Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness

The fifth entry into the series suffers from old habits, but long time fans may still find something special in the mix.

You can’t blame people for being dubious, can you? As well-known as the Star Ocean name is, it’d be a stretch to call each – or any – entry in the series a masterpiece. It’s one of those long-lived and beloved franchises that’s always been too opaque to hit the mainstream while technical hitches upset even players of niche games. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is on the way as the fifth m...

The return of Star Ocean could have certainly been better, but if you love the genre (and you're used to its quirks) and the series, you'll most probably find plenty to enjoy in Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness has some good ideas, but they don't jive with the messy camera, the short campaign, and the shallow combat. Fans of the series might be willing to put up with these shortcomings, but with games like Odin Sphere Leifthraser out there, it's hard to recommend it.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness wants to be a grand sci-fi JRPG, but its mediocre production values undercut it at almost every opportunity.

The newest Star Ocean isn't a bad game - although its twenty hour length is actually a boon here - but it isn't really a good one, either. Tri-Ace never quite figures out the identity of its own game, and players are left with a similar problem without a solution. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is worth a look for fans of the series or of JRPGs in general, but the fact that its shortness ...

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is an RPG that merely fulfills its obligations. It's not awful thanks to a cast of likeable characters and an interesting premise, but an abundance of clichés, uneven polish, and messy combat and AI make it less than memorable. And as its main story only provides around 20 hours of playtime instead of the 60 or more the series usually delivers, some of those...

Dead space.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness carries a weight of expectation that it is incapable of satisfying. A legacy JRPG franchise, published by Square Enix, should have some meaning, but here it translates to pure mediocrity. Series fans may find some brighter elements to latch onto, but for JRPG stalwarts there are far better examples of the genre.

This latest Star Ocean game has been highly anticipated given its seven year gap since the previous installment. Seeing as it's the series' first release on the PlayStation 4, how well does the established franchise hold up against other recent JRPGs?

If you are looking for a title that contains the right mix of fantasy and sci-fi, then look no more, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is exactly what you have been looking for. A game developed by Tri Ace and published by Square Enix, I loved how elements of both these big names were present, and I think you will too.

The Star Ocean series earned a devoted following for cool sci-fi settings, fun customization, and fierce action combat. Unfortunately, the B-tier franchise has seen better days. I thought Star Ocean was kaput after its mediocre fourth entry, The Last Hope. Seven years later and it seems like Tri-Ace and Square Enix haven't learned from the mistakes of uninteresting characters, bad storytelling, an...