Review for Dragon Star Varnir. Game for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 11/10/2018
With Dragon Star Varnir, Compile Heart and Idea Factory have created a project which, while remaining on the reassuring stylistic and thematic track of the classic JRPG, brings with it truly fascinating ideas and more than evocative atmospheres.
Dragon Star Varnir transports us to a fantasy world where mankind lives in fortified cities dominated by a rather authoritarian theocratic regime, inspired by the precepts dictated by an ancient divinity, Varnir precisely. Outside the relative safety of the city walls we find a dangerous world inhabited by bandits and lethal creatures. These threats, following the commandments of the State Religion, are however not even remotely comparable to the true enemies of human beings: Dragons and Witches.
Dragons and Witches are also closely connected to each other, as the former are the disturbing degeneration of the same Witches. The fate of the latter is therefore very sad: to die mad, consumed by their own powers, or to degenerate to the point of seeing their wombs ripped open by the coming into the world of their own "inner dragon".
If all this doesn't seem enough, let's add that humans have established a coven of elite fighters, devoted solely to the hunt and annihilation of Dragons and Witches.
In Dragon Star Varnir we take on the role of Zephir, a young recruit of the aforementioned inquisitorial order of chivalry who, following a not exactly victorious battle with a ferocious dragon, is saved for the broken bonnet by… two witches! To further complicate the matter, ours Zephir begins to develop creepy powers after ingesting dragon's blood, which does not exactly place him in a very good light towards his fellow soldiers, and therefore he must force himself to ally himself with his enemies / friends and with them embark on a journey in search of redemption for himself, for them and for the entire human race .
The plot, as you can well understand, is not the maximum originality, but the plot and the concept of Dragon Star Varnir have implications so dark and raw as to make everything enormously more interesting since it affects, and not a little , also on the game mechanics.
The player will therefore be called upon to manage the whole party which, advancing in the game, will count more and more witches, different in character and age. It will be essential to take care of the growth of the characters, managing the various skills obtainable by devouring the corpses of the downed dragons (Yes, you read that correctly). Too bad that the more dragon meat is consumed, the more, in addition to our powers, the "inner dragon" also grows, always ready to come to light happily, literally reducing the unfortunate mommy to shreds. Conversely, not devouring enough downed dragons will result in excessive weakness and wear of the character, which will greatly facilitate a brutal and premature demise. There are definitely a lot of aspects that should never be underestimated.
Not to be neglected absolutely is also the type of with our witches, which we can manage at will, strengthening or deteriorating the bond with them, with everything that follows: sexual impulses (after all we are the only males of a race of waifu !), various romance and lots of fanservice, however never predictable or annoying.
In addition to group dynamics, our choices, almost always in response to gloomy and very unpleasant situations, will heavily affect the unfolding of the game, resulting in seven different endings, of which only one could come close to a "happy ending". In short, Dragon Star Varnir is much darker and more disturbing than what the winking aspect of our little witches suggests at first glance.
Technically we are dealing with a super classic JRPG, with graphics and sound that are largely average, but without any real flicker of excellence. The only noteworthy mention are the models of some truly masterful characters, which, however, hardly balance the banality of other 3D models and quite varied but desolately empty scenarios.
The fights will be strictly turn-based, all riding our trusty brooms, and will end with the killing of the opponent or, as previously mentioned, with the devouring (joy!) of the latter by one of our witches, who will thus be able to acquire new skills. This way of creating character builds, however, will force us to heavy grinding sections, which are essential to level properly in view of this or that boss fight.
Dragon Star Varnir turns out to be a JRPG without infamy and without praise, with really valid plot ideas and mechanics, including macabre and gory elements, but with a barely satisfying technical sector and the need for long and sometimes annoying grinding sessions, which which undermines an otherwise excellent (re) playability. Too bad, because it would have taken very little to make it stand out in the current panorama.
► Dragon Star Varnir is an RPG type game developed and published by Compile Heart for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 11/10/2018
