I can’t necessarily blame you, there are sections of the game that do feel a bit slow with combat being a little more drawn out than ideal and not every story beat or new puzzle section is always particularly motivating. I think the early rounds of combat were useful for positioning and buffing or trap laying. But you may not always have those options or feel like doing them every battle.
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I’m not especially loving the game. The story does seem pretty generic and the combat is just frustrating for me and not in a good way. I’ll probably stick with it, though. It’s got some cute moments and the mystery might pay off. We’ll see how long it goes for.
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I’ve finished Chapter 1! The tonal shift to the blood realm (as I’m calling it) reminds me of Dungeon Meshi. Curious to see how much Safina has delved into the forbidden.. I’m now in Chapter 2. I think I’ve fully cleared the grounds and am ready to enter the dormitories. If the game didn’t warn me to prep beforehand, I certainly will after y’alls comments with the boss. What level are y’all at currently?
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7 but I think I was ~5 when I first entered the dorms so you’re on track.
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Ended up sticking with it since I wanted to recruit the whole party, and now that I’m clear of the intro I’m having a bit more fun!
There’s still some pacing issues, and the story’s still not grabbing me, but combat finds a solid groove once your team learns a few more abilities. The last three party members you get are all way more interesting to use, the animations and hit timings for new spells start feeling much snappier, and even the dungeon design steadily improves. It feels like the devs got way better at making the game as they went along.
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The dormitories were not as difficult as I was anticipating. I had to use items a couple times but otherwise there’s so many save kitties, I didn’t need to rely on them. The boss was definitely the most dangerous encounter in the game so far but it wasn’t too bad.
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Wrapping up now! While it’s a well-worn trope by this point, I really dug the secret boss fight against the shadow versions of the party. There was a tricky tangle of different attack timings to manage, and a fun tactical component of deciding who to take down first, but it never felt overwhelming since I was already familiar with all their abilities.
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I spoke a little too soon. I encountered Gilda yesterday and she was a real handful. The unexpected vocal track that plays during her battle was really cool. I’ve also just forgot to mention how much I’ve been enjoying the music. Anytime I’m streaming the game or it’s overheard from my speakers, my partner and friends make a comment about how nice it is.
How many chapters are there total?
There’s 8 chapters. And yeah, a bunch of the music is really good! Love the super hummable main theme, love that there’s space for goofy one-off tracks like the Snatcher’s theme, and the endgame has one of the best “final dungeon” songs I’ve heard in a minute.
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It’s about that time to consider if we want to begin the voting process for the next game. It seems like we have a mix of those who’ve finished Ikenfell, those who haven’t, and those who want to drop it.
I’m notoriously slow with games so I haven’t finished it but I’m okay with either outcome. Whatever your preference is, let it be known. If you would like to begin the voting process for the next game, feel free to also suggest a theme.
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Would love to discuss the climax and overall game feel with anyone who managed to beat it!
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I’ll get back to you in six months. 
I’ve only just finished chapter two…
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I beat it! I thought the climax was perfectly fine outside the needless fakeout with the final boss. The antagonist’s emotional arc is set up pretty well and resolves in a fun way, and I really dug how gay the epilogue was, too.
As for overall game feel, I think it picks up after its slow start but never really rises above being dryly functional. If the equipment system offered more exciting choices, or if the party’s moves were a little customizable over time, that maybe could’ve kept the game’s endless procession of dungeons from getting stale.
That said, it’s definitely got a better-balanced difficulty curve than this year’s big Mario RPG descendant (Clair Obscur), and Gilda being such a bonkers offensive powerhouse brought back fond memories of Falcon Hitting everything to death with Ayla in Chrono Trigger.
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I think I agree with that overall assessment. I did enjoy the didn’t abilities and feel to different party members which was a neat expression of their magic specialties, and that the equipment you could find had significant pros and cons to them, so that they weren’t just always straight upgrades.
I definitely do agree that the mid to late game does start to feel a bit burnt out on the dungeon formula, but I liked the climax and ending a lot, so I think the game sticks with me partially due to that.
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