The Caligula Effect: Overdose Reviews

The Caligula Effect: Overdose is ranked in the 17th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Mar 5, 2019

The Caligula Effect progresses at a fast enough clip that, for the second time over, I haven't wanted to put it down.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 19, 2019

Overall, I have to say I really loved how “relatable” or “real” the characters in Caligula Effect Overdose felt. A lot of good improvements were made on the original, and there were a lot of new and innovative gameplay ideas. While the game may get a little repetitive at times, if you intersperse with trauma resolution, it becomes significantly more manageable. I’m really hoping the team that made this continues on to do future work.

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8 / 10.0
Apr 1, 2019

It personally resonated with me, as someone who struggles with facing their personal shortcomings, but tries their best to overcome them, even with adversity standing in their way, with strength, passion, and desire. It may start a little rough around the edges at first, but the title came through for me after getting through that first hurdle. It definitely has left a lasting impression, and still has me thinking after completing it.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 12, 2019

The Caligula Effect Overdose has some of the most inventive combat I have ever played in a turnbased JRPG. If you can get beyond the grind a lot of the dungeons feel like and the poorly implemented social systems, you will be treated to amazing combat, great music, wonderful character interactions and a story that will really make you think.

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Mar 16, 2019

The Caligula Effect: Overdose has great ideas that are often marred by uneven execution. But with its unique combat system, as well as exemplary music and illustrations, the negatives are outweighed by the positives.

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3.5 / 5.0
Mar 5, 2019

The Caligula Effect: Overdose is pretty much the same game, just with more content and fewer technical issues.

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7 / 10.0
Mar 5, 2019

I’m glad the team at FuRyu didn’t give up on The Caligula Effect after it received such a poor reception when it first released. While still far from being amazing, this enhanced edition is a step in the right direction for the team and the franchise if they want to continue moving it forward.

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7 / 10
Nov 2, 2018

With a lot of great content, much of it new, including added characters and a high volume of additional story elements, The Caligula Effect Overdose is a remarkable example of a valuable remake.

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7 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2019

When everything's said and done, however, I think fans of the genre will find something to like in the game. That noted, those who tried the Vita version may be less inclined to give it another chance, but those coming in fresh may find a mostly enjoyable title.

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7 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2019

The only sentence that I can say about this game is: "Don't expect it to be a new Persona game"! The Caligula Effect Overdose is a remaster that's not very commendable but it's still worthy of being played. It can be a good starting point for newcomers of JRPG genre and a mediocre experience for veterans of this genre.

Review in Persian | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Apr 4, 2019

This The Caligula Effect: Overdose is the videojueguil materialization of three shots followed by the post. Everything is about to fit in, but in the end, although there is no defeat, there is still the uneasiness that we were close to victory. We were close to Person 3.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Apr 23, 2019

While The Caligula Effect: Overdose seems like your typical JRPG, it tries to stick out with its unique features. Sadly, it failed to properly implement these features and there’s still a lot of room for improvement. Regardless, The Caligula Effect: Overdose was an incredibly enjoyable game for me and kept me invested for hours. The combat is fun and even though I didn’t make use of the unique features at all, I can still recommend it to anyone who is into the genre of JRPG as well.

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3.5 / 5.0
Aug 22, 2023

Subjectively speaking, I absolutely adore this game. Objectively, however, it’s far from perfect. All-in-all, The Caligula Effect: Overdose is a unique JRPG with a captivating story enveloped in the fragility of human psychology, but tends to fall a bit flat when it comes to actual gameplay. Its decision to move to the PS5 also still baffles me. Still, I’d recommend playing it if you’re interested. And, hey, I guess you can play it on the modern PlayStation platform of your choice, too!

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7 / 10.0
Jun 8, 2023

An interesting story, an entertaining combat system, a sublime soundtrack and slightly outdated graphics; all this is what we will find in The Caligula Effect Overdose.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

68%
Apr 2, 2019

For the first few hours I've always wondered, "What am I actually playing here?", And now after about 40 hours, I still wonder somehow. Caligula Effect is a typical NIS game. Not really outstanding, but it really does not do anything wrong. The story is quite interesting in itself, but it is told very slowly. We fight each other from boss to boss, but the way there is laborious. The dungeons are huge and felt they are getting bigger and eventually comes the point where you have to visit old dungeons again. A dungeon is divided into several areas and you should of course initially explore everything, but eventually you just do not feel like. Each dungeon has its own design, but they are not very interesting. The same textures are used throughout and nothing new is coming. The fights are harmless or merciless, depending on the level of difficulty you play. Fortunately, on Normal I was able to put on car, so the party plays by itself (except our character, we always have to steer him), otherwise the fights would take longer. One should not be averse to the soundtrack, for a JRPG typical we also have corresponding fight music. We have an average JRPG here, otherwise I would not have spent more than 40 hours here.

Review in German | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Mar 7, 2019

The Caligula Effect: Overdose is still definitely a flawed, frustrating work. Its shortcomings are many, and might still be too intractable for some, but the refinements and additions have,for me at least, papered over the cracks just enough to make it worth putting up with. Patient and curious JRPG enthusiasts will find plenty to appreciate, if not necessarily love, if they try for a quick stay in Mobius.

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65 / 100
May 31, 2023

If you can look past the many shortcomings of this imperfect game, then there's an experience here that contains some truly profound and meaningful messages. The unique take on traditional turn-based combat, the emotionally dark narrative, and the excellent musical soundtrack are the true rewards beneath poor dungeon design, an unimaginative causality link mechanic, and unclear objectives. The Caligula Effect: Overdose is a charming and worthwhile albeit niche JRPG as long as you go in with the correct expectations, given the game's low budget. Just know that this 2023 PS5 native port of the game adds absolutely nothing new to the 2019 PS4 version.

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PSX Brasil
Top Critic
65 / 100
Mar 18, 2019

The Caligula Effect: Overdose is not such a bad title if you dedicate yourself on it. However, the repeated scenarios, weak combat and characters without charisma make everything extremely tiring and monotonous.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

Simon Brown
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Mar 12, 2019

A competent if flawed JRPG that has a unique combat system undermined by poor localisation as well as just dull implementation. If you are after a Persona-like RPG you might get some enjoyment from this, but it's pretty generic fare.

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6.5 / 10.0
Apr 22, 2019

When it comes to wrapping up a title like The Caligula Effect: Overdose, it’s hard not to be left with a sense of mixed feelings about the game. Many of the PlayStation Vita’s fundamental issues remain such as inconsistent storytelling elements, gameplay issues (repetition), and rather stiff character animations. A part of me wonders if it was the fact that it is a PlayStation Vita port, just using a brand new engine to bring it up to speed, or if this was in fact – an intentional design choice at the end of the day.

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