Altdeus: Beyond Chronos

ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos places players smack dab in the middle of a living anime story, with all of the cool world-building and unique characters implied by that statement. Players used to a lot of action in their games will have to adjust to the slower pace of this plot-driven experience, but will quickly discover that it yields its own unique rewards.

An enjoyable visual novel that really benefits from being in VR.

Overall, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos’ writing is excellent, with rounded characters who dodge most of the usual anime tropes. It may not have delivered the mech-piloting mayhem I was expecting, but it’s a smart visual novel, with enough interactivity, plot twists and emotional gut-punches to keep you engaged. Throw in multiple endings, some of which can only be unlocked on subsequent playthrough and, ...

The worst performances, oddly, are for the core characters Chloe and Coco. Both are incredibly stiff, robotic, and dull. Chloe I can understand, seeing as she’s a designed human built for combat…and, admittedly, she does have some good performances during more climactic moments. Coco, though, has no reason to have such a boring performance. You can practically hear the script the actress is readin...

As long as you go into the experience knowing what to expect, Altdeus: Beyond Chronos has the potential to be genuinely entertaining. However, on the scale of interactivity, this really doesn't qualify a game. The inability to take full advantage of the VR platform ultimately seals it's fate as nothing more than an acquired taste that will prove to be off-putting to many.