Signy and Mino: Against All Gods Review – Plenty of Bark, Not Enough Bite

Few thrills within gaming can reach the adrenaline-filled heights of pulling off an elaborate combo within a fighting game; or at least, I imagine that’s the case. The truth is, I suck at fighting games. Outside of some bread-and-butter combos I have immortalized from former relationships with Third Strike and Tekken 7, I consistently find myself struggling to pull off strings exceeding a few hits whenever quarter circles are involved. With this tragic gap in my skill set in mind, I was immediately drawn in when I came across the release trailer for Signy & Mino: Against All Gods. Condensing flashy combos, a vibrant 2.5D art-style, and most importantly, a cute dog, into an accessible indie package, this unique tag-team battle RPG had me intrigued at first sight.

A Godly Saturday Morning Adventure

Signy & Mino begins with a flashback to a catastrophic event 15 years prior. After an explosion occurs at a local mountain research center, or MRC, the surrounding valley is engulfed in vicious flames. During this disaster, two parents tragically give their lives to protect their only daughter, who their grandmother thereafter takes in. As time passes, the surrounding region rebuilds, and the MRC brushes the incident under the rug, blaming the catastrophe on natural geothermal activity.

Jumping forward to the present day, we are introduced to the titular characters of the game, Signy, the spunky surviving daughter, and Mino, her loyal dog companion. Still living alongside her grandmother, lovingly referred to as Baba, Signy has spent recent years training in staff-based martial arts. During a routine errand to Lantera Village, she finds the surrounding valley to be full of robots searching for her. Eventually encountering a flamethrower-wielding brute who is equally insistent on her capture, Signy is nearly defeated before being saved by a mysterious child. This child locks hands with Signy, granting her the ability to control powerful wind magic, which she uses to send the brute packing successfully.

Following this narrow victory, the child introduces herself as Linden, a goddess responsible for protecting the natural world. While she has long been in a deep slumber, an omnipresent sense of danger seems to have spurred her back into action, albeit in a weaker form. With all signs pointing to the MRC as responsible for the ongoing activity and the event 15 years prior, the group sets out to uncover the truth about this shady organization. This investigation quickly escalates into an adventure involving multiple gods, revenge-seeking victims, and a corrupt power-hungry leader looking to force humanity into subservience.

This narrative came across to me as incredibly cartoony, bringing to mind Steven Universe in particular on numerous occasions, though that is by no means a bad thing. It felt refreshing to play through a game starring a handful of colorfully transparent characters, with their motivations and personalities always being readily apparent. As Signy’s party grows rapidly in size, each new member adds a distinct voice to the group, ensuring that dialogue exchanges contain a welcome dose of humorous variety. That being said, the overall shallowness of the plot makes it extremely predictable and, in turn, not especially engaging. Furthermore, I found the transitions between story beats frequently felt rushed and lacked detail, making what should be a straightforward narrative come across as incomplete at times. Then again, being overly critical of the storyline in a game that seems to aim to be accessible to younger audiences feels a bit silly. What’s here works well enough to keep the experience flowing breezily and enjoyable from moment to moment, even if the result is a mostly forgettable narrative.

Please Don’t Try This With Your Dog at Home

The core of Signy & Mino lies in its distinct combo-based combat, which blends a traditional turn-based structure with real-time attack and defense. When on the offensive, Signy and Mino alternate dishing out a selection of moves, each of which can only be used a single time per combo under normal circumstances. These moves have a number of properties, such as knocking enemies airborne, bouncing them off walls, and breaking through armor. Selecting a move will have it play out in real time, at which point you can then call in your ally to continue the combo at any point during the animation. Doing so freezes the action, allowing you as much time as you need to decide how best to continue the chain. Timing here is crucial, however, as many moves require that the enemy be in a specific position on the screen to connect. Once you have committed to calling in your ally, you have to select a move either way, regardless of whether it’s able to connect, or let the combo end.

In addition to managing enemy screen position during combos, you need to remain mindful of your power meters, as many of the most impactful moves require one or more to be used. You start each combat with a few meters full and build more organically while dishing out damage during strings of attacks. A high percentage of enemies in the game need to be defeated with special meter-dependent moves, so saving these finishers for last often feels like the optimal decision. Your combos also have a hard-set limit to how long they can go on for, increasing only through upgrades within Signy’s skill tree, which you will easily complete in its entirety if you fight a majority of the game’s encounters. I had a blast stitching together haphazard combinations of attacks, with the act of doing so reliably bringing a smile to my face. Juggling enemy after enemy with equal parts methodical setup and improvisational adaptation was never less than satisfying.

This praise aside, I do have some gripes with the combat, mostly due to an extreme lack of challenge. This is primarily due to Signy’s defensive abilities, which feel far too generous for the minor challenge presented in the game. Signy is equipped with a jump that can be used to dodge, as well as a parry, which prevents damage entirely when used right when an enemy attack would land. These are both standard options that shouldn’t sound especially problematic; however, enemy attacks are consistently slow-moving and well telegraphed, making avoiding damage far too easy to pull off, even during the most climactic of encounters. There is also an exceptionally low number of enemy types, meaning it doesn’t take long to become familiar with a majority of what the game is looking to throw at you.

During my playthrough, I was only reduced to below half of my maximum hit points a single time, and it was only due to myself intentionally expending health to extend my combo string across multiple enemies. Now, I’m not saying that every game needs to be difficult, but I would prefer there to be at least some sort of tension to push the flashy combat to its fullest potential. Some additional difficulty options that increase the speed and number of enemy attacks would likely greatly assist in resolving this. As is, the game is an absolute cakewalk; albeit, a fun one nonetheless.

Enjoyable Exploration and Expressive Chip Customization

Exploration is another hallmark of Signy & Mino’s gameplay, with the vibrant 3D environments hiding several secrets, primarily chests containing crafting materials and flowers called Aspects of Self. The latter of these is a collectible only, though obtaining certain amounts unlocks different battle poses for Signy, which was a cool touch. I personally stuck with the turtle hermit pose, which had Signy doing her best Goku impression during encounters.

As for the crafting materials found within chests, these are used to make different data chips, a limited number of which can be equipped to augment Signy and Mino’s skillsets. These serve as the primary form of customization within the game, and there are enough options that your choices consistently feel meaningful. Whenever possible, I opted to equip any chips that reduced the energy cost or added additional airborne properties to moves, as doing so allowed combos to flow together even more conveniently than they do already.

Rummaging through each area of the game for hidden items rarely felt tedious and was reliably rewarding. This exploration is all the more enjoyable thanks to the game’s unique audiovisual design. With 2D character sprites popping right out of the 3D backgrounds, and a varied soundtrack containing a surprising amount of funky bass, running around this compact cartoon world was notably delightful.

Verdict: A Colorful Adventure Lacking Friction

Signy & Mino: Against All Gods presents an enthralling combo-based combat system that is a blast to fumble around with; however, the lack of any meaningful difficulty prevents the action from ever fully breathing, and pairing this with the enjoyable yet predictable, cartoony plot results in an adventure that ultimately feels aimed at a younger, less experienced audience. Still, there is certainly fun to be had here, and I had a good time breezing through the roughly 7-hour-long story. I would go into the game knowing that, unlike a brand new puppy, most obstacles will be ready to roll over with little effort.