EARTHLOCK Reviews
An indie adventure with a lush world, fun characters, and enjoyable battles, Earthlock brings the soul of PS1-era JRPGs to the Switch with excellent results. Inconsistent dialogue and notable load times are among its few missteps, but as a package, it captures the appeal of the epoch wonderfully. If you're looking for a fresh-feeling JRPG that still calls back to the classics, this is a lovely choice.
Now available on Nintendo Switch, Earthlock: Festival of Magic is neither a good nor a bad game, but still a rather solid effort from Snowcastle Games to create a unique JRPG influenced by the 1990s titles in the genre.
A beautiful game which features a host of challenging boss battles require tactical thinking, useful characters, and a big world to explore, Earthlock delivers a solid experience which scratches the turn-based RPG itch. Its fourteen hours of game play swells thanks to a ton of side quests, hidden bosses, and lots of things to craft and collect, and is a true indie delight for any fan of the genre.
In a world of fast-paced games with extra gimmicks and money-grabbing tactics, Earthlock is a breath of fresh air. I have a lot of respect for what it is: it is a love letter to a genre that shaped me as a gamer. And for that, I am thankful.
Earthlock does, for the most part, succeed in going beyond its nostalgically-inspired roots.
All in all Earthlock is a solid JRPG experience that should be quite welcome on the platform since it is currently a bit lacking in the genre. While it’s hardly revolutionary it does a fairly good job of delivering on what’s most important in terms of combat mechanics and fun. While it may be priced a bit high for an indie title for the most part it’s a reasonably-good investment.
Earthlock is a true indie gem that has come a long way in such short time.
It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but seeing the art style and testing Earhlock’s Talent system or its farming feature is still worth a try, especially if all you need for week’s getaway is a simple game and visually stunning graphics.
EARTHLOCK: Festival of Magic is a great RPG, and you should try it right now! Its battle system was fun to play (albeit with some battles that were a bit too long for my taste), and the locations were fun to explore. Also, this is the first game of an announced trilogy, which means we should look forward to a sequel soon!
Earthlock: Festival of Magic was an enthralling concept that failed to materialize into one of the better roleplaying games this generation. The potential was certainly there, but the lack of an interesting story, characters that do not feel memorable, and strange difficulty spikes that require a lot of grinding hold the game back to a certain degree. The combat and battle system offers a lot of enjoyment though, and is where the game really shines. Still, even with the complaints, fans of the genre are going to find something to love in Earthlock.
Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a cute JRPG inspired by a bunch of very old-school mechanics, but that fails in delivering a satisfying experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cliches are the death of interesting characters and Earthlock is all too willing to draw its own characters’ chalk outlines and willingly lay them down in it.
Do you long for oldschool jRPGs? Better look somewhere else, because this mediocore title is not worth your time.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Gameplay: This is where the game shines for me, it harkens back to the old turn based combat I used to love so much, while it doesn't always work in modern day gaming, I enjoyed Earthlock. Instead of having meters fill up to let you know when your character was getting ready to make their move there is a string of icons to the right of the screen showing who is coming up next whether it's you or the enemy which allows the players to strategize as to what needs to be done next. (should I heal now or can I make it until the next round, etc) The leveling up system allows players to customize the characters to how they want to play, focus on close or long range combat, is defense more important than attack, etc. The game does require some old-school grinding at points though in order to be a high enough level to tackle some of the bosses otherwise you will die, a lot. The only thing i didn't care for in the gameplay was the ability to help your enemies, for instance there was a few times while using my healer when trying to select the right person to heal I would accidentally heal my enemy, I know it's dumb it's my fault but just something that annoyed me. However if you heal a ghost enemy it does a large amount of damage, and if you hit a stunned ally it'll snap them out of it so it is utilized as part of the gameplay.
Earthlock has very fresh and new ideas, but it does not really fit in the classic RPG genre. It is visually attractive, although the game seems a little bit seems to go to waste on multiple occasions.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A loving homage to PS one era JRPGs, but its small innovations are suffocated beneath a dead weight of clichés and conventions that in most cases were better off left to the past.
Ultimately, what makes Earthlock so essential is just how earnest it is in its love for classic JRPGs. It’s worth sitting through its more cumbersome features in order to appreciate the hard work that a team of people who clearly love the genre have sweated over to refine the game to the point where it’s not only a homage to the greats of old, but it adds just a little to what makes the genre so wonderful.
Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a surprisingly hardcore RPG that belies its child-friendly surface. Teeth-gnashing boss battles can almost always be overcome with careful consideration and patience, and, when you find the solution, you'll wonder why you were even annoyed in the first place. The story is guff with a set of bland characters that do little more than move you from place to place, but you could do worse.
Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a solid attempt at making retro RPGs fun again.
Earthlock is a beautiful and exciting RPG, being one of the best this decade. It combines aspects that make a game great, like a very well-written story, a beautifully composed soundtrack, and characters that stand out. However, the gameplay is sort of lacking, with most of it being battles. The game also loses its lustre fairly quickly after starting, as nothing really interesting happens until later.