Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
- March 31, 2016
- tri-Ace
While Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness pulls together a strong story and great gameplay, it's plauged by technical issues.
STAR OCEAN, the epic, sci-fi RPG saga that takes players to the stars and beyond, makes its triumphant return with its forthcoming fifth installment in the series. The title is developed by tri-Ace, the celebrated studio behind each of the previous iterations, with character designs by akiman (Akira Yasuda).
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
PlayStation
Playstation 3
Reviews
- Combat is highly enjoyable and offers a frenetic battle system that keeps players engaged.
- Gorgeous visuals and character design enhance the overall experience.
- The game features a solid, lengthy campaign with a variety of roles to unlock and generally good AI for teammates.
- The story and characters are shallow, with uninspired missions and a lack of depth.
- Technical issues and uneven production values detract from the overall experience.
- The game feels repetitive with mindless combat, backtracking, and a small world scope.
- story5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The story in "Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness" is criticized for being shallow and cliched, with uninspired missions and weak character development. Many reviewers note that the world feels empty and lacks depth, leading to a disjointed experience exacerbated by technical issues. Overall, while the game has potential, its storytelling and delivery fall short, resulting in a lack of originality and engagement.
“While Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness pulls together a strong story and great gameplay, it's plagued by technical issues.”
“Shallow, cliched characters, the world feels empty, uninspired missions, and audio and visual mishaps yank you from the experience.”
“Mindless combat, no point to exploring the barren worlds, weak story, and too much backtracking.”
“Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness isn’t a terrible game by any means, but is let down by some poor storytelling, dreadful delivery, and a lack of originality.”
- gameplay3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is criticized for stale combat and technical issues, which detract from its overall enjoyment compared to previous titles in the series. While it offers a strong story and a variety of gameplay options appealing to JRPG fans, not all players find it satisfying.
“While Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness pulls together a strong story and great gameplay, it's plagued by technical issues.”
“It has enough gameplay options to bring any JRPG fan to the table, but not everyone will leave content.”
“Stale combat and other gameplay issues ultimately prevent this game from being able to stand up to previous, more enjoyable Star Ocean titles.”
“It has enough gameplay options to bring any JRPG fan to the table, but not everyone will leave satisfied.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the game features excellent character design, the character development is hindered by some unsuccessful design choices, ultimately overshadowed by its engaging battle system and standout soundtrack.
- music1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's standout soundtrack is highlighted as a significant strength, effectively compensating for some of its design shortcomings and enhancing the overall experience.
“The game mostly makes up for its shortcomings with a standout soundtrack.”
“The music in this game is absolutely captivating and enhances the overall experience.”
“Each track perfectly complements the gameplay, creating an immersive atmosphere.”
- graphics1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their gorgeous visuals and smooth performance at 60 frames per second, reminiscent of RPGs from a decade ago. The character designs, particularly Fidel and Miki, are well-written and relatable, enhancing the overall visual experience. Additionally, the late-game combat is noted as highly enjoyable, contributing to the game's aesthetic appeal.
“The graphics are absolutely stunning, with gorgeous visuals running at 60 frames per second.”
“The environments are beautifully designed, making exploration a visual delight.”
“The character models are incredibly detailed, adding depth to the overall experience.”
Critic Reviews
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness GBAtemp review
It seems Star Ocean fans are let down once again, with another mediocre entry for the series. This is hard to recommend, even to hardcore JRPG fans. Stale combat, and other gameplay issues ultimately prevent this game from being able to stand up with previous, more enjoyable Star Ocean titles.
58%Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness Review
Integrity and Faithlessness is a much faster game than previous Star Ocean entries, but it sacrifices narrative and contextual depth for it. There are a few interesting but unsuccessful design choices here which let the game down, but it mostly makes up for its shortcomings with a frenetic battle system, excellent character design, and a standout soundtrack. It's a little bit vague, and it's a little bit shallow, but there's still plenty of fun to be had in tri-Ace's latest, and for newcomers, it's by far the most approachable entry in the series.
70%Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
Drowning In Bad Decisions
50%
