Utawarerumono: Zan

Ultimately, it doesn't feel like Utawarerumono: ZAN effectively serves any part of its prospective audience. It's inadequate as a gateway game for newcomers to the franchise, and despite some decent graphics and interesting musou-gameplay twists, it lacks the substance to attract existing fans. It feels like a game created mainly to remind people that the franchise still exists, rather than actually satisfy those who'd deign to play it. Utawarerumono fans are better off waiting for the remake of the original game in the series, while newcomers are advised to pick up the game, or watch the anime instead.

Utawarerumono: Zan is a decent action RPG that doesn't take too long to beat, but at full retail price, it feels like an overly expensive endeavour -- especially for existing fans of the series.

Developer Tamsoft have done a decent job adapting Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception into a 3D Brawler, but one can't help but wonder if it was worth it on its own.

Utawarerumono: ZAN is a strange mix of a visual novel and a Warriors-style hack-and-slash game that will mostly appeal to people who have already played the other games in the series. Its best features are the wide range of characters, the way battles work with groups, and the way players can change how they move, which makes trying out different strategies more rewarding.

Utawarerumono: ZAN is an action-focused spin-off that sacrifices narrative depth for fast-paced combat. While the gameplay is enjoyable, its lack of variety and shallow progression system hinders long-term engagement.

Viewed as a companion piece to the mainline entries, Utawarerumono ZAN can be a worthwhile pickup for visual novel fans with a taste for action games. Outside of that narrow context, though, its price is hard to justify.

Overall, I enjoyed Utawarerumono: Zan much more than I was expecting. Once I stopped worrying about the story being torn apart, I found a very entertaining game that works for those who don't like the musou genre. I don't recommend it to anyone who wants to get into the franchise, but for those who just want a fluid action game, it might be a good choice.

Utawarerumono: Zan is not a bad game, but it is a game made for fans of the series exclusively. If folks go into this with no knowledge of Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception’s story they will be completely lost. The combat is solid and tons of fun. I really enjoyed unlocking all the different modes and watching all my favorite characters grow stronger along the way. The story mode is well done, but it does skip around a bit too much, and some will find its length a bit on the short side. However, I do think fans will find plenty of content here to justify the around $50 price point. In the end this game is the very definition of a fan service game, and I think that’s perfectly fine.

Anyone looking for an anime brawler will find this one to be a very good one. It is not to be played for its highly-compressed retelling of a former story, nor its short length; but for mindless action and fighting it delivers fairly well. The combat is fun with enough to it to stay fairly interesting for the ten or so hours it takes to beat, just be warned there isn't some great adventure to partake in here.

For a fan of the series this is still a pleasant diversion, even though we don't think it's worth the full price. For a new player, this doesn't seem like the ideal title to get introduced to the series.