~RaZor~

Razor... no, ok ~RaZoR~ is a weird game. Because it reminds a Blurred Line to me, for these reasons:

1) It's set in a sort of cyberpunk/futuristic city (and both have some adventures inside a virtual world).
2) It begins with a short scene "in media res", then the real adventure begins as a sort of flashback.
3) The protagonist can learn abilities from the enemies.
4) There is the intention to propose some choices that will modify the party setup.
5) Both games are incomplete... ok no, this is just a coincidence!


That ribbon is a deadly weapon compared to Chris' attacks!

The Good
What I liked of this game is that there is no real hero: we play as Chris, a stereotypical emo guy (black dressed and with the tuft over is eye, was bullied when he was a child, is shy, he cuts himself... no ok, only when shaving! But hey come on, even the title, ~RaZoR~, is emo!) that begins the game saying that he betrayed his friends. Then after a short prologue the real adventure starts, explaining how his boring life was turned upside down and he went from citizen to hunted criminal.

During the story we will also meet some friends (that later will become party members) like the reverend and his loved childhood friend (that later will become his girlfriend, unsurprisingly) and some enemies, including his (ex)girlfriend, soldiers and vampires!

The story isn't bad at all (but unfortunately the demo ends just when things are becoming really interesting), there are sad scenes but there's also space for some humor, I also liked a lot certain touches and scenes like the one in which he throws the alarm clock destroying it, or that part in which the text is written at the speed of light
until the last sentence, when everything becomes slower.
And I liked some particular choices: you can decide to wear a hat in the beginning, you can how to answer in particular dialogues, and I guess that some choices change some of the following situations and also give you different party members.

Another thing I liked a lot was the choice of music: I recognized almost every song that is used here: Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz), Call Me (Blondie), Take on Me (A-ha), I'm Blue (Eiffel 65), Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi) and so on... they fit the game very well, and I think this was an unusual but correct choice. Approved!

The So-so
Some things are neither good or bad, and graphics is one of these. I think that the choice of charsets and facesets were good and they match the appearance most of the time (not always, see the Miner, for example), battlers are good, but mapping is... decent. I mean most locations are huge and almost empty and lack of details. On the other hand, I like how some locations that are revisited in different periods of the day (like the apartment complex) have different people wandering around: the day you will find a couple of transporters carring a mattress, the night instead you will found a couple (not of transporters!) kissing.


I miss those old days too... when building parapets was mandatory!

The Bad
Unfortunately the bad is about the gameplay.

Let's start with combat: the layout is simple and well done, I like the battlers, but unfortunately fighting is a chore since enemies are ofter quite strong while our protagonist is often alone and has no other attack besides his rusted knives.
During the final parts of the demo the situation is a bit better, because we get some companions and also some special moves, anyway the difficulty is still high because we've few hitpoints, enemies hit hard and there are few healing items that can be used during combat (you can heal with food but there items can be used ONLY before or after combat).
It's a pity because there's an interesting backstory about the different powers the party members learn to use, connected to the zodiac signs (Capricorn lets you learn and use the opponent's attacks, Virgo teaches elemental spells, Pisces is about healing and water attacks, and so on).

Same problem are the fighting minigames, because they are quite difficult and also glitchy. Others are not so bad (like the one in which you have to avoid being spotted by the landlord), but since the ones in which you fight the soldiers can result in an instant Game Over and they are consecutive (meaning that there's no save spot between them), it's not a surprise if these are the most hated parts of the game.

Verdict
Razor... erhm... ~RaZoR~ is an interesting game with a lot of good premises, interesting ideas (the dialogue choices, the different powers, some minigames) but a mediocre gameplay that suffers from a lack of balance that makes combat encounters (even the minor ones) extremely difficult and not so entertaining due to the lack of options (no skills until the end, and almost no equipment management). It's a pity, anyway this is still a playable and quite entertaining. There are no typos, the plot is interesting and the world is rather original compared to most other games. It's clearly above average, so it gets 3,5 because it kept me wanting more despit the flaws.

This is TheRpgmakerAddict, signing off.