Yurukill: The Calumniation Games Reviews
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.
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 can't quite find the right narrative justification for its intriguing gameplay hooks.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is a game of ups and downs. It's a good visual novel with an interesting story and an intriguing cast, but misses the mark in the puzzle/shoot'em up sections. The end result is a game with no balance, interesting for those looking for a visual novel with an intriguing story, to be avoided by those who want to enjoy an exciting gameplay experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Yurukill is odd combination of genres that works surprisingly well but is hamstrung by a lack of depth and short length.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is a bit of a mess, but it definitely feels like a mess that someone tried really hard to make. While the gameplay elements sometimes feel at odds, it has a lot of charm in its characters and UI design. Even though the game's plot can feel unfocused and confusing, it does have some really good moments. The characters especially do a great job of keeping the story engaging, even when it loses itself a little. Yurukill definitely has both hits and misses, but it feels very earnest and I hope to see more games by this team soon.
The crazy title developed by Izanagi Games mixes three completely different genres, giving life to a work of sure impact for creativity and ambition, but not really unforgettable due to the ups and downs that characterize the various sections of gameplay.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Definitely an exceedingly odd bird we have here...
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.
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.
An entertaining enough game, although the synergy never works and the story loses steam fast. A good first effort, though
Review in Arabic | Read full review
A bit more time in the editing room would be a worthwhile prison sentence for Binko and the rest of the cast. While there's not much in the way of unlockable content, you can replay any shooter stage you've cleared in the story and earn your place on the online leaderboards. Without a doubt, Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is a much more bold and ambitious title than World's End Club, also from IzanagiGames, and I look forward to whatever dark tale they choose to weave next.
Initially engaging, Yurukill: The Calumniation Games brings its conclusion far too soon, without taking advantage of its interesting cast and premise. The sum of its parts is worth it, but if you are a fan either of mystery games or shmup, the game doesn't sustain itself.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Yurukill: The Calumnation Games has a decent storyline, and is a solid time, but for the price point, there are far better options.
Despite our relative indifference toward the shmup sections and our frustration with some of the puzzles, by the time we cleared each team's attraction and really got to know the eccentric cast before the intense final chapters, Yurukill: The Calumniation Games had thoroughly hooked us. Individually, the puzzle-solving and shooter elements aren't anything particularly special, but they come together with some ridiculous characters to form a game greater than the sum of its parts. We'd go so far as to say we like pickles on ice cream now, and – while you might think us as crazy as Binko – we think you might, too.
Hard to be categorical with Yurukill. The shoot'em up phases are pleasant, the story is generally interesting, even if the ending will tend to disappoint, and it is quite satisfying to see the characters evolve over the course of our investigations.
Review in French | Read full review
The only issue we had with Yurukill was that it never felt like it went far enough. It's a compelling tale and it moves at a brisk pace, but it lacks the malicious edge of a Danganronpa or the brain-breaking narrative of a Zero Escape. By the time it's all said and done, we'd enjoyed our time with it, but we were a mite disappointed that it didn't push us harder.
Solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
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.