The review numbers say it all: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA is a huge hit! No less than our own Robin Baird scored the game with a whopping 9/10. And Bill Murphy scored the Switch version with a stunning 8.5/10.
Here’s a bit of each one’s review:
From Robin about the PC version:
Overall Ys VIII is a compelling and entertaining JRPG. I often found myself torn between pushing the main story forward and doing all the side activities, but the real tell was I just really enjoyed spending time in the game no matter what I was doing. The graphics, music, and game mechanics all work well together to provide many hours of delightful and fun entertainment.
If there’s anything really “meh” about Ys VIII it’s that the story takes a good long while to get going. It crawls along with dream sequences that don’t really generate interest, and the first hour or more is just you running around the soon-to-crash ship talking to people. But once you’re adventuring on the island, fishing, crafting, learning new skills, finding new secrets, and meeting new survivors, Ys VIII becomes a very memorable experience. It makes me hope we don’t wait so long for a Ys IX, and that it’s given the care and attention it deserves.
