Natural Doctrine

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 86
  3. Negative: 34 out of 86
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  1. tomvs123
    Jul 29, 2017
    7
    I went in with very low expectations and ended up liking the game. I'm a fan of good JRPGs and strategy games and I normally prefer story over gameplay, although the gameplay in this game is better than the story. My rating might be a point or two higher than it should be simply because I haven't played any good strategy RPGs in a long time.

    Story: Average. It's told almost entirely    I went in with very low expectations and ended up liking the game. I'm a fan of good JRPGs and strategy games and I normally prefer story over gameplay, although the gameplay in this game is better than the story. My rating might be a point or two higher than it should be simply because I haven't played any good strategy RPGs in a long time.

    Story: Average. It's told almost entirely through text and voice between missions. It's clear that the actual combat missions take priority over the story. The story isn't outright bad or childish like I've seen in many JRPGs, but it is relatively generic with a few small twists (good), and questionable character motivations (bad). Nothing substantial, new, or groundbreaking happens in the story, so if you're a junkie for unique and strange stories, you won't find any of that here.

    World: Basically non-existent. All you do are combat missions. There's no towns, shops, citizens to interact with, or anything that you'd normally expect from a strategy JRPG. You obtain weapons and rings in chests during missions, heal completely between missions, and can level up between missions.

    Character models: Better than the vita versions, but they look like low-end PS3 models.

    Gameplay / Combat: Difficult, challenging, and annoying. The combat system has almost no basis in reality and is more similar to a board game or chess (although those aren't great comparisons either). If you can accept that and get past the incredibly steep learning curve, then you might find the combat system to be unique and rewarding (I did). Don't expect to learn the combat system using the in-game tutorial. I read an online wiki to figure out how to not die during the first few missions and still fumbled through about half of the game before I finally fully figured out the system (on normal mode). That worked well for me since the difficulty picked up about half way through and I continued to be challenged. If I had not figured out the combat system, I likely would have hit a difficulty wall at some point and would have been unable to progress.

    The combat system is much less annoying after you fully learn it, but some annoying bits remain. Those are:

    1. It's very slow-paced. You might spend 20-50 minutes for each attempt at a mission, and most of that will be watching enemies move around or attack (which you don't need to see unless they kill one of your people). Tip: hold O to speed up time during some enemy actions.

    2. You will replay the same missions over and over. Not because you want to, but because the enemy had a surprise in store for you and killed one of your guys (any character death is a game over).

    So this is a game for people who like strategy games, are okay with a wonky, but mostly fair combat system, and are willing to spend time to fully learn that combat system.

    There's a new game+ option and a free post-game DLC mission. I've grown to like the combat system enough to want to complete that DLC, though probably not enough to replay the game in new game+ (which doesn't look like it offers much).    … Expand
  2. KenshinX
    Aug 26, 2020
    5
    The Fight mechanics for me the only interesting thing about this game, a lot of exploration.
    The Graphics are average,
    The Sound, nope, nothing that i ll keep in mind.
    The Story ... bof, we know almost NOTHING about he characters, the story is not compelling at all.

    I was disappointed.

Awards & Rankings

74
#74 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014
50
#50 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 31
  3. Negative: 10 out of 31
  1. Games Master UK
    Dec 21, 2014
    67
    It's complex and challenging in some really novel ways. [Christmas 2014, p.78]
  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Dec 5, 2014
    40
    Natural Doctrine is a brutal and ugly strategic game that will test your patience. The visuals are poor, the story insignificant and the combat mechanics are original and complex, but not rewarding at all.
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  3. The Digital Fix
    Dec 2, 2014
    70
    There’s a thin line between rock-hard gameplay and a broken game and while Natural Doctrine runs up to that line repeatedly it manages to never actually cross it. What it does manage, however, is to be a great example of the genre while also doing very little to bring it into the twenty-first century.
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