Blue Reflection

As a brand new IP, Blue Reflection does its job well and may serve as a good foundation for a sequel, with an enjoyable (albeit not all that original) story, good character development, a unique leveling system, and a stylish presentation. Sadly, most of the game's features resemble too much those found in the latest Persona games and, as such, the game doesn't feel very unique, while the low difficulty level prevents the RPG mechanics from reaching their full potential.

A number of issues with Blue Reflection quickly present themselves, such as some screen-tearing witnessed in the visual stakes and a questionable focus on the level of fan service wedged into the adventure, yet underneath these opinion-splitting matters there is an extremely enjoyable, memorable, and rather uncommon Japanese RPG adventure that will certainly leave an impression for the duration of the journey, as well as for a while after playing it.

Blue Reflection is a game that displays a heartwarming amount of beauty and grace even in the face of some tragically ugly flaws and mistakes. On a gameplay level, it never reaches the heights it wanted (or deserved) to, but as an overall experience, it feels like something special in a way few other games do.

A very special JRPG in which all the characters are teen girls. Turn based battles and the diverse relations established between the different girls are the main pillars of the game.

Considering this is a new IP with a small budget, the result is quite good. If you want an RPG without much emphasis on the combat and you like its theme, it can be a good option.

Blue Reflection is a good start for something even greater. It manages to perfectly capture the atmosphere of classic magical girl anime series, and does so with some of the prettiest visuals I’ve seen in a Japanese PS4 game. Unfortunately, it fails at making a truly engaging JRPG to go with it. The lack of a focus on combat is interesting, but it ends up making combat feel more like an afterthought than it ought to be. I hope Gust is willing to put out a sequel, because with some of these issues tackled, this could end up being my new favorite JRPG series.

Blue Reflection tells an accurate story of a high school girl who is coming to terms with becoming a magical girl. The game is graphically one of the best looking games from Gust that I have played and I applaud them for trying something new. There’s a lot to see in Blue Reflection if players put the time into the story, but if you’re looking level grinding and item collecting, this isn’t going to be the game for you.

Blue Refletion provides a unique twist on the JRPG format. Having the protagonist reflect on her own feelings of loss while trying to gain insight into other characters’s feelings in order to acquire their friendship is an interesting idea. The problem is the game doesn’t delve deep enough into this territory, and while this is a great design concept, it could be so much better if they took the idea further and added more depth to the characters. The mix of the real world with the Common is a good blend of environments and the gameplay in both is enjoyable but the time we spend in the Common exploring and fighting demons feels disproportionately short compared to the massive usage of cutscenes.

If you're looking for a simple and pretty easy jPRG, with an original concept and a good combat system, Blue Reflection could be a good fit. Otherwise, you'll find a game that's not so challenging, without grinding and no leveling.

In the end, I feel like Blue Reflection had some good things going for it. I didn’t mind the story even if it was a bit melodramatic more times than not, and the combat was in the right place, I just wish it would have offered up more of a challenge. Obviously, this is not a game for everybody, and the game knows its audience and caters to it the best way it can. Still, many fans of this style of game will find it overly simplistic and not difficult at all. While I enjoyed my time with it for the most part, there were still a few times I rolled my eyes at the things on screen. That’s going to happen with me in these games. Still, the target audience for Blue Reflection will enjoy it for the most part, although it may very well be too simple for their tastes.

Blue Reflection is just a repetitive and simple RPG full of colors and nice music. It's view of relationships is utilitarian and flat. Just another piece of fandom for the magical girl fans.

Nothing here will anger or upset you, but nothing will amaze or move you either. It's a steady, repetitive line to the end without any sort of escalation, but not everything need to be full of crazy turns and ups and downs.

Blue Reflection is but a mere reflection of what Gust is capable of. But, though flaws are many, there are some cool things you can enjoy here, especially if you are a hardcore JRPG fan. If not, and you are not into browsing through cute anime girls while listening to badass OST, skip this game like a YouTube ad - as soon as possible.

Blue Reflection is certainly not a title for every gamer: the fans of this genre might find something worth their time, while the hardcore gamers should probably look somewhere else.

Blue Reflection's combination of suggestive imagery with childish, performative femininity makes it difficult to ascertain just who its audience is meant to be; it reads like a game about women by someone who's never spoken to a woman before. In short, it's boring, unambitious, and in a year filled with outstanding RPGs, your time is best spent elsewhere.

Blue Reflection seems to want to tell a story more than wanting to be an RPG. The focus on delivering a coming of age tale, seeing all the characters deal with their growing pains during a typical school life comes across as genuine. If you don’t mind slow paced stories that dig deep into emotional context, then Blue Reflection will be an attractive proposition, especially for less experienced RPG fans who aren’t good at handling complex battle systems. The issue with Blue Reflection is that the game parts, those battle aspects of an RPG, aren’t well developed and lead to repetitive gameplay that soils the game’s overall experience, which some people might find to be on the tedious side, particularly if you’re more into action than story.

Despite the presence of a genuine and fun combat system at a turn, we need to point out that Blue Reflection has largely missed the target.

A limp, repetitive gameplay loop and uncomfortable characterization rob Blue Reflection of the magic it tries so desperately to create.

It’s really rather unfortunate just how much is missing from Blue Reflection. The bones of a good story and combat are there, with likable enough characters, but that’s it. The lack of options in both the school life and the Common are just deflating. The game feels like a Persona starter kit to a certain extent; it just needs more polish and more to do.

Quotation forthcoming.

Blue Reflection tries to take the social aspects of Persona and make them more streamlined and simplified but fails to make them interesting in any way. The combat and beautiful locations and character models add some light to the title, it’s not enough to make it stand out or memorable in any way.

Blue Reflection is a simple game that'll appeal to a very niche crowd of gamers. If you're looking for the next great JRPG then you won't find it here but if you just want to drool at pretty schoolgirls then you'd be silly not to pick this up.

It's a game that has a lot of promise, but feels cheaply made. There's some great ideas that are overshadowed by gameplay elements that don't add anything meaningful to the overall experience. While I loved the overarching themes and the characters, those elements were outshined by boring, repetitive gameplay, with boring and repetitive tasks that felt directionless most of the time. I can only hope, if a sequel is made, that Gust refocuses on how they want to make the gameplay interesting, because as it stands Blue Reflection lacks meaningful gameplay that doesn't work well with the storytelling it is attempting to provide.