Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt

Foreword

Gameplay

. . . in a nutshell

I need to make some revisions.

out the shell. . .

This game can be summed up with one word, “RPGMaker”. You follow a story and explore the world, fighting enemies and defeating bosses. Combat is turned based. You attack, guard, and use skills and items. However, this title doesn’t use a standard “experience or “level” progression system. Instead, progression is based on gear. You stats will never budge until you find better gear. Most gear is only found via story events, though some enemies will drop items that can permanently buff the main character.

One of the goals of the game is to accumulate one-hundred-thousand gold pieces. Enemies drop gold, and they often drop useless items, which can be sold for extra income. This is cool concept, but during my playthrough I didn’t need to sell a single item to reach the financial goal. Later in the story, the protagonist opens a bar. To gain money and patrons, you must find (hidden) drink recipes throughout the map. Once the bar is open, you will passively gain (quite a bit of) money.

Story

This tale starts in Shawping, Marketta. Sorbetta closed her shop due to a crippling gambling addiction, and she took out some questionable loans. After attending a “Gamblers’ Anonymous” meeting, she is approached by her cousin, Sherbertta. She demands payment for a loan she provided to Sorbetta, otherwise she’ll break her limbs. Sorbetta, unable to pay back Sherbertta offers to find (and return) a rumored treasure, provided she doesn’t break her limbs. She agrees, expecting four treasures and the original payment, with a one-thousand percent interest.

Ouch. Sounds like my first year of college.

Sorbetta needs to earn gold while she searches for treasures. Using her knowledge of necromancy, she raises the dead. . . to work in her store. The (un)dead were just as disappointed. As her undead staff earn money, she speaks to a sentient piano in her shop’s basement. As it turns out, this piano knows where to find the treasures Sorbetta needs (and serves as the main quest giver). He’s a mimic, but he’s the friendly sort.

There was little character development, so I wasn’t invested into anyone in the story.

Visuals

The game screams “RPGMaker” from the start. However, this game enjoys a wider variety of settings than most RPGMaker titles. The in-game menu is more fleshed out than most, but it’s not remarkable. I wasn’t impressed by the visuals. What I saw were (sloppily) graffitied and recolored portraits. There wasn’t much original sprite work, and the battle screens seemed empty and enemies generic (and badly “animated”.)

The Goods

You can expect some “silly” (and very mild) sexual humor. Actually, I found the (childish) humor to be somewhat funny, but there isn’t much humor in this game. I found the vast majority of the jokes (and references) to be poorly executed, and not funny. But I definitely laughed a few times, for what it’s worth. There’s no meaningful “adult” content.

Verdict

This game has a handful of good ideas, just poorly executed. Though a lot of the humor didn’t appeal to me, I’m sure that it’ll appeal to others. The game is very easy, and lighthearted. It wasn’t bad, just (very) mediocre. I’d wait for a strong sale before purchasing this game.