4/5 ★ – likevin96's review of Koudelka.

- This isn't a good game. It's really not. It's just so goddamn charming and unique. The vibes, the play-like cutscenes, the animation work, the weird ass soundtrack, the voice acting, the characters and their dynamic, the twists and turns. Man - this is one of the best PS1 RPGs I have ever played and it's kind of a bad game - The battle system is pretty awful. It's mostly just uninteresting with not a ton of interesting choices. The weapon system is really handicapped by the breakable equipment so you end up just punching and magic. Which is fine - it just makes a huge part of the game this weird lumbering thing that you kind of play around - The environments are amazing. Peak PS1 fixed camera angles and moody atmosphere. Everything just looked and felt so cohesive - dark, gothic, and mysterious - Koudelka is such a different lead for this game than JRPGs usually get. The main part, in general, is very different than most JRPGs. Just really cool stuff - The short length actually really helped with making this game actually bearable. If it was longer or grindy, I think I would get annoyed at the pace of things or get bored of the atmosphere, but at this 10-15 hour range it's perfect for what it has to offer. Does not overstay its welcome and for me, that's one of the most important things for a video game - The voice acting and blocking in cutscenes is just top-notch for a PS1 game. It'd be unique even now, but it's just so weird and interesting how they decided to approach things so differently than any other game I've ever played. No video game I've played has ever felt more like a play (in the narrative sections at least). This game is just rad. It's so different and it's pretty short (for a JRPG). The gameplay isn't that fun, but if you're a fan of JRPGs and survivor horror you will love this. There's nothing else like it.