Idea Factory International continues with its roundup of ports on Steam for PC gamers who love the saga of Hyperdimension Neptunia. After the three reboots of the main chapters, the time has finally come for the spin-offs of the brand to be released on Valve's digital platform. The first to succeed is Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, which will be released this spring.
The game has been provided to us in beta, so we will modify this note when it becomes available in the final version in order to specify whether the problems encountered have been fixed or not.
We also remind you that you can read a more in-depth review of Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, tested in its original version, at the following address.
Interview with the big boobs
The plot of Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed sees the four CPUs working alongside two new entries in the cast of the saga, such as Famitsu e Dengekiko (respectively the personification of the homonymous magazine Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation). These are two journalists who, following the success of their first article, will decide to collaborate directly with the four goddesses and their respective CPU candidates while they will be busy satisfying the demands of the population. The story is rather superficial, ending up becoming a mere outline of the game mechanics. Even what will be the final boss is perpetually in the background, with the risk of being forgotten without too much difficulty. Do not miss, However, the peculiarities that have distinguished the brand, such as the extensive use of fanservice, the continuous citations to the videogame world and the numerous comic curtains that have made their way into the hearts of fans since the beginning.
A screen for the fap folder
The game mechanics of Hyperdimension Neptunia U are roughly inherited from the musou genre, with the addition of some elements from the saga of Senran Kagura.
The player, for a duration of about 15 hours (more or less half by skipping all the dialogues), will face one quest after the other with at most two characters of their choice, except for those missions in which everything will be fixed. In each of these there will be a goal to fulfill, such as eliminating enemies, reaching a place or collecting objects, while the canonical monsters of the saga will attack us en masse while exploring small arenas (and certainly well recognizable by fans). Each heroine will have a fixed set of shots, including light and powerful attacks, plus the addition of special techniques that will consume SP (rechargeable by eliminating enemies or with special items). As damage is taken, our character's clothes will be destroyed, showing almost completely undressed waifu, as someone may have already seen with Senran Kagura. Destruction of clothing will lead to some consequences, such as filling half the bar EXE Drive, useful for accessing your HDD form or for unleashing powerful attacks in combination with your partner (this special shot will be available towards the middle of the game). When we transform, for a not too long period of time we will have a significant boost to the statistics and, if we were to be able to fill a second bar, it will be possible to launch a decidedly destructive technique that will drain our transformation. Upon completion of each mission, the selected characters will receive experience points to level up and upgrade accordingly. In addition, enemies will drop coins that can be used to redeem passive (permanent) upgrades and various pieces of equipment including accessories and weapons.
In Hyperdimension Neptunia U, however, there are also some particular quests, called Irregular Quest, in which the objective of the mission will not be indicated, although it can almost always be traced back to a "Kill them all". In addition, once the adventure is over, two new modes will be available, the Gaminsdustri Gauntlet, in which it will be possible to organize small tournaments in which the heroines of the cast can be faced in 1 vs 1 matches, and the Neptal Tower, in which small secondary missions will take place for 50 floors, useful for collecting monster coins and additional experience points. It will also unlock the entry Cheat in the settings menu, through which you can activate some special conditions, such as the possibility to choose the goddesses directly in HDD mode.
A more than satisfactory beta
Although this is only a beta, Hyperdimension Neptunia U is already graphically well done, with a resolution of 1080p and that manages to run smoothly at a constant 60fps. The level of optimization is already excellent, to the point that it only requires 800MB of vRAM to run correctly. The polygonal models are well made, as we have already seen in the other three ports on PC and, although the textures are not overly detailed, they render well overall, creating pleasant settings for the player's sight. However, while this beta appears to be ready for release already, there are still problems to be resolved. In particular, at least as regards our gaming experience, on several occasions we were forced to witness a kind of freeze of the whole game solved by simply opening the Windows task manager. Surely it is a problem related to the still ongoing development process and which, in all likelihood, will be solved with the release of the final version.
Finally, nothing more to say than the original review on the audio sector, well done as always and with the possibility, through a special menu, to be able to listen to the soundtrack that you prefer.
Verdict 7.5 / 10 At the fap machine Comment This Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed beta pleasantly surprised us, not so much for the game itself, but more for the already high quality achieved. Of course there are still some problems around, but overall the result is really promising and we can only be happy about this, turning our congratulations to Idea Factory International. As for the game itself, however, we find ourselves in front of quite successful game mechanics, although the difficulty curve a little too unbalanced could make someone turn up their noses. Too bad perhaps for the plot, but fans of the saga will still have bread for their teeth thanks to the immense amount of ubiquitous fanservice. Pros and cons ✓ Interesting gameplay✓ Canonical elements of the saga
✓ Good technical realization x Not too successful plot
x A few bugs around
x Sometimes repetitive quests
