Star Ocean: The Divine Force

 PC
User Score
4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 41
  3. Negative: 21 out of 41

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  1. Claymoresmash
    Mar 15, 2023
    8
    The good news is that it is better than 5, and maybe even 4. It's in a close race with 3 and 1, but can't beat out 2 at all. You'll stay engaged because of the great characters (Laeticia and Raymond carry the theme and story along), but you might lose focus due to all the backtracking and trying to find private events. Still, a much better showing than the last one, and a lot, A LOT, moreThe good news is that it is better than 5, and maybe even 4. It's in a close race with 3 and 1, but can't beat out 2 at all. You'll stay engaged because of the great characters (Laeticia and Raymond carry the theme and story along), but you might lose focus due to all the backtracking and trying to find private events. Still, a much better showing than the last one, and a lot, A LOT, more effort, time, and planning went into this game than 5. If you're a Star Ocean fan, I highly recommend it.… Expand
  2. Retro_Player_77
    Nov 5, 2022
    0
    Game doesn't work on Steam Deck meaning I can't give it a score. Sad too cause I bought this game with real money.
  3. marcila
    Nov 20, 2022
    8
    Intriguing plot and interesting characters. Generic battles are too easy, but some bosses give enough of a challenge. Game however is not optimized for PC, expect to recompile shaders from time to time but it doesn't take away too much from the game from my perspective.
  4. Plipd
    Dec 15, 2022
    8
    Pretty impressed what Tri-Ace delivered on budget!
    Main story is by far not the best from the series, it's a bit short and I would love to see twists like in SO2 and SO3, but anyway not bad. Open areas could have more enemies and things to discover, but it's okay. Besides that it is way to easy to rush through the story if you are leveled a bit, enemies stand no chance. BUT: Battles are    Pretty impressed what Tri-Ace delivered on budget!
    Main story is by far not the best from the series, it's a bit short and I would love to see twists like in SO2 and SO3, but anyway not bad. Open areas could have more enemies and things to discover, but it's okay. Besides that it is way to easy to rush through the story if you are leveled a bit, enemies stand no chance. BUT: Battles are awesome, voice acting is awesome, skills and leveling is great and when it comes to item creation(a bit too much rng): there are so many different factors to play with while synthesizing. Buffs gained from Item Creation are crazy!

    So far I like this Star Ocean a lot, it has a lot of improvements, but lacks at some points (latest update for steam removes most of the performance problems!).

    But for me it was a very good game which caught me already for ~70h.    … Expand
  5. lenneth4
    Oct 29, 2022
    10
    This game is my GOTY, the Duma gameplay changes everything once you get it and adds even more fun than before, fun during battles and fun during exploration.
  6. shin777
    Oct 28, 2022
    0
    Cant play the game on steam deck outside home cause you put denuvo in all of your games, plus the slutter it causes....
  7. Itsmine
    Oct 31, 2022
    10
    I've put about 10 hours into this game so far it's been great I would recommend it
  8. PersonAHAHAH
    Nov 5, 2022
    10
    Great game I really loved it.
    the +
    - battle system
    - script
    - lifetime
    - we want to play the other opuses of the saga

    The lessers
    - a little aliasing (but it's not annoying)
    -drops in fps (but it's not annoying either)

    I highly recommend this game if you are curious, it is available on PS4/PS5, XBOX one/ serie XS & PC on steam
  9. Tzelanit
    Nov 8, 2022
    0
    Yet another mediocre JRPG, and another bad entry for a series that had its legacy destroyed. It's amazing that The Second Story was the last good Star Ocean game, but people keep paying tri-Ace and Square Enix, who've been past their prime for over a decade now, to keep pumping out terrible entries.

    Looks like a PS3 game when things get busy on the screen, and barely reaches PS4 levels    Yet another mediocre JRPG, and another bad entry for a series that had its legacy destroyed. It's amazing that The Second Story was the last good Star Ocean game, but people keep paying tri-Ace and Square Enix, who've been past their prime for over a decade now, to keep pumping out terrible entries.

    Looks like a PS3 game when things get busy on the screen, and barely reaches PS4 levels of fidelity if standing perfectly still in an empty area. The optimization is garbage, so there are a lot of rough edges and performance dips.

    The story is more standard generic Star Ocean: someone on a space fleet gets stranded on a redneck planet and uncovers a plot that affects the universe, so everyone has to come together to stop this threat. So, typical Saturday morning weeb garbage that only 9-year-olds or emotionally-addled teenagers would give a score of a 10 to.

    The gameplay starts off strong and then devolves into a repetitive whack-a-mole against traditional Japanese design principles: AKA bosses being damage sponges who only really threaten you because they drag out a fight and expend your resources.

    The series should've stopped a long time ago, but the 14 people still playing this series who started with Til the End of Time who think THAT'S what Star Ocean should be keep signaling to these greedy developers that they're willing to pay literally any amount of money to have their nostalgia stroked.

    Hard pass. Waste of money unless you're either physically or emotionally a child and are easily impressed by pretty colors and simple stories with predictable outcomes.    … Expand
  10. Arylon
    Jun 23, 2023
    9
    It's the best Star Ocean. Good combat, good art direction, good characters, good ost and ok story. My only complaint is the optimizaiton; it often stutters at the start of many maps.
  11. YoCHIDAHHH
    Nov 12, 2022
    10
    This game has an amazing plot, likeable characters with developed personalities, and a memorable art style. The ending will stick with you for a very long time. I cannot give a 9.9 so a 10 shall suffice.
    Thank you for reading my review.
  12. Alfredaponte
    Feb 26, 2023
    10
    This is my experience after playing about 60 hours of this game:
    The game i will point its pros and cons but I firmly believe this game a 90 and 10 out 10. When you can strongly see Tri Ace  6 installement of this franchise had a limited budget. The flaws of this i will honestly express them.
    Cons: 1. The game sadly does not work on the steam deck. 2. Game has its bugs and glitches 3. The    This is my experience after playing about 60 hours of this game:
    The game i will point its pros and cons but I firmly believe this game a 90 and 10 out 10. When you can strongly see Tri Ace  6 installement of this franchise had a limited budget. The flaws of this i will honestly express them.
    Cons:
    1. The game sadly does not work on the steam deck.
    2. Game has its bugs and glitches 3. The Animations are less polished.
    Now after seeing this cons what make this game an amazing jrpg are
    Pros:
    1. Dynamic and amazing gameplay 2. THE HEART OF THIS GAME an AMAZING STORY AND Narrative.
    3. The biggest factor of this jrpg is its amazing character development and growth from the main characters to the side characters.
    4. You literally see the impact and conviction that the writers but their heart and soul in this game.
    5. Refreshing Jrpg.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Hooked Gamers
    Dec 6, 2022
    60
    I have seen this game described as an "Open World", which is categorically untrue. While the level design has a degree of openness to them, giving the player multiple routes to reach their objective they are still decidedly structured. There is no seeing a mountain off in the distance and walking until you reach its summit. This is not a complaint, as I tend to prefer a smaller, crafted level with multiple pathways to a sprawling sandbox with little structure or logic. It helps that the game gives you some interesting travel mechanics to get around as well. After the first boss, you get a mechanical device that follows you around and allows you to fly for short periods of time, which is probably the single most enjoyable part of the whole game. I never got tired of zipping up cliff faces or floating onto the weird hovering islands that inexplicably dot the landscape. The game encourages this by sprinkling upgrade tokens and items but if I'm being honest I probably would have done it without them.
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  2. KeenGamer
    Dec 1, 2022
    90
    Star Ocean: The Divine Force is the breath of fresh air Star Ocean fans have been waiting for. The storytelling is satisfying and fun, the gameplay is innovative and exciting, and the visuals are colorful and fantastical! Even further, The Divine Force offers a beautiful soundtrack and a handful of challenging battles that ultimately provide a very rewarding experience! Although there are some imperfections, The Divine Force is a magnificent installment in the Star Ocean series!
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  3. ZTGD
    Nov 23, 2022
    65
    Due to a myriad of issues both big and small, Star Ocean: The Divine Force feels less like a step in the right direction but instead, a stumble towards the goal. Still, the excellent combat and a more enjoyable story shows that there is still life amongst the stars and I sincerely hope that the series will continue and improve even further.
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