Overview – developed by APOLLOSOFT and Mebius, with publishing handled by Red Art Games in collaboration with Bushiroad Games, Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast is a tactical RPG set in the Goblin Slayer World. Take the role of a young girl who takes over the adventurer’s guild in her father’s place, the deceased lord of the land. This version of the game is exclusively on Nintendo Switch, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Red Art Games for providing the copy of Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story. I will be covering the core mechanics of this game, this is to prevent spoiling any the experience. I will also refer to this game as simply Nightmare Feast where needed, for the sake of brevity for the most part.
Story – A young girl travels to a remote land after receiving word of her father, the lord’s death. Upon arriving, she takes over the operation of the Adventurer’s Guild in her father’s place, becoming the Guild Master. Due to a lack of adventurers, the heroine takes on adventures herself, encountering the Blood Princess, a vampire who becomes her companion. After this, she becomes involved in a series of events, which revolve around a peculiar box found in her father’s Study.
Gameplay – Nightmare Feast is a mix of visual novel and tactical RPG, set in the world of Goblin Slayer, where the player takes the role of the Guild Master. The narrative is split into chapters, called a story, which consist of quests for the player to challenge. There is also the inclusion of fully voices dialogue scenes, which occur during the main story quests, as well as sub stories, which expand the narrative. These are accessed from the base menu (expanded on further below).
The way the chapters progress are tied to the Main Quest line, with this needing to be cleared to proceed to the next story. However, to be able to access the Main Quests, the player will need to clear Normal Quests to unlock them. The quests have victory and defeat conditions applied to them, which can affect the flow of play. The most common way to win is to defeat all enemies, with the most common way to lose being the defeat of the Guild Master.
Then we get to the battles themselves. These play out in a fairly traditional manner, where the player can deploy a number of units into battle on the field. At the start of a combat stage, the player can summon units to the green start areas, as well as traps in yellow spaces, which depend on the map. The flow of combat is split into two phases, the player phase and enemy phase. During this time, all units on each side can make their moves before passing the turn.
During a turn, the player units can move and perform an action each. The amount of distance that can be covered is tied to their total MOV stat, affecting the radius they can cover. Then there are the actions that can be used. These consist of standard attacks, as well as special Arts attacks that are tied to the weapon and class of the unit. For the more magical characters, they have access to Spells which can deal damage, offer support and apply effects.
All of the attacks, skills and spells have a range attached to them, which varies depending on the skill and weapon that are used. Melee attacks usually have a reach of one to two spaces in front of the unit, ranged attacks often have an extended reach or target a single space. The spells vary in their range and number of targets, with some of them being able to damage multiple enemies at once. But be careful as it is possible to harm allies who are within reach of attacks.
The amount of damage that can be dealt to an enemy can also be influenced by several factors. The main one being the direction they are facing. When units face each other head-on, there is higher chance for the enemy to guard or dodge. If the target is attacked from the side, they will have a lower chance to defend and will take a little more damage. If the unit is attacked from behind, the damage will be greatly increased with almost zero chance to avoid damage.
Both the Arts and Spells require special points to use, with the Arts using AP and Spells using MP. Each unit will have a set number of points they can use, adding to the strategy of combat. Last are the Tools, which have to be assigned before they can be used in the field. These special items can be used to heal the player, alongside removing harmful effects like poison and paralysis. There is a limited usage to items, so players must plan accordingly before battle.
There will be traps, blockades and terrain that will be an obstacle for players in battle. If a unit makes contact with a ground trap that blocks their path, they will take damage immediately. There are also barrel traps, which must be destroyed to deal area of effect damage to enemies. On the battlefield, the barricades need to be destroyed to move forward as they block the path. Some fences can be used to deal extra damage to units knocked into them.
The final element of battle to mention is the Lord Monarch ability of the Guild Master. As the world of Goblin Slayer is determined by Fate and Chance, this is applied to battle too. During the execution of a units turn, special effects have the chance to activate if conditions are met. These can create more advantageous situations for the player, if the dice roll is successful. The usage of these effects is limited, so knowing when to use them can turn the tide of battle.
When the victory condition is met, the player will receive rewards for their success, which are laid out in the quest outline. The player will receive items, equipment and money for completion of quests. Experience points will also be awarded to units that are deployed in battle, which will level the units up when the experience meters are filled. When a unit increases in level, they may gain new skills, powers and spells that can be used in battle.
There are several different types of side quests/battles that players can challenge. These include training missions with varied difficulties, which can be replayed freely. Then there are the special sub quests with their own little story segments, which are optional to the adventure, offering special rewards for competing them. It is important to note, when enough normal quests are cleared to activate main quests, any remaining normal missions will disappear.
Outside of the battle stages, the player will spend time at the Adventurers Guild base. This is the base of operations for the player, offering many facilities for players to use before setting out. There is the Guild, where quests and sub stories can be accepted, showing the objective, conditions and rewards. Then there is the workshop, where equipment for adventurers can be bought and sold, as well as items to be enhanced.
There is also an item shop, where support items and traps can be purchased for players to use in battles, as well as enhancement items. The Adventurer List is where players can view the character units, there is the option to check their stats and alter their equipment (except Goblin Slayer who can only equip accessories). As the player makes their way through the adventure, new adventurers can be added to the roster via the Adventurer Register.
The last thing to mention with adventurers is the Rank Promotion. As the adventurers level up, they will become eligible for promotion of their rank, with the lowest being Porcelain and the highest platinum. When characters increase in rank, they can unlock new skills and abilities for battle, with some ultimate powers at higher levels. All adventurers except the Goblin Slayer and his party are eligible to rank up, but they will still gain new skills.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the control method for Nightmare Feast is easy to use, with all of the required hot keys on screen for players to easily use. There is an in-depth tutorial for players to learn all of the different inputs, how to navigate the menus and use all of the features. During battle the map and menus are better navigated with the D-Pad, which gives better precision control over thumbstick. But overall, the controls for this release are very easy to pick up and play.
Difficulty – there are two difficulty options for players to select from, with the choice between Story and Adventure. Story offers a more moderate experience, for those who want to focus on the narrative, whereas Adventure is for those looking for a tactical challenge. Both settings provide a balanced amount of challenge. If the player is in a bad spot, retreat is an option, but failure will send the player to the title screen. It is advised to save often at the base and before battles.
Presentation – from a visual perspective this game is a treat for the eyes, with gorgeous artwork that looks just like the anime. This is alongside detailed spritework and environments, which evokes a feeling of classic tactics games with a retro look to them. All of these assets come together perfectly, creating an experience that feels authentic to the source material. The visual novel style scenes may feel long, but they are done well and work for this.
The sound for this game ties the whole experience together, with a soundtrack that gives the dark fantasy world more depth, while increasing the tension of battles. This title also has fully voiced dialogue, featuring the voices of the anime counterparts of Goblin Slayer and is party. This is exclusively in Japanese with English text only. Everything is fairly cohesive for the most part, aside from some minor inconsistencies with balance between music and voices.
Final Thoughts – I am a Goblin Slayer enjoyer, having watched the Anime when it debuted and becoming heavily invested in it. There is this simplicity of the hero, who has but one goal, to slay goblins as quickly as they appear, with everything surrounding him giving it more depth. So when I got this to review, I was unsure of what to expect. The creator of Goblin Slayer was responsible for the narrative, which hooked me in quickly.
For those who are expecting a game that focuses on the Goblin Slayer, focusing on him as the protagonist then you will be in for a shock, as he takes a little while to appear. However, the original characters created for this narrative work well, which will make up for the lack of the titular hero while he is absent. The battle system may feel derivative of others in the genre, but it feels like the characters fit naturally into this style of gameplay.
The overall experience is engaging, with a narrative that is well written and character designs that slot perfectly in with the recognisable cast. There is a tremendous amount of depth to the gameplay, offering strategy, action and tense challenges that will satisfy that TRPG itch. I have no issue with recommending this game, as it is perfect for fans of the source material, as well as those who strategy focused RPGs. Perfect for playing at home or on the go.
In the end, I give Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast a final score of 4.5/5. This is a challenging tactical RPG that expands on the source material well. Offering fans a well-rounded gameplay experience, engaging story and characters that fit perfectly into the world of Goblin Slayer. If you want to check this out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch verison (HERE)
Link to Physical Release (HERE)
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