Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms

About

In "Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms," a visual novel steamed-based game with elements of romance and historical fiction, players continue the journey of Chizuru Yukimura, who searches for her missing father while working with the Shinsengumi warriors in Edo during the final year of the Bakumatsu Period. This game is a sequel to "Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds" and features new characters, love interests, and dramatic events. Experience the continuation of Chizuru's adventures and navigate the challenges of love and loyalty in this immersive and engaging storyline.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,108 reviews

story242 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

Nexus: The Jupiter Incident offers a unique and captivating gameplay experience with deep tactical space combat.
The graphics and sound design, while dated, still hold up well and create an immersive atmosphere.
The game features a rich storyline with engaging characters and mission variety that keeps players invested.

The learning curve is steep, and the tutorialization is insufficient, leaving players to figure out many mechanics on their own.
AI behavior can be erratic, leading to frustrating moments where ships do not follow commands as expected.
Some missions can feel unfairly difficult, requiring multiple restarts and specific strategies that are not always clear.

story
892 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
70%
3%
The story of "Nexus: The Jupiter Incident" is generally well-received, featuring a gripping narrative that immerses players in a complex interstellar conflict with colorful characters and engaging mission variety. While some players find the plot predictable and linear, the combination of solid voice acting and well-crafted dialogue enhances the overall experience, making it a compelling backdrop for the tactical gameplay. However, certain missions, particularly stealth ones, can frustrate players due to their design, leading to a mix of enjoyment and irritation throughout the campaign.
- “With its gripping storyline, strategic depth, and immersive gameplay, this game offers an experience that is truly unforgettable.”
- “The story is well done and keeps you interested, wondering what comes next.”
- “The story is actually pretty engaging and once things get going you quite easily end up with the 'just one more mission' effect.”
- “The plot is pretty thin and disjointed as well which makes one wonder why there was so much time and effort spent shoving it down the player's throat.”
- “The story feels a bit rushed and the characters, although impressive, are not memorable.”
- “The game is brutally punishing, omitting key details and not explaining critical mechanics which will leave you frustrated and restarting simple missions over and over.”
gameplay
220 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
56%
7%
The gameplay of "Nexus: The Jupiter Incident" is characterized by its deep tactical mechanics and strategic depth, offering players a unique experience in space RTS. While the game features a steep learning curve and some outdated mechanics, many players find the combat system engaging and rewarding once mastered. However, some reviews note issues with pacing, difficulty spikes, and design flaws that can detract from the overall experience.
- “With its gripping storyline, strategic depth, and immersive gameplay, this game offers an experience that is truly unforgettable.”
- “At its core, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident excels in delivering a unique and captivating gameplay experience that sets it apart from other space RTS titles.”
- “The gameplay is simply brilliant.”
- “The gameplay is terribly bland.”
- “The game is brutally punishing, omitting key details and not explaining critical mechanics which will leave you frustrated and restarting simple missions over and over.”
- “Terrible design flaws in many areas of gameplay make this a masochistic slog to play through.”
graphics
200 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
44%
2%
The graphics of the game, originally released in 2004, are generally praised for their impressive quality at launch and their ability to still hold up well today, despite some aging and limitations in texture detail. Many reviewers highlight the beautiful ship designs and space environments, noting that the visuals remain appealing even by modern standards, especially with the availability of mods to enhance them further. However, some critiques mention that while the graphics are decent, they may not meet the expectations of today's gaming audience.
- “Amazing mechanics and graphics for a 20 year old game coming from a very unknown company.”
- “The graphics are beautiful and the GUI is well thought out.”
- “For 2004, the visuals are brilliant, providing excellent effects for various weaponry and a massive amount of attention-to-detail on weapon and ship systems.”
- “The graphics really don't hold up well either... everything is super pixelated, and all the models are like 100 triangles each, but that's not anything I would deduct points from the game for.”
- “I really wanted to love this game, despite the outdated graphics and UI.”
- “Can't play the game because of all the graphic issues.”
atmosphere
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive world-building, stunning visuals, and realistic space combat, creating a captivating experience that draws players in. Many reviewers highlight the game's intricate details, such as the quality of cutscenes and the believable behavior of ships, which enhance the overall ambiance. However, some note that while the atmosphere starts strong, it can wane during gameplay due to trial-and-error mission design.
- “It is a stunningly atmospheric game with highly complex, yet easy to use space combat.”
- “Space has never looked this beautiful, from the asteroids you pass by to the ripples in your shields when they get struck; everything in this game oozes atmosphere.”
- “All in all, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident is what you want from a tactical space opera; it hits on almost every mark short of the multiplayer aspects and provides an absolutely stellar experience filled to the rim with atmosphere and tense space battles.”
- “Overall, I was pulled in a bit by the story and atmosphere, but once the missions started, my interest faded fast.”
- “Space has never looked this beautiful; from the asteroids you pass by to the ripples in your shields when they get struck, everything in this game oozes atmosphere.”
- “Large scale space battles, realistic atmosphere, a B-level story that invests you, and original customizable warships.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
50%
12%
The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the overall experience, with many noting its quality and ability to elevate the storytelling and gameplay. However, some players find the soundtrack somewhat repetitive and wish it were more extensive, while others appreciate certain epic tracks. Overall, the sound design, including voice acting and combat sounds, contributes positively to the immersive atmosphere, despite some comments on the music feeling a bit dated.
- “The music, the voice acting, and the story are top notch and worthy of a space operatic novel.”
- “But the story and gameplay mechanics make it all worth it, and the music and graphics really beautify the experience, so you should give it a try!”
- “I also wish the game's soundtrack was a bit more extensive, but for most people that's a minor gripe.”
- “Graphics and music are a tad dated.”
- “The stories are alright, but the sound design, music, and voice acting elevate it even more.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
36%
21%
The game's optimization is commendable, maintaining beautiful graphics and smooth performance even on modern systems, including support for higher resolutions like native 4K. Players report no significant issues such as crashes or stuttering, allowing for an immersive experience. However, effective gameplay requires heavy micromanagement and tactical decision-making to maximize fleet performance.
- “Despite its age, the graphics are quite nice, the game runs smoothly, and the latest patch unlocked higher resolutions – I've played on native 4K :)”
- “Combat requires heavy pausing and micromanagement to get the best performance out of every ship.”
- “You're expected to command multiple ships, if not an entire fleet, memorize any and all weapon systems and their unique strengths as well as weaknesses, be mindful of the combat performance of every single vessel, and remain in control of your forces throughout the entire battle, reacting to the situation as it develops and other things expected of a skilled tactician.”
- “I bought the original CD pack and played for some time, but due to having a low-performance PC, it soon got abandoned.”
- “Anyhow, to keep control of your fleet, you can influence AI performance in two distinct ways: ship behavior and ship orders.”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
14%
71%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly during late campaign missions where new mechanics feel cumbersome and unrefined. The reliance on repetitive actions, such as clicking and unclicking modules, detracts from the overall enjoyment and pacing of battles, leading to a sense of boredom and trial-and-error gameplay. While some appreciate the lack of resource collection and base building, many feel that the experience becomes overly grindy and lacks challenge as the story progresses.
- “No tedious base building, no resources to collect, just pure decision-action-reaction.”
- “A bit grindy... sometimes.”
- “It's just too tedious and unforgiving, especially the points system.”
- “Late campaign missions that do introduce new mechanics become tedious, and many mechanics will not work from one level to the next.”
- “Then clicking and unclicking the modules that were once an awesome dynamic to the battlefield is now a tedious chore that prolonged a battle longer than it needed to be.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is frequently described as broken and buggy, with numerous glitches and crashes that hinder the overall experience. While some users note that the issues are not as severe as those found in newer releases, the instability still requires troubleshooting and can detract from gameplay, leading to a lack of recommendation. Overall, many express a desire for a remake that addresses these stability concerns.
- “What a shame - there's a great game here, but it's very buggy and crashes too much to recommend.”
- “You might have to do some troubleshooting to get it to run.”
- “Be warned though, there are some bugs/glitches that show up after playing for a long session.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players noting a mix of funny moments and an interesting story that adds to the overall enjoyment. While some find it hilariously fun, others point out inconsistencies, such as misleading plot elements, which can detract from the comedic experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere and humor contribute positively to its appeal.
- “One of the best games in my library. I owned the disk and now have it on Steam. It's really funny for me at least, with a lot of atmosphere. I prefer this title over Battlestar or Gothic Armada 1 & 2.”
- “I mean seriously, it's hilariously fun.”
- “Interesting and sometimes funny story, decent graphics, nice planets and ship models.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players enjoyed the unique multiplayer configurations and found value in trying harder difficulty levels or completing missed objectives, others felt the linear campaign and lack of achievements diminished their desire to replay. The presence of mods adds some replay value, but many users noted that once the campaign is completed, there is little incentive to return.
- “Back when it was released, multiplayer was quite amazing with the many different servers and configurations users would choose, such as 1 ship per pilot, or which ships were playable on that server, making each unique and fun in its own way.”
- “The campaign is fun, and the replay value, considering all the mods, is very good.”
- “No achievements hurt the replay value for me. I never felt like I wanted to try out different difficulty levels once I'd finished it.”
- “Replayability: 5 - the game campaign is based on linear missions, and once you played the campaign, the only real reason to start over is to try on a harder difficulty setting, complete hard secondary objectives you missed, or simply to blow stuff out of the sky.”
- “To me, this game has no replay value, but I had fun nonetheless.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The emotional responses to the game are polarized, with some players expressing deep appreciation for its craftsmanship and nostalgic value, while others feel disappointment due to a lackluster story and confusing gameplay. This dichotomy highlights a sense of longing for what the game could have achieved, evoking feelings of both admiration and heartbreak.
- “My score is: 100/10 because after so many years, touching this game again just made me realize how much I appreciate it for its craft!”
- “An exceptional game way before its time and with so much future potential that may go unrealized, it's heartbreaking.”