Speak No Evil

Battle System- 4/5
I am extremely impressed with how battles play out in this game, and thankfully there isn't a whole lot to the game besides this. Maps are absolutely covered in monsters, and most of the time you'll be actively avoiding combat as much as possible rather than trying to fight. When combat does rear its ugly head strategy is the name of the game. Every enemy has a clearly defined weakness, in fact they take 500% damage when struck with it which tends to kill them on the spot. Enemies often come in huge swarms, and since the game uses one of the most fast ATB battle systems I have ever seen you'll have to react quickly or you'll be dead in moments. You'll be seeing a lot of the same monster type, and their weaknesses stay consistent so after a while you'll immediately know how to deal with each enemy. Enemies level up as you progress, and learn new skills making them extremely dangerous if you let them live long enough to act. Although it tends to re-use a lot of the same monsters, it keeps throwing new types in with each area in order to keep you guessing.

Most standard RPG conventions have been completely done away with, and it only serves to enhance the battle system. Items have been thrown out entirely, and almost all of the gear you acquire is designed with a singular purpose rather than just mindlessly upgrading as you progress. Some gear raises a specific stat a modest amount, others provide much needed resistance to attacks or immunity to status effects, and other provide unique effects such as allowing a character to always act first or resist critical hits.

The only part of combat I didn't enjoy came in the form of boss battles. Most of the innovation was thrown out the window in favor of seeing who could dish out the most damage while keeping themselves alive. I also found that when a boss was nearly dead it was capable of killing my party members with a single well placed attack. I imagine this kind of problem would not have come up if I had spent more time grinding, but in this game that seems counterproductive. Although these bosses are fast paced and do require you to act quickly or be killed, they are just not as interesting as the normal combat sequences.

Storyline- 3/5
There's not a whole lot to the storyline here. The main character begins the game by running out on his angry mother, and runs off to his girlfriend's house. A few moments later they hear a noise outside and peer out the window only to see a gigantic army of the damned. A few break down the door and suddenly our heroes develop special powers to deal with them. Unfortunately despite killing a few the swarm is so gigantic their only hope is to run like hell. You spend the rest of the game fleeing from these monsters while recruiting other survivors. It did seem like the plot may have been leading up to something, but thus far it never really goes anywhere beyond the initial premise.

Characters- 1/5
This aspect of the game is disappointingly weak. The main character is soon afflicted with a condition that removes his ability to speak (hence the game title), but unfortunately prior to this event he had so few lines that his personality was not developed at all, it didn't really feel as though there was much point to stealing this character's voice. His girlfriend seems to be lacking in personality, and also doesn't speak much. Most of the lines are given by two supporting characters who will join up shortly into the game. The two of them are quickly involved in some dramatic scenes, but since you barely know these people any emotional impact is completely absent in what could otherwise be moving situations. Thankfully since the game is light on dialogue, you won't be spending a lot of time dwelling on this aspect of the game.

Level Design- 3/5
Every map in this game is designed with one purpose in mind, giving you a place to run through. The game begins with wide open spaces that allow you to easily escape from the swarms of monsters, but as the game progresses you'll quickly be thrust into small buildings with much less room to maneuver. Treasures are littered around, all of them equally as dangerous as they are beneficial. You'll occasionally have to hunt down a key in order to pass through a door, but that's about as complicated as things get.

Graphics- 3/5
Everything appears to have been drawn with MS Paint. Although the game isn't pretty to look at, every object is recognizable and there's a consistency to the graphical style that I appreciated. There's a couple nice touches as the characters become animated during certain scenes.

Music/Sound- 4/5
A couple of the songs seem to have been ripped from various other games, though for the most part I didn't recognize a thing. Nearly every song is intended to create a sense of urgency, and they accomplish this goal well.

Random stuff I liked-
Battle animations are incredibly short, and since you'll often be fighting large groups of enemies with the same speed value it creates an interesting effect with characters being struck rapidly in succession. It really makes you feel as though you're being swarmed by a squad of vicious demons.

Between missions your party returns to a home base, which allows you to wander around and speak to your party before moving on. Since I hated all the characters it wasn't as enjoyable as I'd have liked, but still, the concept itself is a fine addition.

Save points are absolutely everywhere, which I found comforting in a game with frequent and painful deaths.

Random stuff I hated-
At one point I opened a treasure box and my entire party was poisoned. Much to my dismay, I was unable to use my status cure from the menu, I had to wait until a battle began before I could start recovering one party member at a time.

Near the end of the demo I became locked in a room with a save point, just prior to a boss battle. I didn't really see this coming and had saved my game in a rather difficult position. Although I was able to defeat the boss with a little luck, I didn't see any good reason to lock the door behind me which would allow me to exit and do a bit of grinding if absolutely necessary.

Final Thoughts-
An incredibly fast paced adventure with a solid battle system. Although it does have plenty of flaws, it focuses on its strong point which makes for a very enjoyable experience. If you're a fan of fast paced action and difficult combat, this game is definitely worth a download.