Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the DeepBlue

84%
Game Brain Score Based on 605 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • music
Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the DeepBlue Game Cover
Yet another action-platformer from Inti Creates.
Starting at $16.49Buy now
Get on Steam Get on Xbox Games Store Get on PS Store

"Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the DeepBlue" is a 2D metroidvania game set in the fantasy world of Yohane from "Love Live! Sunshine." As Yohane, players explore a monster-infested labyrinth, rescuing missing friends and gaining new abilities from items found. The layout of certain areas changes each visit, ensuring a fresh experience. Discover new items and treasures to enhance your abilities in this action-packed adventure.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

84%
Audience ScoreBased on 605 reviews
gameplay30 positive mentions
replayability14 negative mentions
  • Charming visuals and character designs that appeal to fans of the Love Live franchise.
  • Fun and accessible gameplay, making it a good introduction to the Metroidvania genre for beginners.
  • Engaging character interactions and voice acting that enhance the overall experience.
  • The game is quite short, with most players completing it in around 6-8 hours, leading to concerns about its value at full price.
  • Combat can feel clunky due to a lack of fluidity in attacks and movement, making some boss fights frustrating.
  • Limited enemy variety and a lack of replayability diminish the overall experience for players seeking depth.
  • gameplay96 mentions

    The gameplay of "Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblue" is generally well-received for its fun and easy-to-learn mechanics, with engaging boss fights that encourage experimentation with different strategies and character abilities. However, many players note the lack of replayability, minimal story depth, and some frustrating mechanics that detract from the overall experience. While the game features appealing visuals and a unique summoning system, it is criticized for feeling short and somewhat linear, leaving room for improvement in future iterations.

    • “Inti Creates did a good job here as usual - the gameplay itself feels great, and graphically the game is very well presented - cute CGs, high-quality pixel work, and the environments are interesting - the undersea theming fits Aqours nicely and the areas are colorful and unique.”
    • “The boss fights especially stood out - mechanically well done, and felt exactly like what you might fight in a DS Castlevania or even a Mega Man game.”
    • “Fun to control, the different character abilities never got too overwhelming despite having like 18 of them. Bosses were fun and some of them were pretty challenging, exploration segments were also fun because of the different environments, mechanics, and enemies. Overall, a fun package.”
    • “This will lead to some very frustrating boss mechanics.”
    • “It is 30 euros for around 8 hours of gameplay and close to no replayability, so you really have to take that into account.”
    • “This isn't necessarily a bad thing-- a lot of metroidvanias are short-- but it's just not good when the gameplay is largely comprised of okay exploration and then terrible bosses.”
  • story96 mentions

    The game's story is largely considered minimal and basic, serving primarily to justify the gameplay mechanics rather than offering a compelling narrative. While character interactions and voice acting are praised, many reviewers note that the plot lacks depth and engagement, making it feel disconnected from the source material. Overall, the story is seen as a secondary aspect, appealing mainly to fans of the franchise rather than those seeking a rich narrative experience.

    • “The story doesn't have any real ties to the anime aside from using the versions of these characters from that specifically, but all of the major characters reappear in the game, even featuring fully voiced dialogue with reprised roles from their seiyuu.”
    • “Story conversations feel like they fit right in with the anime it's based on and highlight each character's traits.”
    • “As far as the Love Live side of things, the character quirks and story are A+!”
    • “The story is very basic and straightforward, and generally amounts to your typical 'the story exists to justify the gameplay mechanics' type narrative in which there's no huge plot twists or anything; it really does all just seem to be there to add to the gameplay, like adding salt to pasta.”
    • “Additionally, the game gives you no context as to who you are or the overall story when you begin, so it's hard to have any buy-in unless you are already familiar with the character.”
    • “The story is a bunch of nonsense stuck together with duct tape.”
  • music85 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for being catchy and enjoyable, with standout tracks that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the atmospheric sound design and the integration of music into gameplay mechanics, such as the revival feature linked to musical scores. However, some express disappointment that certain songs are only accessible through rare drops, limiting their availability throughout the game.

    • “The music and sound effects are also very nice, especially the song that plays when Yohane uses her revival item and the one that plays at the end of the game.”
    • “The soundtrack is very boppin!”
    • “I love the sprite work for the enemies and bosses, the backgrounds are lovely, and the music is atmospheric and fun.”
    • “This game is quite the risk for the Love Live franchise as it doesn't really have a lot of rhythm-based, musical, fashion, or slice of life elements.”
    • “The pixel art is charming and expressive for the most part, the OST is good but it's a bit disappointing that some of the songs you can only hear when you use a music score, which is a rare drop and once you use it you have to farm it again.”
    • “I managed to get only 2 music scores throughout the entirety of the game.”
  • graphics51 mentions

    The graphics of "Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblue" have received high praise for their beautiful pixel art, vibrant environments, and polished animations. Reviewers highlight the unique enemy designs and colorful stage layouts, which contribute to an engaging visual experience, particularly for fans of the Love Live! franchise. While some minor critiques exist regarding certain visual effects, the overall aesthetic is described as bright, charming, and well-executed, consistent with Inti Creates' reputation for quality visuals.

    • “IntiCreates did a good job here as usual - the gameplay itself feels great, and graphically the game is very well presented - cute CGs, high-quality pixel work, and the environments are interesting - the undersea theming fits Aqours nicely and the areas are colorful and unique.”
    • “No shocker from IntiCreates as they always deliver on amazing visuals, but major props go to the very unique and interesting enemy design and to the backgrounds which are just breathtaking.”
    • “The visuals are amazing, seriously super pretty.”
    • “- graphics and animations/sprites are not great”
    • “[b]-- graphics --[/b]”
    • “---{ graphics }---”
  • replayability26 mentions

    Overall, the game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with most players completing it in 6-8 hours and feeling that a single playthrough suffices. While some enjoy the boss fights and the option for speedrunning or experimenting with different builds, the consensus is that the game offers little incentive to replay, especially given its price point.

    • “Had fun with it for my first playthrough, definitely replayability for the speedrunners and people who want to try different builds.”
    • “But the boss fights are incredibly fun (maybe even the best part of the game) and the environments are stunning, and of course our favorite aqours girls are playable.”
    • “Plus the price point is a bit too steep, as it's only 8 hours without much replayability.”
    • “Sadly, there isn't really much replayability with this one, as you can pretty much get all that you could want out of a single playthrough.”
    • “It is 30 euros for around 8 hours of gameplay and close to no replayability, so you really have to take that into account.”
    • “8 hours to 100% the game with no replayability for $30 doesn't seem like great value.”
  • grinding16 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some appreciate the necessity of grinding for resources like health and mana potions, many feel that the process can become tedious and overly reliant on RNG. The crafting and farming systems are criticized for lacking clarity, leading to frustration during item collection, although exploration remains engaging. Overall, while grinding is deemed acceptable, it can be excessively time-consuming, especially for certain valuable accessories.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “I was intending to make everything, but by the end of the game, the tedium of both trying to find the items and grinding for them (being either drops from enemies or destructible objects) kinda got to me.”
    • “Grinding is fine in games like this, but some of the accessories are super useful and extremely obnoxious to grind for.”
    • “But they also made it very grindy and tedious due to the RNG involved.”
  • humor16 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by cute and funny character interactions, particularly between Yohane and her friends, leading to absurd cutscenes and amusing dialogue. Fans of the Love Live series will appreciate the quirky character traits and comedic elements, such as the humorous abilities and antics of characters like Hanamaru and the "fat frog." While some players may find certain loud moments less appealing, the overall comedic tone is well-received by those familiar with the franchise.

    • “The dialogue is cute and pretty funny sometimes - Yohane seems to be taking her adventure a lot more seriously than some of her friends do, resulting in some ridiculous cutscenes.”
    • “From the 'zura' to 'gambaruby' to the sweet and often funny interactions between the members and Yohane (not Yoshiko) are what make the game even better, if you are a fan of the idol group.”
    • “I liked the fat frog thing because it sits on things and the you cannon is also funny.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The game exhibits some stability issues, with players reporting bugs that cause character freezing during gameplay. However, it runs smoothly on the Steam Deck without any significant glitches, errors, or crashes.

    • “Runs great on Steam Deck for those wondering!”
    • “Seems buggy; I was running around and attacking with my main weapon at 0 HP and 0 AP.”
    • “While doing so, she freezes in place... everywhere.”
    • “The game frequently crashes, making it nearly unplayable.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    The game's optimization is notably poor beyond the initial areas, which appear to have received more careful attention, leading to a disjointed experience in later sections. Reviewers highlight the need for patches to address these issues, alongside criticism of boss design. While some fans appreciate the strong performance and visuals, the overall optimization remains a significant concern.

    • “It feels like the first few areas of the game had extra attention paid to their optimization and balancing in order to make for an appealing demo.”
    • “It feels like the first few areas of the game had extra attention paid to their optimization and balancing in order to make for an appealing demo, but then the rest was sloppily cobbled together.”
    • “Tl;dr: poor optimization past the first few areas, atrocious boss design, needs to be patched for these things.”
    • “Performance:”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development has been criticized for its bland and uninspired designs, which detract from the overall experience. Additionally, players feel that the lack of engaging weapon and magic systems, along with no mana regeneration, further diminishes character growth and customization.

    • “The character design is extremely bland and boring.”
    • “Weapons and magic feel terrible.”
    • “There is no MP regeneration.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization of the game is generally viewed positively, with players appreciating the effort and care put into it, though some feel the initial price is somewhat high. Overall, it does not come across as a cash grab.

  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is not explicitly highlighted in the provided text, which primarily focuses on gameplay mechanics related to save points. There is no indication of emotional depth or narrative impact in this context.

  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its charming spritework, beautiful backgrounds, and engaging music, all of which contribute to a fun and immersive experience.

    • “I love the sprite work for the enemies and bosses; the backgrounds are lovely, and the music is atmospheric and fun.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

Buy Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the DeepBlue

Play time

8hMedian play time
8hAverage play time
7-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Similar Games

Game News