Poison Control

A good, but not great, new IP, Poison Control skillfully harnesses NIS’s abilities to present a visually-striking, musically-engaging world with unique gameplay concepts. The biggest issue is the gameplay itself doesn’t feel as polished as it should be. The third-person shooter gameplay is functional, but the execution leaves something to be desired. Even so, it’s enjoyable enough to make quick work of each stage and uncover the storylines behind each. The unique factor wears off after a while, but as long as you don’t expect a Call of Duty-style shooter, you’ll be able to enjoy what Poison Control has to offer.

Poison Control could have been better. The controls weren’t polished enough, and the levels—despite boasting some amazing aesthetics—were fairly same-y. But that doesn’t mean that Poison Control is a bad game. In fact, I really liked it—and I think that a lot of pre-existing NIS fans will, too. If you’re looking for games based on mechanical execution alone, Poison Control might not be your thing. If you want something with a lot of heart, however, and don’t mind the imperfections, then I would absolutely suggest diving headfirst into this little slice of Hell.

The ongoing mystery of Poisonette and your own situation made for a compelling overarching plot, one good enough that I wanted to play through to the end in spite of the somewhat unimpressive mechanics.

With great presentation and an entertaining narrative, Poison Control is a weird mixture of dungeon crawler, visual novel and third-person shooter. It could have been the next great niche title, if not for its problematic shooting mechanics.

I struggled reviewing Poison Control; it has real notable flaws and dramatically overplays its hand with some of the anime tropes. The game is repetitive, and feels like it overstays its welcome despite not being particularly long. And yet, there are still plenty of moments that earned chuckles and even laughter. I still felt the urge to fully explore every inch of the Hells. I still did the extra, and still had some absent-minded fun freeing the Belles from their worries. Hell, I even grew to like members of the tropey cast. But, the game is what it is. I think some people will really enjoy Poison Control, but you already know who you are. The rest of you will likely find it a bit dull and potentially off-putting.

On the surface Poison Control looks to be cut from the same cloth as Persona, brimming with cute characters, witty script and changing hearts. But under the poison mires you need to clear and the poor shooting, the gameplay lacks polish and chokes on repetition, and the story often descends into caricature and mishandles a sexual assault. Its style is really only skin deep.

I had really high hopes for Poison Control, but it's definitely a weird experience for your opinion of a game to plummet as you play. The game mechanics are really fun and interesting, and in most dialogue cases, the writing is really entertaining. But the mishandling of assault put a really bad taste in my mouth, and on top of that, combat became really repetitive. The limited scope of enemy types and recycled weapons led to a less than stellar overall experience.

Poison Control feels like the sort of game where lots of different elements are tossed together in a way that hopefully comes together and makes sense. Some parts are fine. Eliminating poison can make you think, though it can sometimes get to be a bit of a chore. I liked the Heart-to-Hearts with Poisonette a lot, as it let me see how the duo would grow. The shooting is sort of there. It wasn’t an attraction or anything revolutionary, but I suppose I liked seeing what sorts of equipment I’d get from new Belles. It’s an interesting idea, but some elements are executed better than others.

Poison Control has some unique gameplay mechanics that I enjoyed but the controls, technical issues, and lack of polish during later stages hold it back from being an easy recommendation even to fans of NIS' other games.

Poison Control could have gone for a more ambitious production. Its plot, fun dialogues, and marvelous looking cutscenes demonstrate that there was some potential for that. However its repetitive gameplay, a level of challenge that's hardly enticing, and a game world that looks mostly subpar mean that Poison Control falls into a generic and unremarkable territory that will fail to impress.

Ultimately, Poison Control is a let-down of how good it could have been. Utterly lacking in the cohesive element, some parts absolutely stand out, where so many others fall far short. The shooting is serviceable, the 'cleaning' gets old fast, and the story doesn't really go anywhere. Poisonette and the main character have a great dynamic, which serves to only show how short other aspects really fell short.

Poison Control is a unique game, and perhaps a good buy for adventurers who like the genre. In general, it is a repetitive game, it does not stand out in any element, remaining only in the average. Gameplay is fun, but it is not enough to entertain for long hours of gaming.