Today I'm reviewing the latest release from 'ProjectMoon', a PC and mobile gacha game that's got some hilariously cool subject matter... "Limbus Company". Steam Curator: store.steampow... Twitter: ma...
Hey everyone, this is probably a little bit closer to a 'first impression' than a formal review in retrospect... but it's kind of ambiguous as to what the courtesy should be for review cutoff points on games that are literally infinite. 10 hours seemed like a respectable amount of time and I more or less had my feelings on the game formulated, but this review is targeted more at folks on the fence rather than people who already know they love the franchise/love gacha. Thank you for watching, please comment if you had any questions.
When I was doing research all I saw was tremendous love for the studio and faith from fans that they wouldn’t drop the ball. There’s pushback on it being gacha for sure, but not as much as you’d expect…almost overwhelmed by optimism that they wouldn’t screw it up. I hope the community found what they were looking for in this game. As an outsider, I felt content leaving it as a fun novelty and not a multi month commitment. Thank you for commenting.
@@Maddmike np, and personally as a big fan of PM I'm 100% fine with it being a gacha. I see it as more money they can spend on later games, especially some of the really interesting ones they'd said they have planned. Iirc they said they were gonna make an arpg where you play as a fixer.
@@Maddmike As a PM fan, I think of it like a patreon that gives me unreasonably hot people to bash against other unreasonably hot people until one of them turns into a freaking monster set to an appropriately hecked up story. They're also a dev company whose main purpose is to make enough money to fund making more games, rather than the usual corporate motive of 'all the money, forever,' which is where a lot of the optimism you see comes from-and they've been very quick in addressing and coming up with plans to handle the pain points in progression. Can't say you're wrong about the tutorials, though. Projmoon tutorials are... Projmoon tutorials. XD anyways play lobcorp because I want you to suffer as I have suffered. 🙃
Yeah i felt that you were probably missing a bunch of important parts by not getting to chapter three and doing the side content, its a shame because chapter three is when things get meaty. both story wise and game play wise with the classic project moon gloves coming off moment.
Good review, but one corrections: All of the Project Moon games start off simple and become the games where "if you don't read this important piece of information, you WILL fail". So autobattler would be terrible for that. In Chapter 3 you fight a certain boss that somewhat illustrates that scenario.
Pretty much this, also execution in battles is deceptive at best. While yes, chaining colours maxes damage, it isn't always the correct play and sometimes even dangerously suicidal. It is true execution on playing the actual battle is simplified, but ignoring the important structures behind it can easily put the entire victory in jeopardy since this game is so swing heavy at the worst of times.
The premise of this game was to get people interested in the lore and motivate them to play the other games in the series, so in that case, I guess it did it’s job for you.
This is a great review, one thing about getting into limbus that should be recognized is that, players should at least play its predecessors or at very least immersing yourself in its lore before hand, to be invested into the story and settings. Not to mention difficulty in the PM is very souls-like. A good mid-point and a good recommendation is Library of Ruina.
as someone who played both previous games, i strongly disagree on soul-like difficulty. its more of try everything you can and see what works then reset and do it right while increasing things to pay attention to over time. once you know sharpshooter shoots 7th bullet at random you cant fail
@@Aiveq i understand that its not a direct comparison for many experiences, but my fight with xiao was very reminisent of fighting a souls like boss, where you lose and lose until you finally unserstand the mechanics of fighting her. Same kinda goes for realizations. For Lobotomy i agree with ur statement. Lmk what u think.
@@howtomakemedaze948 in dark souls its pretty clear when attack is coming so you just gtfo and observe for moment then you know what to do. multiple times i had killed bosses on first try. project moon setups instead almost guarantee you to fail and then you redo with different setup. say woodsman in LobCorp, everyone i know who played lost a character second time working him. solution is to keep feeding him while unlocking info then restart and with hindsight its almost impossible to die with him. for LoR you made example yourself, fail, fail and eventually you get perfect deck to deal with it. its more of a puzzle to which knowing solution removes difficulty. in dark souls i can watch hundred of guides and if my skill not up to par... you have died and opposite is true. i also didnt like LoR for that reason, if i knew what to build then there no challenge while LobCorp had skill challenge of your multitasking. i am about to bed.. hope its understandable
@@howtomakemedaze948 Most of LoR bosses can be won through cheeses. It should only take 2 to 3 battles to figure out the most broken build for the fight. A wise man once said: "LoR is just a race to see who break the game faster with the most OP build"
Projectmoon cult here, the grind to look at a morsel of story is what makes it interesting. They are known for their difficulty spikes. Its true most choice is done pre battle, but there's alot going on that projectmoon itself suck at explaining. Yeah, i will recommend it 2 weeks-4 weeks into the game waiting for youtube tutorial unless you like suffering we welcome thee.
@@pomp7117I went in without any big issues without looking up a tutorial I just had to change my team 3 times before I got one that worked for dealing blunt dmg and surviving and dying like 8 different times in the process
Should play Library of Ruina if you like what you see here but want a complete story with more involved mechanics. Limbus company's mechanics are more like a lite-version of what you see here focused for quick play Though none of the PM games "respect your time" per-say by design. They want you to get into a specific mindset which was masterfully done in Lobotomy Corporation, but less-so in Ruina. So yeah, all the games are a commitment in that regard.
Oh the reason why it’s somewhat easy or hard was because what happened in Ruina was (that probably new players but not sure) it was very very hard on the spike of difficulty at some points of the game but they did nerf some stuff here and there
Just found your channel. Watched 3 reviews and I liked them all. Felt like I got a complete impression of the games without belaboring the point. I'm subscribing.
They`re known for their quick responses to feedback. Yes, they`re also known for bad optimization and convoluted mechanics at launch, but they consistently fixed and added things that players suggested to improve quality of life. If you had to trust anyone with not using people`s gambling addictions to rake in as much cash they can, Project Moon would be a pretty good choice. I just hope that the profits from this game will go towards the fixer association management game that they teased rather than making more games like this.
@@somedouchemcbag987 I have a lot of faith in them, I've just seen people I've had faith in fall off of the path before, so I'm just pensive. Also, yeah I'd love to build an office, madness project nexus style.
REALLY like how they made the reroll process as painless as they could with infinite guest acct resets without even having to touch the tutorial. Feels like less gacha, more game. Also yea, played a bit of ruina and really liked it, buts it’s REALLY time consuming cuz you have to rebuild your deck and strategy for each encounter.
I just want to comment that I really like the way you word a lot of a lot of things. I like a lot of games that happen to be gacha and you hit the nail on the head in regards to the problems that these games can present.
I have embraced the lore of Lobotomy corp and I played over 100 hours into library of Runia. I can tell you this game so far is really good. But if you want to fully enjoy it you have to know prior lore and be ready to put your metal to the test when it comes to planning and grinding for things. You also have to understand that This will be an unforgiving game and a very emotional one.
As someone who's a fan of project moons work, I have to say that, story-wise, DO NOT START HERE! there's lobotomy corporation, as well as a book and a comic that precede the events of limbus company. As for gameplay, it's really a simplified and streamlined version of library of ruinas combat.
@@rifwann startıng wıth lıbrary of ruına gıves a warped perception of Lobotomy corporation story overall ıts a stupid ass move and its a direct sequel to lobotomy corporation so it doesnt make sense to start with library of ruina
@@LTDLetsPlays dont think so.. story wise yes. But some people just illiterate and quitter, its like recommending light novel to a beginner weebs.. you recommend anime for a reason..
To be honest, the gacha is quite unique! You only need one copy of a character to unlock em fully by using threads. Other gacha needs multiple copies of a character (making you pay more) to fully power up a character. 000 & 00 characters are not strictly upgrades but more of different playstyles.
Play Library of Ruina then, if you liked this one! Mechanics and lore are interracting in very interesting way. Lobotomy Corporation is a bit of a hard one, tho - it is really good, but it is extremely hard and tedious, one missclick can cost you hour of very hard fight, so better just check story recap or smth like that. And for Limbus Company, is better to come in year or two, when most stuff is already there. Project Moon said they already finished around 90% of story for game, now just need to implement it into mechanics.
>it's not a story you can finish That is all I needed to know. I was on the fence about giving it a try because I love the aesthetic and the dev behind it, and it said on steam that it was a single player game, but as soon as I spotted the "In-App Purchases" tag, I decided to look for reviews first. If it was a complete game I can start and finish, I would give it a try, but I am already in one gacha hell and I don't wish to be in more. Plus, if I know gachas as well as I do, if you don't start when they launch, you miss A LOT of stuff, not to mention that the "end of service notice" is always looming on top of your head, especially if it has more than one server. Hopefully this game finishes at some point and then they make it a complete standalone package so I buy it and enjoy it at my own discretion. Until then, I will have to decline. My gacha hellhole of preference is FGO btw, if you are wondering. lol
When it comes to the story from events you will always be able to play those, and as for the length of the game... The CEO of PM stated in a Livestream that they planned to continue it for 10 years.( Assuming everything goes to schedule)
I liked the review. It wraps up my feelings on the game in a nice bow from a more objective standpoint. Going to add my voice to the "play library of ruina" chorus. If you think the story of the game is good but dislike the structure of the game itself, it's the game to play. Can't recommend lobotomy corporation, though. That game is hit or miss and I recommend playing only it if you're into the basic concept or really like the story of ruina and want to know more (PM continues the theme of hitting hard despite weird game structure and questionable design choices) It does hit hard as fuck if you enjoy the idea of feeding interns to eldritch abominations over and over again until you understand what makes them tick, and then balancing the unique needs of said abominations against each other AND gaining knowledge on the fresh horrors thrown at you constantly, but that is a niche indeed
0:40 literally perfectly put I'm a big pm fan and Ruina dethroned my favorite game at the time to become my new #1 because it's that good. Limbus' story is too good for a gacha structure imo. Project moons art and game design in general is usually too good for it as well. It's really a shame that most of it is so fun to play while the other isn't to engage with. I also personally think it's fair to criticize gacha for being gacha, at least in this case where it isn't an appropriate genre. I think gacha in general is an incredibly toxic game format.
You are very right about the lore aspect of the game, it requires commitment, not warhammer 40k levels, but a decent amount nonetheless. A slight issue with the review would be the combat aspect. A lot of people don't realise what should be prioritised in combat. While it is true damage modifications help a lot, I would argue, that chaining attacks/defense skills is important, especially so when you realise how it interacts past turn 2 and further. Project Moon is notorious for having very convoluted mechanics and requires the player to effectively use all of them to have a decently comfortable time playing (though ironically, I would argue their first game is the most convoluted out of the three). That said, the main issue of Limbus company and by extension, their other games, has always been tutorials and easing the player into the game, I wouldn't be surprised if many players feel like they have to grind to finish the current story missions when in reality, it isn't really necessary. Which leads to your point of requiring outside help to get anywhere, especially when breaking down the mechanics of the game. Hell, I played all project moon games and completed them, STILL needed to look for a guide to look up a few things to understand the mechanics of the game before I figured out that I can comfortably clean out everything with whatever Identities/EGOs I had (and a lot of them were low tier warriors).
Lament If you wanted me to speak If you wanted me to think If you wanted me to carry on our dreams Each loop we live through Each loop we live through The standards inside me The line I drew for me Lowers to the earth Lament! Why'd you make my voice stutter? Why do truths never matter? Why'd you curse me with "You're a natural born genius"? Endless inferno (Inferno)
One small thing. While there is tons of buffs, debuffs, mechanics andnit is easily to be lost, there is no bloat when it comes to resources. Its astounding how little.of them exist in the game (which is a good thing). Also while.i agree two.paths are not enticing, you can target freely in abnormality battles (which are like... 30.percent of the game including most bosses), which raises complexity in a nice manner. Also higher grade units arent inherently better most of the time, which is nice. I was for example suprised how my.picked by accident starter unit proeeded to decimate early.parts of dungeon
I'm still hesitant on the gacha elements. I loved lobotomy Corp and Library of ruina was amazing so I'm here because of the lore tie in. I'm not sure though I'd stay if I wasn't a fan of the project moon universe though.
Eh, there's more to combat then the surface level explanation, with choosing the defense option to build ego resources instead of risking a losing clash and choosing to use egos to force a clash win instead of using it for damage. Color resonance is usually a trap for noobs; clash, ego, and saving your resources is the long game (if only they'd release the late game rogue dungeon already.) On the whole though, I agree with the review, they tried to make an indie game with a gacha and alienated many people from both audiences. Indie people dont want to deal with the gacha and the grind to get gacha unlocks, but love the story and combat, gacha people have trouble running this on mobile and aren't really looking for long complex combat, but like the gacha waifus and art style. I do recommend trying to finish chapter 3 at your own pace though. The final boss retally brings out the best in the combat, music, and art direction. I personally plan on not playing for a while after finishing chapter 3 since I got a lot more closures after it.
I can't pull for a UR Queen of Hatred. 0/10. I also think it's a weird starting point for anyone unfamiliar with Lobotomy Lore, especially when Library is so good and there are plenty of well-edited let's plays for Lobotomy Corp (not that the game isn't fun, management sims aren't my thing, ArcAngela, Empty Industry and Zet made really good let's plays).
The other two games are very good compared to this so far but trust me time will tell since I've heard that project moon games tend to have quite a rough start on launches.
As a ruina fan who was wondering why play limbus when ruina exist, i was surprised that even people who never played first two games can feel that something is not right with limbus.
I would recomend at least watching a explanation onLibrary of Ruina combat, as is a expansion on it. Also os story the same. Lobotomy corp also helps to learn but isn't as conected with limbus.
Just spend pretty big amount of time on this game. Loved Library of Ruina, thematically love Lobotomy Corporation. Must say that I also feel very conflicted about nature of this game. Currently I here for story and to throw dice but the game currently lacks almost any non story progression. Mirror dungeon is fun only for few tries then it becomes a chore. Combat-wise it is strange. First thing that I need to point out is that autoselect for attacks is garbage. Second is how this combat feels different from Library of Ruina and not in very good way. But there is still a big chunk of goodness here but its kinda... unused? Limbus Company combat much more relies on snowbol effect of winning clashes. The fact that your characters can be easily staggered from one attack is the stupidest thing in this game. And then you can't do anything about it. Because you either have no character that can deflect next attacks successfully and not be staggered themselves or simply cannot redirect attack because of how human fights work. I like the sin and Ego system and how it changes the way you think about your attacks and resources. But it does not matter because you can't focus on getting resources as you are focusing on winning clashes. Also sanity system punishes you for losing characters so there it. Also defense, evade, counter are useless. Okey, rant off. Despite what I said this combat system kinda grew on me lately. It still gives me this high level of dopamine like Library of Ruina did with first creating course of action for a turn and then watching dice roll and other flashy fight things. And you kinda can do some high IQ plays using defense, evade, counter if you use them as attack skip so clashes change order. And I also like roguelike-like dungeons and final sections of chapters. There is still a question of what next? They are actually just announced roadmap which should be available tomorrow. I will probably would keep an eye on this game because I like what Project Moon stands for and did before and maybe (very unlikely) they can show me the gacha game that I will not forget about after few days. If want to look at other games of Project Moon I heavily recommend starting with Library of Ruina (LoR). Despite the fact that it is direct sequel to Lobotomy Corporation (LC) it is much more forgiving to players. LC is a game created for special type of people. People that also would probably like Pathologic because of how both games sacrifise player comfort (aka they are batshit hard) for the spectacle, lore and themes. LoR is not perfect (it has like sixteen consecutive boss fights at the end and Red Riding Hood battle makes my blood boil) but what it does it does very good.
I wanted to love this game.. but I swear to you this game wore me out in the beginning. I have no idea what’s going on, and I know folks think that’s cool.. but I want to get into a story and I just never clicked or understood the story.
Now you should make a review of Library of Ruina! The difficulty spike is vertical in 10 phases if you don't read all the texts properly. PM being PM, so complex and deep mechanics and yet so little tutorial and guide in-game. Even if there's any, they'll spread it thin so it's easily missed
I feel that for Limbus Company combat is a BIG BIG BIG step down from Library of Ruina, from the changes to the staggering system making it extremely unfair that everytime you lose 1/3 of your hp = instant stagger. Making fights extremely reliant on RNG, Lor combat also has RNG but it also provides you with much more freedom over what you can do and the fight still depends on what you do and victory feels satisfying. But in Limbus everything relies on what the AI pick for you either its the skill tree or the opponent making winning a battle doesn't feel accomplished anymore but hey maybe other will feel different who knows just my opinion
@@Maddmike I don't think there's any point of the game where it's considered "grindy" just yet, you can complete almost any battle even with underleveled units as long as you plan accordingly. There are even videos of people online using underleveled and base sinners to complete otherwise impossible stages.
I was excited until I heard "Project Moon". I am an absolute sucker for card based battle systems, but Library of Ruina's combat really rubbed me the wrong way, especially with its bizarre user interface design & iconography. Which is the sort of thing you REALLY wanna shine in any turn based game.
