Disappointing Nazaric Underground Tomb Escape – Inven

If you’re not a fan of Overlord, you should think a lot…

A game becomes a novel, and the novel becomes a game again. So the media goes round and round. Of course, it was a novel based on a fictional ‘game’, but based on the sensational popularity, it appeared in animation production, game production, and various collaborations. The novel ‘Overlord’, which came out 10 years ago, is a famous IP as it has a large fan base to the point where a game is still released. Although there have been issues with the direction, serialization, and quality of the original work or animation recently, it is definitely a famous IP.

Overlord is a novel about the story of the undead player ‘Momonga’, the guild leader of the ‘Ainz Wool Gown’ guild and the owner of the Nazarick Underground Tomb (guild house and dungeon) in the game ‘Yggdrasil’, which is about to end its service. to be. Even after the service ends, the game does not shut down, but rather transfers to another world, where NPCs live with their personalities. It is characterized by depicting an adventure in another world that has been transferred like that.

The characters’ personalities are excellent, and they have absolute power in the character of a villain rather than love for humanity, and they do not glorify the actions of the main character. Also, it illuminates from the perspective of world figures who have transferred both their good and evil deeds, and conversely, deals with the characteristics of a different world from the perspective of the protagonist. Overlord, which has a personality that solves conflicts and incidents from such a multifaceted point of view, has been very popular, and is a popular IP that has surpassed 11 million copies in the series. Based on this, anime and games also appeared. One of them is ‘The Overlord – Escape from Nazaric’, which we will look at today.

In ‘Overlord: Escape from Nazaric’, the original character ‘Clementine’ wakes up from the Great Nazaric Tomb for some reason and semi-forcibly participates in an experiment hosted by Ainz Wool Goun. It deals with escaping from a large tomb. Losing her memory, Clementine learns simple manipulations in her step-by-step early stages, she studies a few things about light combat and weapon types, and begins her journey with her memory blank.

As it was a game based on a fairly famous IP, there were several points of watching the game. How well did it reflect the original, and how attractive it was as a Metroidvania game? Nevertheless, Overlord: Escape from Nazaric was very disappointing.

First of all, as the game progresses like a Metroidvania game, new elements are gradually unlocked, and the process of escaping from the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick is continued while exploring places that have not been previously possible. Basically, the main character, Clementine, maintains her favorite weapon, the dagger, at all times, and can use one additional weapon. Although her weapon has its own characteristics, it is effective against the undead, and the extent to which it can break the guard is over.

There are times when there are multiple attacks for each weapon, but most of them simply stab, cut, and hit. The sound, motion, and effects of the attack are quite good, but the monster has super armor, so it feels like hitting a wall. Therefore, in the battle section, the pleasure of defeating the enemy is less than expected, but some operation priorities cause a very unpleasant experience in this area.

Boss battles also have a constant tempo in a way that most of them give a little deal time after a large pattern. When HP falls below a certain level, it enters Phase 2 and uses a more powerful pattern. In addition, from Phase 2, you can dodge or attack using gimmicks on the map, but it is rarely used in practice.

This is also because this game provides more HP than expected and also provides defense, but it is also possible to exchange the gain of ‘one hit more hit’ rather than sometimes avoiding and hitting. This is actually a device that makes the game really accessible, but it is also a flow that leads the flow of battle to ‘recklessness’. In addition, the magic learned so far cannot be expected to be effective in boss fights, and in the end, it becomes more rigid because it has to be solved only with melee attacks.

To make matters worse, the weapons used in the game have enough money to enhance them, so you can master all the weapons you get after the early to mid-game. As much as that, the damage is stronger, the damage received is reduced, and the HP is generous. There, the save points are also arranged in such a way that it can be said that they are dense, so reckless play is much more pleasant.

In this aspect, based on the normal difficulty level, even beginners can defeat most of the bosses within 1 or 2 strokes, and the game becomes easy enough to challenge the hard level a few times, which reduces the satisfaction of battle a lot. The well-prepared DOT and attack motions were good, but the battle that could express them attractively was too easy and unattractive.

Like the Metroidvania genre, it’s not bad to have fun while moving around the map with various techniques. However, the point at which Clementine’s abilities are gradually blooming is slower than expected. There is a way to solve the fire-lightning-ice gimmick and attack by switching properties, but these are functions such as hanging on a wall using Morning Star or jumping higher on a wall. There is no double jump, but there is a time gimmick that temporarily slows the flow of time later and passes quickly.

As with any genre, getting new abilities like this and looking around from the beginning again isn’t as fun as I thought. In general, through this, you get ability enhancement factors or weapons, but the change is not dramatic. In addition, the resources already used to enhance weapons are overflowing, so the merit is reduced. However, there are elements that collect puzzles.

However, the elements unlocked by this puzzle are so absurd. Even if it’s not the original, it would have been a little different if there were a dot illustration, setting book, original illustration, or Easter egg unique to the game. However, the elements unlocked by this puzzle are only included in the cutscenes of the anime ‘Overlord’. It also picks up specificizations and events, and to be precise, only the story of Clementine appears. This can be understood as a part that allows you to see the memory of the protagonist who has lost his memory in the setting, but it is a reward that is too low a value to find while breaking through the gimmick of the map one by one and increasing the percentage one by one.

Also, as mentioned earlier, the priority of operation affects not only the battle but also the fun of exploration. It has a strong identity of diagonal manipulation, and the manipulation of directions to 1379 is tight. During running, unless you lower the pad in a straight line (in the 2nd direction of the number pad) for an attack on the bottom, sliding occurs in the forward/reverse direction. Although this part is not given much attention, it is sometimes the cause of frequent operation errors in the parts that need to be dealt with within time. Of course, there are so many save points, just keep trying.

The stricter operation method than expected is inconvenient in many ways, but it must have been at a level that could be tolerated in the exploration itself. However, since these elements are linked like battle, it is also quite unpleasant. Of course, I think this is an area where individuals have their likes and dislikes. Instead, there are many puzzle gimmicks that exist on the map than expected, the difficulty of the newly discovered space keeps increasing and the rewards are not good even though the abilities are unlocked and strict timing and manipulation are required. There is a problem that the motivation to enjoy the exploration element, which was not bad, is greatly reduced due to insufficient reward distribution.

Another drawback of ‘Overlord: Escape from Nazarick’ is its too obvious storyline. This was a part that could be easily predicted by fans who knew the original to some extent, and it is an area that can be regarded as respect for the original. However, the way the story is directed is very monotonous. Encounter in a new area – Conversation – Mid-boss – Conversation – Clear – The monotonous route of dialogue continues from beginning to end. And the part that can be said to be the final reversal is a path that anyone can expect.

However, the retro graphics that take advantage of the characters’ individuality can play well, and the structure and process of the Nazarick Underground Tomb reflecting the original setting is very good. However, there is no dubbing that can revive the sensibility of the original, and it appears only as a simple text. The change in Clementine’s expression and posture is great, but there are very few changes in the opposing enemies, and there is only directing at the beginning of her appearance. Besides, in their own game, the guardians of the hierarchy, who can be counted as the strongest in the worldview, have very poor personalities other than the dots. The attack itself can be seen as flashy, but the gap is too big and it’s not difficult to overcome…

The quality DOT, sound production, and atmosphere itself were not bad. The problem is that the gimmicks, battles, and exploration of the map that should be paired with them all fall short of expectations, and it feels like a failure of the harmony we were trying to prepare. Fans of anime and original works should pay attention to it at least once, but the disappointment is bound to be great because you can’t see the development of a different Overload IP. Well, if it was for the promotion of the original work and the anime, I would have thought about it anyway… On the contrary, it is too insufficient to call it a ‘great game’ developed based on this. If you’re not a fan of the original, you’re just such a Metroidvania. The composition of the game itself is disappointing, even to draw interest in the original story.

So it’s even more sad. Overlord’s worldview itself is quite attractive, and the characters’ personalities are also very good IP. The popularity of the original novel as well as the animation is quite popular (although it decreases little by little as the season progresses), it is an IP. Based on such IP, the story that even the original author’s review was made is too obvious, and the gameplay is monotonous and not proud. In fact, if you take a step back and look at the big picture, the battle and exploration are okay, so if you refine it a bit, it could be a very fun game.

However, too weak compensation and obvious story caught the ankle. If the reward had stimulated the fans’ hearts more and had a composition that made the world more interesting, it would have been a different game because the fun of exploration would have come to life. If the weapons were also more diversified and the use of magic was made in a form that could be used in boss battles rather than simple puzzle gimmicks, it might have been a sufficiently attractive game. ‘Overlord: Escape from Nazarick’ is just disappointing because it doesn’t contain all of them.