As the gaming industry evolved over its few decades in existence, more markets became accessible to gamers, which meant an ever increasing catalogue of titles where to choose from. This is especially true for the Japanese market, since as time goes by more firms are willing to localize games, and more western gamers, myself included, are becoming interested in what the east has to offer.
The Deception series has been quite a known one in Japan, but here in Europe few were the ones who had actually played it. With the PlayStation 4’s release worldwide, the Deception games have apparently decided to release globally as well, and as proof of this, a sort of definitive edition has been released on PS4, containing the previous Deception IV title, dubbed Blood Ties, as well as more content to enjoy. Differently from the remasters of this age, graphics have not seen an impressive jump, but that is not a bad thing by itself since the graphics on the PS3 satisfied the game very well indeed. For people unfamiliar with the series, as myself before getting to review the game, Deception is one of those few games which represents the title perfectly, in the sense that the aim of the game is to deceive enemy characters and lure them into traps, placed by yourself, in order to kill them.
In Deception IV, you control Laegrinna, a daughter of the Devil, tasked to collect enough souls from people you kill to wake up her father. In order to accomplish this mission, you are provided with a sizeable arsenal of traps from the get go, with the possibility of unlocking further traps as you progress along the story. This is basically the gist of the game, and throughout you’ll be tricking enemies into following you, only to be met with a swinging giant axe or a falling pumpkin from the sky. Yes, you can actually make a pumpkin fall on someone’s head, but instead of killing him, the pumpkin simply stuns the opponent, making it a perfect set-up for a much more deadly combination of traps.
Traps are the main element of the game, and they come in all shapes and sizes. There are wall traps, roof traps, floor traps and even swinging traps like the blade we mentioned shortly above. The map is your canvas, and the trap menu is your paintbrush; design the level as you like it or see fit, and then enjoy activating each trap in sequence, as if you were listening to a tenor singing Figaro, with each note building up to the next. These traps are your only means for survival since Laegrinna is defenceless; she cannot fight or even attack, and she also moves very slowly, painfully so. She also cannot run, which means that if an enemy gets close, you’re dead meat. Unless you are baiting an enemy into a trap that is. It all makes for a great balance, one which does not break the game but makes it addicting, and gives it a strategic touch as well. A further element complicating things is the abilities of the enemies, who may for example need to be comboed for them to die, otherwise they will keep on coming. This makes the player have to think and set up accordingly, in order to progress, providing a learning experience indirectly through an objective.
Apart from the main story which involves Laegrinna, the PS4 edition of the game introduces a new character, herself a daughter of the devil too, which makes her Laegrinna’s sister. Her name is Velguirie. Velguirie’s campaign is less linear than Laegrinna, which makes for a good break from the normal story mode will still retaining the core mechanics of the game. Velguirie, unlike her sister, can directly attack opponents, even though her attacks do not do a great deal of damage. Understandably so, because the game still wants you to defeat enemies with traps and not with your attacks. This kick though is a perfect way to start a killer routine, one which may net you a boatload of points if done right. The campaign still plays out similarly to Laegrinna since it is the same key mechanics at play, but featuring different environments and options from the former’s story.
All in all, Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess makes for a great game, both for its neat gameplay and also because of the novelty of the title. A game totally based on traps might have been seen around but Deception takes it to the next level. Few games feel as rewarding, especially chaining together a number of traps and seeing the enemy fly all over the level until finally ending his misery with a massively damaging combo!
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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