That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles Review

The isekai genre has been and still is very popular in the anime and manga sphere, with the almost limitless potential of a new world with custom rules and foibles fuelling many a writer. Due to the nature of the isekai story, they are often set in worlds that follow along to some videogamey rules, containing the basic elements such as skills and levels and so on, which is why I often wonder why we don’t see them adapted into videogames! Well, as luck would have it, I was given the chance to give one such adaptation a look with That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles. I am not writing that out each, so I’ll be using ISEKAI Chronicles henceforth.

I assumed we’d be playing through the whole of the anime’s story up until one of the more recent arcs, but to my surprise, the story of our hero, Rimuru Tempest, starts up somewhat far into the story. Though we get a narrative rundown on the events, the game proper picks up right before our viscous main lead runs into the Ogre clan and ends around the battle against the Kingdom of Falamuth. While I can understand not making specific assets and game modes for the first few legs of Rimuru’s journey, it does feel a bit odd to skip some of the character-building done in the interim.

While the game mainly focuses on the story of the anime, two arcs are unique to the game. The first revolves around Kataki the Bugbear, a survivor of the Direwolves’ attack before Rimuru brokered peace. He is understandably a bit miffed his kinsmen are now living with his friends' murderers and does not take well to being invited to join. The second arc explores the Theocracy of Angels, a religious cult attempting to gain the powers of a Storm Dragon by any means necessary. In any case, we start off with our shapeshifting Shonen hero having recently brokered the aforementioned peace between the local Goblins and Direwolves and has started setting up roots in the form of a village where we’re given control.

ISEKAI Chronicles can be divided into two main features: city-building and adventuring. Whenever Rimuru et. al. are not out fighting the most recent threat or gathering dire badger monocles for a new potion, you’ll be able to explore and interact with your little village from an isometric viewpoint. While it starts off small, you will slowly be able to expand and build more and more different types of buildings, all with unique benefits! Additionally, your allies will be hanging around if you fancy a chat and may even have some quests for you to enjoy. Something I appreciate in the game is the attention given to some of the minor characters, as they get a bit of time in the limelight in their unique quests.

The city-building itself is very simple, as you have a set amount of plots of land for buildings and a selection of structures that will expand as you progress in the game. You can’t really enter any of the buildings and the visual design can be a bit bland, but it is fun seeing your hamlet slowly evolve in addition to the minor stat boosts they offer. As you progress in the plot, the number of plots and unique buildings increases, giving you more advanced structures with higher bonuses and benefits, such as providing crafting resources.

Now, when you grow bored with the day-by-day chores of managing a burgeoning city, you can take part in the second half of the game, the “adventures”. As you leave the village, you can form a party of three from your current roster of viable fighters (in addition to two support characters). Though story missions will require one or more specific characters, with Rimuru being mandatory often, you can also go out and take on sidequests or just gather some resources in the areas you’ve unlocked.

The adventures take the form of sidescrolling ventures into the iconic locations of the game. Each area is divided into small subsections, each containing a mix of enemies to fight and treasures to find, with the final space often being reserved for a boss battle of one form or another. The combat itself is very fast-paced, with your hero of choice having a basic attack with directional combos, one or more powerful skills to summon up, and Special Attacks that often affect all visible enemies and are paired with some pretty animations.

If you happen to have some allies with you, you can switch between them via the D-pad. Each character has their own set of skills and combos and the differences feel very pronounced in a good way and help keep the action interesting even on longer adventures. Though Rimuru is easily the most versatile and powerful of the bunch, none of the choices feel useless, though some do require a bit more skill to use effectively. In addition to your team of fighters, you can also bring along two support characters, that can be summoned to either give aid or deal damage to enemies on the current screen. These are usually pretty fun, though I often forgot they existed.

While you explore these spaces, you may wind up running into a treasure chest! Coming in many varieties, these boxes-o-plenty often contain resources you can use to upgrade your village. Once opened, you’ll have to perform a short quick-time event, which has you stop a moving line in a multi-coloured line. Stop the line on the green area, the size of which is determined by your Luck, and you’ll get more or better loot. You may also run into stronger monsters that will be tough to beat, but will also drop better or even unique items.

Designwise ISEKAI Chronicles is a bit of a mixed bag. While the animated sections look great and the character art is fine, the general gameplay looks a bit dated with the chibi-esque models seeming like something from a Nintendo 3DS game. Especially the central village looks a bit blocky, with the buildings being pretty similar to each other. The combat is suitably flashy, fast, and enjoyable with enough progression to keep you interested, however, the enemy and level designs are lost behind the many effects of your attacks.

Normally I don’t mind a game not looking its best and I believe a more retro style just fits better for some concepts. However, I feel this should be noted as the game price point is pretty steep, running a hefty £39.99 whereas I would have assumed something closer to half that considering the content I saw. In terms of performance, I had little to note. It ran fine even on the Steam Deck and I had no issues.

To summarise, I am conflicted about my feelings toward That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles. On the one hand, it’s a fun enough sidescroller with some fun quests and storylines. Played in small bursts, it kills time and the combat is quick enough to not overstay its welcome. However, on the other hand, the execution of the concept and its content seems a bit lacklustre when compared to the relatively high price point. If you’re a fan of the series, I believe you may find some enjoyment out of Rimuru and the gang’s exploits. But if you’re looking at this as a good way to get into the story, look elsewhere.