MAGLAM LORD | PS4 Review
It’s not a secret that I adore JRPGs, visual novels, and dating sims. As soon as a game is announced in any of these genres, I need to get my hands on it ASAP. Felistella’s MAGLAM LORD combines all three of these to great effect. If you’re a fan of any of these genres, you’re going to want to play this delightful title.
The Devil You Know
You play as the Demon Lord known as Killizerk. After selecting between being a ridiculously gorgeous female or devastatingly handsome male version of the character, you’re thrown headfirst into MAGLAM LORD’s zany, entertaining story. You wake up in a new world called Eusdeal with no memories of your past, and two strange individuals from your past inform you of your current situation and of who they exactly are. From there, you meet an eclectic cast of lovable Heroes (a Demon Lord’s sworn enemy), a robot, and a young TV journalist.
Each character in your party is incredibly likable… and dateable. The dating sim aspect felt a tad like a silly diversion at first, but as the game progresses it has a tangible impact on your story and the ending you receive. I had a genuinely difficult time choosing who I wanted to romance. Each of your potential partners enjoys different activities (don’t worry, there’s nothing spicy or inappropriate) and choosing the correct event is imperative to your mission of finding true love.
We’re Going On An Adventure!
The JRPG aspect is the main focus of the game, and is an immense amount of fun. There are plenty of side quests to complete that allow you to gain EXP and materials so that you’re prepared to continue the main quest. All side quests are of the variety of “Fetch/Kill X of Y,” but it didn’t bother me because the sense of progression is so rewarding. Enemies and locations do become repetitive though, and I wish there had been a greater variety. The main quest itself is compelling and constantly threw me for a loop with the events that happened.
Combat is extremely satisfying. It’s simple to learn but there’s plenty of complexity in choosing the correct maglams, charms, and spells to use. The titular maglams are weapons that you forge out of materials found during quests. You can craft a wide variety of spears, axes, and swords, and I had a blast testing out different builds and charms to see which worked best for each situation.
The visuals look like they’re straight out of an isekai anime, which is a good thing in this case. Every little detail is stunning. The writing is captivating, the voice acting is wonderful, and the score is delightful. My only major complaint about MAGLAM LORD is the fact that it crashed my PS5 on four separate occasions, forcing me to reboot the console each time. Each time occurred when I was trying to save my game, causing me to pray to the console gods that saving my progress wouldn’t cause any issues.
The Final Verdict
MAGLAM LORD was an absolute blast all the way through my 20 hour run through. An interesting story, solid combat, fun weapon forging, endearing characters, and gorgeous visuals all combine to make this a JRPG/visual novel/dating sim worthy of your time. The lack of variety among enemies and environments can become a tad tiresome, but it’s not enough to detract too much from the overall enjoyment derived from the title. The most worrisome issue is the hard crashes that occurred. I’m not sure if this was an isolated case on my end or if it’s affecting other players, but I’d be remiss not to mention this somewhat unnerving glitch.
This review is based on a PS4 copy of MAGLAM LORD provided by PQube for coverage purposes. It is also available on Nintendo Switch.
MAGLAM LORD
$39.99
Pros
- Intriguing Story
- Successfully Melds Three Genres Together
- Great Characters All Around
- Beautiful Anime Visuals
- Combat and Weapon Forging Is a Blast
Cons
- Enemies and Locations Become Repetitive
- Several Hard Console Crashes Occurred
