Disgaea Mayhem PAX East Preview

Disgaea Mayhem is a massive departure from what the series is known for, and that's not such a bad thing. Instead of being a traditional JRPG like its predecessors, this game focuses significantly more on being an action RPG. It was definitely not what I was expecting from a Disgaea game going into this hands-on preview.

I got to play through three levels of varying difficulty and experienced the Dynasty Warriors-style combat the game adds, with some incredible animations for powerful abilities that are clearly more reminiscent of the original series. It was a good time all around, but I only really got to experience the combat.

The combat had a lot of moving parts, but it really felt simplistic in how things were played. This PAX preview will be a little shorter, as I didn't get to spend much time with the game beyond doing the three combat levels. Still, let's talk about how things work and what I enjoyed about the game!

What is Disgaea Mayhem?

In the simplest terms, Disgaea Mayhem is a game that works incredibly similarly to Dynasty Warriors, but a bit more anime-inspired. You'll play as N. A., our main character and gun for hire, who's on a mission to get back the sweet treats of Princess Tichelle. N. A. will be slicing, shooting, and smashing his way through levels while getting upgrades for various abilities and gear.

It's a relatively light-hearted adventure that seems to be more centered around the simplicity of the combat. While I can't speak to the story or anything beyond combat, it comes across as something that's putting the fighting first and everything else second. That being said, there is some decent depth to what's on offer for combat.

You can select from a slew of different weapons to use, all of which have different kinds of attacks and playstyles. Some will be more suited to certain levels than others, but all the weapons are viable. Each one comes with three abilities for clearing out enemies or stunning them, and one big ultimate ability that should wipe out most enemies caught in its path.

You'll move from zone to zone on a map, clearing enemies to meet the required number until you face off against the bosses, who can have some pretty wacky moves. By the end of the map, you'll receive a score along with XP and items. Now you can move on to the next level or try it again and see if you can't get a better score, or try out a different weapon.

A Silly, But Engaging Adventure

There's really not much to say about Disgaea Mayhem, outside of the fact that the game is pretty fun to play and leans really heavily into the comedy of the experience. The main character barely has a name, and the entire premise is just insane. That doesn't stop the game from being enjoyable, and sometimes just carving through waves of enemies is better than having some long emotional journey.

I didn't struggle a lot with the game until the final zone, mostly because the boss there was using a lot of AoE attacks that forced me to back up when all I could do was punch. Still, there's probably a lot of entertainment to be had from just beating down enemies and watching the numbers go up.

I really enjoyed my time with Mayhem, mostly because it was just a simple slaughter fest. The animations felt solid and looked great, which is pretty important considering you'll be seeing them a lot. I wouldn't say the game is going to be some crazy masterpiece, but again, I didn't get any time with anything outside of combat, so we'll see how all other aspects of the game end up shaking out.

You won't need to wait long to get your hands on this action RPG, as it's coming out later this year, so you can decide for yourself whether it's worth the price of admission. Even if you aren't a fan of Disgaea as a whole, this game seems like an excellent way to get into the franchise without feeling overwhelmed by the history of everything that's come before.