Phantasmata

About

Phantasmata is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Phantasmata Project and was released on April 1, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

A surreal dark-comedy RPG set in an alternate-reality American dystopia! Witches, nightmarish creatures, conspiracies - oh my!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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80%

Audience ScoreBased on 15 reviews

gameplay3 positive mentions

character development3 negative mentions

The game features a unique art style and engaging dialogue that adds to its charm.
The atmosphere and tone are captivating, with a colorful world and quirky characters that make exploration enjoyable.
The combat system, while flawed, offers interesting dynamics and allows for character customization.

The combat can become tedious due to reliance on timing mechanics and an abundance of encounters that feel repetitive.
The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes and unclear item descriptions, which can hinder the experience.
The story lacks direction and coherence, making it difficult to follow at times.

story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The story is described as engaging and unique, featuring themes of witches and distinct characters, but it suffers from incoherence and a lack of direction, making it difficult for some players to follow. While the narrative attempts to differentiate itself from typical RPG Maker fan-fiction, it ultimately falls into familiar tropes, leaving players feeling let down by the execution and pacing of battles that overshadow the story progression. Overall, the potential for a compelling narrative exists, but it requires better balance and clarity to fully realize it.
- “Less time focusing on trying not to lose and more time focusing on the story!”
- “Controls are simple & easy to get the hang of, the characters are distinct & (very!) stylish, the story so far is very engaging.”
- “Has a unique style that sets it out from the rest as well as really cool characters and a cool storyline.”
- “There's some theme about witches or something which slightly differentiates this abandoned RPG Maker template job from the usual anime fan-fictions, but not much; the plot is still very much what you would expect from RPG Maker fanfictions... high school anime club reject garbage.”
- “The story's a bit incoherent, too, at times, but that just adds to its surreal nature.”
- “I found it hard to follow the story and objectives.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its unique art style and quirky aesthetics, while others criticize the low-quality visuals, likening them to amateurish designs and retro pixel art. The game's reliance on the RPG Maker engine limits its graphical capabilities, leading to a lack of full HD support and customization options, which detracts from the experience for many modern gamers. Overall, the visuals may appeal to those who enjoy unconventional art, but they fall short for players seeking high-quality graphics.
- “It's not quite like any other piece of media out there and the combination of different art styles, charming writing, and surreal settings alone makes it worth picking up and playing for a while.”
- “If you like weird RPGs with unique aesthetics and lots of weird little quirky things sprinkled in, then you'll really enjoy what this game has to offer.”
- “I enjoyed the artwork and had a laugh over the dialog and some of the enemy names.”
- “The artwork here is terrible; it's a blend of old retro pixel art used as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics, and some of the most amateurish MS Paint-style drawings I've ever seen.”
- “It's unclear if this is due to a lack of budget to hire someone who can do graphics properly, or a lack of talent. Regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is extremely low as a result of these decisions.”
- “As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's music is consistently high-energy and features a vibrant mix of jungle, breakbeat, and EDM tracks that enhance its personality. However, some players noted that certain tracks, particularly in specific areas, can be jarring or off-key, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, while the music is generally praised, it can occasionally be overwhelming or unpleasant.
- “The music never misses and it's always very high energy, featuring a lot of really neat jungle/breakbeat/EDM inspired tracks.”
- “The music, some was amazing.”
- “The music bangs, the enemy designs are a special kind of ugly in the best way imaginable.”
- “Only nitpick complaint is that while the colors and music add a whole lot to the personality of the game, it can be a little rough on the brain.”
- “Others (like the 'music' when you enter studio 7, was just horrible off-key noise that prompted a headache)”
- “Sometimes music just sounds like horrifying background noise.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
While the game's colorful visuals and intriguing character designs are praised, there is some confusion regarding the depth and progression of character development.
- “I really adore this game so far; it is very colorful, and all of the character designs are very intriguing.”
- “The character development is confusing and lacks clarity.”
- “There is little to no depth in the character development.”
- “I found the character development to be very shallow and unengaging.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The gameplay is criticized for its low-quality visuals and a lack of engaging mechanics, leading to a frustrating early game experience and a monotonous late game where players can easily overpower enemies without utilizing the diverse character skills and customization options available. While the variety of recruitable characters and their unique abilities are noted as a positive aspect, the overall execution results in a tedious and unbalanced experience.
- “There's a lot of different recruitable characters that you can find and get to join your team with a myriad of different skills and personalities. Beyond that, there are mechanics that allow you to further power them up and tailor them to your liking.”
- “The gameplay offers a rich variety of mechanics that encourage players to engage with different skills and classes, making each character feel unique and customizable.”
- “The strategic depth of the gameplay allows for creative combinations of characters and abilities, enhancing the overall experience and keeping players invested.”
- “Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low-quality, copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art, looks awful, and has even worse gameplay.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers criticize Phantasmata's monetization strategy, labeling its $20 price point as a cash grab, especially when compared to the value of older AAA games available for the same price.
- “Phantasmata has the cash grab/scam level price of $20 USD, for which you could easily get any number of older AAA games.”
- “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, as it pushes players to spend more money for basic features.”
- “I was disappointed to find that many essential items are locked behind a paywall, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, highlighting the hilarious "hand drawn" art and the amusing NPC dialogue that adds charm to the experience. However, some feel that the lengthy maps and frequent enemy encounters can detract from the enjoyment of exploring the humor-filled world. Overall, the game's colorful and meme-inspired characters contribute positively to its comedic appeal.
- “The game features hilarious 'hand drawn' art that adds a unique charm.”
- “You are thrust into an exceedingly interesting side-scrolling world that is full of wonderful colors, hilarious (yet obnoxious) characters, and memes.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as the reliance on a timing gimmick for combat leads to a monotonous experience. Early gameplay is marked by difficulty in finding enemies to farm for resources, while later stages become overly simplistic, reducing the need to explore the game's diverse mechanics. Overall, the grinding feels unbalanced and detracts from the enjoyment of the game's features.
- “The combat relies on a timing gimmick to achieve max damage, which becomes quite tedious when it's used for every single attack.”
- “In my playthrough, this basically made the beginning of the game a huge slog where I struggled to find enemies to farm money off of, and then the end of the game felt tedious and braindead as I auto-attacked everything to death within one turn. I had each of my characters equipped with decent weapons and an accessory that allowed me to attack twice in a row, so I didn't really have a need to engage with any of the different skills, classes, or other cool mechanics they implemented.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised as a key selling point, with many reviews highlighting its intriguing tone and immersive qualities.
- “Like most of the reviews would tell you, the atmosphere and tone of the game is really what sells it.”
- “The game features an interesting atmosphere.”