Sad RPG
- November 11, 2021
- Evil Indie Games
Get on Steam"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.
Reviews
- The game features a fascinating concept that blends RPG elements with a unique neo-psychedelic art style, creating an unsettling atmosphere that some players find engaging.
- It accurately depicts social anxiety and has a nice soundtrack, which adds to the overall experience.
- The environments are well-designed and fun to explore, showcasing the developers' creativity and potential for future updates.
- The game is riddled with bugs and glitches, making it unplayable at times and frustrating for players trying to progress.
- Combat mechanics are boring and repetitive, with little depth or challenge, leading to a tedious gameplay experience.
- The game is short, with only about an hour of content, and lacks engaging elements compared to other RPGs, leaving players feeling disappointed.
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are described as having a striking neo-psychedelic aesthetic that some find appealing, while others criticize the day-glo colors and texture quality. The visuals contribute to a unique atmosphere that complements the RPG elements, but may be overwhelming for players sensitive to intense visuals or jump scares. Overall, the graphics evoke a mixed response, balancing between a captivating style and some technical shortcomings.
“Good graphics (just do not look at textures too closely or at far away buildings).”
“From the creators of the cult classic No Thing, Sad RPG follows in the same aesthetic style with a new gameplay loop.”
“Fascinating concept for a game blending the RPG elements with the unusual nature of the trippy neo-psychedelic art style.”
“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 dehumanizing.”
“If you are sensitive to jump scares or intense visuals, this game might be a bit much, so as others have mentioned, approach with some caution if you tend to be that way.”
- gameplay6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with a brief duration of around 40 minutes, featuring text-to-speech dialogue. However, it suffers from significant issues, including broken combat mechanics, confusing random encounter triggers, and various technical errors, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, some users have recognized its innovative approach to RPG mechanics, particularly in addressing anxiety.
“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 unique levels in your TV or PC.”
“I have nominated Sad RPG for the 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.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it unsettling and fitting for the atmosphere, others criticize it as dehumanizing and off-putting. However, many appreciate the quality of the text-to-speech narration and the overall soundtrack, which enhances the experience of exploring different areas.
“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 dehumanizing.”
- story2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of depth and limited content, with many players experiencing bugs that hinder quest progress and completion. Overall, the narrative feels underdeveloped, leaving players wanting more after only about an hour of gameplay.
“There are bugs with quest progress and completion, and overall, there's a surprisingly lack of depth to the content after experiencing the majority of what the game has to offer, which is about an hour of content.”
“The story feels incomplete and lacks the necessary depth to engage players fully.”
“The narrative doesn't provide any compelling reasons to invest time in the characters or their journeys.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game currently suffers from numerous bugs and sound glitches, which significantly impact its stability and make it difficult for users to recommend playing it at this time.
“So far, it has a lot of bugs and sound glitches, making it hard to recommend playing it right now.”
“It's quite buggy.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is praised for its effective blend of blocky polygonal environments and surreal imagery, 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 development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development is criticized for being shallow, as combat encounters lack variety and depth, relying on a single overpowering move that diminishes strategic engagement. Additionally, enemies are described as repetitive, with minimal differentiation beyond their health points and visual design.
“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. Even if you don't use it, all of the enemies are carbon copies of each other, except for HP and character design.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unengaging, leading to frustration and a lack of motivation to continue playing.
“Maybe it gets better, but it's just too tedious to actually play in its current state.”
“The grinding feels endless and lacks any real reward, making it a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.”
“I find myself repeating the same tasks over and over, and it quickly becomes boring and frustrating.”
