Luna: Shattered Hearts – Episode 1 (PC) Review

Although a videogame can't be solely judged from its initial menu, it can sometimes set the tone for what lies ahead, and this title's start-up screen feels a bit amateurish, with options that are quite lacking, and an overall design that, while good, could be a lot better. What is this all about, though? The story begins with Lithien, a dark elf-like man who has fallen in a dark cavern, and who - cliché number one - suffers from amnesia. Dez, a somewhat pirate-ty lady with a long tail awakens him, gets pinched by Cupid's arrow, and - cliché number two - decides to accompany him.

After this brief - and unavoidable - intro, the plot disappears, and will only show its ugly, puerile head again right after the one and only boss fight, something that, for a - supposedly - story-driven RPG, isn't very encouraging. Furthermore, these few shreds of plotline that are available aren't even remotely interesting, don't answer anything, and are voiced by a very bored couple of voice actors. What is between the 'A' and the 'B' of this mundane exercise in spelunking, then? The answer is two lame grind quests.

Even for a single episode this adventure is way too short. In fact, if a long and boring search for some ingredients wasn't required, this would only take 10 or so minutes! In order to craft the two needed key items, the player must keep on killing the same three monsters over and over again in the one and only - and tiny - stage available, a task that is unbelievably tedious, not only because it's extremely repetitive, but, mainly, because everything, from the controls to the various gameplay mechanics, are severely flawed.

Jumping is so slow and floaty that controlling Lithien feels like controlling an astronaut. Thankfully, this is not a platformer; therefore, this is far from the worst aspect of the game - which, without a single doubt, is the part where this terrible excuse for a hero must use his sword. The enemies are, theoretically, not a challenging bunch, yet the hit detection is so bad, and the three available attack moves so slow, that they make them "look" hard. Furthermore, hits don't temporarily stun them, so they keep on attacking no matter what - and they are surprisingly lethal.

Although Lithien soon turns out to be a weakling, he is always followed by Dez and a flying orb. Besides providing light, this magic artefact leaves behind healing energy, as long as it's charged, which requires hacking at some blue crystals that are scattered around, a chore as boring as it is meaningless. Since dying is still quite easy, though, Dez must also do her thing, which, besides hitting enemies when she feels like it, is the ability to bring the dead back to life.

One final thing that must be said about this ruin of a videogame is the Love system. Dez is supposed to be far more effective as a teammate when her heart "gauge" is full. There are two flaws with this system, though: #1 this meter goes up by doing simple, non-challenging things like staying close to each other, or riding an enemy beetle(?), and #2 it doesn't really make a difference! Even if it did, however, this would remain a boring, needlessly-stretched grind quest, with god-awful controls, and a plot that mostly shines through its absence.