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Swimfan 1 Aug @ 6:05am

Please explain the enjoyment to me

Okay maybe that title sounds a bit harsh but here we go:
Bought this game on Switch yesterday because it looks really well-done and the characters seem pretty loveable (and indeed they are). The battles are also very interesting ... and then you die and you have to click through so much stuff all over again?!

I get the underlying theme but even in fast-forward I can already see this becoming an extreme bore very fast (and I'm only in my third loop!).

I'm not saying this is a bad game by any means but ... I'll be honest here: I'm shocked by the "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating this game has here on Steam. Maybe I was naive but I expected more "substance" to a game priced at 20 bucks.

Am I missing something obvious? I wanna like it but I already dread dying again and having to click through SO MUCH of the same stuff :-/

_______

Okay so I made it to Act 5 and then ... gave up and uninstalled.

I like the premise of the game, I like the writing but the overall "mystery" isn't enough for me to justify 20-30 hrs of gameplay (especially since the combat isn't deep at all). When I confronted the king as "evil" Siffrin I - realised halfway through the battle how bored I was and how little I am interested to see where it all leads.

Undertale works so well because the game is 2-3 hrs long and while the combat isn't "deep" it's at least interesting. In Stars and Time I basically mash the A button (or fast-forward) until my fingers hurt only to get nowhere. If the game ended at the end of chapter 4, I would have been a little annoyed but satisfied ... now I'd actually call this game bloated.

That's only my opinion of course :-) Happy that you all enjoy the game.

Last edited by Swimfan; 3 Aug @ 2:31am

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Originally posted by Josephi:

As you play more you do get checkpoints so you don't have to replay the whole game every single loop.

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Josephi

1 Aug @ 9:09am

As you play more you do get checkpoints so you don't have to replay the whole game every single loop.

Sans the Hedgehog has In Stars And Time

1 Aug @ 9:28am

the enjoyment is from the story, and the gameplay is just a means to get you as immersed in the story as possible. you're feeling the exact same frustration and tiredness as siffrin the whole time! the fun i have from this game is from the writing- seeing what little things change amidst all the sameness, and seeing how siffrin's thoughts and reactions to the same things change as the game goes on and he experiences new things that no one else remembers. it's not even just the time loop portion that's the highlight of the writing- it's charming, it's silly, it's scary, it's haunting, it never fails to make you feel what it wants to, and it just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't the result of your actions, your choices, you being the one to play. it's awesome.

of course, not everyone will enjoy this purposefully frustrating experience, and this game just might not be for you, but this game's got overwhelmingly positive reviews for a reason. the story is incredible, and the way it interweaves with the gameplay to get you right into siffrin's head just elevates it even higher. (and if this is anything, this game has a LOT of quality of life features to not make it any more frustrating than it needs to be. the checkpoints mentioned are awesome.)

Last edited by Sans the Hedgehog; 1 Aug @ 9:32am

Swimfan 1 Aug @ 10:06am

Originally posted by Josephi:
As you play more you do get checkpoints so you don't have to replay the whole game every single loop.

Okaaaay, thank god!

I didn't think that would happen because the game told me that while Siff keeps his levels, the others won't and so I assumed I'll do the same rooms over and over for the entire game!

Swimfan 1 Aug @ 10:07am

Originally posted by Sans the Hedgehog:
the enjoyment is from the story, and the gameplay is just a means to get you as immersed in the story as possible. you're feeling the exact same frustration and tiredness as siffrin the whole time! the fun i have from this game is from the writing- seeing what little things change amidst all the sameness, and seeing how siffrin's thoughts and reactions to the same things change as the game goes on and he experiences new things that no one else remembers. it's not even just the time loop portion that's the highlight of the writing- it's charming, it's silly, it's scary, it's haunting, it never fails to make you feel what it wants to, and it just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't the result of your actions, your choices, you being the one to play. it's awesome.

of course, not everyone will enjoy this purposefully frustrating experience, and this game just might not be for you, but this game's got overwhelmingly positive reviews for a reason. the story is incredible, and the way it interweaves with the gameplay to get you right into siffrin's head just elevates it even higher. (and if this is anything, this game has a LOT of quality of life features to not make it any more frustrating than it needs to be. the checkpoints mentioned are awesome.)

Yes, I'm not talking about the writing here. The writing is superb, no questions asked. It was my concern of doing the exact same rooms whenever I die but as the person before you wrote: There are checkpoints - thank god!

Sans the Hedgehog has In Stars And Time

1 Aug @ 12:12pm

ALL HAIL THIS GAME'S QUALITY OF LIFE FEATURES

and yeah my apologies, i think i misunderstood where you were coming from. took the title of the post at face-value LOL

Last edited by Sans the Hedgehog; 1 Aug @ 12:13pm

Swimfan 2 Aug @ 1:41am

Originally posted by Sans the Hedgehog:
ALL HAIL THIS GAME'S QUALITY OF LIFE FEATURES

and yeah my apologies, i think i misunderstood where you were coming from. took the title of the post at face-value LOL

I actually enjoy the game much more now because it all starts to make sense. I'm in Loop 6 and and jumping forward (more or less) and the ability to open doors on that floor you jump to wiped away my main gripe with the system.

I have 2 questions tho:

-> If I understand correctly if I start on floor 1 to get something, jump to floor 3 and then save there with lower characters than I originally had with new equipment I gained on floor 1, then die and come back to floor 3, my characters keep the equipment AND the originally highest level they had on floor 3?

-> Mira just learned an important ability she doesn't get a memory from. So what if I die? Do I have to regain that skill on floor 2 every time in further loops?

Last edited by Swimfan; 2 Aug @ 1:41am

voidlich666 has In Stars And Time

2 Aug @ 7:33am

Originally posted by Swimfan:
-> If I understand correctly if I start on floor 1 to get something, jump to floor 3 and then save there with lower characters than I originally had with new equipment I gained on floor 1, then die and come back to floor 3, my characters keep the equipment AND the originally highest level they had on floor 3?

-> Mira just learned an important ability she doesn't get a memory from. So what if I die? Do I have to regain that skill on floor 2 every time in further loops?

-> As far as I've experienced, you only retain highest level when you loop directly from Dormont. Though I never really tried anything like that myself, nor seen anyone else try it in a playthrough, so the only thing you lose by testing it is a little time.

-> If you're talking about Adorable Moving Shield , you auto relearn it at the start of each loop in Dormont because Siffrin reminds her of the CARROT method .

Last edited by voidlich666; 2 Aug @ 7:36am

Swimfan 3 Aug @ 2:29am

Okay so I made it to Act 5 and then ... gave up and uninstalled.

I like the premise of the game, I like the writing but the overall "mystery" isn't enough for me to justify 20-30 hrs of gameplay (especially since the combat isn't deep at all). When I confronted the king as "evil" Siffrin I - realised halfway through the battle how bored I was and how little I am interested to see where it all leads.

Undertale works so well because the game is 2-3 hrs long and while the combat isn't "deep" it's at least interesting. In Stars and Time I basically mash the A button (or fast-forward) until my fingers hurt only to get nowhere. If the game ended at the end of chapter 4, I would have been a little annoyed but satisfied ... now I'd actually call this game bloated. ISAT has sadly outragious pacing problems in my opinion.

That's only my opinion of course :-) Happy that you all enjoy the game.

Last edited by Swimfan; 3 Aug @ 2:31am

Moocean

4 Aug @ 1:09pm

I don't really understand since I was on edge because of the situation, I really feeled bad for this whole arc with how Sif was going down into insanity because of his condition . I wouldn't say that in like, arc 3-4, but really, maybe try a last push ? You're this close from the end and the conclusion of the whole story, and it's pretty much the last fight tbh

I would say also the combat is like this because of RPG-maker and this genre in general, and I would agree, I don't really like it either, but I wouldn't call it bloated. It's the apeal for some person it seems.

Swimfan 5 Aug @ 1:43am

Originally posted by Moocean:
I don't really understand since I was on edge because of the situation, I really feeled bad for this whole arc with how Sif was going down into insanity because of his condition . I wouldn't say that in like, arc 3-4, but really, maybe try a last push ? You're this close from the end and the conclusion of the whole story, and it's pretty much the last fight tbh

I would say also the combat is like this because of RPG-maker and this genre in general, and I would agree, I don't really like it either, but I wouldn't call it bloated. It's the apeal for some person it seems.

Thanks for the encouragement :-) Yeah okay, maybe I'll give it another go in a few days. As it stands I simply couldn't take another minute of it. The black-white aesthetics were really getting on my nerves by act 2 already and it felt like a well-written but ultimately pale imitation of Undertale. I know it's not fair to compare them bc. some minor story beats aside they have nothing to do with each other but Undertale had a good story/good pacing AND a fun battle system and ISAT really lost me at the end of Act2 because running back&forth isn't my idea of fun. I actually used a guide from Act 2 onwards and whenever it said: "Go back to the king" I was groaning bc. the "big bad" obviously becomes less interesting and more boring the more you encounter him (which is why I said pacing issues).

Again: My opinion. I wouldn't call this game "bad" in a million years. It is obviously made by a person who has a talent for storytelling overall and the artdesign is exquisite.

#10

Just a random person i guess has In Stars And Time

6 Aug @ 7:20am

Originally posted by Swimfan:
Okay so I made it to Act 5 and then ... gave up and uninstalled.

You’re not likely to pick it back up which is completely fine and respectable, though I’d figure it’s worth to mention anyways that Act 5 is the last act before the epilogue, so basically you were in the home stretch as it’s a very linear act. but yeah the pacing definitely is iffy at times so I feel you

#11

Entiecrafter 20 Aug @ 1:52pm

Originally posted by Swimfan:
Okay maybe that title sounds a bit harsh but here we go:
Bought this game on Switch yesterday because it looks really well-done and the characters seem pretty loveable (and indeed they are). The battles are also very interesting ... and then you die and you have to click through so much stuff all over again?!

I get the underlying theme but even in fast-forward I can already see this becoming an extreme bore very fast (and I'm only in my third loop!).

I'm not saying this is a bad game by any means but ... I'll be honest here: I'm shocked by the "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating this game has here on Steam. Maybe I was naive but I expected more "substance" to a game priced at 20 bucks.

Am I missing something obvious? I wanna like it but I already dread dying again and having to click through SO MUCH of the same stuff :-/

_______

Okay so I made it to Act 5 and then ... gave up and uninstalled.

I like the premise of the game, I like the writing but the overall "mystery" isn't enough for me to justify 20-30 hrs of gameplay (especially since the combat isn't deep at all). When I confronted the king as "evil" Siffrin I - realised halfway through the battle how bored I was and how little I am interested to see where it all leads.

Undertale works so well because the game is 2-3 hrs long and while the combat isn't "deep" it's at least interesting. In Stars and Time I basically mash the A button (or fast-forward) until my fingers hurt only to get nowhere. If the game ended at the end of chapter 4, I would have been a little annoyed but satisfied ... now I'd actually call this game bloated.

That's only my opinion of course :-) Happy that you all enjoy the game.

one thing i would suggest is looking up jello apocalypses play through on youtube (either the short of full playthrough (full if you want the ending)) if you get too bored of it he and his friends voice act it and its phenominal