Crystal Project, a modern classic indie RPG

[Violentvixen]

Rolled credits on the demo at 9.5 hours (upon acquiring the Quintar Flute), but that item unlocks a whole bunch of stuff you can do even within the demo.

Ooh such an extensive demo is very interesting to me! And progress carries over if you purchase the full game, right? I would assume so if it's that long but would rather not be surprised.

So, I can say this now that I've tried this game and am absolutely enthralled by it: I found the trailer videos on the Steam page absolutely repellant. I don't know what it is, but something about the voxels and the floaty physics just rubbed me extremely wrong, so when it was first recommended to me I took one look and then decided it wasn't for me. And then someone else recommended it to me. And then someone else again. And finally it hit critical mass, and the demo was apparently giant, so I said "fuck it" and tried it anyway and now I am extremely in love. So to anyone who, like me, think they might be interested but don't care for how it looks, I encourage you to try out the massive free demo anyway, and perhaps you'll be similarly smitten. And as everyone has noted, be aware that even though it wears the skin of a survival crafting game (which I generally don't care for), it's not one.

I wouldn't say I was repelled by the trailer but it definitely didn't interest me. All the talk on here has though!

Downloading the demo now.

 

[JBear]

Ooh such an extensive demo is very interesting to me! And progress carries over if you purchase the full game, right? I would assume so if it's that long but would rather not be surprised.

Can confirm, because I finally switched from the demo to the full version last night (after playing 15 hours, at which point I still had only found a single pay-wall that I had to go well off the beaten track for). It was pretty entertaining to see a dozen achievements pop up at once. You buy and install the full game from the store, then launch it, at which point it detects that you have a demo save and asks if you'd like to transfer it over. It was pretty seamless! My sole complaint is that my playtime from the demo didn't carry over, so I'll forever have to make the mental adjustment that I've played this game for 15 more hours than Steam says that I have.

 

[Kazin]

Another great thing about this game is that it's so wide open and yet the battle system is straightforward enough that if you, say, put 20+ hours into it like I have and want to take a break, going back to it is pretty easy to do. There aren't really any plot flags that I've found so far, it's all exploring and fighting. It's great!

 

[JBear]

I realize that I didn't actually get around to saying what I like about this, so just to expound a little:

The combat and class systems are aces. Character-building has shades of FFV. Each class has a skill tree that it earns job points for, and each character can have a primary and secondary class skill set at any one time, but can equip any passive unlocked from any previous class (up to a point-- there's a passive capacity). Stat-ups are decided by the class you inhabit at level-up, but you can re-spec those class-ups for money later if you're unhappy with a build. Also, characters earn job points at 1/10 rate for being around other characters in that class.

Combat has an AP resource that builds-up over time and resets between battles, so you can use your abilities as much as you like. It also introduces MMO-style threat management into its turn-based battle and it works super well! Rogues can only backstab if they're at the bottom of an enemy's threat list. Healing generates threat against whichever enemies are targeting the party member you healed. My party has a tank with taunt and cover abilities. One of my favourite strats ATM is having my Wizard open up with a big fuck-off AoE, then having my Tank use Cover on him with a counter-attack passive. I've never seen anything quite like it before, but it all just works, and is rather intuitive to boot.

And possibly most importantly, exploration is extremely rewarding. There's always a new secret hiding just around the corner or out of sight. It has DQ-style "you need to build this bridge to proceed" checkpoints, except that almost all of them can be circumvented if you're thorough and clever and want to go mash your face against enemies that you're not ready for yet.

It's just all... so good.

 

[Mogri]

Also, characters earn job points at 1/10 rate for being around other characters in that class.

It's a fun touch, but I have yet to see it be relevant. I guess it saved me a point or two on the second Scholar, but after 25 hours, I've only just decided to repeat my first job between characters.

(This game's Blue Magic is surprisingly heal-heavy)

 

[Torzelbaum]

passive capacity

Capassivity?

 

[JBear]

(This game's Blue Magic is surprisingly heal-heavy)

Heh, meanwhile, my main Healer is my Scholar and I'm sitting here like "I hate how all of these Scholar attack abilities scale with MND."

 

[Mogri]

I've finally gotten all of the Scholar skills! So, how good is the Monster Magic skillset?

Spoiler: Healing

Infusion: MP 9 CT 10 - Recovery: 50 + 1.5 Spi - Heals user for the same amount
For a 50% price hike over the Cleric's Cure, you get to heal yourself as well (at the same strength as Cure). This is the Scholar's bread-and-butter heal, and it's really good!

Regenerate: MP 12 - Recovery: 100% Current HP
Regenerate's primary advantage is that it's instant. Otherwise, it's really only good on a character with low Spirit.

Sun Bath: MP 14 CT 50 - Multi-target - Recovery: 60 + 1.2 Spi
Sun Bath's primary downside is the charge time. It's an excellent out-of-battle heal.

Roost: MP 18 CT 8 - Self - Recovery: 20 + 1.5 Spi - Removes one Debuff - Adds Roost for 6 turns (150 healing per turn)
Your mages aren't typically getting focused, so usually, you'll find yourself using other spells. When your Scholar is the only one hurting, though, Roost is really excellent.

Build Life: MP 20 CT 25 - Revive Dead: 25% Max HP
Build Life has the dubious distinction of being the weakest revival magic, which is to say that you'll still use it a whole lot.

Lifegiver: MP 30 CT 25 - Revive Dead: 100% Max HP - User's HP is reduced to 1
This is more situational, but there are fights where it's relatively safe and advisable. Just remember that you'll get some threat when your turn rolls around and you're at 1 HP.

Spoiler: Offense

Aero: MP 8 CT 8 - Damage: 120 + 2.00 Mnd - Accuracy: 80% - Crit: 20% (+50% damage) - Variance: 20%
This is the closest thing the Scholar has to a bread-and-butter spell, and it's... just not very good. The accuracy kills what would otherwise be a serviceable spell.

Whirlwind: MP 33 CT 28 - Multi-target - Damage: 240 + 3.3 Mnd - Accuracy: 80% - Crit: 20% (+50% damage) - Variance: 20%
I like Whirlwind better than Aero because it's probably going to hit at least one target pretty hard.

Fire Breath: MP 50 - Multi-target - Damage: 230 + 3.00 Mnd - Ignores 50% Resistance - Apply Burn for 3 turns (50% chance)
It hits hard, it hits instantly. It's really expensive, and it's probably one of the last spells you'll learn because you'll have a hard time surviving it. (Try Cleric's Blackout, though.)

Lucky Dice: MP 17 CT 10 - Damage: 30 + 2.8 Lck - Variance: 100% - Ignores Resistance
This is a more reliable spell than Aero, especially for low-Mind mages.

Explode: MP 40 - Damage: 300 + 3.2 Mnd + 3.2 Spi
Actually a pretty good boss killer.

Spoiler: Utility

Reverse Polarity: MP 18 CT 60 - Apply Reverse Polarity for 1 turn or until damage/healing (reverse damage and healing)
The big problem with Reverse Polarity is that it's among the slowest spells in the game. Using it requires foresight of the kind you'll only have after losing to a boss multiple times. That said, there's at least one really funny trick you can pull off with it.

Barrier: MP 16 CT 20 - Apply Armor Up and Resist Up for 3 turns (take 35% less damage)
It's a good buff, but it doesn't last very long. Still, if you plan to have one character tank most of your damage, and that character doesn't have another way to acquire these buffs, it's very strong.

Reflection: MP 24 CT 10 - Apply Reflect for 1 turn (single-target magic is reflected)
See Barrier, but more so.

Adrenaline: MP 10 CT 30 - Self - AP Accumulate: 9 + 0.02 Mnd
But you could also, like, just attack once or something. I guess this is half-decent if you're using Nomad as your other action set.

MP Sickle: MP 10 CT 20 - MP Damage: 10 + 0.12 Mnd - Ignores Resistance
Maybe this is an excellent spell, but I've never paid attention to how much MP enemies have.

Atmoshear: MP 6 CT 12 - Multi-target - Inflict Confusion for 2 turns (target is chosen randomly)
This is probably actively detrimental.

Sleep Aura: MP 28 CT 30 - Multi-target - Inflict Sleep for 2 turns
This is the poor man's Sleep Bomb. You usually don't want Sleep to be multi-target, since it's once per battle per target.

Overload: MP 18 CT 10 - Apply Power Up and Armor Down for 4 turns
This might actually be better used as a debuff against enemies that don't attack much, but then I suppose it's also decent against such enemies.

Insult: MP 6 CT 6 - Threat: 200 + 16.00 Mnd
Be real, you're not gonna cast this. If you were, though, your attack mage can easily out-threat your Warrior.

Spoiler: Closing thoughts

Healing: A+
It's not quite as good as Cleric on healing, but you get a great single-target heal, a good multi-target heal, and two subpar revival options.

Offense: C+
It's not quite as good as Cleric on damage... OK, that's a bit harsh. I guess Cleric doesn't get multitarget damage.

Utility: B+
There's a lot in the toolkit, but there's not a lot that you'll be eager to use on a regular basis.

 

[YangusKhan]

I started playing this last night. Spent about 90 minutes on it and beat my first boss as part of a sidequest. Initially I had the difficulty on Normal, but quickly switched up to Hard and am glad I did that; the boss killed me on my first attempt, and then the 2nd attempt I won without anyone dying. It also seems like Hard pushes the numbers just high enough that I actually need to use consumables fairly often. My initial party isn't particularly crazy - Monk, Warlock, Rogue. Black Mage. I haven't switched anyone up to learn anything else, though I did set the Warrior subclass on my Monk so that he has a taunt. It's a good time so far!

 

[JBear]

I'm 100 hours in and almost done with all of the optional content, and I played Hard mode the whole way and can say that it was just perfect for me, but I'll warn you that the end game super bosses have teeth. It almost reminds me a bit of FFIV Free Enterprise, in the way that I'd try a boss, decide I didn't have the right kit, then go find another one in hopes that I'll have better kit later. Also, FYI, there's a very specific difficulty spike in the mid-game, and I don't know if it's unique to Hard mode or not, so just leaving this here: if you find yourself struggling in the zone immediately west of Capital Sequoia (the zone with the lich-looking casters that come in 3s and 2s), just avoid the encounters there and push through and plan to come back later, because that area just seems dramatically over-tuned, and the areas on the other side of it and onward feel more appropriate.

 

[That Old Chestnut]

70 hours for me. I haven't even touched Hard mode yet and I've died plenty. I'm really appreciating how intricately designed the world map is, and the unexpected ways parts of it connect to one another (it's especially apparent after you get the Salmon Violin). Right now, I'm going back and forth between beating my head against Sky Arena, and getting my non-magic folks trained up for the Anubis boss fight in the Labyrinth. Core.

It's all so so addictive.

 

[JBear]

FWIW, my successful Sky Arena build was a Valk/Warrior with physical lifesteal & sleep immunity accessories and passives for HP regen and HP restore on stance change.

I was lucky enough to get Anubis on my first try, but it was a close thing. I'm allergic to grinding, so for that dungeon and boss I just had my main tank (who had previously mastered Beatsmith) off-heal and play mana battery while my other physical DPS used an accessory that gives all abilities for the current job to moonlight.

 

[YangusKhan]

I can't believe the first 8 hours of this game were essentially the training zones. But also knowing this game's tricks by now, I can guess there's a way around the hard-gated path forward. In fact I'm pretty sure I already found it, I just don't want to go to the scary places: the Overpass, which connects to Lake Delende.

 

[Mogri]

Version 1.2 just landed, containing a whole bunch of balance tweaks. Nothing too huge, and you can revert to the initial ruleset via the menu. Largely it's stuff like "this monster now awards 50 copper instead of 30." The patch notes of course contain spoilers for many of the game's jobs. Here are the base job patch notes:

Warrior:
Paragon Crush: Now generates +50% Threat.
Battle Crush: Now generates -50% Threat.
Grudge: AP Bonus increased from 2 to 6.

Monk:
Now has innate +25% Crit Resist.
Focus Energy: AP recovery changed from 2 + 2 per 100 Strength to 3 + 3 per 100 Spirit.

Cleric:
Star Flare: Damage scaling increased from 500 per 100 Spirit to 600 per 100 Spirit. (Does not apply to enemies that use Star Flare.)
Inner Warmth: Now provides MP when healing MP and AP when healing AP. Description updated to be more explicit about the effect.
Inner Warmth: PP cost decreased from 2 to 1.
Equip Staff: PP cost decreased from 2 to 1.

Warlock:
Doublecast: MP cost increased from 16 to 24.
Chaincaster: Doublecast MP cost decreased from -8 to -16.
Refresher: PP cost decreased from 5 to 4.

This is pretty typical; most jobs got minor buffs. Two jobs received notable nerfs: Ninja (seals are now removed on damage -- were they too strong??) and Weaver (Quick -- player version only -- no longer instantly charges abilities, which is fair).

Word of warning to anyone using the Natural Tank passive: it now generates five times as much threat as before.

 

[JBear]

The focus energy change is a huge buff to my cleric/monk, who should go from +4 AP to +15 AP if I'm remembering their stats correctly. I'm going to be bursting so much more chi.

 

[That Old Chestnut]

FWIW, my successful Sky Arena build was a Valk/Warrior with physical lifesteal & sleep immunity accessories and passives for HP regen and HP restore on stance change.

I actually wound up doing a Warrior/Beastmaster with a Ribbon (which, holy shit I love that thing) and the lifesteal ring, I also added Counter along with the HP restore passives. Managed to Hew my way though most of the scrub fights without losing too much HP, and pretty much ended up spamming Feast on the boss.

I'm not crazy about how axes have variance, but the Beastmaster skills are so so good.

Kinda want to try strapping that subclasss on to my physical DPS Ninja.

I was lucky enough to get Anubis on my first try, but it was a close thing. I'm allergic to grinding, so for that dungeon and boss I just had my main tank (who had previously mastered Beatsmith) off-heal and play mana battery while my other physical DPS used an accessory that gives all abilities for the current job to moonlight.

Ooo! I found that accessory too! I did wind up having to grind up my tank for job points a little, because I really really wanted to try your suggestion. Still died a couple times, but finally found a decent rhythm on the third or so try.

All in all, a-thank you thank you!

 

[YangusKhan]

This game is really fun! Last night I figured out how to beat the giant squid boss and it blew my mind: it uses Regenerate every 3rd turn to heal 100% of its current HP, which means if you cast Reverse Polarity on it, it kills itself. Didn't go into the place behind it yet though cause I'm pretty it's high level. I also finally explored the sewers beneath Capital Sequioa and got the Reaper class, which I immediately windmill-slammed onto my Warrior. Looking forward to seeing how feasible that will be!

I do have one problem with my team, and it's that I can't figure out what to do with a 4th party member. Right now I've got a Warrior/Monk tank (who is now not a tank), a Wizard/Scholar/Shaman, a Rogue/Fencer/Hunter, and the last person has mastered Warlock (who's also learned some Scholar spells) and then I made her an Aegis... but she's still not very useful. I think I want her to be a tank/healer combination, but it's feeling like a 4-person party doesn't have the action economy to make that a good strategy, and also I don't know if there's a good combination of stat growths to make that work yet, either. Also, it's wild to me that I'm wishing I could learn a passive to let me equip Heavy Armor.

 

[JBear]

The focus energy change is a huge buff to my cleric/monk, who should go from +4 AP to +15 AP if I'm remembering their stats correctly. I'm going to be bursting so much more chi.

Just confirming that my main healer can now Chi Burst literally every other turn for ~3200 unavoidable uncounterable irreducible damage, although he's usually too busy healing to do that.

I've just about wrapped up this game. Not sure I want to go for 100% cheevos, since that would involve mastering a handful of classes that I didn't use, but I've otherwise 100%-ed just about everything besides the item list (since I also don't want to grind up a bunch of gold and visit every vendor). The final boss fight mark 2 was a fun challenge, but still not as hard as Spirit Cage, the boss at the top of the giant tree, which was easily the hardest fight in the game for me.

Anyway, I'm still kind of floored with my engagement arc with this game, given how hard I bounced off the trailer, but 120 hours later and I just loved my time with it, so thanks to everyone who kept recommending it to me. It's a good'un!

Also, it's wild to me that I'm wishing I could learn a passive to let me equip Heavy Armor.

I mean, FWIW: you can, but it's on one of the last classes you're likely to get, and it's also 10 PP.

 

[YangusKhan]

I mean, FWIW: you can, but it's on one of the last classes you're likely to get, and it's also 10 PP.

Monkey's paw strikes again

 

[Rosewood]

I've played the demo for a few hours and am enjoying it far more for the character development and battles than the exploration. I don't have an easy time navigating 3D game spaces without a primary crumb trail to follow (you do get a straightforward path early on!), and everything being more or less the same only different colors doesn't help either. It would be nice if what you'd mapped on your own showed on the mini-map and the whole thing got filled in when you bought or obtained the inventory item. In any case, I haven't quite decided I'm licked yet but it does seem like it's only a matter of time. It's nice that the demo gives you plenty of time to figure out if it's "for you" or not! Very generous of the dev.

 

[Kazin]

Yeah, the exploration is what caused me to put the game down for a bit. It's fine, but I have to be in a bit of a "wandering around" mood to want to play Crystal Project. Still, it's a fun game, and well worth the $11 or whatever I paid for it.

 

[Mogri]

If you don't enjoy the exploration, Crystal Project is a hard sell even if you love the combat.

 

[That Old Chestnut]

My only real complaint at this point is that the ocean needs more stuff in it.

 

[JBear]

My only real complaint at this point is that the ocean needs more stuff in it.

And yet, at the same time, fewer of that one specific encounter that chases you rabidly from a mile away with 2 jerks and one alpha jerk that casts tidal wave. The last encounter on the monster list that I was missing was a surface ocean encounter that's only specifically found south of Shodu, but I must have fought or run from those other 3 jerks dozens of times.

 

[YangusKhan]

Still plugging away at this game. I ended up looking at a list of crystal locations because I realized I was suffering some fairly severe decision paralysis for what to do next (I knew the way forward, but I was certain I was missing at least 2 crystals). It's really awesome that I found an optional boss that's clearly overpowered for me, yet the game also clearly provides abilities that can make it reasonable; I just haven't gone back to try out my strategy yet.

 

[Kalir]

I figured out my biggest issue with this game and its that the placement of the Beastmaster crystal is WAY too late for the toolset it provides. I went out of my way on my Switch run to get that sucker a lot earlier and suddenly it's actually a really fun class! (Actually getting it was a pain though, I have a screenshot saved of the crystal dialogue and a red boss flame sitting in the corner like "ooh dogg when this cutscene ends you're gonna GET IT".)

 

[Octopus Prime]

I’ve finally got enough Job Crystals to get to the first Big Town and *wow* this game is even larger than it looks. And I’ve been told that I’m still not actually out of the tutorial section yet.

It’s got that BOTW sense of surely being able to finagle the platforming *just enough* that I can go anywhere… and then I can, and it turns out I want being sneaky because there’s a bunch of stuff hidden there as a reward.

 

[Kazin]

Happily bought this a second time because while I own it on Steam (and can play it on Steam Deck), I want to support the dev for making such a great game, and because my Switch has an OLED screen.

Having played it for like 20 hours on Steam Deck, I know how it works a bit better, and right out of the gate if you jump around you can find a better shield and some extra cash pretty much on the starting screen. What a great game.

 

[q 3]

Switch version just got a bunch of PC version mods added as free DLC. I'm not sure I've seen that happen before, pretty cool!