#as a certified Gamer I think it's always worth trying games regardless of playstyle but I guess that's because I prefer to focus on story

[ragtimedrakes]

What kind of gamer/playstyle would you recommend strange journey for?

hmm, well it's a dungeoncrawler and turn-based jrpg, so I'd say if you have any interest in those kinds of games to begin with it's probably worth checking out. (I know very little about etryian odyssey but I believe that's considered a good point of comparison)

I'd say it's the kind of game that rewards thoughtfulness or at least a willingness to learn. it differs from other smt games in that I think it requires more thoughtful teambuilding due to the way the combat system works, relying directly on the demons that make up your team instead of just what good skills you can cram on them (which is exacerbated by demons having less skillslots than the other modern games). that said, it still relies on core ideas of the series, such as the importance of buffs and in general needing a strategic approach to hard encounters. of course, there are always ways to break the combat system, but in this case you need a truckload of money if you want to go really hardcore on that.

redux, at least, isn't a punishing game, as you have the ability to to keep a save anywhere, but it is pretty challenging even on normal mode. I wouldn't call it a beginner game if you're not familiar with smt or jrpgs in general, but it's not like, the worst option, I don't think, especially if you're willing to keep guides handy (I have a link to a gamefaqs guide as well as the ever-helpful fusion calculator that I check whenever I need guidance or if I just want to see what I'm missing). it's not the kind of game that NEEDS a guide, but one that benefits from it, especially if you don't have patience for gimmicky movement puzzles

edit I forgor: if you're worried about time investment, like any good jrpg it tends on the long side, but it's not like you need to go hardcore or play super often. hell I took an almost year-long break in the middle of playing and then picked it up and didn't really lose anything except maybe a bit of memory about the early story. my current save file is approaching 70 hrs, which includes doing a fair amount of side content and intentionally uncovering a lot of map, but you can definitely finish it faster (or slower! I'm not the boss of you)

I hope this answers what you were looking for! I'd be happy to answer more specific questions if you need ^^

#I'll admit I wasn't quite sure how to go about answering this #as a certified Gamer I think it's always worth trying games regardless of playstyle but I guess that's because I prefer to focus on story #but in this case redux is a 3ds game so it's like. unless you want to try shelling out for a physical copy #the only way to get it is to do a little sailing and at that point the only thing you waste if you don't like it is a bit of time #I love talking tho so like I said if you have any other questions feel free to ask