PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews

Reynatis offers an interesting story and bloody fights with a dual system between defense and attack that is really engaging, especially in the boss fights with gigantic monsters. Unfortunately, exploring Tokyo and the parallel world Another is not as engaging, since apart from rare situations it turns out to be little more than a walking simulator. Technically it is not excellent, with models and textures that recall what we saw on PS3, but at least there are no slowdowns or dropped frames. If you are looking for a story full of charismatic characters, it could be for you.

REYNATIS features some of the best combat that I've enjoyed in an action RPG. Unfortunately, outside of fighting and a few interesting moments, there really isn't much to hold your attention for long so it's best to rush towards your next thrilling encounter.

Reynatis will seduce you if you're open to forgive a few mistakes (and have a good English skill).

I went into Reynatis with many expectations formed by the previously mentioned Crymachina and The Caligula Effect 2. I expected a jankfest that would narratively punch skyward, seeking to shatter the heavens with razor-sharp words like its predecessors. Instead, the result was middling, and I feel this is due to the dual protagonists having to split the story—and thus split the focus. Reynatis has a bit of an identity crisis, and rather than it feeling like clean cuts on where one ends and the other begins, it’s all blended up into a mess that is both fun and taxing to play, both narratively intriguing and vapid, and both exciting and mundane. My one consolation is that if The Caligula Effect 2 and Crymachina are anything to go off of, a sequel to Reynatis could be one of my favorite games of the year. With that hope in mind, I eagerly look forward to the next strange FuRyu collaboration.

Reynatis breaks the cardinal rule of not reminding players about better games. Everything from the concept to the gameplay feels like a less engaging version of The World Ends with You, and the fact there's an in-game crossover between the two makes it not feel like a coincidence. There's very little that makes Reynatis stand out, and there are quite a few baffling game design choices. I can see players gleaning some fun from it, but only if they've already experienced its better inspirations.

Reynatis is close to a master at one trade, with its unique and refreshing combat system. But there’s too many other pieces that drag the overall presentation down, especially with its outdated graphics, poor Switch performance, awkward camera angles, and high price tag. However, even through all its minor to glaring flaws, and believe me there are many, it's an adventure I find myself looking fondly back on the things it does well.

Reynatis is obviously made by a small team with a lot of passion for the world and concept, but the game’s disparate ideas simply don’t come together into a truly cohesive package. There’s greatness hidden in Reynatis and even bits that I truly loved, like the text conversations, but it all comes with some caveats. I don’t regret the time I spent with Reynatis, and think there could be the spark of something truly interesting if it gets a sequel. But for now, it feels a bit like RPG junk food, satisfying in some ways, but leaving you wanting more.

Reynatis is a game full of heart that reminds me of the golden age of PS2 RPG adventures, for better and for worse. It's full of interesting ideas, but is lacking consistent execution. If you can see past that, I do think that the charm of the game – the strong character writing, the living city of Shibuya, and angsty JRPG vibe of it all – will really resonate.

Those that have seen the secret ending for Kingdom Hearts 3 know that Kingdom Hearts 4 could very well be series director Tetsuya Nomura's attempt at making his vision of Versus 13 made real, but I'm so glad that we have Reynatis as another interpretation of that vision, and to be honest, I hope even more developers make their own interpretations of Versus 13. Reynatis is a reality based on fantasy, and though it's far from perfect, that's enough for me.

Far from being the disaster prophesied by the genre's detractors, but the miracle desired by fans of the great artists involved this time by FuRyu, REYNATIS is a practical demonstration of how, many times, it is not enough to put together brilliant minds to give life to an authentic masterpiece. Indeed, the superficial screenplay by Kazushige Nojima and the repetitive soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura almost seem to suggest that not even they fully believed in the goodness of the project, whose most successful elements are hands down the artwork created by Yasutaka Kaburagi. Although limited by an extremely dated technical sector and an almost non-existent level of difficulty, the combat system of REYNATIS is quite intriguing, even if some mechanics could have been implemented with greater conviction. All things considered, REYNATIS takes home a passing grade, however the advice is to wait for the first discount before pouring into the streets of this dystopian reinterpretation of Shibuya.