This Way Madness Lies

[u][b]This Way Madness Lies[/b][/u] is a short and comedic turn-based RPG which has two sets of scripts that add an element of comedy to the otherwise mundane story and characters. Otherwise, the game does nothing special but also does nothing poorly and is fairly generic as far as turn-based RPGs go, though there is a major bug that can corrupt your save slots which the developer was never able, and didn't care, to fix. Overall, I'd prefer to give this game a neutral review because the dialogue frankly carries the game and is almost worth playing through it to completion but I don't think this alone is worth recommending it. In fact, once the novelty wore off and the dialogue had lost its luster after the first few hours, the rest of the game was so generic that I didn't end up coming back to complete it until a few months later. Note: this review is current as of v1.24 released on 8 Feb 2023 (the latest patch). [hr][/hr] [quote][b]S U M M A R Y[/b][/quote] - The gameplay is linear and typical for the genre but with the developer's signature spin and focus on status ailments which both help shift it away from the damage-centric arms race that this genre often defaults to; - Th…

I have yet to play a Zeboyd RPG I didn't enjoy. What a charming and unique adventure.

I do not say this lightly when I say that this game is one of the most enjoyable I have played in a long time. Even if you aren't a fan of Shakespeare and his works, you should give this game a try. The story kept me engaged, and every character had their own archetype that they played into really well. The combat system is something unique, where instead of relying on mana you have single use abilities that recharge after you defend. I feel like this promotes actual strategizing rather than mindlessly pressing the same button over and over again. Zeboyd has also made sure grinding is no issue. Enemies are visible in the over world, and you can also start combat simply by using the fight command in your menu. The game maintains a reasonable difficulty all the way through. There's no drastic spike in difficulty, and while there were instances where I felt the game was getting too easy, it would blend enemies together in ways that prompted quick thinking and strategizing. The music, as with all other Zeboyd games, is top notch. I'm not normally one that enjoys game Posts that have lyrics, but the singer for most, if not all of the soundtracks in this game has a great voice, and no…

The Zeboyd games all have great combat mechanisms, very simple, but filled with nuances and tons of room for optimizing. This one is the best of the bunch in that regard. Also has great music. The story and structure are... ehhh, not for me. Some of the jokes were funny, but I just have a really hard time taking any of the characters or stakes seriously--no real investment from me, basically

Lackluster both in the gameplay and dialogues

The only JRPG-type that I've been able to bear. Having Shakespeare handle some of the writing really helps