Reviews

• gamedeal user

  May 26, 2014

  Its funny but unplayable. You can't see what is going on half the time - even when the view isn't obstructed by an unnecessary set piece there's generally insufficient contrast between the background and the foreground. Just look at the screenshots included by the developers, they're all blurry looking. And one of then is super blurry. And in another one every single thing on the entire screen (except for the HUD) is either orange or yellow. On top of that, the controls are badly designed.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 28, 2014

  Many other reviews have talked about the humor and technical issues you will experience with this game. Based on those reviews you've either decided this game interests you or it doesn't. For anyone still considering [i]Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes[/i], let my tell you why I would recommend it. What I appreciate about this game is it's casual nature. Sure, I like games that provide a challenge, but every now and then I want something a bit more simple and less challenging, for example, something to play during lunch break. The turn based aspect of this game, by its nature, means I can take my time to plan out my moves without penalty. In normal difficulty the combat is just difficult enough to require that I think about what I am doing, but not so difficult that my party is constantly wiped. Additionally, the game's generous resurrection mechanic means I don't have to be concerned if any of my party (except for one or two key members) are "killed" in battle. While not super challenging, this does keep the story progressing and I find that important when my time is limited and I don't want to be fighting the same battle over and over again just to get to the next stage of the game. Equipment is also simplified. There is only one type of weapon or armor for each class and whenever you buy/find a new piece, it is obvious if it is better, equivalent or worse than what you already own. This may sound boring to min/max'ers, but is a welcome feature for those of us who want a nice, casual experience without a lot of complicated formulas. Overall, [i]Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes[/i] is a fun, entertaining game if you are looking for something that doesn't require a lot of deep, concentrated thought and doesn't expect to be taken too seriously.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 30, 2014

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx81HN2IV1k&list=UU7_-PLIhjsEBwIQXqKxmNpA Grotesque Tactics is a turn-based strategy parody, that pokes fun of other standard RPG games. The music is done very well, and keeps the pace and atmosphere of the game. Each character represents some form of a classic hero; be it the warrior, archer, or mage, but does an excellent job of augmenting the comedic aspects of each one. The controls and interface are sleek and well done, and I found the gear progresses with the player in a very balanced way. Tactically, the game is good for a novice turn based strategist, but the story appeals to everyone. One unique twist is the obsession meter, which when filled, the hero reacts in an unexpected way that may cause damage to anyone. The combat is simple, but the dialogue is entertaining and intriguing. The characters and story parody other RPG's in an entertaining manner, and I enjoyed playing this game. I never felt my time was wasted, and I can easily recommend this game. This is a summary of what I talk about in the video, I am a YT'er not a Blogger Thanks for your viewership and support for more videos check click here. http://www.youtube.com/user/SocioPyscho
• gamedeal user

  Nov 23, 2022

  Didn't expect to have a good time with this game! +Plenty of characters and skills +Around 9-10 hours of gameplay +Easy to learn -Game is a bit buggy and sometimes you'll need to reload your latest save -Graphics are bad. 8/10
• gamedeal user

  Nov 11, 2014

  Grotesque Tactics, developed by an indie German studio by the name of Silent Dreams in a joint venture with Headup Games, is a turn-based strategy game in the same vein as Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, or any of the other hundreds of games with "Tactics" tacked on to the title. But let me clear the air here: unlike the aforementioned games, Grotesque Tactics is bad. Not "bad" as in Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing bad, but more like "all I wanted for Christmas was a Nintendo 3DS but all I got was a Nokia N-Gage" type of bad. You know, the type of disappointment you get when you are hyped up on all the good things, but are let down on every level. The plot is nothing to write home about. There are no plot twists, no overly-emotional scenes, nothing. Just you and your party against an evil empire. You play Drake, a drop-out from the Glory Military Academy. By a stroke of luck, the very fact that you were the only dropout in the history of the academy has saved you from death in battle at the hands of the Dark Church (the aforementioned evil empire). Being mopey and emo (and yes, the game makes use of "emo" way too much), Drake finds the courage to fight back against the Dark Church with the help of the Semidivine Holy Avatar, the stereotypical "I'm better than you, and women love me" beefcake of the game. Together, you and Holy scour the world rescuing maidens, recruiting party members, and completing side-quests. Like I said before, it's nothing to write home about. On that note, I should mention the writing. I'm guessing Silent Dreams hired a 16-year old high-school dropout to translate the game for them, because even though the game has had an extensive grammar overhaul for the English version, the writing would make even a first-year college student cringe in terror. Grammar and spelling mistakes abound, and any hint of humor the game wanted to convey has been lost due to the horrid translation. For example, Candy, one of the three maidens you rescue and recruit, constantly says "Hihihihihi" instead of "Hehehehehe" or *giggles*. The only thing that would make that worse is if Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was put in the game and constantly said "HEY! LISTEN!" every ten seconds. But even then I would have fond flashbacks to my time playing an infinitely-better game. Grotesque Tactics just makes me want to punch babies. And then there's the humor. I'd like it to be known that humor is NOT universal; it is purely subjective. Unfortunately, the game is billed as a parody of other great games. If anything, Grotesque Tactics is a parody of computer game designing. There is a difference between parodying a game and simply referencing a game, and Grotesque Tactics references the hell out of other games. The humor is extremely in-your-face, much like playing an interactive version of the Meet The Spartans movie. While it's not as ham-fisted as UnEpic, at least UnEpic is a good game. The entire cast is a tragedy upon game design. The main character is an emo who isn't really emo all that much except in certain combat situations, the supporting character is the stereotypical knight-in-shining-armor with sunglasses, the rogue is a goblin who joins you because you killed his buddies, and various other travesties. Oh, and if any reader of this review is black and you want to see how German game developers portray black people, play this game. The only way the token black dude could get more stereotypical is if he had fried chicken in one hand and purple drank in the other. Yes, this is what Silent Dreams considers a parody. Sad, is it not? From the moment you boot up the game, you can already tell you're in for a world of hurt. The pre-game loading screen features Holy Avatar and the three maidens, but the whole thing looks like it was made in Poser. Then the game starts and the Poser-like art is replaced by anime character portraits. Holy is pretty much the douche of the group, while the three maidens and other female characters are in various states of undress. Let's not forget that while you are rescuing said maidens to recruit them, they are screaming about getting their clothes torn off. The character interaction, combined with the almost-ecchi artwork makes me believe that this game is the lead designer's attempt at a VERY bad self-insert fanfiction rather than a clever satire of RPGs. And finally we come to the meat and potatos of the game: the gameplay. As I've said before, it's a clone of the various Tactics games you see or have seen on the market. Turned-based strategy on a battlefield with positioning. Nothing new, so let's move into what makes Grotesque Tactics stand out from the crowd (other than the sad attempt at German humor). The really big thing about the game is the Obsession system. The game flat-out tells you in the tutorial that this is a limit break (I'm guessing Silent Dreams' thought process was "LOLOLOLOL! I MADE A FINAL FANTASY 7 REFERENCE! LAUGH, PEONS! LOLOLOLOL!"). Each character has their own way of increasing their Obsession, from hitting stuff (Drake) to getting hit (EVERY SINGLE PARTY MEMBER). Each Obsession does their own unique thing, but more often than not it involves the obsessed party member attacking another party member. West goes berserk, attacking anything in range (friendly or not), the maidens and the angel simply attack a party member, the goblin rogue blinds everyone in a radius (again, no thoughts to friendly fire) and warps to Holy, and Drake buffs nearby party members' attack rating but at the cost of halving his attack rating a few turns afterwards. Drake is obviously the most benefitial of the party, but that's not saying much considering everyone else is geared toward screwing you over. Inside combat, you control all characters in order based on their agility. Outside of combat, however, you can only control Drake while the others automatically follow him. This works out fine, except for one major game-breaking bug that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me: Afflictions aren't removed once combat is over. In the battle leading up to getting the mage party member, West went berserk due to his Obsession. I ended combat right next to a treasure chest in a narrow 1x1 area in the forest with West blocking the only exit in or out. Since he was technically still berserk, he refused to move, and I cant move through party members. Needless to say, I was stuck and had to reload the entire damn mission. Have I told you yet how much I hate this game? And lastly, I come to the deal breaker: the camera. Or, rather, the automatic camera panning. Any time there is dialogue or a character is moving, the camera will pan to that character. This isn't such a big deal if the damn thing would actually CENTER on said character. Instead, it trails behind a moving character. Trying to manually compensate for this means your camera goes out of whack and ends up 50 feet in some random direction. Again, this wouldn't be such a big deal if we could turn automatic camera panning off, or if movement outside of combat wasn't in real time. Alas, no on both accounts. This will, more often than not, lead to clicking the wrong square or giving you a fit of nauseua.
• gamedeal user

  Nov 28, 2014

  I've played this game through twice. I liked the humor, it's definitely a casual game. People that are looking for a more complex game are going to find it lacking all sorts of depth. The camera shifts that follow the party are annoying, but not detrimental. I thought that the gameplay system that some people complain about was also a parody in and of itself. Concerning the emo phases, you just have to plan ahead, knowing at some point, looking at their meters, that they are going to enter into their various emo phases. I found it added another dimension to the tactics, having to plan for that. I picked this game with the second on sale, I thought it was well worth the sale price.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 28, 2014

  It lacks complexity and depth, and it lacks content. There's really no character development and areas are used several times for different scenarios. That being the case, it's still quite entertaining and very much worth the small price I paid for it. I'm definitely looking forward to more from these develpoers. I recommend it to anyone who can just enjoy a fun little game without expecting too much.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 30, 2015

  This game has plenty about it to love. I can tell that Silent Dreams really put a lot of care into developing this game. It is a humorous game for sure. The characters personalities are both realistic and mildly absurd at the same time. The art style may be somewhat cutesy in places but the backgrounds really set the apropriate moods for each stage. I thought that the artwork was truly beautiful. It may not be the most challenging game in the world but some parts were hard enough to take multiple trys, revising my strategy each time. The story was like a fractured fairy tale with dark humor that made the game a reason I will always be a fan of the people at Silent Dreams.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 5, 2015

  Pros: +Cliché moments and references to movies and games. +A lot of humor and adult references (if you know what I mean, wink wink). +Tactical RPG (similarity to those of Final Fantasy Tactics, XCOM, Silent Storm, etc.). +Bright and colorful – rather detailed on some locations with the general environment. +The storyline fits the game and does so perfectly with the supported humor and complaining from your fellow party members (humorous complaining – if that makes any sense). +Custom Keybinds. +Music fits nicely with the game. +Graphics in my opinion are okay. I believe they could have polished it up more, but it wasn’t bad where I would quit a game on graphics alone. Cons: -UI could use some polish. -Controls at times may feel wonky when moving the character at the same time when moving the camera (The game tries to pull you towards the hero when you’re trying to scout ahead of your movements). -A linear storyline -Not a lot of RPG elements (not a lot of spells, certain amount of armor/weapons, no manual stat gains – done automatically). The game is supposed to be a fun, goofy experience about a hero that is to save the kingdom from an evil sect. Sounds like your typical storyline for a RPG, right? Well… it is! I believe you could call it a parody to other TRPGs out there and they’re doing it in their own fun way (which I approve). The bantering between certain party members and towards you is comical (I’ve had my outbursts of laughs, not going to lie). The game isn’t to be taken seriously. If you are jumping into to this game and hoping for a serious TRPG, well, you might be disappointed and rant with a negative review on why this isn’t your cup of Joe. If you come in here knowing that this is a parody to other TRPGs, have a sense of humor, wanting to find humor in a title, then this game should fill your shoes. The battles aren’t rememberable, but they do the job. At times you may even question the actions of your party members and throw a rant at your monitor, but that is perfectly normal. I’ve had my fair share with the ditzes and a directional figure. I’ve also had the occasional crash, but it didn’t happen till after a 5 hour or longer gameplay session; I’m assuming a very slow memory leak…? If you save often then this issue won’t be an issue – besides, who doesn’t save often on a RPG anyways? Overall, this was a nice game to stumble onto and I find the humor and cliché moments very well done. I don’t see a lot of TRPGs and if you’re trying to find one yourself, I would recommend buying this one when you can!
• gamedeal user

  Jan 19, 2016

  Overall Iliked this game. It was the first game with such unique approach to RPG/tactical games. sometimes it was tiresome visiting the same locations in later parts of the game, but it wasn't that bad :) Unique abilities of our party companions forced one to stay on ones toes and think about their placement on the battlefield.