Earthlock

 Switch
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 28
  3. Negative: 3 out of 28
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  1. MrTusks
    May 31, 2018
    6
    I grabbed Earthlock because I wanted an old-school turn-based RPG to hold me over before Octopath Traveler, and I can report that it serves that purpose perfectly well!

    Basically, you command a group of colorful characters in an effort to save the world. If you've played Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy IX, you'll feel right at home. It hits all of the sweet spots that AAA RPGs tend to    I grabbed Earthlock because I wanted an old-school turn-based RPG to hold me over before Octopath Traveler, and I can report that it serves that purpose perfectly well!

    Basically, you command a group of colorful characters in an effort to save the world. If you've played Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy IX, you'll feel right at home. It hits all of the sweet spots that AAA RPGs tend to ignore nowadays, like true turn-based combat, static character classes, and a single linear story. Explore a dungeon, fight monsters, loot chests, hope you make it to the next save point. All good stuff.

    Unfortunately, the pacing docks it several points for me. Battles are slow (you can speed them up, but you have to toggle it on every battle). Natural progression will lead you to bosses you have no hope of beating, forcing you to grind. Instead of MP there are "amri points," which require you to skip a turn to recharge. The battle menu is confusing at first and annoying for the rest of the time, occasionally leading to missed button presses--I don't think Square has a copyright on the Fight Magic Item menu, do they? The confluence of all these factors make the game susceptible to the major complaint I have with games these days: It drags, and I'm ready for it to end so I can move on to something else.

    All in all, its good if you can get it on sale. Unless Octopath is out when you read this, then just get Octopath.    … Expand
  2. mangopy
    Apr 2, 2020
    8
    I enjoyed it. Almost like pokemon style battles which are turn-based. There is a group of characters that you play and you get to build your weapons with the scarce materials around the game and the bosses are challenging as well. I bought it for more or less Php200+ but I think it's worth it for that price since it took me months to finish the game.
  3. disposable
    Jan 13, 2020
    2
    Earthlock is a JRPG-like with a mediocre plot, flat characters, and broken combat/progression system. The exp system is constructed to reward fighting large groups of enemies while giving nearly no exp for fighting groups around the player's party size or fewer. This seems like a clever way to reward the inherent difficulty involved in fighting large groups, except the balance is so skewedEarthlock is a JRPG-like with a mediocre plot, flat characters, and broken combat/progression system. The exp system is constructed to reward fighting large groups of enemies while giving nearly no exp for fighting groups around the player's party size or fewer. This seems like a clever way to reward the inherent difficulty involved in fighting large groups, except the balance is so skewed to the horde side that you're better off avoiding any fight with 6 or fewer enemies. If you don't spend time kiting enemies around for exp balls, it's perfectly possible to feel as though you've invested the usual JRPG time commitment fighting mobs while reaching near the end of the game with a single digit level.

    The combat itself isn't much better. To make the horde reward challenging to attain, you only get effective multitarget attacks on certain characters when in a super state with a long cooldown. Enemies tend to have too much health for attacks outside super state, while seeming almost feeble while in super. To make matters worse, the usual balm for JRPG balance woes- equipment- is unrewarding at best. I spent maybe around an hour grinding scrap piles for a midgame dagger only to discover that it gave 20 fewer attack points compared to the starting dagger. Other games don't do this for good reason. First, it's unrewarding. Second, it means that players struggling with boss fights can't turn to the usual 'get money and upgrade gear' method that lets you complete the game even if you can't quite grasp what the dev wanted out of boss fight X.

    Not that the game's plot is worth sticking out the boss fights for. The MC wants to save his sick uncle. That's most of it. Simplicity can facilitate great plots with strong characters behind it, but these are some of the worst I've seen. Look, easy test to see if a set of characters is fleshed out, rather than just tropey sock-puppets. Try to ignore what a character looks like when you read their speech bubble. If you can't tell them apart anymore, the writer was relying on your preconceived notions about what a character looks like to characterize them. Every character in this game has the same voice. What I think really did it for me, though, were the patronizing all caps "WE CAN DO THIS" messages before boss fights. It's the same one before each, but sometimes different characters say... the same message. It makes it abundantly clear that each character is completely interchangeable outside of artistic design.

    A quick note that saves are restricted to statues sparsely scattered around the game. You can't save anywhere else, not even in the overworld. Suffering the combat isn't enough commitment for Earthlock, apparently.

    It's a bad JRPG and I honestly regret playing it. I even like frogs, which makes this more sad than spiteful.    … Expand
  4. evolvia31
    Aug 23, 2018
    8
    un trés bon JRPG, la traduction Fr est vraiment bonne, les missions et l'histoire dans la moyenne haute.
    par contre juste un petit bémol, il faut faire un peu de grind pour battre certains boss.
  5. CraigEchols
    Apr 11, 2020
    6
    I got this game when it was on a big sale and I'm glad I did. Obviously an ode to the turn-based RPGs of old, this game can be difficult for those who aren't used to really paying attention to the intricacies of an overall RPG battle. The stance system is innovative albeit a bit cumbersome and annoying sometimes, but in that it is what makes it important. Think twice about taking on bigI got this game when it was on a big sale and I'm glad I did. Obviously an ode to the turn-based RPGs of old, this game can be difficult for those who aren't used to really paying attention to the intricacies of an overall RPG battle. The stance system is innovative albeit a bit cumbersome and annoying sometimes, but in that it is what makes it important. Think twice about taking on big team battles because enemies are very capable of bringing down someone if not everyone in your team. And the bosses cannot be beat simply by spamming the attack command.

    Earthlock may take some getting used to, but a colorful and jeery cast, pretty visuals, and a relaxing soundtrack (I love the title song Festival of Magic and learned it on the piano because of this game) make the game an original and rewarding experience.

    Addendum: So after reaching the second half of the game, i was unfortunately bogged down by an annoying difficulty spike. Normally, i don't mind mind those, however, it is executed poorly in this game. There is a difference in a game being difficult and a game requiring you to over-level your characters with tedious grinding. The former describes the first half of the game, the latter describes the second half. Not only do enemies out number you, but it essentially turns into survival mode of avoiding battles and finding worthwhile areas to grind endlessly in artificially extending the life of the game. That is no fun. Therefore, I am dropping my initial score down by two points because there is no need for that. Its a shame because I was really enjoying this game till that happened.    … Expand
  6. WizardOfBangkok
    Jun 20, 2018
    8
    Bought this game on launch as I had read about its classic RPG elements. The game has an attractive world, great turn based battle, likeable characters and the levelling up via the card system really works.
    The only part that stopped me giving this higher than an 8 was the fast travel and save system. It’s not possible to save on the world map and to fast travel from one location to    Bought this game on launch as I had read about its classic RPG elements. The game has an attractive world, great turn based battle, likeable characters and the levelling up via the card system really works.
    The only part that stopped me giving this higher than an 8 was the fast travel and save system. It’s not possible to save on the world map and to fast travel from one location to another you must go via your ‘base’. If these elements were improved it would definitely be a great title in relation to the price.    … Expand
  7. lehmanma
    Jun 3, 2020
    5
    It’s a fun(ish) kind of throwaway rpg. The combat is ok. The battle system is pretty shallow. My biggest gripe is that the characters are uninteresting and lack style. To me, rpgs are about the story; without it, they falter. But the game is enjoyable as a time killer. So there’s that.
  8. Calhaora
    Aug 17, 2018
    8
    It was really upset by all the "Pixelstyle"-RPGs the Big Boys thrown on to a System that is capable of running Games, that dont look like glorified Gameboygames. And then I found this little Gem. Its absolutely beautiful, the Combat is Fun and the World is nice. The Gameplay reminded me of all the older RPGs/JRPGs I loved to spend hours on. I dont regret picking it up.
  9. blebleble18
    Aug 20, 2018
    8
    Hits the nail on the head for fun gameplay mechanics but fails on some basic features like saving.

    Considering its JRPG influences, the game paces its story a little faster than I expected, which is a welcome change. As soon as you start the game, you're immersed in the story and playing the game without a 40 hour insipid dialogue exchange. The game feels less grindy because of this.    Hits the nail on the head for fun gameplay mechanics but fails on some basic features like saving.

    Considering its JRPG influences, the game paces its story a little faster than I expected, which is a welcome change. As soon as you start the game, you're immersed in the story and playing the game without a 40 hour insipid dialogue exchange. The game feels less grindy because of this. You move from scene to scene pretty fluidly, and in terms of battles, I found I only needed to run through the gamut of creatures less than twice per dungeon in order to wreck a boss. You just need to learn how to use correct buffs and tactics. You can also specialize your characters using skill trees, which can really steer battles in your favour.

    Non-battle gameplay is fun since each character has their own abilities while exploring, which adds diverse mechanics. Dialogue is not bad, but not fantastic either. The art reminds me of PS2 era RPGs, which makes me nostalgic :)

    I'm docking 2 points because they use a save-point system and you can't save on the world map! They scaled their world map to be smaller so you can go to places faster, but that doesn't help if your switch is about to die and you just want to save. Save points are not generously dotted in a dungeon, so you'll find yourself walking back and forth a lot if you're exploring, which is tedious.    … Expand
  10. CalPaulE
    Aug 31, 2019
    6
    An otherwise very fun RPG is somewhat ruined by a huge difficulty curve at the end, including a borderline unbeatable final boss, and a limit on leveling at 20 with no further progression allowed.
  11. Flammie
    Jan 26, 2021
    7
    Earthlock is a classical JRPG with a decent battle system and cast of characters. The plot is interesting enough to carry through the game, though a lot of side quest content is very basic fetch quests, and repeated ones for no real reason than to extend the time waste. One of the biggest problems is that while the characters have a bit of personality, this is not developed efficientlyEarthlock is a classical JRPG with a decent battle system and cast of characters. The plot is interesting enough to carry through the game, though a lot of side quest content is very basic fetch quests, and repeated ones for no real reason than to extend the time waste. One of the biggest problems is that while the characters have a bit of personality, this is not developed efficiently enough in the game plot throughout so the plot is just slightly above average; one of the typical problems of indie games is that you never see expressions of the characters, so they end up seeming plain and motionless. The difficulty kind of spikes in the boss battles and few points here and there, but e.g. all boss battles are doable by learning some special tactic. Dungeon and map design is good, only few of the dungeons towards end game feel stretched for no reason, but ok. Much plus points for Norwegian translation, I wish more companies would do this more often, I love learning languages and Norwegian happens to be on my todo list.… Expand
  12. Leonas90
    Sep 25, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game had potential to be good, but alas it feels like it's half finished. It's design is good, and we'll out together but leveling up takes forever. Don't buy! Get FFS or something better.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Cubed3
    Jun 19, 2018
    50
    Those looking for a turned-based RPG, inspired by the golden oldies, are advised to look exactly where Earthlock took its inspiration from, as it's not very good at what it does. Some neat ideas have been included, but these can't make amends for a lack of an engaging plot, or fun battles.
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  2. CGMagazine
    May 30, 2018
    65
    Earthlock is a good game, locked behind a lack of polish.
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  3. Hobby Consolas
    May 28, 2018
    76
    An indie RPG that follows all the imaginable clichés from the 90's J-RPG (except random encounters). The result isn't bad, but some areas have plenty of room to improve (characters and plot won't hook you up completely). But, if you love the genre, you will be able to explore its world filled with tasks for 25+ hours (enjoyable in portable mode).
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