As someone who dives into Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast more for the love of tactical RPGs than for any allegiance to the light novel or its spin-offs, I found it serviceable. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if a deeper appreciation for the source material would have heightened my experience.
That said, you don’t need to be a Goblin Slayer aficionado to enjoy this game. My journey began smoothly without prior knowledge, though I felt somewhat detached from the characters, despite the developers’ attempts to draw me in.
The game kicks off with a torrent of text, setting the stage for a young woman stepping into her deceased father’s shoes as the head of a local adventurer’s guild. If you’ve ever been through this kind of setup in other games, the concept will ring familiar. Your mission is to bolster the guild’s ranks and take on quests, only to find yourself caught in a more expansive storyline.
Developers usually have a cache of strategies to keep us engaged in familiar plots, especially in tactical RPGs, where characters and gameplay steer the ship. Here, both elements are decent. Kumo Kagyu, the series’ creator, crafted the game’s script, skillfully timing the introduction of new characters and their unique abilities. Bringing new guild members into the fold offers significant fun, and series enthusiasts will appreciate the balance between fresh faces and beloved ones.
However, this diversity is a bit of a double-edged sword. While a varied character cast is a strength, many of them hog the spotlight, leading to lengthy stretches of narrative between gameplay levels. Though well-voiced in Japanese, I often found myself itching to skip through their antics to throw them into the fray—especially in the game’s sluggish early stages.
Once you’re done with the dialogue, the combat is where things get interesting. Battles unfold on a classic isometric grid, a familiar setup for genre fans.
Notably, the game lets you choose how the D-pad’s square shape works with the X-shaped character movements. This is the first game I’ve seen offer this tweak, and I appreciated the option—even if I stuck to the default.
Combat mechanics involve positioning on the grid to launch actions, or vice versa. Terrain can work to your advantage, and it’s key not to overextend your characters, lest they become easy targets. You can display enemies’ attack ranges, but frustratingly, you have to toggle it off to move and it seems limited to ordinary attacks, leaving you unsure of any special abilities they might have. This requires you to frequently review or remember enemy skills, slowing down your strategic moves.
Defeating foes involves juggling attack, magic, and item use, while managing buffs and removing any detrimental effects on your team. You can also set traps before a battle begins. Although these traps are tricky to execute, pulling them off successfully is quite rewarding. If you’re the type to restart a comp-level because a trap didn’t work, let’s connect on Bluesky.
Advancing in the game opens up more missions, offering items and rewards to enhance your guild and abilities. Despite having a variety of unit types at your disposal, I often gravitated towards characters I liked on a personal level rather than their skills. It’s not the best strategy, but hey, that’s me—a gamer less interested in anthropomorphic companions. Thankfully, the balanced difficulty lets you continue progressing even with the occasional misstep—if you’re diligent about completing side missions.
Yet, some peculiar gameplay choices do weigh the experience down. For example, combat areas tend to be so vast that you need several turns just to reach opponents.
This becomes especially annoying when managing up to 10 characters across the field. It’s also odd that enemies often come across as significantly stronger than your team. Success hinges on thorough preparation and picking off isolated enemies, but one poor battlefield decision can cost you a team member early on when your resources and abilities are limited.
Despite these hitches, Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast offers enough excitement for fans of strategy RPGs. The visuals are engaging, with character artwork crafted by original series illustrator Noboru Kannatsuki.
Musically, it hits the right notes. While the narrative can drag, it avoids veering into the annoyingly juvenile territory that similar games sometimes fall into, though it occasionally skirts on risqué given its roots. It might not convert me into a fan of its source material, but it kept me entertained enough until the next tactical RPG makes its way to my gaming lineup.
