Disgaea Mayhem Review: This Beat ’Em Up Has One Big Problem

I had the chance to play Disgaea Mayhem, the newest game in the Disgaea series, which was released on July 23. Yes, the review is only coming out now… sorry for being so slow!

For those who aren’t familiar with it, the game is a beat ’em up very similar to the Warriors series, with tons of enemies appearing on screen at once and you simply beating the crap out of everyone.

And look… I want to make one thing clear right away: Disgaea Mayhem was my first experience with the Disgaea franchise.

Disgaea Mayhem Is Different From the Series’ Traditional Games

Disgaea is a well-known JRPG franchise from Nippon Ichi Software, usually known for its tactics-style battles, with characters strategically positioned on maps and extremely deep progression systems.

It’s a style similar to games like Final Fantasy Tactics.

But Disgaea Mayhem takes things in a completely different direction.

Here, we have an action beat ’em up, with real-time combat, hordes of enemies, and stages where you simply have to keep moving forward while taking down everything in your way.

I played the game thanks to a review key sent to Você Sabia Anime, and it took me approximately 6 hours to beat the campaign.

And now comes the tricky part of this review…

Disgaea Mayhem Is Pretty Boring

I wish I could say the game was an amazing experience, but honestly, Disgaea Mayhem is not one of the best games I’ve ever played.

In fact, I found the game pretty boring.

The story itself already makes it clear that the game isn’t exactly trying to tell some super serious adventure.

You’re hired by the Underworld princess to recover PUDDINGS!

Yes. Puddings.

So you head through several maps, fighting an absurd number of enemies until you reach the boss of each area. After the battle, we get these scenes involving the tasting of all kinds of different puddings.

And look, I have absolutely no problem with a silly story.

I’ve played plenty of games with completely ridiculous stories and had a great time with them.

The problem is that Disgaea Mayhem can’t turn this craziness into something that’s actually fun.

The Combat Is Boring, and You Can Get OP Too Quickly and Too Early

At the beginning of Disgaea Mayhem, I was playing normally.

I went through the maps, defeated enemies, and as I reached the later areas, I started noticing that the enemies were becoming increasingly difficult to beat.

So I thought, “Okay, I need to farm some levels.”

I went back to previous areas to gain experience, but the amount of XP I was getting was pretty small.

That’s when I came across a mechanic called Item World.

Item World Makes You Too Powerful Way Too Quickly

Item World allows you to improve your equipment and also serves as a way to gain experience and strengthen your character.

I went in without really knowing how the mechanic worked.

And I ended up dying, I think around Area 3.

But there’s one very important detail: even if you don’t complete the run, you still receive the experience corresponding to how far you made it.

And that’s where the problem started.

I became VERY powerful.

After going into Item World just once, I gained so many levels that I practically skipped a huge chunk of the game’s normal progression.

And the worst part? You can go back there as many times as you want and keep getting stronger.

In other words, I found a way to become completely overpowered without even realizing it.

After Item World, the Game Is Basically Over

The problem with becoming so powerful so quickly is that the combat becomes way too easy

And honestly, it wasn’t exactly the highlight of the game to begin with. Eventually, you can defeat practically every enemy with a single hit.

And the same goes for the bosses. In theory, some of them should require a bit more strategy, but in practice, most of the time all I had to do was get close and attack.

And that’s it. The enemy would die before it even had a chance to do anything against me.

This turns what should be an action-based combat system built around progression into something extremely repetitive.

The Pudding Story Isn’t the Problem

As I mentioned earlier, the story of Disgaea Mayhem is clearly silly. The main mission involves recovering puddings, there are absurd situations everywhere, and the entire game seems to lean into comedy.

But honestly?

I don’t care about that.

I’ve played other games with lighthearted plots like this and had a great time with them, so I didn’t really mind that part.

The problem is that, in the case of Disgaea Mayhem, I simply didn’t find the rest of the game fun enough to make up for it.

Is Disgaea Mayhem Worth Buying?

Disgaea Mayhem costs R$185 on Steam and is also available on consoles. But there’s one thing I recommend doing before spending your money: try the DEMO.

The game has a demo version that lets you try the concept for yourself.

And maybe you’ll like it.

After all, this is just my experience with the game. And considering that Disgaea Mayhem was my very first experience with the Disgaea franchise, someone who’s already a fan of the series might see some of these things very differently.