The DioField Chronicle convinces in the test with a great combat system
With The Dio Field Chronicle Square Enix released a new standalone game a few days ago, which you with its Mix of role-playing elements and real-time strategy want to be captivated. Why this project despite small weaknesses succeedwe tell you in our test.
A world in the midst of the turmoil of war
The world is made by one mighty war shocked that two major parties are fighting each other. That too Kingdom of Alletain on the DioField Island is drawn into the ever-spreading conflicts. are in the thick of it the blue foxesa group of mercenaries.
In The DioField Chronicle, we take control of this force and command them across the battlefield. Between the missions, the story is spun on, which shows certain parallels to the dark fantasy epic “Game of Thrones”, for example in the form of all sorts of intrigues and betrayals.
The story of the strategy RPG is told both in the form of nicely done cutscenes as well as in pretty-looking still images in watercolor look.
Although the plot itself is exciting and motivates you to continue playing, the transitions between missions are sometimes on a narrative level a bit bumpy and the game tells about the developments too often instead of showing them to us.
Fantastic real-time battles with depth
While that’s a pity, it can’t detract from the game’s greatest strength: the battles you’ll have in “The DioField Chronicle” with the Real Time Tactical Battle System (RTTB) unsubscribes These are definitely THE highlight of the game.
As the name suggests, the skirmishes are ongoing in real timeso you need to keep a close eye on what’s happening on the battlefield.
In a Diorama view you steer the blue foxes through all sorts of varied areas in the course of the story. In the best RPG manner, our initially four-person mercenary group is gradually closing in more charactersbringing fresh powers and abilities to the game.
However, since we always only four figures active command, they must be chosen wisely. There are various melee and ranged fighters to choose from, as well as magicians, of course.
This does not result in a particularly original character constellation, but the different combinations allow different playing styles and tactics and invite you to experiment.
During our test, we mostly found the fights against different types of opponents (plus bosses) to be pleasantly challenging.
For example, the positioning of our units on the battlefield is a crucial factor because if we use the environment to our advantage, we can defeat our opponents fall in the back and thus critical hits land from ambush. Explosive barrels or other parts of the environment have also repeatedly proven to be extremely useful.
In addition, the Character special attacks be used sensibly. These can be used both aggressively and defensively and combined with each other, which felt immensely satisfying during our testing.
Diversity is clearly the key to victory! The same can also be in yours powerful ultimates lie that at Summons from Final Fantasy recall. If you have charged a special bar, you can summon a powerful monster that deals massive damage.
Furthermore, the missions are always enticing optional sub-goals, which should also be met if possible. For example, there is often a time limit, none of your units may be defeated or you have to open hidden chests, which useful rewards can contribute. That doesn’t just take care of additional motivationbut also ensures that you have to plan your approach even better.
If we had to criticize anything about the combat in The DioField Chronicle, it would be that you can’t get around it on the higher difficulties. play through old missions multiple times and invest a lot of time in side missions. Your blue foxes level up very slowly, which is why you need some story quests too weak will be
Also, it kept coming up during the fighting small AI dropouts. After using a special attack, we often observed how the corresponding units then stood there motionless and received various hits and did not have the idea of continuing to attack on their own.
Diverse customization options and the basic everyday life
By the way, in order to increase the chances of your characters surviving on the battlefield, you don’t lose the expansion of your base around.
Between missions, this can be freely explored and you should do the same. Here you can talk to your teammates and in the well written dialogues learn more about their motivations and backgrounds.
However, it is significantly more important that you earn your money here during the assignments money invested wisely. For example, there is a department dedicated to Crafting new powerful weapons turns. Once you unlock them, you can buy them in the store a few rooms down. The use of is also important here special itemswhich can increase various attributes of characters.
At this point, we also want to mention the talent trees of the individual characters. For successfully completed missions, the blue foxes rise in levels and for each level there are one point. You should invest these in improving their skills promptly and make them faster, stronger or more resistant to strong attacks.
You’ve probably already noticed: Whether on the battlefield or off it, you always have to keep a lot of things in mind.
For Genre newcomers could this veritable flood of information, especially in the first few hours of play overwhelming be. Among other things, because not everything is explained in detail.
Strategy RPG lovers will find out about the numerous options be happy.
Technically not up to date
Before we come to the conclusion, finally a few words about the technology of “The DioField Chronicle”. That’s short not really up to datewhich is probably due to the fact that the title appears both for the Nintendo Switch and for the much more powerful PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
The art style is though incredibly pretty to look atbut some flat textures and awkward animations spoil the overall impression.
Meanwhile, we have little to complain about very atmospheric soundtrack and the game’s voice acting. The latter is in both English and Japanese dubbing extremely well done. However, you have to do without a German soundtrack, but the game offers German subtitles.
Square Enix review
Conclusion and rating by Sven Raabe
“The DioField Chronicle” primarily impresses with its absolutely excellent combat system, which gives you many options at hand. Because the combat is real-time, you’ll have to keep an eye on many different things on the battlefield, but once you get the hang of it, your blue foxes will sweep through the levels like dervishes. Positioning on the battlefield is just as important as equipping and progressively boosting your characters’ abilities. Keeping track of all this different information is the key to success and it’s just great fun.
However, the flood of information that overwhelms you can also be a bit overwhelming for newcomers to the strategy RPG genre, especially in the first few hours of play. Another hurdle is that not all facets of the game are adequately explained. However, fans of this type of game get their money’s worth and can spend hours optimally matching their dream team and getting the most out of their base.
All in all, you can expect a very successful representative of the genre with the latest title from Square Enix, which only has minor blunders standing in the way of a better rating. If you can overlook these or come to terms with them, you can expect an equally challenging and motivating gaming experience here.
Per
| + | The excellent combat system allows many possibilities with great tactical depth |
| + | Battlefield positioning and team diversity are key to victory |
| + | Sub-goals motivate you to do better on the missions |
| + | Lots of customization options, upgrade options and room for character improvement |
| + | Exciting story and well-written dialogues |
| + | Chic art style, good dubbing (English & Japanese) and atmospheric soundtrack |
cons
| – | Story progression sometimes requires a lot of grind on high difficulties |
| – | AI dropouts during battles disrupt gameplay |
| – | Information overload can overwhelm genre newcomers |
| – | Technically a bit old-fashioned |
Reference-www.playcentral.de