Review: Disgaea Mayhem (Switch 2)

“The Legend of Zelda got a musou-style game. Fire Emblem did. Why not Disgaea?”

I imagine that was the entire reasoning for Disgaea Mayhem, a hack-and-slash action RPG featuring the visual style, numerous game elements, and general vibe of the typically turn-based Disgaea series. As a sales pitch, it works. In practice, less so.

Anyone who’s played a Disgaea game will be immediately comfortable with Mayhem’s appearance. It certainly looks the part, and the immediately whimsical approach adds a layer of familiarity. But you’re also quickly thrust into the action before you even really know what’s going on narratively.

Thankfully, the gameplay mechanics aren’t hard to pick up. Light attack, heavy attack, dodge, charged attack, etc. You’ll eventually acquire and level up various weapon types that change up the functionality, but the general approach is the same throughout.

So, fine, right? I certainly felt that way at first, as the early levels were sprightly and fun. I’m a fan of musou action, and that 1 vs. 1,000 (or, in this case, 1 vs. a couple dozen) combat fits quite well within this world.

But some cracks quickly began to show. Musou games are repetitive by nature, but sameness-fatigue took over much quicker than expected. The environments that house the action didn’t change much, and they were quite small, especially by comparison to the sprawling maps of a proper Samurai or Dynasty Warriors game. The route through them never really varied, either: small group, small group, boss. Well, sub-boss, actually. You need to play through each level three times before facing its actual boss.

Between levels, you’re given numerous ways to develop your character. What’s his name, by the way? It’s N.A. I don’t mean it’s not applicable, I mean that’s his actual name: N.A. Do with that what you will.

And why are you doing this? To get them to cough up some flan. Literally. Six servants have turned on Tichelle, the overlord of the Super Duper Netherworld. Specifically, they’ve stolen and eaten all her flan. She doesn’t want them dead, she just wants the flan back, so it’s up to you to help them understand the errors of their ways…pre-digestion, I guess. It’s all actually kind of fun, but not terribly compelling.

That creates an issue. If neither the plot nor the action drive the game, what’s left? Well, this is where the true Disgaea elements kick in. At base, you can upgrade your character and items. You can recruit and outfit “buddies” you’ve unlocked by defeating their species, although not to tremendous effect on the battlefield.

You can reincarnate yourself to improve your base stats. You can explore different worlds to achieve different rewards.

The most interesting activity is the Dark Chocolate Assembly where you present bills to help you in battle or unlock additional game features. You’ll try to sway various assembly members to vote your way, then check the results. If it passes, bully for you. If it doesn’t, bully the assembly until you get what you want.

It’s all quick and lively, but it puts optimization and leveling at the center of the game. Character and weapon progression shouldn’t be the focus of a musou game, action should be. It’s not, and that’s weird.

It all plays pretty well on the Switch 2, but I didn’t expect to have to choose between quality and performance modes. I went with quality, and was generally OK because the combat was never complex enough to require silky smooth framerates. This was with the Switch 2 version, though. The game is available for Switch, where I imagine performance mode will be the better choice.

Finally, it’s all over terribly quickly. You can easily complete the game in under ten hours—maybe even closer to five if you don’t spend too much time optimizing N.A. and his weapons (which you don’t really need to do, as Disgaea Mayhem is also not very difficult). That’s quite the pivot from the dozens and dozens of hours you’d need to finish a standard Disgaea game. DLC is available, but it’s currently just cosmetic and weapons stuff, nothing to prolong the experience.

That makes Disgaea Mayhem a difficult sell at its current asking price of $60. It’s flan without the entree. Pudding without the meat. Die-hard Disgaea players may enjoy this different yet fan-friendly lark, but those seeking engaging musou or hack-and-slash action will want to dine elsewhere.