Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 72 | 115 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 83 | 2 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 83% | 77 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 68 | 160 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 82% | 76 | 24 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 68 reviews sampled · 56 total reviews in window · weighted 41.8 up / 9.3 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (123)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 50
“It would be better if instead of this Team Ninja made another Dark Souls clone, which they do great.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“If you're a Final Fantasy fan, are more into the series's lore, and are looking for a Souls-like game where you fight to the death, I recommend this title. However, if you are a non-Final Fantasy gamer who wants to try something similar to Dark Souls, I cannot recommend this title.”
read full review ↗ - 70
- 70
“It’s somewhat fitting that in this topsy-turvy action spin-off, the only thing that’s truly upside-down is the presentation of the original game’s story. Even as the narrative stumbles, the core gameplay is strong enough to motivate to see this story through to completion, no matter how chaotic.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“You could do worse than with Square Enix's brave new venture into Soulslike territory that's roughly 20 hours or less depending on your skill level. I personally would love to see Team Ninja continue on with this take on Final Fantasy, but with better level design and a less banal plot thread that's a bit more accessible to non-fans.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“What we're left with is a Frankenstein's monster of a game, with nowhere to call home and no one to love it. The worst part is that it's a damn fun time that deserves attention for its merits.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Credit should be given for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin trying something different, and nobody could argue that it certainly is that. With a distinct lack of the plot and character polish, players approaching this as an RPG, can easily overlook this. With such excellent combat options and a real sense of fun throughout though, it more than stands alongside its peers in both the role-playing and Souls-like genres. Why it looks so bad, that's a mystery in itself…”
read full review ↗ - 85
“The writing team at Square Enix fed the 1987 Famicom classic Final Fantasy through a wood chipper running on a neural network forced to watch Army of Darkness more times than I did in high school. This game’s scenario popped out and it’s wild, awesome and hilarious.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will go down in history for being memorable for better and for worse. Many of its sections are a mess, but if you can get past its flaws and learn to enjoy them you'll find a game that will entertain you immensely. Especially if you love action RPGs with rewarding combat and progression systems.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has a very good combat system, but it suffers from a variety of problems.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin thinks that it's Daniel Craig's James Bond but it's actually Austin Powers. There's barely a moment in the game that isn't stretching credulity, be it the absurd writing, bewildering story, or inane characters. There's a host of technical issues, too. But somehow, despite everything, it manages to fail upwards and be a pretty good time. Maybe we've lost the plot but we liked it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“As much as I want to love this game as a whole, the story lets it down. That being said, the combat and build up to the various boss fights were unarguably brilliant.”
read full review ↗
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
FourFaceButtons
RPGamer
Kakuchopurei
VGChartz
Cubed3
Prima Games
LevelUp
Zoomg
Push Square
Gfinity…and 111 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
No patch announcements found on Steam yet.