Sad RPG

About

"Sad RPG" is a unique turn-based RPG that explores the theme of social anxiety. Players control a character who suffers from social anxiety and must navigate various social situations while also battling monsters. The game features strategic combat, character development, and choices that can impact the story and the protagonist's mental health. It offers a refreshing perspective on the RPG genre, focusing on the inner struggles of the protagonist rather than just external battles.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

52%

Audience ScoreBased on 50 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

story2 negative mentions

The game features a fascinating concept that blends RPG elements with a unique neo-psychedelic art style, creating an unsettling atmosphere that some players appreciate.
It accurately depicts social anxiety and has a charming aesthetic, with good music and interesting environments to explore.
There is potential for the game to evolve into something greater, and it has been nominated for innovative gameplay awards, indicating a strong creative vision.

The game is riddled with bugs and glitches, making it unplayable at times and leading to frustrating experiences for players.
Combat mechanics are overly simplistic and repetitive, resulting in a lack of engagement and depth, which detracts from the overall experience.
The game is short, with only about an hour of content, and many players find it tedious and lacking in interesting gameplay elements.

graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The graphics of the game are described as having a trippy neo-psychedelic aesthetic that some find fascinating, while others criticize the day-glo colors as ugly and off-putting. Although the overall visual style is appreciated, there are concerns about texture quality and distant objects. Players sensitive to intense visuals or jump scares are advised to approach the game with caution.
- “Fascinating concept for a game blending the RPG elements with the unusual nature of the trippy neo-psychedelic art style.”
- “From the creators of the cult classic No Thing, Sad RPG follows in the same aesthetic style with a new gameplay loop.”
- “Good graphics (just do not look at textures too closely or at far away buildings).”
- “The day-glo aspect of the graphics is ugly and off-putting, making battles annoying and the overall experience less enjoyable.”
- “The graphics have a trippy neo-psychedelic art style that may not appeal to everyone, potentially detracting from the gameplay experience.”
- “If you are sensitive to intense visuals, the graphics in this game might be overwhelming, so approach with caution.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with a brief duration of about 40 minutes, featuring text-to-speech dialogue. However, it suffers from numerous issues, including broken combat mechanics and disorienting random encounters that complicate the learning of RPG elements. Despite these flaws, some players have recognized its innovative approach to gameplay.
- “The biggest and most obvious one is all of the RPG mechanics themselves.”
- “There are classic RPG mechanics for battling anxiety attacks, as well as no Thing-esque levels in your TV or PC.”
- “Edit: I have nominated Sad RPG for most innovative gameplay award 2021.”
- “Largely a walking simulator; all dialogue is done using text-to-speech, and it offers roughly 40 minutes of gameplay.”
- “Multiple errors in the game itself, whether it's gameplay that breaks or issues with the audio.”
- “Aside from the completely broken combat, random encounters have very sudden and disorienting transitions, and feel like they're triggered by specific things sometimes, but are hard to replicate, leaving me confused trying to learn mechanics that might not even exist.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the unsettling soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere, others find the electronically generated narrator's voice and certain musical elements to be dehumanizing. Overall, the music is noted for its quality and ability to evoke strong feelings, contributing positively to the game's immersive experience.
- “Amazing text-to-speech voice narration and music.”
- “Also nice music.”
- “Love the unsettling feeling of entering different areas of the game, and the soundtrack does not disappoint either.”
- “Battles are annoying, the day-glo aspect of the graphics is ugly and off-putting, and the music and electronically generated narrator's voice are dehumanising.”
- “The music and electronically generated narrator's voice are dehumanising.”
- “The soundtrack does not disappoint either.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of depth and limited content, with players noting that the main narrative can be completed in about an hour. Additionally, there are significant bugs affecting quest progress and completion, further detracting from the overall experience.
- “Bugs with quest progress, completion, and an overall surprising lack of depth to content after facing the majority of what the game has to offer (which is about an hour of content; I left my computer on, so don't let my hours say anything).”
- “Bugs with quest progress, completion, and an overall surprising lack of depth to content after facing the majority of what the game has to offer (which is about an hour of content; I left my computer on, so don't let my hours say anything).”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently suffers from numerous bugs and sound glitches, leading to a less stable experience that discourages immediate play. Overall, users find it to be quite buggy.
- “It has a lot of bugs and sound glitches, making it hard to recommend playing it right now.”
- “Kinda buggy.”
- “It has a lot of bugs and sound glitches, making it hard to recommend playing it right now.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is praised for its effective blend of blocky polygonal environments and surreal, manipulated visuals, creating a unique and immersive experience that feels like a natural progression from the previous game.
- “The general atmosphere is pretty good, blending blocky polygon worlds with surreal manipulated images. It feels like the natural evolution of the last game.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development is criticized for being shallow, as enemies lack diversity and depth, leading to repetitive combat experiences. Players feel that the lack of unique traits among characters diminishes engagement and strategy in encounters.
- “The combat is unbelievably boring, with the solution to every encounter being ended in one turn with the one special move that one-shots everyone, and even if you don't use it, all of the enemies are carbon copies of each other, except for HP and character design.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overly tedious and unenjoyable in its current state, with some expressing hope that it may improve over time.
- “Maybe it gets better, but it's just too tedious to actually play in its current state.”