Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Genre: Action RPG, JRPG, City Builder, Anime

Games based on Japanese manga, anime or light novels are a dime a dozen. Most of the time, the games cater primarily for existing fans of the source material and they’re not really made to create or attract new ones. Unfortunately, That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles is the same thing we’ve come to expect, with perhaps one good aspect (more on this later) that elevates it above being just another mediocre game based on manga/anime/light novel IP.

Mediocre Isekai

I went into That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles with almost zero knowledge of the source material (I’ve never read the light novels or watched the anime adaptation). The game falls into the same trap that almost every game of this type usually does. It lazily recaps the story and plot of the original source material via talking heads and static shots. This gets old and bland really fast, so it’s hard to get invested or immersed in the story or characters. The only saving grace of That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles in this regard is that every line features voice acting, so at least the developer did put some effort into that.

Before I get into all the problems and issues with the game, let me get what That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles does best. The best aspect of this game is luckily also arguably the most important one in any game; its gameplay combat. The combat in this game can best be described as classic Tales Of-lite. It’s a fast-paced 2D side-scrolling real-time action combat system. What makes the combat in That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles fun is that it feels like a classic Tales Of game, and the combat is best when you’re juggling enemies in the air with melee combos and special magical attacks.

That being said, the combat system isn’t perfect. The AI for both enemies and your ally party members are almost braindead. The game is laughably easy even on normal difficulty, and though there are some spikes here and there, I only ever died literally once in my entire playthrough. The bright side is that that game doesn’t encourage or force you to grind for EXP, but grinding probably isn’t required because the progression system too is so simplified that there’s no depth at all. Each character has essentially the same skill trees (most of which is just stat upgrades instead of interesting new abilities) and it’s bizarre that a JRPG like this doesn’t have an equipment system or mechanic of any kind. So, yeah, no getting new weapons or changing to more powerful armour or that kind of stuff.

The combat is pretty much the only good thing about That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles. Everything else is disappointing. Besides the combat, the other main gameplay mechanic in this game is its city building. However, it is extremely simplified, and they’re there to just increase the stats of your characters. That’s all there is to it. There is no strategy or deeper mechanic at play when it comes to the city building in this game, it might as well not be featured.

The worst aspect of That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles is its incredibly repetitive nature. Sure, it took me around 20-plus hours to finish the game, but most of what you do in the game is recycled content from the first few hours repeated ad nauseam. Once you’ve played the first few hours of the game, you’ve pretty much played the entire game. For instance, the game even forces you to replay the same boss fight several times in a row consecutively to pad and stretch out your gameplay time. The story objectives are also boring as hell, as you’re simply doing simple fetch quests or replaying the same dungeons to get the items required to progress through the story.

Ho Hum

Overall, That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime ISEKAI Chronicles is not a terrible game, it’s just a mediocre and bland one that’s purely for fans of the source material. Or if you miss the old combat system of the classic Tales Of games, but you’re better off replaying those old Tales Of games instead.

PROS

• Combat is like a classic Tales Of game.
• Almost all the dialogue features voice acting.

CONS

• Repetitive progression system and bland objectives for both story and side quests (mostly fetch quests).
• City-building mechanic is a tacked-on mechanic with no depth.
• The story is mostly conveyed through cheap and lazy screenshots and talking heads.

FINAL SCORE: 50/100

Review copy provided by the publisher.