Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast Review: A Shockingly Accurate Game (2024)

On November 15, 2024, Bushiroad Inc, finally released the English version of Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast, a Strategy RPG based on the hit 2018 anime. This title promises challenging tactical combat which will require the player to truly think about their actions and a great story taking place in the world of Goblin Slayer, but does it hold up under scrutiny? Is this a title that anime fans should consider picking up and playing? Let’s break down the game piece by piece and determine that for ourselves.

The gameplay in Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer—Nightmare Feast is very reminiscent of games like Fire Emblem and Super Robot Wars. In these games, players view the battle from a vertical grid and can move their units to attack in any order they wish.

The battle system also has elements that will make Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea fans feel at home. Such as how a major part of the game is hiring units who are nameless aside from their class to fight alongside the major characters in battle. However, it is more than possible to beat the game without hiring units and focusing only on the story characters.

Battles aren’t entirely derivative of other games in the SRPG genre though, as Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast brings a unique mechanic to the table: Fate and Chance. This mechanic takes the form of a dice roll before your turn in battle. Succeeding in this dice roll will activate various effects in battle.

These effects can range from dealing a guaranteed critical hit to inflicting status effects on enemies. As the player progresses through the game, they’ll be able to upgrade their dice rolls to have new effects. It adds an interesting element to the game’s battles that really helps the game stand out.

The game is surprisingly difficult for an anime-tie in a video game. Enemies hold nothing back and will make a beeline for any character whose health is lacking. More often than not you cannot afford to split your party up throughout a stage, keep your units close together, or risk annihilation.

Slow and steady is the name of the game here, while it may be tempting to charge into battle and defeat some seemingly defenseless-looking enemies, do not risk separating your units. This game will harshly punish your overconfidence with missed attacks, critical hits, and just plainly killing you with how much damage enemies do.

It’s next to impossible to overlevel in this game as well, as even the training missions designed to grind your characters can destroy your party if you challenge them unprepared. While death in this game means reloading your last save, it rarely feels like you are punished too harshly for overestimating your abilities.

Not even the ol’ reliable SRPG method of spamming AoE attacks on groups of enemies will be extremely helpful here as the game features some fierce friendly fire for both regular attacks and spells. The developers weren’t lying when they said that you will truly need to think about where you’re placing your units.

In a way, this high difficulty is perfect for a game based on Goblin Slayer, as the first episode of the anime was famous for showcasing what happens to parties in this universe who charge into a battle against goblins and the heavy price to pay for it.

In contrast to how intimidating combat itself is, keeping your units’ equipment updated at all times is quite easy to manage, as the equipment shop often updates with only a few pieces of equipment at a time and the player is always given more than enough money to afford what they need. Weapon upgrading is also not a hassle as each weapon can be upgraded only once and can be upgraded with any material.

While veteran SRPG players may feel at home with this game’s difficulty, those who don’t want to feel the pain of failure because they made a single mistake can switch the game to a lower difficulty known as ‘Story Mode’ at any time without any judgment. Though be warned, just because the difficulty has been lowered doesn’t mean the game will be a cake walk. Underestimate goblins at your own peril.

Story-wise, it would be more accurate to describe Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast as a game taking place in the universe as Goblin Slayer rather than an adaptation like most anime tie-in games. The game focuses almost entirely on a cast of original characters, with the titular Goblin Slayer not even appearing until several hours into the story.

Even when the Goblin Slayer himself does appear, it is made very apparent that he is not an actual part of the player’s party and just a unit you may use. Neither the Goblin Slayer nor the Priestess who accompanies him can have their equipment changed or their ranks promoted. This is a nice way of showing that this isn’t a story about the anime’s characters but rather just a story they happened to stumble into.

This is a very rare approach for an anime game and one I much appreciate, it is much easier to find yourself getting engaged with an original storyline over a simple rehash in another medium. The game’s new party even features some interesting characters such as a priest who is also a walking, talking Polar Bear who you will love to see more of.

Unfortunately, the same compliments cannot be extended to the story presentation. The cutscenes in Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast are presented in a visual novel format. This would be fine under normal circumstances, but where the visuals fall flat is the character portraits, or rather the lack of them.

Each character is given only a single pose with a few facial expressions. This makes every cutscene feel flat, as characters cannot properly express themselves with only a single pose. While the occasional use of illustrated CGs is appreciated, those are few and far between and only elevate what is bad story presentation.

The visuals of the game’s battle gameplay in comparison are decent and passable. The battle sprites for each story character and very recognizable and unique to each other. While the attack animations aren’t anything to write home about, they get the job done and of course, carry the usual SRPG frustration of having an enemy simply slide away if your attack misses.

Overall, Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast is a fine SRPG for veterans of the genre and a game that fans of the Goblin Slayer universe are sure to enjoy. However, if you are more of a casual gamer who is only interested in Goblin Slayer itself then this game’s difficulty may potentially scare you off.