A gamebook-style RPG 'How to Use Life' play review in which the choice of 'your life or the power of retaliation' affects the story and abilities
Officially released
How to Use Life | Game | PLAYISM Official Website
https://playism.com/game/the-use-of-life/
When you start the game, you can choose the language from Japanese, English, or Chinese (Simplified or Traditional). Select Japanese and press Z to confirm.
The home screen of 'How to Use Life.' Use the arrow keys to select 'Start Game,' then press Z to begin the game.
Select 'Go on a journey.'
If this is your first time playing, there will be no save data, so select an empty save data and create a new one.
Press Z to start from the beginning.
The story begins when the village of a young rabbit-man (rabbit-like beastman) named Gauche is attacked by a giant dragon, and everyone in the village is wiped out except for Gauche.
Hearing the voices of despair and suffering, Gauche is overcome with anger and sadness.
The options displayed were 'I'm afraid of dying,' 'I can't let my parents' deaths be in vain,' and 'I can't forgive this injustice.'
These options are related to the values 'attachment to life' and 'attachment to power,' and choosing one will affect 'what you are attached to.' When I tried choosing 'Afraid of dying,' my attachment to life rose to 55% and my attachment to power fell to 48%. While these values don't directly affect combat stats, as you progress through the story, they do influence your actions; for example, a high attachment to life will lead to more cautious choices, while a high attachment to power will lead to more violent behavior.
After completing the prologue, you can choose the difficulty from 'Easy,' 'Normal,' 'Hard,' or the freely configurable 'Custom.' The battle system is different from simple command RPGs in that it requires unique actions, so even 'Normal' can be quite difficult if you're not used to it. If you're unsure, we recommend choosing 'Easy.' The difficulty can be changed during gameplay, so if you're stuck and just can't clear the game, you can try lowering the difficulty.
After waking up, Gauche meets Misha, a rabbit engineer, who has been captured by bandits.
The map will open, so use the arrow keys to move and press Z to enter the event. Gauche and Misha are trapped and cannot get out.
Then, the bandits who captured Gauche and his friends appear. Here too, you will be presented with a choice, and your choice will determine the direction of your obsession.
And the battle began. You can get a good idea of what the battle in 'How to Use Life' is like by watching the movie below.
In battle, players use a combination of 'tools' to use recovery and attack items, 'swordsmanship' to attack using a numerical value called CP, 'magic' to attack or assist by consuming MP, and 'special skills' to evade or defend.
'Sword techniques' include 'Slash,' which can be selected at no cost, 'Double Edge,' which allows for consecutive attacks in exchange for consuming 1 CP, and 'Smash,' which consumes 2 CP and delivers a powerful attack. Note that only 'Smash' is written in red, which indicates an 'attack with a large opening,' and although it is powerful, it makes it difficult for the opponent to dodge the attack.
Next, select 'Magic.'
You can choose from the fire-element 'Fireball' and the ice-element 'Ice Spear.' Each consumes 10 MP, and MP only recovers little by little unless you use an item, so you can't cast magic repeatedly.
After selecting three actions, select 'YES' to begin the battle.
Each turn consists of three actions: your own and your opponent's. When your opponent attacks, an arrow will appear, and you can avoid the attack by pressing the arrow key in that direction at the right time.
You win when the enemy's HP is reduced to 0. You can collect experience points to increase your level, and also earn 'magic powers' to increase your status.
The trick to combat is to press the arrow keys at the right time to avoid the enemy's attacks. Enemy attacks are generally powerful, so if you can't avoid them you'll lose easily.
'Prediction' is useful for evading attacks. The enemy's actions are displayed in the bottom right. For example, 'Two consecutive attacks (body and leg)' is displayed as '?' and '↑.' The theory is to 'dodge to the side if the attack is aimed at the body' and 'jump if the attack is aimed at the legs,' so you can avoid them by timing your '←' and '↑' commands. While the name of the 'Yatarametara Slash' technique makes it difficult to predict where the attack will be aimed, the same technique always follows the same pattern. Understanding the technique allows you to predict how to dodge. However, whether the technique name or dodge direction is displayed in the bottom right depends on stats and luck, so it's often difficult to predict. Even if you know the direction, the timing is quite strict and the attack progresses quickly, making it difficult to dodge perfectly. Furthermore, if you input the wrong key and fail to dodge, even a relatively weak enemy will lose a large amount of health, so you need to consistently perform successful dodges.
Additionally, when the gauge that fills up through attacks and evasions reaches its maximum, you can select 'Defense Boost' or 'Attack Boost.'
Combining 'Defense Boost' and 'Attack Boost' with actions will make you stronger against enemy attacks and deal more powerful damage, making them important for successfully progressing through battles.
Once you complete the events, the path will open up and you will be able to move forward.
Generally, you won't know what will happen until you enter an event, but hints will be displayed as to what you might encounter if you proceed in a certain direction, so you can use these as a reference as you move forward.
The 'How to Use Life' event is notable for the large element of luck, with success or failure of actions being determined numerically by referring to stats, just like in a tabletop RPG, and the items obtained in the event being determined by a roulette.
Additionally, by selecting 'Enhancement Power' from the menu, you can use the 'Enhancement Power' gained in battle to strengthen your status.
You can increase STR, which is related to attack power, VIT, which is related to defense power, INT, which is related to magic power and MP, SPD, which is related to how easily you can avoid enemy attacks, and TEC, which is related to how easily you can predict enemy attacks. Furthermore, each number affects events and roulette numbers along the way, for example, high STR allows you to destroy obstructive rocks, and high INT allows you to have clever insight.
You will also gain a value called 'SP' when you level up or succeed in an event. You can use SP by selecting 'Learn Skills' from the menu.
SP is related to whether you want to improve your sword skills or magic skills. Also, by strengthening multiple basic skills to their maximum, you will be able to acquire 'higher level skills.'
For example, when I tried to improve my 'Magic' skill, I learned a new powerful spell.
By further improving your skills, you can learn powerful moves that require charging but can deliver a super powerful blow. In this way, you can freely build your stats and skills, allowing you to play in completely different ways, making it a game that you'll want to play over and over again.
You can reset your stats once per chapter, or when you lose a battle, by performing a 'strength reset.'
As I progressed through the story, I was prompted with the message, 'I began to think about what I value most.'
Since Gauche's 'attachment to power' is higher than his 'attachment to life,' he says, 'Power. I want power that will defeat no one.' In this way, the development of the story is affected by the changes in the values of 'attachment to life' and 'attachment to power' based on choices made.
Additionally, the direction you take will also be influenced by your past choices. 'How to Use Your Life' has multiple endings, and the ending of the story will change dramatically depending on the choices you make and how you fight. When casual choices you made in the past are recalled later and affect Gauche's feelings, you'll find yourself deeply involved in the game.
My impressions after playing the game were that the way the game unfolds changes depending on the choices you make, and the way you progress along the route can change whether you progress skillfully or force your way through, giving me a nostalgic, game-book-like sense of fun. Because you progress by valuing your own choices, you can change your mind and feel a strong sense of empathy when past choices are resolved, making it a very immersive game. The game has multiple endings, with routes branching off significantly midway through the game, and abilities, weapons, and developments change depending on small choices and luck from the beginning, making it a game full of charm that will make you want to play it over and over again.
The combat system, which requires QTE-like actions rather than simple command selection, is quite challenging. However, dodging enemy attacks is quite challenging even on 'Normal' mode. Even if you dodge, improper timing can significantly reduce your stamina. Even a single mistake can result in near-instant death, so even on Easy mode, those unfamiliar with the game may struggle. One combat tip is to check the enemy's predicted actions displayed in the lower right corner to gauge the direction of your dodge and improve accuracy. However, the distance between the predicted actions and the actual timing gauge felt quite far apart, making it quite difficult to keep your eyes on the ground as the battle progressed at a rapid pace. Because the number of events you can complete is limited, 'leveling up and trying again' is impossible. Therefore, I found the system to be quite enjoyable for those who want to improve their playing skills or re-allocate their parameters through trial and error.
'How to Use Life' can be downloaded from Steam and costs 2,380 yen including tax. Steam offers a free demo version that lets you play the entire first chapter, so we recommend downloading the demo version first to get a feel for the world and battle system.
Steam: How to Use Life
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/
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