$1.19 (−94%)CRYSTAR Tears Are Her Weapon
Rei falls into Purgatory to save her sister's soul, and in this world crying makes you stronger: tears power up her weapons and armor and summon her Guardian. A story-driven action RPG with four playable characters, a soundtrack worth keeping, and a tale about grief that knows where it hurts.
Is CRYSTAR worth it?
CRYSTAR is worth it if…
- you play for story and characters more than for deep combat systems
- you want a JRPG that deals honestly with grief and still finds warmth in it
- you follow a good soundtrack, and this one mixes orchestral and electronic music worth keeping
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Tears are your strongest weapon
Most games treat crying as defeat. Here it is the mechanic. When Rei weeps, her tears strengthen her attacks and her equipment, and filling the tear gauge lets you summon a Guardian, an otherworldly being who fights at your side. The catch is that the game keeps giving you reasons to cry: the Torments, manifestations of grief, come for you, and enduring them is how you grow strong enough to face what Purgatory hides. So the advice the game gives is a little absurd and completely sincere: whatever you do, don't dry your eyes. You will need every tear.
A story that grows darker with every chapter
Rei makes a pact with the overseers of Purgatory: gather seven Ideas, crystallized tears of the dead, and her sister's soul comes back. What starts as a simple rescue deepens chapter by chapter, as the souls Rei defeats leave behind memories and each of her three companions' pasts comes to light. The story deals in guilt, revenge and sacrifice, and it does not always go where you expect. The voice acting carries it: the performances hit hard enough that the emotions land as real. The story is the reason to play, and it is a strong one.
Is CRYSTAR the game for you?
How long is CRYSTAR, and is it one playthrough?
A first run takes roughly 30 to 40 hours, but the full story does not end there: the game loops back from a mid-game chapter, and the story changes with each loop until the final one. Don't skip dialogue on repeat runs thinking it's the same, because it isn't. There are several endings, and reaching the true one means seeing the loops through.
Can you switch between the four characters freely?
Yes. Rei starts alone, three companions join as the story goes, and you can swap to any of them mid-battle. They fight differently: one fights at range, the others up close with their own weapon types and speeds, and each has her own set of special attacks. Unlocking their memories is also how you learn what sorrow put each of them in Purgatory.
Do the choices you make change the story?
There are a few dialogue choices, but they only shift the conversation slightly and don't change how the plot plays out. The branching comes from the looping structure and its endings instead. If you go in expecting a choice-driven game, know that this one tells a story at you rather than letting you steer it.
