The DioField Chronicle Reviews
The biggest problem that DioField Chronicle faces is probably its theme. Post Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Game of Thrones, the new Lord of the Rings TV series, and all the rest, you’ve got to wonder whether dark Euro-fantasy is starting to wear thin on audiences. With that being said, the elevated presentation and abstract qualities of the game will hopefully help it find an audience even among those that are bored of the standard approach to the genre, and the relatively fresh take on real-time combat will hopefully help intrigue people. When you consider that 2022 has arguably been the best year of all time for the sheer quantity of excellent JRPG releases, the fact that DioField Chronicle comes across as a fresh and different approach to all of them is a truly impressive feat.
The DioField Chronicle is interesting as an experiment, but that's about all it has going for it. The combat system is so half-baked that it may as well not exist, and the story is about 20 hours of buildup for a "buy the sequel" hook. Since the phenomenal Triangle Strategy came out in the same year, and it handles pretty much all the same ideas much better, it's difficult to recommend DioField. Even if you're curious, it's best to wait for a sale because the full retail price is too steep for what you'll get.
The DioField Chronicle is a unique strategy RPG that tries something truly new in the genre, even if it stumbles a bit along the way.
I enjoyed my time with The DioField Chronicle and look forward to a sequel if one ever gets produced. Let's just hope that it features more variety in the aspects that its predecessor lacks as well as packs more of a punch challenge-wise.
The DioField Chronicle effortlessly combines real-time strategy and tactical turn-based gameplay. Featuring a very approachable battle system that streamlines several elements of it’s presentation, so the focus always remains on combat. Albeit, the story is often too preoccupied with politics and plot-specific events that the audience probably won’t care too much about, along with a steep difficulty curve that forces players to complete optional content and AI that makes some rather silly decisions at times. If you can get past these issues however, the addictive hybrid gameplay should keep you hooked throughout.
If you're hankering for a new SRPG to play, The DioField Chronicle barely scratches that itch but there are worse ways to spend your time.
The Diofield Chronicle excels with fantastic strategic elements that give a fresh take on the genre. The game moves away from the traditional turn-based chessboard movement system and allows for a deep real-time strategy involving a diverse unit customization system. However, The Diofield Chronicle fails to deliver a solid overall experience because of its basic plot, bland visuals, and lack of engaging side activities. Players don’t have a reason to get attached to the characters and the story, making the playthrough a tedious one. The game certainly shows promise, and it looks like the developers have a solid framework they can work on here, making us look forward to what the next iteration of The Diofield Chronicle will look like.
The DioField Chronicle is a good game with a somewhat haphazard narrative structure and whose gameplay is sometimes not very fluid. Still, we will have fun with the adventures of Andrias and company: not everything has to be AAA games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A unique approach to tactical RPG combat makes The DioField Chronicle a solid offering that lacks a worthwhile story and cast of characters to make the most of the game’s strengths.
Square Enix delivers a fascinating strategic game that will make lovers of the genre strive to find the different ways to achieve their goal. With a battle system that is easy to understand, the depth of the game and its formulas allow the challenge to reach as far as each one wants to go, achieving a personalized and dedicated experience for each player. The gameplay can become addictive due to its speed and the fun of the games, being framed by an interesting story, which although it varies between epic moments and weak moments that can make it irregular, in general it is quite inspired. We add to this an outstanding soundtrack and a characteristic design of the company.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I look at Triangle Strategy as a game that does everything right that The Diofield Chronicle gets wrong. The story and characters aren’t inherently bad but are ultimately forgettable and uninteresting. The strategy gameplay is engaging and unique but fails to stick the landing. The visuals are pretty but simplistic and lack any sense of real identity. Not to mention the soundtrack and audio obscure good voice acting. At its current price of $59.99 USD, The Diofield Chronicle is difficult to recommend. Personally, I would wait for a sale and lower my expectations. There’s so much about this game that feels unfinished. I was surprised that it was installed from the disc on Xbox Series X and in the time that I played it, not once did the game require an update. To be honest, I think Square Enix simply got the game out and I’d be surprised if it received any improvements in the future.
The DioField Chronicle has an extremely addictive and well-constructed live-action combat system, as well as a beautiful artwork. However, it suffers from flat characters and an unattractive story.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The DioField Chronicle is a solid strategic RPG that manages to bring out the nuances of warfare on an island coveted by the ambitions of various individuals. Despite being a bit repetitive in combat design and a few hurried twists, it's a high-quality example of the genre and one that's well worth a try.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The DioField Chronicle has an exceptionally accessible progression, brings good customization to the characters, has beautiful concept art and a coherent and characterful audiovisual style. Despite some technical parameters that leave a little to be desired, the script that doesn't flow as well as it could and the level design that is one of the simplest I've ever seen in SRPGs, the balance is still a little more positive. The title is recommended for newcomers to strategy RPGs, but some veterans may feel dissatisfied or a little bored.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Maybe it's not quite as good as it could possibly be, as The Diofield Chronicle contain more ambitious ideas, but it's still a fun experience and I really hope it gets a sequel that addresses its design flaws and gives us a more interesting story based on what happened at the end of the game. I would recommend buying it when you get a good discount, as with current full price of the game I don't feel it's worth it.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Despite feeling like I've been knocking chunks out of The DioField Chronicle in much of my review, I did enjoy my time with the game quite a bit. My enjoyment mainly came from the fun combat hook. It's the poorly slapped-on exploration or the high fantasy by numbers storyline that lets it down. It feels like an experimental title for Square Enix. Should we get a sequel, if they put more of a budget into the outside of combat sections you'd have pure gold on your hands. Sadly, as it stands you've got poorly rendered PS2 silver dropping through your fingers with this one.
The DioField Chronicle’s real time tactical battles are a refreshing addition to an ever-growing genre of tactical RPGs. Battles are addicting and compact, and although it’s not difficult, the many choices and upgrades keeps it engaging throughout its 25–30-hour playtime.
The attempt of adopting the element of a real-time tactical battle into a strategic RPG was good. While attractive characters and main stories are its strength, the narrative and approach to lead the story seem to fail to reveal its charm. More to that, individuality of the game's battle is faded due to systematic limits and there are few strategic elements. Despite these problems, you will be able to enjoy it if it suits your taste.
Review in Korean | Read full review
The DioField Chronicle is almost good in a lot of ways, but it never capitalises on its unique real-time combat system, or the potential of its narrative genre.
The Diofield Chronicle has all of the components for an intriguing game, but it lacks a few key ingredients that may help it stand out.