SINoALICE Critic Reviews

As the developers rightly suggested in the Space Invaders side story, the day will come when the servers are turned off and this game is forgotten. It will not be remembered or celebrated nearly as much as Yoko Taro’s masterpieces NieR and NieR Automata. But for those who want in on a strange, wonderful, and limited-time experience, SINoALICE is the perfect pastime for you. Prepare to be shocked by some of the strangest short stories you’ve ever read, and hopefully you’ll have fun bashing baddies along the way.

SINoALICE comes with stunning lore, awesome characters and a great soundtrack, but in terms of gameplay the game fails to deliver.

SINoALICE gives us a rather gripping narrative that mobile fans may not be accustomed to. The dark fairy tale themes are very much from the mind of developer Yoko Taro, and it works exceptionally well with the presentation. Unfortunately, that same genius isn’t found in the battle system outside of the standout online Guild Battles. It’s unlikely the current gameplay formula will change, but the game’s story and characters will surely keep you invested across future updates.

Despite its elegant art style and stirring musical score, it’s crushingly dull. The narratives don’t branch, and with auto-fight turned on, your role is reduced to that of spectator rather than player, and no amount of fourth wall-breaking humour or twisted fairy tale storylines make up for the boredom at its core.