Valkyria Revolution

Valkyria Revolution offers a very complete gameplay and full of possibilities. Nevertheless, the excessive cut-scenes and the inconsistency narrating the story, make it a humble title that mixes the genres Musou and SRPG in an effective way.

Valkyria Revolution only really exceeds in providing a ton of content to work through and a whole load of story to watch unfold.

Valkyria Revolution comes from a line of highly-acclaimed titles, but this one undoubtedly misses the mark. Gameplay takes a backseat thanks to the primary focus on long, drawn-out cutscenes that take up a solid 70% of your playtime. Even when it is at the forefront, that gameplay is outrageously easy and complimented by braindead AI that will rarely do what you want. Worst of all are the constant loading screens, sometimes in the middle of combat. Still, the game really feels like a war and the combat is still fun if you're looking for something simple. The payoff of the story is ultimately worth it, and the party members are fleshed out and have their own personalities, which helps to get through the cutscenes. The bottom line is that there are much better JRPGs out there if you have access to a PS4. If you've played them all or if Xbox is all you have, this is a game that can be worth your time.

Valkyria Revolution tells a decent tale of war, but the strength of that story is dulled by overlong, boring, and poorly animated cutscenes.

Turgid storytelling, poorly explained mechanics and abysmally unoptimised code. [Sept 2017, p.86]

This is a spin off that simply shouldn't be. It tries to take on too many ideas without forming an interesting and engaging core. With boring characters and a story that requires more cutscenes than gameplay, this game really exemplifies why show, don't tell is still true.