Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star Reviews
Fate/Extella had some solid gameplay aspects though it was held back by how it presented the narrative and repetitive combat.
I really enjoyed my time with Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star, but it is a game for fans of the Warriors franchise style of combat and fans of the show. The combat can become repetitive, and the story can be a little tough to understand at times. However, it knows its audience, and it provides a wonderful experience for anyone looking to have more fun in the Fate universe. If that is you, I recommend you give it a try. You will not be disappointed.
Fate/Extella The Umbral Star is a great addition to the Switch, but not a great addition to either genre it tries to emulate.
While Fate/Extella suffers from repetition and does little to ease new players into the universe, its fast-paced action and exciting story are ultimately worth it.
Fate/Extella is brilliant and graphically quite good, considering it was developed for the Vita as well as the Playstation 4. Extella really brings forth the magic of the animated series, and it seems the Musou genre was a nice fit for Fate. I would love to see more games in the series done in this style. Extella's only real problems are an uninteresting soundtrack and lack of variety in the stages and mission objectives. Fate/Extella as a whole is a fun experience that I would gladly recommend to any fan of the Musou genre or the Fate series.
In short, it is safe to say the gameplay for Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star fits very well with how the story is set to progress this time around, thanks to a more central focus on the action and events in those moments.
If you’re a fan of the Fate franchise or the musou genre, this title is definitely worth a look. To the general gaming public, I’d say to rent it first and see if it holds up for you before purchasing.
The game looks fabulous on Switch, with framerates staying stable most of the time. It’s very colourful and despite the fact it doesn’t compete with some of the first-party Switch games in terms of fidelity, I was more than happy with it’s presentation. It is a good fit for Switch, as the relatively short battles have very little filler and suit short sessions well.
Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star packs plenty of promise, but falls short in certain areas. Gratifying combat can’t outweigh an experience that is too readily prepared to let players sit and read through great lengths of text. When you eventually get to the action it can be spectacular, there just isn’t enough of it.
If you are already a fan of the Fate franchise, this game will absolutely appeal to you. If you’ve never heard of this series before, but you’ve played previous musou style games, this game will also appeal to you. Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star has a lot to offer for fans that enjoy one or both of those scenarios just mentioned. The intense and quick in-your-face style of combat, mixed with the anime art style and graphics, works better than you would think.
The Fate series itself is a combination of strange things end up being cohesive, and this game is no exception to that rule. Fate/EXTELLA the took series in a new direction thanks to an dramatic witch in game genres and, if you ask me, it ended up paying off thanks to a solid combat system, good amount of character depth, and surprisingly large amount of story content.
Fans of the anime will likely be disappointed with the story on offer within Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star, that whilst manages to heat up in its final arc, is more akin to a fighting game than an in-depth story and pales in comparison to the far superior anime counterpart. But playing as each and every Servant - those made famous through the show and those not - is a heck of a lot of fun, with gameplay that is both cathartic and successfully brings an element of strategy along for the ride. Whilst there are some minor niggles within the combat gameplay that stop it being a cornerstone of the genre, there’s nothing that truly dissuaded my enjoyment in the complete package developers Marvelous have managed to offer fans. Whether you are seeking it out as a Musou title - an area it excels at - or just looking for something to sink quite a few hours into - on console or on the ago - then Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star exudes that experience in spades.
Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is a decent Musou-style action game with a few drawbacks that can dull the experience. While the game’s story is kind of interesting, it’s weighed down by some clunky, poorly written dialogue.