Yurukill: The Calumniation Games Reviews
Overall I had a fantastic time with Yurukill: The Calumniation Games. I loved the story, characters, art style, music and the gameplay is some of the best I’ve experienced in a long time. I feel like fans of either of these genres would have a ton a fun with this game. The shmup sections are pretty challenging but there is an easy setting for folks like me that suck at them greatly. You can adjust this to your liking and take them on in higher settings in the challenge mode that features online leaderboards. It took me about 13 hours to complete the story here, but I feel like there is a bit of replay value here just taking on various shooting in the unlocked mode. This one is easy to recommend at that $39.99 price tag and will likely be one of the best and most unique titles released this year.
It’s by no means a bad game, but Yurukill just never manages to hit the same heights as its contemporaries. There’s solid groundwork here for a sequel, it has its unique selling point in the shmup sections, and the puzzles are mostly fun. I wanted to love it, but its story didn’t come together in a satisfying way and too many mechanics felt half-baked or redundant.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games contains an addictive blend of escape room escapades and fast-paced bullet-hell segments that will keep players eagerly awaiting the next corner. The story and character presentation are great too, with only a few technical flaws that get in the way of an otherwise spectacular theme park ride.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is an ideal example of a murder mystery that isn’t innovative but has a compelling story. It may lack flesh on its bones, but the skeleton is sturdy. Despite some predictable plot beats, an equal amount subverts expectations by throwing in a slight twist. There’s a truckload of untapped potential here.
Overall Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is about as weird as its title suggest. A wacky mash up of escape room and shmup with Phoenix Wright/pop quiz elements thrown in that was weirdly endearing. While Yurukill certainly fell flat in some areas, it certainly had a good showing with the cast of characters, interesting storylines, and decently integrated genre changes. I’ll be honest, it can be frustrating at times, but I still found myself wanting to continue so I could figure out the truth, and to see if I could guess at what happened before the reveal in each chapter. I laughed, I cried, I raged, but in the end, I had a lot of fun.
Just as the “Yurukill” in the title Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is a portmanteau of the Japanese “Yurusu” (to pardon or forgive) and the English “Kill,” the game itself is a combo of two seemingly incompatible genres. It is a puzzle-solving adventure and a flashy scrolling shooter. The result works far better than one might think at first.
The main story of Yurkill can be completed in a very enjoyable 10 hour span. Some of the dialogue can go on a little long but otherwise the pacing of the story beats drop at a decent rate. As a visual novel, Yurukill is an easy recommendation.
I really enjoyed my time with Yurukill. It brings together two very different genres and presents a satisfying version of each. If those two sides elevated each other, we could have been looking at a terrific game. Instead, however, those sides mostly just sit alongside each other, feeling like a strange marriage that doesn’t entirely make sense. Fans of both visual novels and SHMUPs should certainly check Yurukill out, but if you’re only into one side of this equation, it may not entirely satisfy.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Game has a great artistic section, very accessible puzzles for all audiences and an incredible story. It perfectly combines the investigation section with the shoot 'em up one. And finally, the Nintendo Switch version needs a patch to fix some bugs.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is an atypical genre combination. On one side, the escape the room is a brainy, logical genre focused on puzzle resolution. On the other, the shoot'em up is based on frantic combat and quick reflexes. Despite how hard it is to mix those two styles, the development team managed to present a unique experience that offers a great entry point for both genres. Especially for players interested in the narratives of Japanese animation and other pop works, it's worth checking out.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is an excellent pick for shoot'em up fans, and even more for succeeding at mixing the genre with others, such as visual novel for the adventure bits and escape-the-room for various puzzles and riddles. Everything fits perfectly with the story and the atmosphere, including the art and soundtrack, which are well made, not to mention the presence of big names of the Japanese dub that enact the eccentric characters. Unfortunately the performance on Switch hinders a lot of the game potential and many issues in the hybrid console port compromise the experience. As such, if possible, the PC or PlayStation versions may be better unless portability is a decisive factor in the choice.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Yurukill is odd combination of genres that works surprisingly well but is hamstrung by a lack of depth and short length.
The puzzles rely on weird logic, the arcade sections are dull, and the courtroom-style quizzes leave a lot to be desired, making Yurukill: The Culmination Games a title that struggles on all fronts.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is a full dose for fans of visual novels, and a perfect title for those who want to get started in this genre. The story is extremely captivating, full of mystery and twists and turns, and with a special shoot'em up twist along the way that makes the experience more immersive. It's a must-have title!
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Definitely an exceedingly odd bird we have here...