izigame.me

I cannot recommend this game in the state that it is currently. I knew that the game would be based on the Switch version, but I did not realize that it would actively hinder the experience of the game. It also appears this version has other issues as well. Starting with one of the larger ones, there is a voice file missing in an early cut scene that causes the game to either crash or lock up when it tries to load the file. it seems like the issue is exclusive to the English dub as well as the scene plays without issue when set to the Japanese voice option. Ironically, the cut scene in question isn't even voiced in English. As a bit of a side note, the lack of a full English dub is no surprise to me. It seems like Idea Factory games have been getting progressively less English voice acting in the recent years, and I was not expecting this game to be different. While this cut scene in question does happen within the first two or so hours of the game, it does make me concerned that it will not be the only instance in which it occurs. And while I would be content with playing the game in Japanese, there are other issues that have already left a strong negative impression within that short period of time.
To be fair, issues may be a bit harsh, as none of these cause the game to crash or performance to suffer in any way, these are things that impact the player experience in a negative way. The first, and probably the bigger of the two I want to bring up, is the lighting. The game is extremely bright, and it completely ruins the dark, tense atmosphere that the game is trying to present. The sense of delving into a dark dungeon where a nightmare could be around any corner is gone, instead the lighting removes any sense of tension. Encountering a nightmare feels like someone merely dimmed the lights in the room. The issue is not purely aesthetic either. The bright lighting makes seeing some of the gimmicks in the dungeon much harder than it should be or could have ever been intended to be. What's worse, in my opinion at least, is that this issue then encourages you to either constantly look at the top of the screen as it is the only place you can see them easily, or have the map fully expanded so that it provides a darker background through which you can see the beams created by the gimmicks in question.
Finally, there appears to be other issues with the sound other than what I mentioned previously. While I could not say for certain if these are intentional, it does seem odd that these would be missing. The first thing that stood out to me was the lack of music in one of the dungeon areas. While this could be intentional, it feels strange one dungeon would no background music or sound at all. The other thing I've noticed is that the nightmares do not growl or yell when you encounter them at the start of Chase Mode, formerly Murder Hunt. Again, this could be intentional, but it feels like such a strange decision as it again takes away from the atmosphere of the game.
All in all, I'm disappointed by the game. I do intend to complete it even in the state that is in currently, but it feels lacking and underwhelming. While I do want to be optimistic and believe that these issues could be be fixed in an update patch, I feel that it is very unlikely to happen anytime soon. These issues would have been known during both development and testing of the port, and considering the game still released in this state, I feel it is a bit foolish to think it will be corrected.