CRYMACHINA (2023) [PC] review

“Fight. Kill. Struggle. And Despite it all, live. Live, live, live, and survive.”

CRYMACHINA, a follow up to FuRyu’s Crystar, is a SCI-FI post apocalyptic Japanese role-playing game about discovering the truth behind the downfall of humankind. This game was developed by FuRyu (The Caligula Effect) and localized by NIS America (Disgaea). CRYMACHINA features action based gameplay, and most of the combat in the game takes place during boss fights with usually only a few minor enemies. The main focus of this game is the storytelling and dialogue between the main party and the main protagonist, Leben Distel. The rest of the party consists of three ofther major characters, Ami Shido, Mikoto Sengiku, and Enoa. For JRPG standards this game is relatively short, hitting around 15 – 20 hours of main story.

New World

The game takes place on a construct in space called Eden, and there are eight entities that govern it called Deus ex Machina. Each Deus ex Machina is in charge of its own domain, and throughout the game the party goes through the coordinates of each domains. The construct was developed in hopes that it can one day revive humanity. The initial premise for the main party is to eventually develop into true humans by garnering experience. Until then, they remained as humanoid-like machine girls.

CRYMACHINA has a simple linear format. The player reads required dialogue in order to unlock new coordinates for a new mission, completes that mission to unlock more required dialogue. In a nutshell, it’s that pattern, rinsed and repeated, however there’s a plethora of optional dialogue to read as well which is very much worth it. Each mission consists of traversing through a small level, usually consisting of a few corridors and minor enemies. There’s little room for exploration and discovering things outside of the main path of each coordinate. This pattern can become monotonous, there isn’t a whole lot to the combat outside of dodging, attacking, using secondary weapons, and parrying. Luckily, each boss at the end of each stage has different move sets to keep things less repetitive.

As the game progresses, there’s important dialogue throughout these missions. However, the further into the game, the more grind heavy it gets. It isn’t nearly as grindy as Monark (another game by FuRyu) but it can be tedious. Exp obtained can only be used on one character at a time to level up as they each have their own unique stats. The player also receives EGO, which can be used to strengthen individual stats and support mechanics from Enoa. Each playable character is mandatory, so it’s vital to keep them up to level, which results in most of the grinding in the game.

What does it mean to be human?

As I mentioned, a lot of the focus is on dialogue and characters. The most endearing aspect of CRYMACHINA are the characters and their interactions. The developments and struggles within the relationships of the party members is more developed than the overarching plot. The protagonists stick out for each other, like a family, and there are some good moments in the story due to this. Despite this strong point, the plot is confusing for a 15-hour game. The pacing is fast, there’s often major events/plot twists occurring after every three stages, with characters developing relatively fast. It seems like this game could’ve been longer and more developed for all that it is.

I had only heard about this game maybe three weeks before it was released, and it’s the second FuRyu game I’ve touched outside of Monark. Personally I did enjoy this game, I didn’t know what to expect from this game other than mechanical waifus. The protagonist’s relationships and struggles are what makes it worth playing. On the other hand, a lot of aspects of this game seem rushed. The story’s lightning pace is its biggest downside. Its main focus shifts quite often, revealing threat after threat, becoming convoluted. The gameplay is bare bones, and the segments of combat are relatively short, so one shouldn’t expect too much in that department.

I can’t recommend this game to many people at full price. I’d say that this is a good game to play for people who like all-female casts and romance. It’s also good for people who have affinity to internal relationships over overarching casts. This game has very intriguing views on what it means to be human as well. There are just too many aspects of this game that I think fall short. The cast is endearing, but I feel that more time was needed with them. There needed to be more time with lore and world building. There are still many questions I have even after finishing the game. Even still, it’s a good story despite its flaws, but I recommend buying this on a sale.

I’m glad I got to experience this game. Thanks to NIS America for providing a review copy.

BROKEN PIXEL

Not Recommended

Zerinus is a hobbyist writer, music lover, gamer, and vinyl collector. I’m usually Zerinus or DivineZerinus on social platforms such as Twitter.