Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
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  1. Cubed3
    Nov 20, 2017
    70
    It is difficult to pull off, but Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth has managed to both make a solid SRPG and visual novel in the same game. The world is interesting, and the characters are enjoyable to play as and to see the world with, even though sometimes it is too reliant on common tropes. The combat system also has depth to it with a lot of systems in place to reward those who think several turns in advance. The problem is that both aspects of the game are somewhat bloated. For fans of both genres this will not be obvious or even an issue at all, but for those who only likes the former or the latter, this might quickly make either feel like it's overstaying its welcome, in a good 80+ hours long game.
  2. Atomix
    Oct 4, 2017
    70
    Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth is a great way to end one incredible and complex story like this one; it's guaranteed that fans will enjoy it the most. That being said, the game doesn't offer anything different from what we have seen in the past entries and still makes mistakes. Also, this is an aggressive game for newcomers.
  3. PlayStation Country
    Sep 10, 2017
    70
    Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth closes out the visual novel's story for those who played Mask of Deception. I wouldn't recommend you start with this title but for those who are already invested know that this is a great continuation with some minor improvements.
  5. Twinfinite
    Sep 5, 2017
    70
    While the story may take a bit of time to really get going, once it gets there it will grab a hold of your attention and refuse to let go. It is, ultimately, what the Utawarerumono series could have (and should have) been from the very start.
  6. Video Chums
    Sep 17, 2017
    68
    Although Mask of Truth is certainly a better game than Mask of Deception, it unfortunately retains many of its flaws. That being said, fans of the previous game will have a wonderful time finally seeing the conclusion to this two-part adventure.
  7. SpazioGames
    Jan 4, 2018
    65
    If you're a fan of visual novels and enjoy reading a story you can safely get Mask of Truth; the gamers who are actually looking for a challenge and don't care for the plot should probably look somewhere else instead.
  8. The Games Machine
    Sep 6, 2017
    65
    Mask of Truth is a talkative interactive visual novel, with some bland tactical battles that break sometimes the flow of the story. If you are not scared by such a river of words, you could find in this new Utawarerumono enough reasons to reach the end. Otherwise, Fire Emblem and Disgaea are still out there, waiting for you.
  9. GameSpew
    Sep 13, 2017
    60
    An unfortunately lengthy adventure with some fantastic characters, an intriguing narrative, and a simple but enjoyable strategic battle system. However, some abysmal design choices – namely, a lack of balance between visual novel and battle sections and a horrendous amount of bland filler content – severely tarnish the overall experience.
  10. PlayStation Universe
    Sep 5, 2017
    60
    Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth offers further content in the franchise. While the narrative base has an intrigue all its own, the vehicle by which it's received has flaws that can’t be ignored. It’s a visual novel with limited combat and some peculiar choices that somehow finds its way to a stellar conclusion.
  11. IGN Spain
    Sep 4, 2017
    60
    Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth is, once again, a mediocre visual novel riddled with sexual (and barely related) content that makes it almost impossible to feel comfortable playing. Once again the combat system is forgotten by dozens of hours of dialogue making Mask of the Truth only accessible for true lovers of the franchise.
  12. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Sep 4, 2017
    60
    Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth is an interesting hybrid of visual novel and strategy RPG that tilts, unfortunately for me, toward the former. As someone who didn’t much understand the story thanks to its awkward retelling of the events of the previous two games (and who didn’t enjoy the parts I did understand), I found the 1 to 2 hours of reading in between battles to be nearly unbearable.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 62
  3. Negative: 5 out of 62
  1. snakekill321
    Sep 11, 2017
    10
    If you are playing Mask of Truth, it is probably because you were entranced by Mask of Deception, and I can honestly say to anyone on theIf you are playing Mask of Truth, it is probably because you were entranced by Mask of Deception, and I can honestly say to anyone on the fence: do it. If you dont like Slice of life fr the first half, watch the anime, itll be quicker, but for those looking for almost 100 hours of living in another world, feeling the whole story, and having the cathartic feeling when it ends, I recommend the whole series.

    I hate visual novels. I dont like reading my video games, and you dont really rate the novel on its gameplay, because it is focusing more on telling a story. I picked up Mask of Deception because it was sold to me as an SRPG. I played it and got tired of it for a while, on a whim I picked it up, and Once i finished the first few battles, I fell in love with the cast, the characters, the story, the music, the whole damn thing. It was such a fresh experience. Even the beginning which is almost all slice of life, felt engaging. The music and the writing really made you feel like you were there. When the story finally picks up though, you feel the rush coming, when the climax is at the peak, it leaves you wanting more, and that is where Mask of Truth picks up. It maintains the same music, and style of writing, which is perfect, but more of the story is shown, and It has all sorts of plot twist and turns, and each character death really made me feel something, whether it was a guy I hated, or someone i loved. I teared up multiple times during this game. Suara, (the singer of most of the vocals) does a great job on these games, in fact she also did the songs for the Anime as well.

    I highly recommend anyone who likes a fantasy style atmosphere in their anime. If you are playing this just for the SRPG elements, I would say shy away from it unless you love a good story, the battles are few and far between, but I didnt play Mask of Truth for the gameplay, I wanted to finish the story, and as this is the onyl way to see the sequel in a non manga form, I gladly shelled out the money to finish my story with Haku and Kuon. I honestly feel empty and happy at the same time, It is one of those games that you want to forget so you can do it all again. It reminds us of why we are only human, and that nothing is perfect.    … Full Review »
  2. tomvs123
    Oct 5, 2020
    3
    When compared to the first game, this sequel is overly-long, cliche, has more plot holes, and is not nearly as interesting.

    The combat is    When compared to the first game, this sequel is overly-long, cliche, has more plot holes, and is not nearly as interesting.

    The combat is mostly the same as the last game and there's about twice as many combat missions, though that's due to the game being nearly twice as long. Combat is slightly harder. Where I failed no missions in the last game, I had to retry two missions in this game (one being one of the final bosses). Though this isn't really a game you play for the combat, so I'll get onto the story.

    I'll be brief and general here, as talking about the story could spoil the previous game (Mask of Deception), which you should play before considering playing this one.

    Whereas the last game kept me interested in the world due to strange (and believable) things being uncovered, this game takes a much more generic approach. There's very little new and interesting happening and the characters unfortunately become solidified into their stereotypes, which makes them less interesting.

    The first half of the game is all about a war that you're leading. The writers are not very good at war stories, so if you're into those types of stories, you'll be disappointed here. One of the main things they do is to have one side discuss what possible battle options there are, make a decision, and then switch to the enemy, who discusses the exact battle options. This is a writing trick to convince the reader/player that those are the only options that exist, which adds credibility to the plot. But the more critically-minded will see a large number of options that weren't discussed and see that the narrow-mindnesses of the opponents is due to the writers wanting to force the story to move in a certain direction, while providing these explanations as an attempt to improve believability.

    I should also point out that during the war section of the story, there's an individual enemy who vows to kill you, but never actually does. You get into numerous battles where he is about to make the final strike and possibly end your life, but something silly comes up that requires his attention and it turns into a children's "I'll get you next time!" fiasco.

    Oh, and there's the mind-altering bug that's implanted into a different individual to manufacture another opponent for you. Yep, we've got mind control here and it's the only instance of something like this being used with no reasonable world-explanation for its use. That's not bad on its own, but nonsensical stuff like this just keeps coming up over and over in the story.

    After the long (and arguably pointless) war section, you get back to the interesting stuff, such as the origins of this world, its people, and yourself. This section is also drawn out and has very little new to offer when compared to the previous game. New enemies are manufactured for you to fight, and for some reason, you must fight them multiple times. It seems as though the protagonist in this game has a hard time verifying whether someone is dead before declaring victory.

    You'll run into other writing issues here too, such as learning it's much easier than you expected to get this "key" that unlocks the secrets of the world - making some of the major actions in the previous game pointless. And coming across not one, but two, people/entities who want to destroy the world because they're depressed.

    Oh well, at least there was one well-written and touching scene in the middle of the game regarding a particular mother.

    Not exactly the game/story for people who easily notice (and dislike) plot holes, but decent enough if you liked the first game and just want to get more of these characters.    … Full Review »
  3. kaleidonec
    Jun 9, 2019
    9
    A step up to Utawarerumono Mask of Deception. It improves nearly every shortcoming the prequel has.
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