Escape Never Looked So Good: "The Caligula Effect: OVERDOSE" Review

Player(s): 1
Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC (Via Steam)

​The Caligula Effect: Overdose is a modern remaster of a Vita game, and for better and for worse, it shows. Expanded story with new characters, a new main player character (a lady this time!), new options, and more await those who enjoyed the Vita game enough to play it again. With the expanded story pieces woven into the original story in a way that doesn’t feel tacked on while giving the player more freedom than the Vita version, this should have been a slam dunk. Instead, I wish I could say “Persona Meets Miku but in JRPG form” was worth the time sunk into it, but I can’t.

CE:O has a pretty fun premise: you’re trapped in an "idyllic" virtual world at a virtual idol’s behest, in an infinite high school loop, and you gotta find your way out. Thin, sure, but fun. I’m for “trapped in a virtual world and need to escape” media. Combined with the hints the game makes at a more sinister reason for everyone being here in the first place, the story, at face value, seems like a cool mystery to explore. But playing through the story was a slog that made even the most convoluted visual novels seem quick paced. Nothing felt like it was driving me forward in a satisfying way, progression feeling like a genuine chore to get through. 

​Speaking of slogs, oh goodness the actual gameplay is nothing but. You get a lot of relatively boring and mediocre dungeon crawling, with uninspired settings and upsettingly meh music. Combat is turn based and feels unrealized for how cool it could be. Each action for party members can be adjusted for time, and a potential outcome is shown, allowing the player to fiddle with things for maximum impact. On paper this sounds rad; in practice it really slows down EVERYTHING, making every battle feel like you’re doing it twice. CE:O’s attempt at Persona-style social linking feels hollow, and also wants you to interact with 500+ NPCs for maximum completion. Oh, and those social links are truly linked, with many NPC interactions requiring interactions from other NPCs to move forward. A LINE-like messaging app in game is a cool and fun feature, but again adds to the chore-like feeling the game can’t escape.

Visuals are a non-starter. CE:O​ is proof that using Unreal Engine means nothing for a game’s visuals if there’s nothing to build on, and being a Vita port means there wasn’t much to work with. Sure, there’s some cool anime sequences, and the 2D art sprinkled throughout the game is nice, but the gameplay models are boring and flat. Even better, I think there’s only a few NPC models. More than once did I have several of the same boy or girl onscreen with different names. Colors are blah and washed out, the whole thing looking overly bright and awkward.

And the sound? For a game with virtual idols, the music sure sucks. Lots of Japanese voice over work, which is fine and dandy. Not a lot of background noise to speak of. I swear you can’t hear footsteps when they walk and it upsets me. Is everyone floating or is something up on my end?

CE:O is for those out there who love a good grind more than anything else in a game. I can see the appeal of it on a Vita, or even the Switch version, where there’s plenty to keep you busy while you’re on the go. But on a PS4 or PC? The slowness and breadth of it all is too much. There’s a lot of game here for those who want to dive in. But for those who want to feel like they’re actually getting somewhere in a game, there’s far better ones to spend your time with.

-Janette G

For More Information On ​The Caligula Effect: Overdose:
https://nisamerica.com/games/caligula-overdose

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Story: D
Gameplay: C-
Graphics: D+
Sound: D+
Value: C+

Overall: C-

Pros:
+Lots of game to play
+Cool concepts
+Tons of side stuff to do

Cons:
-Feels like forever
-Seems deep, is rather shallow
-Ambitious ideas poorly realized, causing the game and player to suffer

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Disclaimer: A PlayStation 4 copy of this game was provided to us by the publisher for the purpose of this review.