Affogato Review (Rane)
Stepping into Arorua City for the first time is a truly magical experience.
Within seconds you're immediately thrown into an intense battle, which ended up being both an amazing tutorial and an insight into the true depth of the Reverse Tower Defence (RTD) game-play. This game won't bore you with strategies either - The details in every card design makes deck-building incredibly intricate yet at the same time, hours of fun. The free-form battle style and the multiple mechanics shines like a star compared to your every-day RTD game.
The quality of art and music only makes the game more engaging. Between the distinct 2.5 dimensional characters and the jazz, neon-like background music, Arorua City comes alive and jumps out of the monitor screen. The characters too come alive, each of them more charismatic than the last. They are all weaved into the same story, opening up a whole world of interest.
However, all star comes with flaws. It is a constant, as much as a witch has her demon.
Collecting the end-game Witch Cards are a significant pain, especially with restricted roaming time and the fact that you have to raise your own stats to even complete them.
Given that the game is time-locked, if you aren't careful, you may be permanently locked out of ever completing your whole compendium, with no save file in the past to rethink your decisions.
The coffee shop mechanic also feels quite underwhelming. Ignoring the few times in story where you are requested to make coffee, it is entirely impossible to access brewing. Purchasing furniture is also hilarious, because as soon as you finish the final battle you can never re-enter the store again, which renders buying them quite unnecessary.
Overall, Affogato is a charming and engaging work with high potential. Given its deep roots into the RTD genre, I can understand why its B-side game-play is lacklustre, but perhaps in the future a more expansive approach could be taken instead.
Ah, I still have to pay rent to Dave by the end of this month, so I'll be off again.
If you decide to pick up this game, get the most out of its fun, before it all inevitably ends.
Rating: 8/10
fin.