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[Labadal]

Tbh, ever since I played the demo, I don't need reviews.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Short or non existent review embargo means they're not confident in the results.

Hope the rest of you enjoy it!

 

[kingpotato]

Either they grossly underestimated orders, or this has a lot more attention than previous Vanillaware games, because I've never had this problem before pre-ordering one of their games.

Another option may be production issues for one of the switch components. For what it's worth, it seems like the PS5 and XSX Monarch versions don't have the huge delay. Also all 3 platform regular editions seem to be shipping on time. Who knows.

 

[kingpotato]

Short or non existent review embargo means they're not confident in the results.

Hope the rest of you enjoy it!

They put out an 8 hour demo... why are you trolling?

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

They put out an 8 hour demo... why are you trolling?

10% of the game? The tutorial onboarding section?

I'm not trolling. That's the strategy.

 

[kingpotato]

10% of the game? The tutorial onboarding section?

I'm not trolling. That's the strategy.

This isn't a good faith argument. To anyone who actually played the demo for that length of time, it would be obvious where the game stands. This isn't a AAA budget title where they are trying to control the narrative.

 

[bender]

Short or non existent review embargo means they're not confident in the results.

Hope the rest of you enjoy it!

 

[near]

When Men_in_Boxes tries to enter the Unicorn Overlord OT:

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

This isn't a good faith argument. To anyone who actually played the demo for that length of time, it would be obvious where the game stands. This isn't a AAA budget title where they are trying to control the narrative.

Nah, you're not speaking from a good faith perspective. To prove it, I will only have to turn on a fraction of my brain. About .03%

If a game reviewer was caught reviewing any game after 8 hours...when the game was 50 - 100 hours in length, you would riot.

You can not assess a games ultimate value by playing the first 8 hours...especially when it's a meaty RPG.

This is not even debatable.

 

[kingpotato]

Nah, you're not speaking from a good faith perspective. To prove it, I will only have to turn on a fraction of my brain. About .03%

If a game reviewer was caught reviewing any game after 8 hours...when the game was 50 - 100 hours in length, you would riot.

You can not assess a games ultimate value by playing the first 8 hours...especially when it's a meaty RPG.

This is not even debatable.

That's because reviewers understand that their opinion is a poor substitute for trying something yourself. Maybe you should use a little more of your brain.

What do you think is a more effective way of determining if you like cake: Listening to someone who has had 50-100 cakes tell you about it or taking a single bite yourself?

You play games but have you never contemplated their design? They are loops with challenges and rewards interleaved to keep players engaged. After 8 hours you can see the way the game is constructed well enough to be a judge of the final product.

Please don't reply.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

That's because reviewers understand that their opinion is a poor substitute for trying something yourself. Maybe you should use a little more of your brain.

What do you think is a more effective way of determining if you like cake: Listening to someone who has had 50-100 cakes tell you about it or taking a single bite yourself?

You play games but have you never contemplated their design? They are loops with challenges and rewards interleaved to keep players engaged. After 8 hours you can see the way the game is constructed well enough to be a judge of the final product.

Please don't reply.

It's not 1972 when games were simple.

The first 8 hours of a SRPG are not fully representative of the remaining 52. Tutorial and onboarding sections often feel different from the main game. This is really basic stuff.

 

[Danjin44]

Short or non existent review embargo means they're not confident in the results.

Hope the rest of you enjoy it!

Why the fuck are you even here? Its was clear you never in to this type of game in first place and you here just shit post.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Why the fuck are you even here? Its was clear you never in to this type of game in first place and you here just shit post.

This is not a healthy response. Talking about games shouldn't create this kind of toxicity. Snakes indeed.

 

[cireza]

Short or non existent review embargo means they're not confident in the results.

Bro, there is a 10 hours long demo available. WTF are you smoking ?

 

[Danjin44]

This is not a healthy response. Talking about games should create this kind of toxicity. Snakes indeed.

You are here to shit post and thats type of response you gonna get.

 

[Kacho]

If this game required an internet connection and was loaded with MTX he'd be nutting himself over it

 

[Danjin44]

If this game required an internet connection and was loaded with MTX he'd be nutting himself over it

He enjoys his GaaS garbage.

 

[Labadal]

This is not a healthy response. Talking about games shouldn't create this kind of toxicity. Snakes indeed.

Snake Oil Salesman

 

[bender]

To prove it, I will only have to turn on a fraction of my brain. About .03%

Is your brain off or on when you create threads on GAF?

 

[BossLackey]

Short or non existent review embargo means they're not confident in the results.

Hope the rest of you enjoy it!

That's not always how this works. And in the last couple years, it's not how most of the embargo dates work anymore.

Not to mention the FIVE HOUR demo.

You trollin'?

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

That's not always how this works. And in the last couple years, it's not how most of the embargo dates work anymore.

Not to mention the FIVE HOUR demo.

You trollin'?

I disagree. While there are exceptions, I generally think launch day review embargoes generally show a lack of confidence in the product.

The five, six, eight, ten hour demo put me on the fence. I neither loved it or hated it, which is a very reasonable position to take.

I don't think reasonable takes are trolling. I think this thread has a few toxic personalities who really gatekeep in a unhealthy manner. They want cheerleading only and will attack anything that can be viewed as a criticism.

To me that's boring and unhealthy. Not the way to talk games.

 

[Hudo]

I'm not trolling. That's the strategy.

Worked on me for Dragon Quest XI S. That demo is what got me into Dragon Quest.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Worked on me for Dragon Quest XI S. That demo is what got me into Dragon Quest.

That's reasonable too. Obviously demos can sell people on games or they can discourage some from buying. This demo put me on the fence. All are valid reactions obviously.

 

[BossLackey]

I generally think launch day review embargoes generally show a lack of confidence in the product.

So they have enough confidence in the game to release a sizable chunk of it for free for anyone to play, but not confident enough to have an earlier embargo lift? Does that make sense to you?

These two ideas are totally are irreconcilable.

This is why people are reacting to your comment this way. Because it legitimately doesn't make sense.

Just say you didn't like the demo. That makes sense. That's a good opinion to have.

And if a late embargo lift is all it takes to dissuade you from purchasing a game, then whatever. But to imply that this empirically denotes lack of confidence from the publisher, despite all the examples from the past few years in the contrary, and despite the thuddingly obvious confidence in releasing a demo and releasing the game a week from FFVII Rebirth, then you are either deluded or being intellectually dishonest.

It's not that you don't want to buy the game. It's that you're making assumptions based on vapor and acting as if it's concrete evidence.

 

[Danjin44]

So they have enough confidence in the game to release a sizable chunk of it for free for anyone to play, but not confident enough to have an earlier embargo lift? Does that make sense to you?

These two ideas are totally are irreconcilable.

This is why people are reacting to your comment this way. Because it legitimately doesn't make sense.

Just say you didn't like the demo. That makes sense. That's a good opinion to have.

And if a late embargo lift is all it takes to dissuade you from purchasing a game, then whatever. But to imply that this empirically denotes lack of confidence from the publisher, despite all the examples from the past few years in the contrary, and despite the thuddingly obvious confidence in releasing a demo and releasing the game a week from FFVII Rebirth, then you are either deluded or being intellectually dishonest.

It's not that you don't want to buy the game. It's that you're making assumptions based on vapor and acting as if it's concrete evidence.

Let me remind you that you are responding to a person who thinks every game should be "pay to win".

 

[Fake]

We know.

 

[BossLackey]

Let me remind you that you are responding to a person who thinks every game should be "pay to win".

I know, I just had to get it out for my own sanity

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

So they have enough confidence in the game to release a sizable chunk of it for free for anyone to play, but not confident enough to have an earlier embargo lift? Does that make sense to you?

These two ideas are totally are irreconcilable.

Completely disagree. The reaction to the demo is a different reaction than critics playing the full game. They know that. They don't want you knowing that. The idea that I would have to explain this to gamers is full on bizarre.

This is why people are reacting to your comment this way. Because it legitimately doesn't make sense.

It's ignorance combined with fanboyism. People just want to cheerlead for products because they have an unhealthy attachment to them. It's toxic.

Just say you didn't like the demo. That makes sense. That's a good opinion to have.

I thought the demo was fine. There were parts I liked and parts I didn't. Pretty reasonable take I think.

And if a late embargo lift is all it takes to dissuade you from purchasing a game, then whatever. But to imply that this empirically denotes lack of confidence from the publisher, despite all the examples from the past few years in the contrary,

Zero examples have been listed in this thread.

...then you are either deluded or being intellectually dishonest.

Or I'm being genuine but you don't like authentic opinions? That's the third option.

It's not that you don't want to buy the game. It's that you're making assumptions based on vapor and acting as if it's concrete evidence.

We all make choices based on a myriad of factors. I'm merely reaching a different conclusion than others, which HELLO, welcome to the human race?

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

This is why farty GaaS titles don't work: they don't keep the players engaged for long enough periods and then they come to threads for games they don't like and troll because they're bored with their own games.

 

[near]

I will buy this game on Day 1 if it gets above an 87 on Metacritic or Opencritic. I am doing this to mend the rift that has formed between Danjin44 and myself over the past few months.

I think the demo has generated good word of mouth and is good.

I'm bumping up my score threshold to "Over a 91" on Metacritic.

I played the demo on the hardest difficulty for a few hours last night and felt it was unrewarding. Josef is essentially a steamroller. Plus, none of the Battle Areas in the demo are big enough to be interesting imo.

Short or non existent review embargo means they're not confident in the results.

Hope the rest of you enjoy it!

This has been your thought process on the game so far:

I will buy this game if it scores above 87, so I can get in bed with Danjin

to

The demo has good word of mouth and is good

to

Nah, this needs to score over 91 on metacritic for me to give a shit

to

Late review embargo means game sucks, so I'm not buying it

This will be you trying to get into the OT after a thread ban for trolling:

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

This has been your thought process on the game so far:

I will buy this game if it scores above 87, so I can get in bed with Danjin

to

The demo has good word of mouth and is good

to

Nah, this needs to score over 91 on metacritic for me to give a shit

to

Late review embargo means game sucks, so I'm not buying it

This will be you trying to get into the OT after a thread ban for trolling:

Between the confusion of good natured humor and the blatant misrepresentation of actual quotes...you clearlyhave an agenda. An agenda not centered on truth.

 

[Danjin44]

Between the confusion of good natured humor and the blatant misrepresentation of actual quotes...you clearlyhave an agenda. An agenda not centered on truth.

Look who's talking......are you fucking kidding me right now!? And you get upset why people dont take you seriously!

You are walking joke but the sad part is no one finds you funny.

 

[CrustyBritches]

 

[Metnut]

I’ve been on the fence for this game for a while and the reviews will probably be the final decider. I really do appreciate them putting out the demo. I was leaning “no” initially (not because it looked bad, just because I’m flooded with massive new JRPGs that I want to play all releasing recently) and the positive impressions here on NeoGaf have gotten my attention.

I simply dont have time to invest 5-7 hours into a demo to see if I like it. The review embargo doesn’t really matter to me, because I can just wait to see how the reviews look. I have a good internal track record at picking out games that I like and am confident in being able to negotiate the reviews to see the info I need.

I’m hoping the reviews show a strong story and a gameplay loop that stays rewarding beyond 10-15 hour honeymoon period given that this looks like a long game.

 

[Labadal]

 

[Danjin44]

Its crazy how good the background art, its super detailed.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Official Monarch Edition unboxing from Atlus JP

 

[Labadal]

Its crazy how good the background art, its super detailed.

Yes, yes... the background.

 

[Needlecrash]

That's some nice lighting!

 

[Jedge]

I’ve been on the fence for this game for a while and the reviews will probably be the final decider. I really do appreciate them putting out the demo. I was leaning “no” initially (not because it looked bad, just because I’m flooded with massive new JRPGs that I want to play all releasing recently) and the positive impressions here on NeoGaf have gotten my attention.

I simply dont have time to invest 5-7 hours into a demo to see if I like it. The review embargo doesn’t really matter to me, because I can just wait to see how the reviews look. I have a good internal track record at picking out games that I like and am confident in being able to negotiate the reviews to see the info I need.

Not sure I understand why reviews are a hard set indicator whether you should purchase a game or not. Companies put out demo because they want people to try their game because they have confidence in their product. If you personally enjoy the game / demo who gives a fuck what the end score is. What would be an acceptable score for you to purchase a game? Because I guarantee you've played or bought a game or two at somepoint that doesn't meet a 90+ average standard.

There are also youtube reviews already of why you should play the demo. I would also argue there's many positive comments here, youtube, reddit etc enough for you to make an informed decision without relying on IGN to determine whether or not you should buy. The demo is 5-8 hrs depending and if you don't like that initial part then I don't see how a review changes your mind. This has been one of the most generous demos in recent memory. I hope the reviews will be great so they shut up a lot of haters

 

[ANDS]

Completely disagree. The reaction to the demo is a different reaction than critics playing the full game. They know that. They don't want you knowing that. The idea that I would have to explain this to gamers is full on bizarre.

Listen, I like a good conspiracy theory and think some of the cheerleading around this game has been a bit much, but this is an INCREDIBLY tortured position to have that requires folks to accept an incredible amount of insight into closed editorial rooms on the part of a very small Japanese developer.

Your position makes no sense and not even evoking the specter of a "compromised gaming press" (again, we're talking the influence of a small Japanese developer) can cover just how silly it is.

. . .good read though.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Great ray bounces in this scene, and do I see a hint of subsurface scattering on that character model there? Guess I'll need to inspect it lil closer to be sure.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Listen, I like a good conspiracy theory and think some of the cheerleading around this game has been a bit much, but this is an INCREDIBLY tortured position to have that requires folks to accept an incredible amount of insight into closed editorial rooms on the part of a very small Japanese developer.

Your position makes no sense and not even evoking the specter of a "compromised gaming press" (again, we're talking the influence of a small Japanese developer) can cover just how silly it is.

. . .good read though.

"We just completed our internal playtests. Would you like to hear what they showed?

"Absolutely."

"Our players generally enjoyed the first 8 or so hours of the game but felt like the 2nd half really dragged. We anticipate we're going to get a lot of 7's from critics. How do you think we should build our pre release marketing?"

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Unicorn Overlord (Switch) is currently the best selling game on Amazon Canada, and it's beating out Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

 

[ANDS]

"We just completed our internal playtests. Would you like to hear what they showed?

"Absolutely."

"Our players generally enjoyed the first 8 or so hours of the game but felt like the 2nd half really dragged. We anticipate we're going to get a lot of 7's from critics. How do you think we should build our pre release marketing?"

. . .so Vanillaware - again, a small Japanese studio who up until this thread, hasn't been known to game the gaming-press (and in fact has largely bucked Western "standards" to remain true to their artistic vision, reception be damned) - connives this incredibly cynical plan to dupe players by offering through a demo the portion of their game they know to be solid all in an attempt to gimmick up support for the game (and thus sales), and plans to succeed at this by hiding the worst parts of their game by not providing review copies of the game to the gaming press? Like, all of that sounds perfectly reasonable from Vanillaware. . .of all developers?

 

[Labadal]

"We just completed our internal playtests. Would you like to hear what they showed?

"Absolutely."

"Our players generally enjoyed the first 8 or so hours of the game but felt like the 2nd half really dragged. We anticipate we're going to get a lot of 7's from critics. How do you think we should build our pre release marketing?"

I think that some of us just really know what they want. Your approach isn't wrong for you, and my approach isn't wrong for me.

Why do I want it only playing the demo?
It's VanillaWare
Ogre Battle spiritual successor
Further incentive to buy the game was a good demo

I rarely get a game "wrong".

 

[Danjin44]

 

[NanaMiku]

Nice, Endou Aya. Pretty stacked VA for JP voice

 

[Renoir]

Official Monarch Edition unboxing from Atlus JP

Man.. I’m glad I got the collectors. Wish they came out with a All Works book with the art of all the games.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Once again, the development costs ran out, and Vanillaware had to carry out their bicycles every time. However, the result of the work is not a complete version, it is actually "3"... 10 years of conflict is not just a story! Noma-kun's ideals persisted. Enjoy it. (Moriharu Kamiya)

Unicorn Overlord Countdown Commemorative Art - 1 day or 12 hours left

Art by: Vanillaware President, CEO and Executive Producer George Kamitani