Games tied to anime rarely achieve greatness. Blame it on the difficult nature of adapting an entire series or two into an RPG format or simply the games industry equivalent of saying the phrase 'Macbeth', but sometimes all a player can hope for is simply 'okay'. The building/action-combat game, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles, attempts to be more than average, but is hampered by a disappointing lack of depth.
Join us today on Anime Corner as we review That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI CHRONICLES, available now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.
Dragon Quest has called, they want to return to their Slimes
Adapting the first and a half volumes (or about five light novels) of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, (often referred to by its Japanese abbreviation 'TenSura'), ISEKAI CHRONICLES faithfully retells the adventures of Rimuru Tempest. Once a Japanese salaryman who met an unfortunate end, he was reincarnated as—you guessed it—a slime, endowed with immense magical potential and the power to learn new skills by eating other creatures.
While TenSura has a power fantasy element, the series leans more toward politics and sports than slice-of-life, as Rimuru grows his alliance from a small village in the woods to his own nation with a fully functioning government. As the fledgling nation advances, Rimuru and his friends encounter all manner of magical beasts, egotistical kings, and godlike beings—many of whom become staunch allies after being knocked unconscious by Rimuru and his gang.
ISEKAI CHRONICLES also features two brand new stories written by the series' creator, Fuse, and full Japanese voice acting throughout. If nothing else, the attention to detail of the original story's quirky characters and national politics is on full display, and the game feels like it was developed with genuine love and appreciation for the source material.
Slime Choice Awards
The gameplay in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles is evenly split between visual novel-style storytelling and 2.5D side-scrolling combat. Between missions, you can expand your base with new buildings that boost your team's stats as they fight, and in return, you'll gain materials from combat to build more buildings.
The gameplay loop makes sense on paper, borrowing heavily from the craft-combat-craft school of the Monster Hunter or Atelier series. Unfortunately, the building management aspect of the game is barely implemented, and while you can replace old buildings with newer ones to maximize your bonuses, the combat is so easy that it makes that aspect almost irrelevant.
Combat is still the highlight of the game, though, with fun combos and splash effects all over the screen. You can deploy three characters to actively switch between screens, with two additional support characters available to perform special attacks. Individual encounters are tracked using a scoring system similar to Devil May Cry, rewarding players for juggling enemies to increase their counterattacks and deal massive damage. With an elemental type wheel bolted on top, you've got yourself a very useful framework for an action game. Unfortunately, like the base building, it stops there—at a reasonable starting point.
After the first few hours of playing the game, you've seen everything it has to offer. Your character's skill trees are mindless checklists that don't involve any decision-making; and combat quickly devolves into a repetitive grind, with skinned enemies scattered across the dozen or so levels. ISEKAI CHRONICLES uses a Metroidvania-inspired minimap for combat, but each dungeon always has the same layout, making repeated trips to locations incredibly frustrating. A roguelite randomization system like Little Noah: Scion of Paradise would do wonders to keep exploration fresh; or perhaps some more active combat and platforming like those in Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin.
Visually, ISEKAI CHRONICLES manages to elevate things above most other anime-related installments. On our PS5 copy of the game, performance was excellent, with barely any slowdown or hiccups. The voice acting was flawless, the script was mostly bug-free, and the character designs stood out in a unique cel-shaded style. If nothing else, ISEKAI Chronicles serves as a smooth introduction to the world of TenSura, with a cast of playable characters, a fun tone, and (surprisingly for the isekai genre), very little fan service.
Summary
Ultimately, your journey will change in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles.
Despite some great ideas and excellent presentation, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles.
Despite some great ideas and excellent presentation, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles Slime ISEKAI CHRONICLES fails to provide any real depth to its combat or base-building mechanics, and fails to offer much to gamers who aren't interested in retelling the story of Rimuru Tempest. The combat mechanics are fun but repetitive, and sadly the base-building is just another checklist between story beats. If you want more TenSura, then you can enjoy That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI CHRONICLES; otherwise, there's always the anime and light novels.
Anime Corner received a review copy of the game.
© Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/”Ten-Sura” Project
© Shiba, Fuse, KODANSHA/“Ten-Sura Diary” Project
© Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
