Kritika Online (PC) Review

This is not an MMORPG. Those who came here looking for a review of such a game, here's the exit. There's a town hub (a small one) where one can do all the typical (because it is typical) buying, selling, crafting, and so on, and it's possible to brave the various enemy-filled instances along with a couple of friends, but don't come expecting a vast world where hundreds of players from all around the globe will interact. For all intents and purposes, Kritika Online is nothing more than just a simple hack 'n' slasher, with an emphasis on combos that… well, hack and slash lots of enemies at once. So you go in, you Musou their behinds, you grabeth the loot, and you go out.

Stylistically, it's as if Guilty Gear turned into a frenetic brawler. Hard rock playing in the background, ridiculous (in a good way) battles, and a heavy anime aesthetic - this definitely looks cool. Is it all style? Unfortunately, that seems to be the case here, and not even that section is without flaws. Yes, it looks like Guilty Gear, but a poor man's version of it. Besides the fact that the graphics engine looked dated even at the time it came out, nothing really stands out - it's your generic F2P online anime game.

Nothing is ugly, though, and, in the case of 2D character portraits, these are actually good-looking. Finally, typical of such titles, when all else fails, just enlarge the girls' bosoms and all will be fine, with the result being a world filled with well-enhanced lasses. The only true problem when it comes to the visual aspect of it all is the classes. All four have a very striking appearance, so it's no wonder that they are gender-locked; however, unless you pay some real coins, their appearance won't ever change when equipping different gear.

The biggest disappointment here, however, is the meat of it all: the gameplay. The genre can certainly be a bit too repetitive and simplistic in terms of game mechanics, but this has gone too far. All you do here is this: go from area to area, hack your way through dozens of enemies by spamming all sorts of super moves, and forget all about silly things like tactics and skill.

Bear in mind that, apart from the bosses who require the player to pay attention to the battlefield, the normal mobs are simply waiting there to be slayed. In fact, once a character starts doing a combo by simply hitting the attack button, these folks are dead.

Sure, it's all very fast, and the instances themselves pleasantly brief. Therefore, one does not need to spend more than 30 minutes per day in this to have some cathartic fun. Unfortunately, this lacks the necessary depth to stay with you for a bit longer than that.

This lack of depth is even worse when it comes to the available skills. For starters, no matter your choices, it rarely feels as if it matters. Therefore, few will care whether they should spend more points in ability A or B. After a couple of levels it's possible to choose between two or three advanced classes - unfortunately, while certainly varied, the gameplay remains 100% boring and repetitive hack 'n' slash.

In conclusion, the monotony of it all completely ruins the game. Kritika Online can be played cooperatively, PvP includes 1v1, 3v3 and even a Capture the Flag mode, and, finally there's also a mode that mixes PvE with PvP… but it doesn't really matter, because the core of the gameplay, the fighting, will simply put you to sleep.