Mary Skelter Finale
- September 12, 2023
- Ghostlight LTD
Get on Steam"Mary Skelter Finale" is the final chapter of the gruesome RPG series where players navigate the living prison of Jail, battling monsters and managing the powers of the Blood Maidens. In this installment, Jack and the separated group must face the being known as Pyre and uncover the truth behind their reality. Each character's unique abilities and struggles add depth to the story as they work towards a common goal.
Reviews
- The game features a unique three-party system that adds depth to dungeon exploration and puzzle-solving.
- Longtime fans of the Mary Skelter franchise will appreciate the character arcs and the conclusion to the overarching story.
- The game has a great soundtrack and offers enjoyable gameplay mechanics, making it fun for those who enjoy dungeon crawling.
- The port suffers from significant technical issues, including poor optimization, long loading times, and graphical problems that detract from the experience.
- A critical bug prevents players from saving their progress if their audio device changes during gameplay, leading to potential loss of hours of progress.
- The game lacks sufficient character development for both new and returning characters, leaving many players disappointed with the story's execution.
- story21 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story serves as a conclusion to a long-running arc, featuring a recap of previous installments but ultimately prioritizing gameplay over narrative development. While the beginning and end of the game offer engaging story elements, the midsection is criticized for being largely devoid of plot, leading to a lack of character development, especially for newcomers. Despite these shortcomings, fans of the franchise may still find enjoyment in the overall story and its conclusion.
“It's the conclusion to a years-long story arc.”
“Finally, the story is completed.”
“Despite having some problems when playing, I still enjoy it very much since I love the series anyway; great ending to the series story.”
“The game is okay, focusing much more on mechanical dungeon crawling than story for the most part.”
“It's got a whole lot of story at the beginning and at the end, but the midsection of the game, where you'd expect quite a bit of development, is marked by hours and hours of entirely plotless gameplay.”
“This is a huge disappointment because the story would really be improved with more development for characters, especially the newer characters and NPCs.”
- gameplay11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The gameplay is heavily focused on mechanical dungeon crawling, with a significant emphasis on puzzle-solving through multiple party switches, which adds a unique challenge. While the beginning and end feature substantial story elements, the midsection is criticized for being plotless and laborious, relying on specific abilities to progress through dungeons. Overall, the gameplay experience is consistent with the franchise, offering a blend of fun mechanics and some tedious moments.
“The gameplay balance is what you'd expect from the franchise.”
“Different parties to go through the different chapters, which is neat since not a lot of games I play use this mechanic, and it makes it more fun.”
“The main mechanic this time is having to switch between multiple different parties in different parts of the dungeons to solve puzzles, making for a very unique and challenging dungeon crawler.”
“You're gonna be surprised to find that this game is substantially more gameplay-oriented than it is story-oriented, much to my chagrin.”
“It's got a whole lot of story at the beginning and at the end, but the midsection of the game, where you'd expect quite a bit of development, is marked by hours and hours of entirely plotless gameplay.”
“It makes the overall gameplay experience a bit laborious.”
- music7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been widely praised, with many considering it the best soundtrack of the series, featuring a mix of nostalgic and engaging tracks that enhance the gameplay experience. However, some players noted a lack of music in certain dungeon areas, which felt unusual and detracted from the overall atmosphere. Overall, the soundtrack is a highlight, with standout pieces that resonate well with fans.
“Great soundtracks! The deluxe edition will give you all of the soundtracks of the game from the first game to this finale.”
“Best OST of the series, in my opinion.”
“A lot of the music makes me feel right at home with Sonic & the Black Knight, and the nightmare chase music is just a straight banger now rather than attempting to sound creepy.”
“The first thing that stood out to me was the lack of music in one of the dungeon areas.”
“While this could be intentional, it feels strange that one dungeon would have no background music or sound at all.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics of Mary Skelter 2 on Steam are generally considered acceptable, though they fall short of the more detailed PS4 version, which is notably absent in this port. Players express disappointment over the limited graphical options and the reliance on the Switch's visuals, despite improvements in performance compared to the original Switch release. Overall, while the game is playable and enjoyable, the graphics could have benefited from higher fidelity and more customization options.
“The graphics in this game are stunning, with vibrant colors and detailed environments that truly immerse you in the experience.”
“The character models are beautifully designed, showcasing intricate details that enhance the overall visual appeal.”
“The lighting effects are impressive, adding depth and realism to the game world.”
“This is a port of the Switch version of the game and is missing the PS4 graphics, which add detail to the levels and make them much more readable.”
“The only graphical options are the resolution and if the game is windowed, borderless, or full screen. Again, it's a PS4 game; why can't we have options for that stuff on Steam?”
“Why are we stuck with Switch graphics?”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the ineffective rewards from exploration compared to blood farming. The experience points (XP) system is criticized for being painfully slow, with some players resorting to easier modes just to avoid the grind, indicating a significant imbalance in the game's progression mechanics.
“This is not in any way helped by the fact that, even though they severely nerfed blood farming from 2, blood farming is still strong, and makes it so that going out of your way to find chests is just not very rewarding.”
“One of which is the XP and grinding; it's horrible, absolutely god awful. I can't stand it. I cannot begin to say how horrible it is. It took me 3+ hours to gain 30+ levels just so I won't lose any of my party members, and this is on nightmare mode. Somehow, you made getting XP horrible.”
“It's to the point where I am forced to be on easy mode because grinding XP on easy would give me the same amount as it would give me on nightmare and normal.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The optimization of "Salvation Tower" has been criticized for poor color choices and a cluttered environment that hampers visibility. Players report significant movement delays, particularly during combat, which detracts from the overall experience, although the game does not crash or suffer major performance issues. While some may overlook these optimization flaws, they nonetheless negatively impact gameplay.
“I used to believe Mary Skelter 2 on Switch was laggy because of my old console, but now it's clear that the cause was the game's weird optimization.”
“If you're not too picky with performance issues, then there really isn't much problem with it.”
“To be fair, issues may be a bit harsh, as none of these cause the game to crash or performance to suffer in any way; these are things that impact the player experience in a negative way.”
“Salvation Tower was badly colored and optimized: leaving aside the extremely white environment with the random nooses hanging from the ceiling, filling the map to the point you cannot tell what they are.”
“I used to believe that Mary Skelter 2 on Switch was laggy because of my old Switch, but now it's clear that the cause was the game's weird optimization.”
“To be fair, issues may be a bit harsh, as none of these cause the game to crash or performance to suffer in any way, but these are things that impact the player experience in a negative way.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game has been criticized for its overly bright lighting and washed-out visuals, which detract from the intended dark and tense experience. Users have noted that the cutscene backgrounds and dungeon designs fall short compared to previous versions, further diminishing the overall ambiance. Additionally, technical issues like crashes and long loading times contribute to a frustrating experience that undermines the game's atmosphere.
“Cutscene backgrounds are all washed out, crashes within the first hour, inexcusable loading times, dungeons look much worse than the PS version, lighting is overly bright, ruins the atmosphere entirely.”
“The game is extremely bright, and it completely ruins the dark, tense atmosphere that the game is trying to present.”
“Again, this could be intentional, but it feels like such a strange decision as it again takes away from the atmosphere of the game.”
