Neptunia ReVerse

Neptunia ReVerse is a wonderful iteration of a lovely RPG classic that both fans and newcomers can enjoy. With oodles of content, a nifty new mode, and even a fishing mini-game; it's hard not to have a blast while playing through Neptunia's debut adventure on PS5.

If you love the fanservice and the typical demented humor that distinguishes Japanese productions, Neptunia ReVerse will be the perfect starting point to discover (or rediscover) a franchise that has now become a cult among fans of Japanese role-playing games.

For newcomers to the series, Neptunia ReVerse isn't a bad starting point. The story is breezy and the overall gameplay is good, even if you have to deal with uneven difficulty. For veterans, the new fishing minigame is cute, but Arrange mode throws off the balance and isn't much of an incentive to return to the game. Overall, it isn't a bad PS5-exclusive RPG, but you might want to wait for the team to develop something new for the platform.

While Neptunia ReVerse is a great package for newcomers to get into Neptunia games, veterans should wait for a sale before jumping into Compile Heart's first PS5 release.

Compile Heart, and the Neptunia series in particular, have the kind of negative reputation that begs you to push through and find the treasure that keeps these games releasing a full decade later. Sadly, if there is a diamond in all this rough, it’s not to be found in Neptunia ReVerse. The repetitiveness of the core experience is unlikely to win over non-fans, and longtime fans will feel disappointed, if not insulted, by the lack of changes from Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1, and PlayStation 5 exclusivity proves the final nail in the coffin for this remaster in search of an audience.

Despite its strengths, Neptunia ReVerse should have been so much more. The best parts of the original continue to hold up, with a hilarious script and engaging combat. Yet, this is a remake to a fault. The game looks basic for a PS5 game while the narrative ignores the larger cast. The new features like fishing are welcomed, but aren't implemented well enough. By adding very little and doing nothing to take advantage of the new hardware, Neptune's latest ultimately feels like a missed opportunity.

Neptunia ReVerse improves a few things from the Vita version, but it ultimately feels like a test of things to come. The fishing minigame is the only real use of the DualSense’s triggers, and while the game’s loading times have been basically erased, that is likely due to the PS5’s SSD speed and little else. It helps when the game’s assets aren’t all that graphically intense to begin with, after all. Neptunia ReVerse plays it safe with a standard JRPG setup for this long-running series, and while it’s something fans of the series will have some fun with, it’s not necessarily a standout title. Neptune has seen better treatment, but she has also seen worse. Thus, fans could hardly go wrong in picking this re-remake up in the near future.

Neptunia ReVerse is a title that sticks too closely to its roots to be a standout, next-gen experience. Despite the presence of a moderately entertaining gameplay loop, decent mechanics, and delightful character banter, the embarrassingly feeble graphical quality, lack of innovation for the series, and disturbingly overt reliance on old systems from a Vita remake from over half a decade ago brings this experience down more than a few notches.