Oninaki Reviews
Tokyo RPG Factory's newest game has a lot of great ideas on paper, but never manages to fully realize them.
This role-playing adventure's interesting, haunting premise can't stop you wanting to fling your controller at the wall
With a shorter run time and a bit more tweaking with its action RPG mechanics, the game could have been more than just a “Factory”-made title.
A decent yet dispassionate game that takes its creators' name (Square Enix's Tokyo RPG Factory) a little too far --it really looks like a game assembled in a factory.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While Oninaki had its fair share of ideas that could have potentially made it a gem, it is ultimately undone by weak storytelling that doesn’t do its heavy subject matter justice and combat that is enjoyable at times yet held back by design flaws that hinder the experience.
I’m very torn with Oninaki. For a studio selling itself as an RPG machine, they did a real poor job with the story aspects of the game. Then we have a super fun and engaging combat system, tempered by a questionably designed interface, but we still have a beautiful audiovisual experience.
A decent dark story surrounded by mediocre gameplay and other problems. Square Enix, it's time to give Tokyo RPG Factory enough money, otherwise their games will always be average.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Oninaki is disappointing. Mostly because the right elements were in place to make it great and it's so thoroughly mediocre. Tokyo RPG Factory have yet to release a truly essential game. As it stands they've released three games with interesting ideas and spotty execution. Perhaps one day they will get it right and release a defining RPG. However, today is not that day, and Oninaki is not that game.
Oninaki has some good ideas, but they're overshadowed by a weak story and tedious combat.
Oninaki has one foot in the grave while the other doing a pleasant tap dance. It has an interesting story held back by bland characters and filler, and its gameplay can feel great when you're not getting pounded in the face and stunned to death. Unless you can find it on sale, I'd skip this one.
Oninaki's fascinating world and beautiful visuals promise a lot, but frustrating action-RPG combat and awkward story presentation keep its potential from blossoming.
Oninaki manages to pull off some interesting story beats and has some great environment designs. However, the excessive padding and re-use of several gameplay elements leaves a sour taste in the mouth with 20 hours of gameplay stretched into 30 and beyond.
Oninaki certainly has plenty of ambition, promise and talent, but unfortunately, it didn't substantially deliver on any of them. There are many layered game mechanics and an intriguing story that don't stand a chance against extremely easy and repetitive gameplay. It's quite obvious that the development time and budget were limited, which results in an experience that is mediocre at best, regardless of how great this could have been. The almost-AAA price of $50 makes it a hard sell that should only be considered by determined fans or those who have played and enjoyed the demo.
Oninaki could have been extraordinary. Artistic beauty, ingenious ideas, solid voice acting, and a story foundation open to endless potential, is utterly diminished by flat storytelling, zero character development, overall lack of narrative depth, gameplay design missteps, and lazy 3-D aesthetics. Perhaps a more generous reviewer would have scored Oninaki higher, but I cannot simply overlook the game’s compounding faults. It’s truly unfortunate, as there are glimmers of pure magic within and a little more would have made a remarkable impact. To experience all Oninaki has to offer and to find all of those moments of brilliance, be prepared to spend 30 hours or more to do so. It will take patience, as grind and fatigue will undoubtedly appear. Nonetheless, I personally found the experience worthwhile. Yet, if a more robust effort were made, Oninaki could have been a masterpiece; refined gameplay that matches its creativeness and a story that should have conveyed perceptions, ideas, and questions that challenge how one perceives life itself. So much potential untapped, I wanted to love this game so much more.
"Gray line between life and death."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
WORTH CONSIDERING - Fans of Tokyo RPG Factory’s previous games will no doubt pick this one up, but what they play will probably not be what they were expecting. Too much needless grinding and pacing keep Oninaki from reaching the greatness it could have been, despite its wonderful art direction and touching story.
With some additional tweaking, including making its combat a bit more fluid, Oninaki could have been something special. As it is, it’s simply okay.
It was premature game, it would've been much better had the developer spent more time on it. Despite this, the game is one of the darkest game this year, it made me feel sad due to the continuous sad situations. The developer hit the mark with the OST, and i kept listening even after finishing the game, I recommend this game to JRPG fans only.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Oninaki is a nostalgic throwback to old-school action RPGs such as Secret of Mana and Brave Fencer Musashi that doesn't quite stick the landing.
Oninaki is an abundance of compelling ideas enveloped in a fog of stammering expression. An extensive progression system, myriad combat options, and a sincere and original premise aren't enough to overcome the rote execution of its world, characters, and basic combat. Oninaki's only viable curiosity is what kind of game it may have been with more time, budget, and expertise.