Nepenthe
- September 10, 2017
- Yitz
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Get on itch.io Store"Nepenthe is a single-player Horror Role Playing game with a sensational story and fantastic visuals. You play as a memory-loss suffering character in the strange world of Carithia, encountering polite monsters and bullet-hell fight scenes. With three different endings and countless side-quests, Nepenthe is designed for ultimate replayability."
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Reviews
- The hand-drawn art style is unique and charming, adding to the game's humor and overall appeal.
- The game features engaging and funny dialogue, with a variety of quirky characters and situations that keep players entertained.
- The combat system is enjoyable and offers a mix of traditional turn-based mechanics and unique bullet-hell elements, providing a fun challenge.
- The story lacks depth and can feel bland, with some players finding the endings unsatisfying or confusing.
- Movement and navigation can be awkward, making it difficult to identify important items and interact with the environment.
- The game is relatively short, which may leave some players wanting more content and a deeper experience.
- graphics29 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique hand-drawn art style that many players find charming and nostalgic, reminiscent of childhood drawings. While the visuals are generally praised for their creativity and distinctiveness, some users note that the clarity can occasionally suffer, making it difficult to discern certain objects on screen. Overall, the art style contributes significantly to the game's quirky and self-aware RPG experience, enhancing both its humor and storytelling.
“The fight sequences are fun and differ between each enemy, and the graphics are marvelous.”
“I really loved the hand-drawn artwork in this game.”
“The characters are all interesting with creative designs that fully embrace the hand-drawn aesthetic.”
“The art style is probably not everyone's cup of tea but it certainly stands apart, and the battle system is a pretty good take on Undertale's system with some memorable patterns.”
“I love the art style (although sometimes hard to see objects at times); it's fun, creative, and very innovative.”
“The only reason I don't think this style choice is pointless is because it is used effectively at certain points, especially during ending 2, in which the whole 'drawn on crumpled paper' aesthetic is used to convey a very desolate message.”
- story25 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its charm, humor, and unique themes of forgetfulness and neglect, while others find it bland and lacking in character development. Although there are multiple endings and interesting interactions, many reviewers felt disconnected from the characters and the overall narrative. Overall, the storytelling is seen as simplistic yet engaging for some, with a quirky world that adds to its appeal.
“The storyline is really quite beautiful, and I love all the different characters you can interact with.”
“The story itself is pretty good, if simplistic, and there are a lot of small details to check out along the way should you so desire-- and I highly advise that you do, as some of the game's best moments are found therein.”
“Nepenthe is funny, interesting and has a compelling story.”
“The worst part of the game for me was the story.”
“The worst part of the story for me is the endings.”
“Seems there's multiple endings, but I felt no connection at all with this story or the characters, so I feel no reason to pursue them.”
- music19 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its creativity and ability to enhance the experience, while others find it mediocre or inconsistent. Many appreciate the unique tracks and the overall soundtrack, noting that it exceeds expectations for an RPG Maker game, though some desire more variety. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's quirky atmosphere, despite some reliance on stock audio.
“This game confuses me so much but I absolutely love the music, storytelling, and silly world-building like the depression in the floor.”
“The soundtrack is wonderful, the humor delightful, and interacting with objects and various NPCs is a real treat.”
“The music in this game is great in general.”
“The soundtrack mostly consists of creative commons music, but it's pretty nice for what it is.”
“Most of the audio in this is either stock RPG Maker stuff (I recognize the damage sound from several other RPG Maker games), or uses this distorted guitar that I adore, with more 'normal' music filling out the spaces between.”
“The music is lots of free music from different websites or artists.”
- humor19 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by its charming hand-drawn art style and witty dialogue, which many players find refreshing and enjoyable. While some jokes resonate well, others may fall flat, leading to mixed reactions regarding their effectiveness over time. Overall, the humor is often described as quirky and reminiscent of titles like Undertale, providing a unique blend of charm and randomness that keeps players engaged.
“The hand-drawn art style is super cool and the story of the game is very charming and funny.”
“Unconventional, humorous adventure with odd endings which make you wonder about a deeper meaning.”
“The dialogue is always humorous and the battle system is a joy to play.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mix of engaging exploration and unique combat mechanics, offering both traditional turn-based options and a style reminiscent of Undertale and Paper Mario. While some players appreciate the depth and humor, others find the combat repetitive and poorly executed, particularly criticizing the timing of projectiles. Overall, the game provides a charming experience with multiple storylines, though the combat may not appeal to everyone.
“I didn't know what to expect, but it took way longer than it looked. I thought it was a quick, simple 15-minute game, but it had such deep thoughts and engaging and fun text that what I thought was a 15-minute gameplay turned into an hour of just exploring and appreciating all the little fun texts and descriptions.”
“The gameplay is also neat; you can either choose traditional turn-based combat or have the combat be like Undertale/Paper Mario.”
“This is a fun and charming game with a nice fight mechanic.”
“It does not contribute anything to gameplay or story.”
“I think if it was detached from the Undertale game mechanics and had a faster pace, there could be a real hit here.”
“The combat is boring; it's also very similar to the Undertale system of dodging projectiles but done worse, with most of the projectiles popping up without giving you enough time to react. Luckily, there is a story mode that removes combat mechanics from the gameplay, if you prefer that.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game offers some replayability due to its three different endings, but its short length and disappointing conclusions may not encourage players to revisit it frequently.
“The game's short length ensures that it doesn't overstay its welcome, and its three endings ensure that it has replayability.”
“The replay value does not save this game from its disappointing endings and lack of variety.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to play through it again.”
“The lack of meaningful choices and consequences makes replaying feel pointless.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game, particularly during the escape section of the first ending, to be tedious and frustrating, with some feeling it nearly led them to abandon the game altogether.
“The grinding in this game feels endless and monotonous, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the repetitive tasks required for leveling up to be incredibly frustrating and time-consuming.”
“The amount of grinding needed to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game experiences occasional bugs, including crashes and visual glitches, which affect its stability.
“There are some bugs here and there when it comes to crashing and visual glitches.”
“The game frequently crashes, making it frustrating to play.”
“I encountered several visual glitches that disrupted my experience.”
