Tears of Avia

45%
Game Brain Score Based on 42 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Tears of Avia Game Cover
With sluggish combat and not much in the way of new ideas, it's hard to recommend Tears of Avia to all but the most hardcore tactics fans.
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"Tears of Avia" is a turn-based action strategy game where players build their party and venture forth to discover the secrets of long-abandoned, ancient cities. Choose a Seeker to lead your party and assemble a team of characters representing traditional RPG classes. With five different classes and dozens of playable characters, each with unique skills and upgrades, create your party and make each fight your own. The fate of the war and your team's camaraderie hang in the balance.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

45%
Audience ScoreBased on 42 reviews
story5 positive mentions
grinding6 negative mentions
  • The game features colorful graphics and good Japanese voice acting, enhancing the overall experience.
  • Combat mechanics allow for strategic gameplay with a variety of skills and character customization options.
  • The game has a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic tactical RPGs, appealing to fans of the genre.
  • The game suffers from severe balance issues, with overpowered equipment making combat too easy and unchallenging.
  • The story is simplistic and lacks depth, failing to engage players or provide meaningful character development.
  • Controls and UI are clunky, leading to frustrating navigation and interactions within the game world.
  • story35 mentions

    The story in the game is generally considered mediocre and cliched, lacking depth and engagement, with many players noting its simplistic and uninspired nature. While some elements, like voice acting and certain narrative moments, are appreciated, the overall execution fails to captivate, leaving players feeling disconnected from the plot. The game is more focused on combat than storytelling, resulting in a lack of meaningful interactions and a world that feels underdeveloped.

    • “The story premise is interesting, but you will advance eventually on it, with some events in the cities, and other before starting a fight; this game is not story-driven.”
    • “The voice acting stands out and carries the story along.”
    • “Story moments when shown are interesting; I enjoyed the ending.”
    • “The story is cliched and awful.”
    • “Right off the bat you're a fated hero that's got to collect the various doodads before the evil guy does, no palace intrigue or clever drama to be had, just the barest layer of a plot to justify the gameplay.”
    • “Unfortunately it isn't, and the story similarly is not good enough to make you want to play the mediocre game just to see what happens next.”
  • gameplay21 mentions

    The gameplay of "Tears of Avia" is characterized by its turn-based tactical mechanics, which some players find engaging despite the overall clunky execution and poor balance. While the core mechanics offer potential depth through party customization and strategic decision-making, the simplistic story and tedious exploration detract from the experience. Overall, the game provides a decent tactical challenge, but many players feel it lacks the polish and compelling narrative to fully motivate them through its lengthy gameplay.

    • “Tears of Avia is a turn-based game that relies heavily on tactical gameplay.”
    • “However, as you upgrade your party members, the complexity and depth of gameplay becomes apparent.”
    • “It's a tactical game where the party composition, items, skills, and strategy that you design are just as fundamental to the gameplay as the battle itself.”
    • “The balance is busted, the story is simplistic, and the gameplay is overall just... kind of clunky in terms of actually executing your turns. Customizing your party is extremely tedious due to the way the towns are laid out and the fact that there aren't shortcuts for certain actions.”
    • “Right off the bat, you're a fated hero that's got to collect the various items before the evil guy does. There's no palace intrigue or clever drama to be had, just the barest layer of a plot to justify the gameplay.”
    • “Some RPGs, strategy or otherwise, do have stories that are good enough to make up for humdrum gameplay, but sadly, Tears of Avia does not have that either.”
  • graphics14 mentions

    The graphics of "Tears of Avia" receive mixed reviews, with some praising the art style and 4K support, while others criticize the animations and overall visual quality, likening it to older PS1-era graphics. Although technically competent with no major bugs, the game's visuals do not compensate for its gameplay shortcomings, leading to a consensus that good graphics alone do not make for a great gaming experience.

    • “Graphics-wise, Tears of Avia is stunning and supports up to 4K resolution.”
    • “The graphics are good, combat style is easy to follow, and the story is forming nicely from the start.”
    • “Art and graphics are well made; voice acting is enjoyable. Overall, you get what you are paying for and a little more.”
    • “This game has good graphics, but the animations aren't as good as they could be and the battles are a little bit slow.”
    • “The graphics and story (which I have admittedly not completed) are serviceable, but not spectacular.”
    • “This game is bull$hit, is unbalanced, is grindy, crashes, graphics look PS1 era, skills are godawful, and if you play in hardcore enemies will randomly kill you thanks to some stupid overtuned reflect just by attacking them.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and unbalanced, with clunky gameplay and simplistic mechanics that lead to repetitive battles. The lack of shortcuts and cumbersome party customization further exacerbate the grind, making the experience feel frustrating and unfair, especially in hardcore mode where enemies can deal devastating damage. While a recent update allowing players to skip animations has been appreciated, many still feel that the overall design leads to a grind-heavy experience that detracts from enjoyment.

    • “The balance is busted, the story is simplistic, the gameplay is overall just... kind of clunky in terms of actually executing your turns, customizing your party is extremely tedious due to the way the towns are laid out and the fact that there aren't shortcuts for certain actions.”
    • “Unfortunately, this makes the actual execution of battles pretty much tedious - you're not really doing anything different in any of them other than moving around and using the biggest nuke abilities you've got.”
    • “It's rare to find a strategy game that isn't beyond tedious and rife with opportunities to get yourself one-shot, followed nearly immediately by being dead (and a game over screen).”
  • music5 mentions

    The music in the game is generally considered basic, with most reviewers noting that the standout element is the catchy main menu theme. While the overall sound design lacks depth, some players feel that the battle music could benefit from being more upbeat during certain encounters.

    • “Good music and the main menu theme song is catchy.”
    • “Probably the only thing that needs some improvement is the battle music; it can be more upbeat at certain battles.”
    • “The sound and music are fairly basic, with not much beyond the menu music to note as standout.”
    • “The sound and music are fairly basic, with not much beyond the menu music to note as standout.”
    • “Probably the only thing that needs some improvement is the battle music; it could be more upbeat during certain battles.”
  • stability3 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with few technical bugs reported, such as minor control issues and no significant graphical glitches or crashes. However, some players have experienced bugs that affect gameplay, indicating that while the game is competent technically, there are still areas that need improvement.

    • “Well, it's buggy, but I like the effort put into it, especially the Japanese voice acting, and the world design and lore.”
    • “I'm still playing, I'm actually addicted to it, but I need to get past a certain level without glitches occurring.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development in the game is often criticized for being unclear, leading to confusion about the characters' intentions and motivations. While the 2D anime character design and voice acting are generally well-received, the overall execution of character development feels lacking and somewhat clunky.

    • “I often was unable to understand the intentions of various characters, and as a result, the character development suffered as well.”
    • “The 2D anime character design, voice acting, and core gameplay are decent, but the character development feels a bit clunky.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game's optimization is generally well-received, highlighted by a reasonable install size that suggests efficient resource management.

    • “Optimization seems good with the game being a reasonable install size.”
    • “The game runs smoothly on a variety of hardware, making it accessible to a wider audience.”
    • “I appreciate the frequent updates that improve performance and fix bugs, enhancing the overall experience.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    Tears of Avia is praised for its engaging tactical gameplay and a captivating anime-inspired atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.

    • “Tears of Avia features an intriguing tactical premise and a captivating anime atmosphere.”
    • “The game's atmosphere is immersive, drawing players into its beautifully crafted world.”
    • “The combination of stunning visuals and a haunting soundtrack creates an unforgettable atmosphere.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

36% average critic score

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