounters and resource costs a bit frustrating.
“While Afterimage is not particularly 'exciting' in terms of combat or enemy farming, there are chests, items, and equipment even in the first areas of the game you can't get to until the very end of the game.”
“As far as farming resources for modifying, it takes forever.”
“It's kinda grindy to unlock slots on the weapons or collect ingredients.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by a lighthearted and funny storyline, with amusing mechanics like respawning mobs that add to the comedic experience. While the character art and humor resonate well with fans of anime, some elements, particularly the sexual undertones, are perceived as immature and detract from the overall comedic quality.
“Funny part is, when you kill all mobs in one screen, change to the next room and immediately return, the mobs are also respawned.”
“Nice and light story with a lot of humor round it up.”
“I watch a lot of anime, so the character art style appeals to me as does the humor in the game.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is inconsistent, with reports of buggy cutscenes, silent audio cues, and specific mod issues, particularly with lifesteal and character weapons. While some players have not encountered significant graphical glitches, others experience frequent freezes and black screens, necessitating hard restarts. As an early access title, users acknowledge the presence of bugs but note that developers are actively addressing these issues.
“Cutscenes at times are buggy, and models stay completely still. Audio cues for characters are silent when they shouldn't be.”
“Game looks great, but I can't play it for long before the game freezes or just straight up black screens my PC, forcing me to hard restart it.”
“Not only that, but the lifesteal mod really seems buggy and doesn't work with Ciara's guns.”
- character development5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with female character design praised as exceptional (10/10), while male character design is criticized (4/10). Overall, the graphics and character designs are noted for their creativity and resemblance to other popular titles, but there are calls for improvements in character depth and quality of life features.
“The character designs and ship designs are a juxtaposition of similar ideas that would not be out of place in titles such as BlazBlue, Phantasy Star, Guilty Gear, Wild Arms, Tales of, and Star Ocean.”
“The graphics are nice, the character design is on point, and the gameplay is super fun!”
“Female character design is a perfect 10/10.”
“Character designs and ship designs are a juxtaposition of similar ideas which would not be out of place in titles such as BlazBlue, Phantasy Star, Guilty Gear, Wild Arms, Tales of, and Star Ocean.”
“I was able to platinum the game within 14 hours and I recommend this game because the combat is creative, maps are okay, character design is bad, items are mixed feelings, and a lot more quality of life improvements can be added to the game like synthesis to items to make ingots into ore and disassemble what you do not use.”
“Male character design 4/10”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its beautifully rendered diverse landscapes, dynamic lighting effects, and immersive audio elements, including battle sounds and exceptional Japanese voice acting. These features collectively enhance the overall experience, making the environment feel vibrant and engaging.
“The diverse landscapes—ranging from lush, verdant forests to rugged, desolate wastelands—are beautifully rendered, and the dynamic lighting effects enhance the overall atmosphere.”
“It has a lot of atmosphere; the visuals are great, and the battle sounds plus the superb Japanese voice acting are the icing on the cake.”
“This game features tons of power-ups, unique enemies, and abilities that fit the atmosphere perfectly.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Replayability is rated low at 2/10, as the game lacks strong incentives for repeated playthroughs. While players can experiment with different characters and gear combinations, the inability to focus on a single character at a time limits the overall replay value.
“It would be better if you could just play one character at a time; that would add a lot of replayability.”
“Replayability isn't its strong point, but you are invited to try out all three members with their different combat styles and techniques, while also experimenting with gear and core combinations that are more suitable to your playstyle.”
“Would be better if you could just play one at a time; that would add a lot of replayability.”
“Replayability 2/10”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with rare frame drops reported. However, users have encountered bugs such as character model stuttering during dialogues, map disappearance requiring restarts, and inconsistent monitor detection at startup. Performance can also be enhanced through weapon attachments.
“Your performance will improve based on your attachments to your weapons and other gear.”
“Optimization is excellent, with very rare frame drops.”
“The character models occasionally stutter when opening dialogue with NPCs and/or closing the map. At one point, the map disappeared, requiring a full restart. Additionally, the game seems to flip a coin to decide whether it boots on my primary monitor (like every game I have ever played) or my secondary monitor.”
“Your performance will improve based on your attachments to your weapons and other factors.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music significantly amplifies the emotional resonance of pivotal moments in the game, heightening both the excitement during combat and the overall emotional experience.
“The music enhances the emotional impact of key moments and intensifies the excitement during combat.”
“The story made me feel a deep connection to the characters, leaving me emotionally invested in their journeys.”
“I found myself tearing up during certain scenes; the game truly captures the essence of human emotions.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized for appearing exploitative, with users feeling that it was designed primarily as a quick cash grab rather than a well-supported product.
“I would not recommend this game as it feels like the devs have completely abandoned it and used it as a quick cash grab.”
“The monetization strategy is overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending a lot of money.”
“It feels like every aspect of the game is designed to push you towards making in-game purchases, which ruins the overall experience.”
