Goblin Slayer: The Endless Revenge first impressions

Goblin Slayer: The Endless Revenge launched towards the end of December 2019 to quite a bit of fanfare, as the IP it is based on had everything going for it in terms of its potential in becoming a great game.

Based on earlier screenshots, it would appear that the game would be first person dungeon crawler that is all too fitting for Goblin Slayer, and while that is technically what we got, the execution is just down uninspired. First off, let’s address the graphics. Just about the entire game takes place in a goblin cave, which is lore-appropriate, although unfortunately, these seems to be the only location in-game. Some variety would have been a good change of pace. There is however some variety to the goblins you fight, but after a while, you stop paying attention to them because they appear largely similar.

When traversing the caves themselves, movement is automated, so that rules out any sort of manual exploration that would have made much more sense instead. With that in mind, combat revolves around you swiping the screen at oncoming goblins in Fruit Ninja fashion, which does get tiring really quickly. With the core gameplay failing to measure up, the game becomes more of a chore than anything else. You do get helpful abilities that supplement the fights but these are limited in use and barely change up the runs. It is little wonder the official website does not even show any gameplay videos because they probably knew right away how bad it would be received.

To sum it up, Goblin Slayer: The Endless Revenge is wasted potential in the kindest terms, and a lazy cash grab to put it in a harsher fashion. The game is devoid of any story or single player campaign, and just has players trudging through progressively more difficult dungeons. With the exception of some reflex action, there is little to no skill involved, so if you find yourself at a dead end, you merely need to level up by grinding lower level dungeons a lot more. You can of course expedite progression by using paid currency, but instead of traditional gacha, you shell out gems for a grab bag of character cards contained in chests.

It definitely is unfortunate that this is the Goblin Slayer franchise’s game debut, since it had the potential to be a full fledged RPG. If the developer had put in some thought, this could also been at least a very competent mobile dungeon crawler, so it makes one wonder what the people behind this was thinking. Fans should stay completely clear of this game and maybe rewatch the first season before the second one drops later this year.