We’d now stay in a world the place Ultimate Fantasy XVI is avaiable – however that does not imply that Ultimate Fantasy XV is over. At the very least, it isn’t over if Sq. Enix accomplice Machine Zone has something to do with it. There’s a brand new FF15 spin-off on the town, with Conflict for Eos now accessible on cellular in just about each main territory.

Ultimate Fantasy XV: Conflict for Eos follows within the footsteps of A New Empire, Machine Zone’s earlier foray into stretching the credibility of the FF collection to its limits. Sq. Enix isn’t actually concerned, apart from accepting a giant fats verify in alternate for the proper for cellular specialist Machine Zone to make use of the FF15 property and characters and a hefty chunk of Ultimate Fantasy’s soul.

For those who don’t know Machine Zone – nicely, you do, however you simply don’t notice it. That is the corporate behind video games like ‘Recreation of Conflict’ and ‘Cell Strike’, these aggressively monetized cellular video games which have loved Superbowl commercials starring the likes of Mariah Carey and Arnold Schwarznegger. This firm is the origin of these cellular recreation advert memes the place a scorching girl stands in entrance of some isometric city-builder panorama. “We’re below assault!” That meme? It was really primarily based on an advert for FF15: A New Empire.

So, anyway, Conflict for Eos is a brand new recreation, a form of alternative for New Empire. It’s depressing in plenty of the identical methods, although it’s a totally different recreation. 

You do battle within the small scale as a celebration of iconic heroes from the FF15 world – not simply the core 4 boys, however another characters too, like Lunafreya. These battles are largely computerized, however you may select whenever you set off Restrict Break fashion particular strikes for every character current. Development right here comes by means of bettering and leveling up every of the get together members. 

A secondary battle element sees you place collectively a small military and ship it into battle, which once more is basically computerized. It’s a rock-paper-scissors form of deal, the place the kinds of troops you ship in and their numbers will decide your probabilities of success. Development right here is attained by merely getting extra troops – extra sorts, extra highly effective, and so forth. Numerous this requires troops to be ‘skilled’, which takes time, cash, or each.

That is the place they get you. Within the recreation’s city-building part, all the things takes each time and sources. That is the norm for a recreation of this type, after all. Need to construct a farm, a mine, or a barracks? Or improve one? That’ll price X, and take Y. 

Early on, the sport lures you right into a false sense of safety by making early upgrades prompt… however quickly, you’ll be inspired to ‘increase’ in an effort to sustain the tempo of play, and boosting requires in-app purchases – and away you go.

There’s depth right here – however virtually by necessity, in an effort to encourage you to get to spending. There’s guilds the place you’ll accomplice with different gamers, and submenu piles upon sub menu. There’s a hell of quite a bit to do. Quests stack as much as the purpose the place typically you’re finishing them with out even realizing it till the UI flags up that there is a meager reward to choose up. Featured listed below are the identical designerly rules deployed in slot machines – the objective being to maintain you enjoying, a gradual drip of delicate dopamine rushes – massive, however not large enough to depart you really glad. True satisfaction can solely come by opening up your pockets. 

All of that is standard-issue cellular recreation stuff, after all. No matter you consider it we’ve got to just accept it because the norm now. What makes the distinction, although, is the cadence of it. Like A New Empire earlier than it, Conflict for Eos will get aggressive in requiring money to progress at a great fee. And that’s how these video games work. It’s dying by a thousand cuts, chipping away at you to get you to pay. There’s plenty of dangerous gacha video games on the market, after all, however most of them aren’t anyplace close to as generic, exploitative, and gross as this.

However… It needs to be stated, this recreation is attention-grabbing. As a historic curiosity, if nothing else. Sq. Enix has bought its soul, however Machine Zone is nonetheless making an attempt to place this as a real piece of FF15 in its personal proper. 

Voice actors have been recalled to their roles, laying down a bunch of unique dialogue for this new story. The story is offered as an alternate-universe tackle the occasions of FF15 – a flimsy framework to justify the town builder side of the sport, however one which nonetheless delivers some tantalizing prospects.

For one, Lunafreya is alive, and an lively participant each within the story and in battle. She feels extra like a standard feminine lead for the franchise right here than in FF15 correct. It does really feel like whoever has been slaving away on this recreation’s writing has paid consideration to the unique recreation and makes an effort to do the characterization of FF15’s forged justice – which is an attention-grabbing brilliant spot in a slightly cynical and miserable expertise. 

It’s all wrapped up on this terrible, exploitative package deal, although – and it nonetheless seems like a slightly sorry state of affairs that Sq. Enix signed over its most valuable property – its crown jewels – on this approach. Make no mistake: it sucks. But it surely’s attention-grabbing.