Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception

The first title of this two games saga manages to create a perfect environment for its sequel with a slow but interesting story along with an original but simple combat systems.

While reading off of my TV for forty hours took some getting used to, I’m glad I read Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception. The characters are well-written, it’s beautiful to look at, and I can’t wait to see where it’s all going.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception was a pleasant ride from beginning to end. While the pacing can be off with how infrequent the combat is, the story more than makes up for it. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments intermingled with the dramatic punches found within. Combined with the excellent voice acting and the charming art design, and fans of this genre will discover a lot to fall in love with.

Veterans of the genre, therefore, may not receive great satisfaction from this particular title.

An interesting mixture of visual novel and tactical roleplaying game with a strong focus on the narrative.

As a visual (kinetic) novel, Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception is quite good. It does take a long time to start, but once the story gets going, it is quite compelling. The music is fantastic, the voice acting is good, there’s a fun cast of characters, and the visuals are there. Unfortunately, as a game, it doesn’t do nearly as well. The tactical RPG part of the game lacks complexity and difficulty. The game doesn’t properly explain how the battle system works, and you will be left to fend for yourself to learn how to properly fight. If you can get over the 20 hour hump for the story to pick up, and can sit through the uninspired fights, then you can enjoy a story full of political intrigue that makes you realize how much you actually care for the characters and what they go through. However, if you are an impatient soul, and/or would prefer your games with good gameplay, stay far away. In short, this is a good visual novel, but a mediocre game.

A very "japanese inspired" visual novel with interesting added features like turned-based combat and plenty of humour.

Quotation forthcoming.

This is a visual novel with a little bit more of gameplay diversity, but not enough to be considered a SRPG. It's a good game for fans of the genre, who finally can enjoy without importing it.

Jump into Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception expecting a traditional Japanese visual novel experience, and you’ll no doubt be a little disappointed… but look past its intermittent battle sections and there’s a fulfilling character-driven tale just waiting to be uncovered.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception features an interesting story and great cast of characters coupled with excellent 2D visuals and voice acting, making it an easily entertaining experience in spite of its few shortcomings. While those looking for a complex and deep tactical RPG experience may find themselves disappointed, fans of the visual novel genre and the Utawarerumono series will definitely enjoy Mask of Deception and will end up looking forward to Mask of Truth.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception is a good visual novel that blends that genre in fairly seamlessly with strategy RPGs. It’s far more of a visual novel than an SRPG, but when the SRPG elements come in, they’re well-done. It plays well, but its slower pace isn’t going to be for everyone and being unable to skip things dos make this tougher to get through if you’ve already watched the anime and just want to experience the SRPG portions. It looks fine on both the PS4 and PS Vita, but the core graphics are from Vita, so anyone looking for a PS4-level game will be a bit disappointed due to iffy textures. The soundtrack is excellent and the all-Japanese voice work is full of life and passion.

While there are interesting turn-based battles to experience, there isn’t any depth to them and merely gives you a ‘feels good, looks great’ experience without any challenge whatsoever. It’s a streamlined experience that you should sit back and mindlessly enjoy, but nothing more.

While Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception won't break new ground in terms of narrative novelty or tactical depth, it remains an attractive, polished fantasy romp that will especially delight fans familiar with the original story. Everyone else, though, should be prepared to pick up the sequel, lest they leave the story halfway done.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception tells two different stories—one serious, one sexy—that are so at odds with one another that it loses itself in the process.

My experience of Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception went through some distinct phases, starting with interest, then devolving into boredom as nothing significant happens for a long while, before finally sucking me back in once things finally got moving. Those coming in expecting a deep tactical RPG simply won't find one. However, as a visual novel, and ignoring the problems of the first half, its second half did exactly what it needed to do to suck me in. Thankfully, the ending at least implies that the missteps of the first half should not be repeated in Mask of Truth, so taken as a package the two games could end up being a very worthwhile experience overall.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception is a visual novel first and foremost, with some strategy RPG battles scattered throughout. The story is pretty slow going, with the battles few and far between, but the characters are very likeable and contribute to some amusing scenes. One for fans of the genre.

Utawarerumono: Mask Of Deception is an old fashioned visual novel. The main story gets lost between all the badly written erotic content and the necessity of showing girls in non-natural position just for the fans.

If you're a fan of Utawarerumono then Mask of Deception is definitely a worthwhile addition to the series. However, everyone else will likely find the protracted plot and simplistic battle system to be ultimately underwhelming and tedious.

Overall, how much joy you’ll be able to find in Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception comes down to how patient you are willing to be with the game’s many missteps. If you manage to hang in there and look beyond the ugliness of the misogynistic themes and a cast that errs on the side of okay but falls short of its potential to be great, you will undoubtedly find an enchanting story that’s actually worth your time.