Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Jun 20, 2018
    91
    It’s a satisfying RPG with a steady pace and great gameplay. There are also plenty of sidequests if you want to pursue them, but it’s optional. One thing I really like are the raids which will happen on your little castaway village. These happen throughout the game and you can choose to participate in defending everyone from a monster raid. They’re also good for friendly competition with Dogi, and if there’s one thing I think Ys VIII does really well it’s things like this that keep things from ever getting too serious.
  2. 70
    Ys VIII is a fantastic action RPG with interesting characters and an intriguing story, which provides countless hours of exploration and banter.
  3. May 2, 2018
    65
    The Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana port is a complete mess. Full of problems and technical flaws, this is the worst version to play the best chapter of the series.
  4. May 14, 2018
    59
    Seriously? We had to wait for the PC port this long? With bugs and technical problems the once very good action roleplaying game is reduced to a meager shell.
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 86
  2. Negative: 13 out of 86
  1. Mar 7, 2019
    10
    Ys VIII is a marvelous game that will make you want to explore and discover all of the island mysteries over the course of the main game. TheYs VIII is a marvelous game that will make you want to explore and discover all of the island mysteries over the course of the main game. The gameplay is fluid and fast paced as expected of an Ys game. The soundtrack is amazing as always thanks to Falcom Sound Team jdk. Don't be fooled by the other reviews, the PC port is excellent and I never crashed once during the entire playthrough. Full Review »
  2. Sep 30, 2018
    9
    Port Analysis: Played the PC version. After 40+ hours for my initial playthrough, game only crashed once, had a couple of typos, and majorPort Analysis: Played the PC version. After 40+ hours for my initial playthrough, game only crashed once, had a couple of typos, and major slowdown in only one *optional* segment, so my experience overall was pretty good.

    Game itself, this was an unexpected gem. Didn't know what I was getting myself into (especially with this being my first Ys game), but I stayed, and absolutely enjoyed the whole ride. Good story, great cast, and excellent gameplay. Got the true ending in one go, and while it wasn't hard by any means, is definitely the ending the shoot for. Looking forward to the next one. Just please make the ports of future games better next time. I can see where the complaints are coming from. I also hope newer titles go for a more improved artsyle, or showcase better graphics overall. The opportunity is there. They should take it.
    Full Review »
  3. Jul 17, 2018
    8
    I'm just going to ignore the extreme failure of this NISA port and just pray they never get their filthy hands on another Ys title. AfterI'm just going to ignore the extreme failure of this NISA port and just pray they never get their filthy hands on another Ys title. After being extremely let down, hoping to play this over Christmas break 2017, we finally managed to receive the port, and about 3 months after release it became playable for me. Despite that, it's clearly the best title in the series and does so much right, it's not fair to the game to let the darkness of NISA cloud it any longer.

    Story: It's interesting but may appear to be very generic if you haven't played earlier Ys games, there's a host of nods and winks that it's hard to appreciate without knowing some of the lore, but for the most part it's very subtle. If you're in it for the story, there's enough bing bing wahoo! to keep you hooked, just enough mystery to push you forward, in fact the pacing is excellent, particularly for people who like to take it slow and conquer all of the side quests and exploration aspects.

    Gameplay: Combat is kind of like Tales of meets Dragon Quest Heroes, but enough uniqueness that keeps it fresh just long enough to not get too bored with it. Boss battles are epic but unfortunately felt dumbed down from previous titles. Baddies aren't scaled, they're confined to regions, which has its pro's and con's. It's thankfully fast paced but loot feels a little underwhelming.

    Music: One of the better aspects of the game, it really works with the fast pace of the action and the flow of the story.

    At the end of the day, there is just so much more that could have been done with it. I like Ys as a series very much, but this is undoubtedly a transition title. It felt like they wanted to keep the original feel and yet experiment with a bit more openness, a world that felt a little more lived in (despite the obvious setting of the island), a more robust experience. I can't really say if it exceeded fully, but it did succeed in making me very excited for the next Ys title.
    Full Review »