I have two distinct perspectives when it comes to remakes and remasters. Firstly, as someone who cares about video game history and preservation, I think it is important to grant access to the original titles. Simultaneously, I believe that it is important to widen access as much as possible and, where appropriate, make older titles accessible to audiences who older mechanics might otherwise turn off. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that developers have given me in the last couple of years to experience classic games in new ways. 

Steins;Gate Re:Boot is a difficult title in this regard. As a visual novel, the mechanics couldn’t be much simpler, so that’s not really a barrier to entry. Furthermore, even though its worldwide release was way back in 2014, the graphics are timeless, and I don’t think there’s been any great demand for them to be updated. On top of that, a remade version entitled Steins;Gate Elite was released in 2019, so this is not its first remake rodeo. 

But that title came out seven years ago, and consequently Steins;Gate was far from being at the top of my personal backlog. And yet, the release of this new version felt like receiving a message from a future self who had played this enthralling work and begged me to do the same, thus changing my gaming destiny for the better. 

To summarise for the uninitiated, Steins;Gate Re:Boot tells the story of Rintaro Okabe, an eccentric student who spends most of his time in a small apartment in Akihabara, which houses the “Future Gadget Laboratory.” As his alter ego, the “insane mad scientist” Kyouma Hououin, Okabe designs scientific inventions which are principally cobbled together out of household items, to dubious effect.

Okabe is joined by his childhood friend, Mayuri Shiina, a carefree girl whose main purpose at the lab is to create cosplay outfits that nobody ever wears. Itaru Hashida, nicknamed Daru, an otaku with a particular interest in the more, ahem, specialist anime material available, provides the computer expertise and hacking proficiency. They are the first “Lab Mems,” but as time goes by, more characters join the fold. 

At the start of the game, Okabe attends a conference on time-travel, which ends when he finds the blood-soaked body of Kurisu Makise, who has been murdered by an unknown assailant. He flees the scene and sends a text message to Daru, only to trigger a strange effect that changes the world around him. Shortly afterwards, he goes to another conference on the same subject, but this one is being given by Kurisu herself, who is alive and well. Kurisu is a scientific prodigy who outlines why the very idea of time-travel is ridiculous. 

We soon discover that one of the Lab Mem’s inventions, the PhoneWave (name subject to change), has the ability to send data back through time. Not overly prone to caution, Okabe pushes forwards with various experiments, setting us up for an adventure through shifting timelines.

Barring the opening homicide, Steins;Gate Re:Boot has a light and comedic tone for much of its first half, driven by Okabe’s seemingly delusional nature, which is described as being “Chuunibyou,” a Japanese term meaning “eighth grader syndrome.” Okabe acts like a character from a Shonen anime, frequently boasting about his IQ of 170, and warning of a secret society, named “the Organization,” which is out to get him. None of his friends and acquaintances take this seriously, leading to multiple conversations and scenarios that are genuinely funny, something that is often aimed for in video game writing, but which is rarely achieved. 

The second half of Steins;Gate Re:Boot takes an extremely dark turn, plunging you into a desperate situation that seems inescapable. The game manages this tonal shift perfectly, and it never feels forced, despite how easy it would be to clash with the earlier material. 

In terms of how it plays, we are presented with the standard visual novel formula here, e.g., click a button to proceed. There is an option to autoplay and one to skip forward. You can set the speed of text and the volume of different elements, although I didn’t find these very sensitive, with text speed ranging from extremely fast to just about bearable, and vocal controls likewise being awkward. The autoplay function is welcome though. 

There is some interactivity within the game, where you can choose to answer calls and text messages, and in some cases pick your reply. Steins;Gate Re:Boot has multiple endings, and these choices determine which one you receive. 

It’s a fluid experience for the most part, but a little more effort in the execution would be welcome here, especially as this is a new iteration of Steins;Gate. You can choose to have the skip function stop playing for phone interactions, but this can be clumsy and interrupt the flow of the game, as it pauses for non-crucial moments as well as key decisions. On autoplay the text speed for phone messages is ridiculously fast, which meant that I needed to go back and manually check the phone after each message came in. 

We are past time for an evolution of the skip feature. Here, while you can set it to skip through things you have experienced before, you still have to watch them, albeit at high speed. The ability to instantly skip between moments would improve the experience greatly, especially for replays. 

The new graphics have proven somewhat controversial with the established fanbase, with criticism levelled at the new character designs by original designer, Huke. I looked back over the original art, and to an extent I can understand this. The graphics were different, earthier, more intense in some ways. To me though, the current designs are perfect for the story. Mayuri’s innocence and general good nature are epitomised in her open face and brighter, light-blue outfit. Daru’s lack of time for Okabe’s nonsense comes across in his new guise, which seems somewhat fiercer than before. Tech journalist Moeka Kiryu’s update is especially good, hinting more strongly through careful detail as to the role she plays in Steins;Gate Re:Boot. 

Additionally, the E-mote system that Steins;Gate Re:Boot uses to animate its 2D characters revitalises the visual novel format, as you watch thoughts and feelings flicker across the characters’ faces, amplifying key moments in the game. 

This wouldn’t be so effective without a cast who could adequately convey those emotions. Steins;Gate Re:Boot brings back the original Japanese voice actors, and it’s almost unbelievable that, so many years later, they can return to playing predominantly teenage characters with such success. It’s almost as if they have time-travelled themselves.

This has to be one of the best ensembles in a visual novel I have ever come across, making it difficult to single anyone out. I will say though that Mamoru Miyano as Okabe is central to this success, as he plays outrageous campness as well as he does pain and trauma, demonstrating an impressive range. Yu Koboyashi as male shrine maiden Luka Urushibara is also a highlight, with more demands being placed on his abilities in the later chapters.

With Luka in mind, I admire the complex examination within the game of this character, a female-presenting boy who wishes he was a girl. It’s not perfect by any means, and not being trans or queer, I can’t give a definitive take on this, but it is notable that Okabe treats Luka with affection and respect at all stages of Luka’s story. We’re never encouraged to ridicule or disdain Luka for being who he is, and Luka is one of the most pure-hearted characters in the drama.

The soundtrack has been remade, although it remains similar. But when you have a score as good as this, why change? Composer Takeshi Abo, who features on many of developer Mages’ titles, opens the game with the piano-driven song “Skyclad Observer,” underpinned by techno beats and the clean vocals of Kanako Ito. The song finishes with Ito sustaining a soulful note, driving you straight into the opening moments of the game, with Mayuri looking at you directly, a foreshadowing of things to come. Abo mixes the traditional with the electronic throughout, suiting the tone of Steins;Gate Re:Boot.

You’ll hear some of the tracks frequently, serving as punctuation to the narrative beats, signalling a mood, and tying to the themes of repetition and inevitability. These are explored in great detail, and Steins;Gate Re:Boot has no sympathy for those who want an easy ride. Detailed scientific theories underpinning the action take centre stage, although they are explained accessibly.

It’s a game that encourages you to think about the possibilities and paradoxes of time-travel, and the different ways in which it can be accomplished. As well as that, it asks you to explore the moral quandaries you are forced to make when you relive the past, and the effect of these decisions is on the individuals involved. 

Steins;Gate is quite simply one of the most important visual novels ever made, and Steins;Gate Re:Boot is the perfect way to play it. Unlike games such as The Adventures of Elliot, each of its endings provides a uniquely satisfying conclusion to the tale, and you will want to seek each of them out before you finish. I suggest you fire up the PhoneWave (name subject to change) and send a message telling your past self to pick the game up. Then you will truly be living in the best timeline. 

Being off Retro Encounter makes Cuno sad!

This week on Retro Encounter, our host returns to talk about a topic near and dear to him: the best and worst kids in RPGs. We know know children are usually the worst in media, so what does a good one look like? How many of them are secretly much older? Which games will some panelists never play after this conversation? Listen in to find out!

Featuring: Zach Wilkerson, Aleks Franiczek, Ben Love, Paul Skevington; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Listen and subscribe where you please, and leave a rating if you can! Email us your feedback: retro@rpgfan.com

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Campaign Ends: August 14th
Platform: Windows. Stretch goals add console versions.

I first saw a trailer for today’s game on Indie Quest 2025 and immediately thought of Xenogears, so I knew I had to add it to my Steam wishlist (only to discover that it wasn’t on the site yet. Alas!). From the developers of Beloved Rapture comes Robot Rhapsody, a ’90s style JRPG inspired by sci-fi favorites like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Final Fantasy VII, and of course Xenogears, with an all-too timely story about resistance against powerful tech corporations.

Set in a dystopic cyberpunk world run by AI companies (and no, it’s not actually modern-day America), you’ll recruit over six playable characters and meet a colorful cast of both humans and robots. This includes your main girl Selva, a mercenary with a past of tracking down rogue robots and disrupting harmful data centers; Jiro, a boy raised in the AI-run Aether Hives for the mega rich; and Misaki, an elderly woman who nurtures plants grown from still-healthy seeds found in the world’s toxic wastelands. It’s certainly nice to see older female characters in a JRPG!

The crux of the game takes place in the immense city of Zoxxo, a refuge from harmful technology where luddites, artists, rebels, and criminals make their home. Apparently there’s even a legally-suspect Robo Carnival somewhere underground, but don’t tell anyone I said this! Explore large, interconnected areas in an open environment similar to classic Zelda overworlds, where you can walk, climb, swim, and even fly through unique post-apocalyptic biomes filled with secrets. The game also features a day and night cycle; depending on the time, different quests, shops, and characters will be available. Be sure to check out Zoxxo’s bustling nightlife and hit all the shady bars!

Combat is turn-based, and you won’t see any random battles in Robot Rhapsody. Unfortunately, you may end up getting ambushed by drones depending on your reputation and other details; causing trouble attracts even more trouble! Fight against a variety of robots and hack their systems to make them join your party, then upgrade your new pals with random trash you find throughout your journeys. It’s a bit like Pokémon, but with less fur and more computer viruses.

Keeping in line with the retro aesthetic, Robot Rhapsody‘s soundtrack takes inspiration from PS1 classics and uses real instruments from the ’80s and ’90s. The bulk of the game’s 30-50 tracks are composed by Andreas “SnappleMan” Kotsamanidis of Beloved Rapture fame, with additional tracks from Tokyo composer Mushra (Seed of Nostalgia). Definitely worth turning the volume up for; be sure to check out the trailer for some PS1-style excitement!

Robot Rhapsody hit its campaign target in just two days, and since then has hit several stretch goals, including a cat sanctuary side quest, a secret character, additional dungeons, and a cyberpunk casino. Remaining stretch goals include console ports and guest appearances by Beloved Rapture characters. The game is expected to release in late 2027; until then, if you’re already caught up with the classics, there’s plenty of time to acquaint yourself with Beloved Rapture (and read Audra’s review) and even Cosmic Star Heroine, a 2017 indie JRPG by Zeboyd that shares some clear parallels with Robot Rhapsody.

If ’90s sci-fi anime and JRPGs are relevant to your interests, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on this game. Personally, I think it’s great to see more sci-fi and mecha-themed JRPGs (not to mention a cast that isn’t just young people; high five to the 40+ crowd!) and the story speaks to my concerns about AI and big tech. Robot Rhapsody can’t come soon enough!

Disclaimer: While it’s possible some of us at RPGFan may be backers of the games mentioned in these articles, this does not influence our coverage or our featured game choices. We make our selections simply based on the active campaigns we feel our readers might find interesting, and we are not given special access or perks by the developers.

tl;dr: We think these games show potential and want to share them with you.

When it comes to the Star Wars franchise, there exists a weird split, as many franchises have. For every good movie, there seem to be two or three bad ones; for every great show, two or three stinkers show up. The Star Wars games are no exception to this rule. In fact, they probably follow this rule to a T, as there are many more bad games in this franchise than there are good ones. To this day, I still consider Knights of the Old Republic to be the pinnacle of Star Wars games, and since then I have yet to find one that resonates with me as much as Knights of the Old Republic did. Even its sequel felt ho-hum, like it missed that Star Wars magic. 

For many, the pinnacle of Star Wars shows is probably The Clone Wars: a fantastic animated show that delves deep into what happens between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. There is so much to explore during this timeframe, and Star Wars Zero Company has the amazing opportunity to expand it even further. But can this mash-up of XCOM and Star Wars: The Clone Wars pull off the impossible?

Thanks to EA and Star Wars Zero Company’s developers, Bit Reactor, I had the opportunity to play the first few hours of the game. I was immediately drawn into what Bit Reactor was selling. Strategy games like XCOM are beloved by their player base, but for many people, they seem off-putting and not their cup of tea. How do you try to lure in those outside the strategy game fan base? Pair it with one of the best-selling franchises of all time and set it in (maybe) the fandom’s favorite time period, The Clone Wars. This creates the opportunity to make an amazing strategy game and make a canon story set in the Star Wars Universe.

There is a lot to love about Zero Company, so I will try to keep this spoiler-free as best as possible. Still, I can tease that if you are a big fan of The Clone Wars, you will be drawn to Zero Company‘s story, and it is definitely worth getting your feet wet in the strategy genre. Let’s go over the basic story premises here to hopefully get you interested, then hop into its gameplay systems after.

Story Basics

So, Zero Company is a canon story set within The Clone Wars timeline. Bit Reactor worked closely with Lucasfilm Games to deliver an authentic Star Wars experience that feels and plays like it fits this time period. You play as Hawks, a former Republic Commanding Officer who has left the Republic Army but has not joined the Separatists. Instead, they run a small special forces operation, Zero Company, which takes jobs from just about anyone.

At the start of the game, Hawks joins with a few loyal friends who make up Zero Company. First up is the playable character Tricks, a former Republic clone trooper who was medically discharged after being heavily wounded while saving Hawks’ life during a mission. Tricks still is pretty loyal to the Republic and wants to help out where he can, but understands that money makes the galaxy go round. Next up is another playable character, Kabb Uppercut (yes, that’s his name), a former prizefighter boxer who joined Hawks after having a few too many run-ins with the law. The group also includes three more non-playable characters. Runa Blask was a Separatist financial advisor who was forced out due to political issues and now manages all finances for Zero Company while serving as the group’s strategy advisor. There is also M-3VO, a medical droid who also doubles as the group’s star pilot. And finally, Neesh, who runs the armory and hooks Zero Company up through his black market connections.

Rounding out the initial group after the tutorial missions are Jae Mordant, an ore baroness who has requested Zero Company’s help through her connections with Republic intelligence officer Bennic Halloren. Jae is playable as a character, while Bennic helps Runa advise you on which strategy and which missions to take. There are a few more that join Zero Company throughout the game, including the Jedi Padawan Tal-Rea Vokoss and Mandalorian bounty hunter Cly Kullervo. I mean, come on, there is no way there wasn’t going to be a Star Wars game without a Jedi or a Mandalorian somewhere in the mix.

The story revolves around tracking down a group called the Infinite Coil. They’re a cult that “blesses” its members with a disease that makes them fiercely loyal to its leader. They have destroyed and taken over a multitude of areas in the galaxy, including the mining hub of Luunata that was originally run by Jae. To tease a bit, Zero Company‘s story takes you around the Star Wars galaxy during the time of The Clone Wars, and this means you should expect to run into some characters from this time period; some may even fight beside you in battle.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Star Wars Zero Company is heavily inspired by standard XCOM-like strategy games. You run a squad of four characters, including Hawks, on most missions. You take actions via AP (action points) in the form of moving, firing your blaster, using items, or using a character’s special abilities to take down the enemies in front of you. Strategy is the name of the game, and moving your characters into cover and strategic positions to create opportunities to take down the enemies is the path to victory. Failing to do so causes your teammates to get downed and require help from other teammates to get back on their feet. Every time a character falls, they suffer an injury. Get three, and that character is killed. When playing with permadeath, which is toggable (along with another toggle that prevents manual saves), that character is permanently removed from the game. Yes, that includes the story characters who are then removed from the story. If Hawks dies, it’s game over.

Each character has unique abilities to help in combat as well as passives to enhance them. Kabb, as an ex-boxer, has a powerful uppercut ability (hence the name Kabb Uppercut) unique to him that sends enemies flying, sometimes to their death. Every action also builds the advantage point gauge that then gets used for ultimate attacks. The better the ultimate, the more advantage points it requires. Some are one-time use per map, while you can spam others throughout a fight. Defense abilities exist as well, like overwatch, which lets you set up areas of denial to make enemies who run or use actions in them get shot and end their turn dead-stop. Be careful, though; the enemies have access to overwatch and special abilities of their own. Careful use of your operators through a mission can be the tipping point between a clean mission where no one dies or limping back to the den with three coffins in tow.

After missions, you have the chance to walk around your base, the Den. Before setting off on your next mission, you can talk to your fellow Zero Company companions to learn more about them, heal injuries at the medical facilities, expand the Den’s facilities, buy new items and attachments at the black market, train your characters to increase their stats and passives, or hire new operators. You can also fully customize your characters’ looks and weapons here. All hireable operators are fully customizable from their head down to their toes or whatever lower extremities that particular Star Wars race may have. Talking to certain characters sometimes leads to new missions that involve them directly furthering their story. Also, relationship levels increased through training or going out into the field together lead to scenes between those two characters, further advancing their stories.

At the Holotable, you select your next mission. There are three options here. Zone influence shows how much influence you have in each sector of the galaxy. Doing missions and operations in each zone increases it and gives you rewards, so selecting missions and operations in those zones is beneficial. Operations are non-combat missions where you must choose your response to a certain situation and be rewarded in different ways. The riskier your selection, the higher the likelihood of both a generous reward and danger for your operators. Finally, there are combat-oriented missions. Story missions must be completed in their given timeframe, but other missions are up to you to complete at your leisure if you feel the reward is worth it.

I had the chance to play up to roughly the 18th cycle, which was a pretty big chunk of the game. As an XCOM and strategy game fan, I was very pleased from that side of the table, and as a Star Wars fan, I was very excited with what I saw and how it all played out. If you fall in either of these categories, it’s definitely worth getting your feet wet in Zero Company to scratch that strategy game itch, or that Star Wars itch, or both!

Star Wars Zero Company comes out on August 27th for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Travelling At Night exists in an era where the Disco-like is becoming pervasive. Heck, I’ve commented upon as much myself, and my fellow colleagues at RPGFan have enjoyed their fair share, many featuring a metaphysical (and often literal) thread back to the glum, glorious shores of Revachol. Recently I spent time with the beta demo of Travelling At Night, the latest game from the Cultist Simulator devs, Weather Factory. There are all the hallmarks of a startlingly original story here, with a commitment to internalising character, as well as a distinct world and art design that demands notice. So, won’t you join me on this midnight journey?

Set in a twisted reflection of 1948 Europe, Travelling At Night plunges players into a world shattered by the recent Great War and suffocated by cosmic horror. Void-scarred buildings and night-sky abysses form the backdrop of a tense Cold War between the golden Incorporates of the USA and the star-touched Ministries of the USSR, where dark gods and occult forces physically and psychologically corrupt reality. Twelve years after the Worms from under the world hollowed out his memories during a bitter Cracow winter, former esoteric operative Spencer steps into the southern French city of Antibes. A narrative blank slate driven by a single, burning compulsion, Spencer seeks a mysterious woman named Nina Lagasse—the sole thread tying him to a long, relentless past that refuses to stay buried.

Jagged tears in reality rip through the sleepy streets of Antibes, exposing cosmic starmaps that gaze back from the immense void, while stitched-up buildings bear the scars of crude structural triage. Travelling At Night leverages a bold art aesthetic—plenty of odd mashups of realist structures with startlingly unreal appearances—to instantly thrust its surreal horrors into focus. By stripping away extraneous texture, the visuals force you face-to-face with unnerving anomalies, from gaping tears in space-time to a giant grasshopper wrapped around a sanatorium guest, crafting a deeply unsettling atmosphere. It all looks great and suggests the developer’s early intentions were borne out: “about as far in the non-realistic direction you can go and still be plausibly CRPG.” The music so far builds on this oppressive atmosphere while remaining minimalist. The light jazz music issuing from a local cafeteria is in stark contrast to the insistent, droning menace while wandering around Antibes or the slow strings and stately brass chords of the sanatorium.

Travelling At Night plunges players into a rich, dense tapestry of cosmic passions, secretive organizations, and occult lore, revealing its world organically through handy nested tooltips. While the sheer volume of worldbuilding threatens to overwhelm at first, the gradual discovery mirrors Spencer’s own muddled, healing mind—a man who possesses deep knowledge of his reality, yet struggles to connect the dots. Despite fitting the classic broken-amnesiac archetype, Spencer operates with decent agency and grit, wielding a full suite of tools to make sense of his shattered reality. Developer Weather Systems has populated his journey so far with vibrant, well-written characters—from an acerbic dame bent on vengeance to an obsequious sanatorium director—bringing Antibes to life through razor-sharp dialogue and stylish, non-sequitur observations. Though currently unvoiced, the script’s sharp literary style leaves immense potential for the promised voice acting.

Unsurprisingly, the game’s formidable lore shares deep roots with Cultist Simulator and the Secret Histories universe, and veterans of Hush House have a more familiar entry point, while newcomers immerse themselves in tooltips and careful record-keeping. Alongside these traditional methods, the game introduces an inventive “Footnotes” system, allowing you to expand on Spencer’s activated memories and choose responses to deepen his understanding of past experiences. I found it a novel means to provide lore-dumps with more agency on the player’s part. By the demo’s end, Travelling At Night burdened me with many more questions than answers—but with an urge to uncover the truth, even while hinting that some cosmic mysteries might be better left in the dark.

Spencer’s core identity stems from four distinct career choices—Exorcist, Writer, Conjurer, or Physician—each tying his esoteric past to specific Passions and Aspects that directly govern his skills. While familiar skills like Charm and Dignity exist in Travelling At Night, most skills tap into unseen cosmic forces like Bosk or Nyctodromy. Skill checks generate a difficulty threshold for RNG rolls based on environmental factors, character attitudes, and Spencer’s accrued points. It’s possible to sacrifice skill experience for short-term roll bonuses, and as a result, Spencer’s worldview is continually being shaped by his decisions, large and small. My Spencer managed to keep the honourable, compassionate side of his medical career throughout the demo, but towards the end my/his choices reflected more cynicism. Spencer doesn’t remain on his own either: there’s the opportunity to add another character to the group who can aid skill rolls as well as, presumably, add extra narrative options.

Beyond basic skills, dynamic conditions like Dread and Trace can also affect gameplay. Dread tracks Spencer’s creeping existential doom, raising skill check difficulties as it crosses key thresholds, while Trace measures how easily authorities track his movements—potentially leading to being actively hunted. During the demo, I progressed all the way to ‘Pursued’ thanks to my unscrupulous desire to introduce Spencer to everyone and his mum, although I didn’t see a game effect.

Ultimately, this interconnected web of Passions, Aspects, and escalating risks builds a system that appears far more complex and interconnected than Disco Elysium and practically begs for multiple playthroughs to master its intricate mechanics.

Along with his skill development and experiences, Spencer can craft items to support him in his journey. There were several available in the demo, and they require the relevant skills, relevant base items, and the right location to craft them. The church in Antibes functions as a craft base for items with a holy aspect, for example, and I can see how managing the three interwoven requirements could lead to lots of different approaches and outcomes, assuming they’re discovered. There are regular vendors who sell items to support the narrative who use several European currencies, depending on their preference, with different vendors favouring one or the other.

Aside from minor textual errors and work-in-progress quest logs, I experienced a smooth run with Travelling At Night, free of glitches or softlocks. A few minor foibles still need polish—such as clearer skill identification during experience hoarding and less click-heavy map pathfinding, even with Spencer’s run toggled.

Travelling At Night demands far more from you than typical narrative RPGs. Tracking skill use, managing intricate crafting mechanics, and interpreting complex outcomes will surely require time and multiple playthroughs to truly master. The systems are well-developed and look to hold plenty of depth and variation. Systems for item crafting and outfits mean that those who like to play with the numbers will not be disappointed. Travelling At Night is a dark, immersive world with a deep, murky hold on me, and I can’t wait to be part of the full journey. All aboard.

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re taking a figurative deep dive into some DLC and a remake of a classic game!

First, Ben is following up on his glowing Pokémon Pokopia review with a look at the game’s new DLC, Bubbly Basin. Just like in the base game, you play as a Ditto rebuilding society, but this time you’re doing it under the sea! With a wealth of quality-of-life features, a new town, and a ton of new Pokémon, is this DLC worth buying?

Then, Hagen is making his first appearance on Random to chat about a remake of one of his all-time favorites, Gothic 1 Remake. When the original Gothic was released in 2001, it became a cult classic that is still loved today. Unlike many remakes, this one is shockingly faithful to the original! Does Hagen love it just as much now as he did way back when?

Featuring: Jono Logan, Ben Love, and Hagen McMenemy; Edited by Jono Logan

Listen and subscribe where you please, and leave a rating if you can! Email us your feedback: podcast@rpgfan.com

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This time on RPGs Coming This Week, we have cards, we have romance, we have both shiny, polished visuals and rough, grungy visuals, and even some uh, insurance adjusters? We certainly can’t say we’re lacking for variety this week, and all of this week’s titles are joined by yet another big release landing on Switch 2. Feels like most weeks we get at least one of those!

Intro by Mike Salbato

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Also Coming This Week

At the crossroads between cyberpunk and fantasy exists Shadowrun. Originally a tabletop RPG from 1989 (currently on its sixth edition, as of 2019), it’s now a franchise sporting multiple campaigns, novels, and video games. The first of which was Shadowrun for the SNES in 1993, a moderately well-received isometric RPG/adventure game. However, it would be 20 years before fans saw another game of its calibre and ambition again: 2013’s Shadowrun Returns, a successfully Kickstarter-backed isometric RPG from indie studio Harebrained Schemes, founded by one of the original creators of the tabletop, that took direct inspiration from the 1993 classic (and even features that game’s protagonist, Jake Armitage, as a key player in its plot).

Following its success, it received a standalone expansion called Shadowrun: Dragonfall in 2014, with a full-fledged sequel Shadowrun: Hong Kong in 2015. Almost a decade later, the Shadowrun Trilogy has at long last received a console port on modern systems; an endeavour that’s equal parts satisfying and deeply frustrating.

In the spirit of fairness, however, I will be breaking down each of the three games and how they fare against each other, before tackling the trilogy port as a whole, detailing its myriad problems.

Shadowrun Returns

Truthfully, despite it being the “least-good” entry in the trilogy, Shadowrun Returns is of particular significance to me, since it was the first party-based isometric RPG of its kind that I’d ever played, and really the only RPG outside of the triple-A mainstream that I’d played up to that point. Its premise and the broad strokes of its world intrigued me enough to sink my teeth in. Based on that, I can attest to this game being an excellent entry point into both the Shadowrun universe and isometric RPGs as a whole.

Its mechanics are easy to pick up and parse, and you’re never locked into one particular playstyle or class. So no worries about decision paralysis when it comes to building your character; you can always adjust as you play when it comes time to level up. I started as a Street Samurai (your basic gun-toting mercenary class), hoping to spec into melee builds so I can live my katana-wielding cyberpunk fantasies, but drifted more towards ranged skills after playing around with the weapons and my other fellow gun-toting companions’ abilities when controlling them in combat.

The combat in Shadowrun Returns is an approachable facsimile of XCOM‘s: turn-based and with hit percentages that differ based on various factors, including distance from the enemy, the type of weapon that you’re using, and any active buffs, either passive or player-activated, that may affect you. Unfortunately, much like XCOM, there are times when you’ll have to contend with the possibility of an attack with a 99% hit chance that misses completely. It’s an issue that arises across all three games, and while there are ways around it, such as any aforementioned buffs or abilities you may pick up, it doesn’t become any less frustrating.

Really, there’s not much to say about Shadowrun Returns‘ gameplay. It’s all relatively simple, especially when it comes to RPGs of its ilk. That may sound like a major mark against it, but it’s actually quite a boon for the game’s approachability. All told, it’s only 8–10 hours, including its side content. The story is relatively straightforward (at least structurally), and there’s little-to-no deviation outside of it. Though veterans of the genre will no doubt be left wanting with the scraps they’re given here, for newcomers like I was, Shadowrun Returns serves as the perfect entry point into the wider medium.

That being said, where Shadowrun Returns may lack in gameplay depth, it more than makes up for it with its setting and script, both of which drew me in immediately when I first played.

Though I stated at the top that Shadowrun exists at the crossroads between cyberpunk and fantasy, Shadowrun Returns is much more the former, with its cyberpunk world and technology serving as the bulk of the setting and the traditional fantasy elements, like the existence of magic, serving as flavour on top. Your standard fantasy races are here: elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls, known as “metahumans” in this setting. They look and function the same as they do in D&D and many fantasy stories, with the caveat that every one of them is descended from humans, after a universe-redefining event called “the Awakening” caused mutations in human DNA decades before the events of the main story.

The story of Shadowrun Returns begins when your character inexplicably receives a message from an old friend and partner-in-crime of yours named Sam Watts, who delivers a shocking revelation: he is dead. He explains that the transmission of his message is thanks to a contingency called a “dead man’s switch” sent in the event of his death, along with a sincere plea to help solve his murder (at least that’s his working theory of what happened to him). Though your relationship with him wasn’t the best and you certainly didn’t leave things with him on the best of terms, you’re nevertheless resolute to find out what happened to him. To do that, you venture to his stomping grounds of Seattle.

It’s an intriguing premise; one that certainly caught my attention and had me glued to my PC for the next day or two to see how it would all play out.

What follows from this prologue is a murder mystery that starts grounded and charged with deception and intrigue as you interview every person who had anything whatsoever to do with your old pal Sam. Soon, things spirals into a wider conspiracy that threatens the entire world. Thanks to the relatively short length of the story, the escalation of the mystery can be something of a mixed bag. It really isn’t long before the story goes from grounded cyberpunk thriller into a more fantastical realm, and that shift may be quite jarring depending on how you gel with the story’s setting and themes.

This sci-fi/fantasy tonal balance is something that carries forward with the latter two games, and is handled better with each entry, so even if the execution doesn’t work for you here, don’t write off the rest of the trilogy just yet.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director’s Cut

Originally released as a DLC campaign for Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall received a standalone release in late 2014 with a bevy of improvements to the base game, as well as five new missions. Though it started out as DLC, Dragonfall is certainly not lacking in content compared to Returns. In fact, it runs at more than double the length of the first game, thanks in part to the fact that Dragonfall has fully-fledged side content now, with extra missions that you and your crew can undertake outside the main story.

Speaking of your crew, among Dragonfall‘s many improvements over the first game is that your companions are static and tied to the story now. You can still hire mercenaries the same way you could in the first game, but the optimal experience is to take the same core 4 companions all the way through to the end, hone their abilities along the way, and figure out what configuration works best with your own.

It’s not just how companions are handled that makes Shadowrun: Dragonfall better. Almost every single aspect of the first game is improved here. The story and writing are tighter and better realised—both the scope and stakes are raised in a way that narratively flows better. There are also a lot more skill checks involved in the gameplay now, both in dialogue and when interacting with the environment. Plus smaller, but no less vital quality-of-life additions like the fact that you can manually input codes now, instead of having to hunt down the specific ones.

Really, that’s Dragonfall‘s core strength. Though it’s more of an expansion than a sequel to Returns, the sheer amount of improvements or tweaks that it makes to the base game make all the difference and elevate Dragonfall well above its predecessor. Frankly, it’s to the point where I’d consider suggesting that you skip over Returns and just go to this one, much as I do love the first game all told.

Dragonfall‘s story follows a crack team of mercenaries, led by skilled decker Monika Schäfer, who operate within the free state of Berlin, colloquially known as the “Flux State.” Your character is the team’s newest member: a former colleague of Monika’s, hired for your unique set of skills. You have a lot to prove, and the other members are hesitant to trust you. On your third run with them, while on a routine hacking job at Harfield Mansion, you stumble upon a hidden military compound and are left with a chilling consequence: Monika is dead, killed by the facility’s incredibly advanced cybersecurity.

Before being killed, Monika utters a single word: “Feuerschwinge” (German for Firewing). Armed with this information, you escape and debrief with your handler, Paul Amsel, and after a lengthy argument and much hesitation, it’s decreed that you will now be leading this team. Together, you must investigate exactly what happened at Harfield Mansion, why and how Monika was killed, and just who or what the “Firewing” even is.

The answers to these questions take you all across Berlin, executing dicier and dicier operations, and gradually building up a rapport with your team, along the way uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the entire world and maybe even the one(s) beyond it.

In Dragonfall, I elected to play as a Decker, the Shadowrun universe’s term for a master hacker who has command of “the Matrix,” essentially a worldwide computer network that you can visit in cyberspace by jacking into a nearby port stationed in more or less every level of the game. From here, you’re transported into the Matrix directly, with you now controlling your cyber avatar and navigating the narrow corridors of cyberspace, avoiding or defeating computer programs, and hacking into local systems.

This enables you to access hidden data like passcodes, or even lets you hack nearby turrets and turn them on your enemies. It’s less involved and frankly less cool than it sounds, but it’s a neat alternate avenue of gameplay to pursue if you’re tired of running and gunning and want something a little different for this game’s playthrough (as I certainly did).

As I’ve said, Shadowrun: Dragonfall‘s narrative is fantastic, and by far my favourite of the trilogy, and given the improvements over the already solid Returns, Dragonfall might also feature my favourite gameplay of the trilogy. Still, the next and final game could give it a run for its money.

Shadowrun: Hong Kong – Extended Edition

Truthfully, I may have oversold Shadowrun: Hong Kong‘s importance. While, unlike Dragonfall, it is a fully fledged sequel to Returns, signified by its own separate Kickstarter campaign being launched in 2015 to help fund its development and release, it’s more of a side-grade from the first two. Like Dragonfall, smaller but no less vital quality-of-life changes can be seen throughout Hong Kong‘s gameplay that help it stand out and feel overall better to play than its predecessors, but you’re still functionally playing the same game again.

To be clear, I’m not noting that as a mark against it; after all, the consistency and familiarity throughout Shadowrun Trilogy‘s engine, asset, and gameplay reuse is more of a boon than anything. It’s just important that expectations are kept in check here. The changes from game to game are more often narrative and mechanical than technical, and even then, as I’ve said, they’re ancillary.

That said, there are two vital improvements that Shadowrun: Hong Kong introduces that, to me, make it the best in the trilogy to play.

First is the fact that you now have a holster button. Previously, there were instances where the combat state would linger even though all visible enemies had been taken care of, instead of going back into the exploration mode. This proved especially problematic in the (albeit few) instances where the games encouraged stealth. There would always be a narrow window outside of the enemies’ visibility when you could actually slip by them; otherwise you’re launched right into combat.

In Hong Kong, however, you can manually launch into and out of combat whenever you’re exploring, making stealth a viable option. While I still preferred to handle things directly, it was always appreciated to have the option to manually unholster my weapons leading up to an encounter, eliminating a layer of unnecessary jank to the gameplay.

The second most important improvement in Shadowrun: Hong Kong is how Decking works now. In both this game and the Shadowrun universe writ large, the hacker underworld of the Matrix, where the information superhighway resides, is a world unto itself that you can freely visit for business or pleasure. In the previous two games, its depiction and implementation were basic, but effective. You, as your avatar, would explore confined spaces and activate any nodes you see. In Hong Kong, however, you’re given free rein to explore, and are not just restricted to turn-based movement anymore.

There are also pseudo-stealth mechanics involving security drones that roam around the areas, with a visible cone of vision that you must avoid. You also now have to complete puzzle minigames in order to successfully activate any nodes you come across. These involve a sort of number-based Simon Says, followed by a symbol-matching game. Nothing revolutionary, but they do help keep things moderately more interesting while you’re switching back and forth between combat in the real world and your or your Decker companion’s adventures in cyberspace.

As an additional note, I did feel like the way that the hit rates worked in combat were more forgiving overall compared to the previous two games, though this may well have been the placebo effect, as I was unable to find any corroborating information on that in either direction.

For Hong Kong, I elected to build a Phys Adept/monk character. I specialised in melee attacks, particularly cybernetics-based weaponry like the incredibly effective hand razors. I also mixed in magic abilities, mainly of the defensive and support-based variety. I can say that it was a lot more interesting playing that way compared to the previous two games, which were based more in ranged weaponry. I felt like I had more options and versatility to work with in any given encounter and at least had the option to support my team rather than go on an offensive front the entire time.

So yeah, Shadowrun: Hong Kong‘s gameplay is, in many ways, the trilogy at its best to play. But what about the story?

Shadowrun: Hong Kong‘s story begins with your character returning to Hong Kong at the request of your estranged foster father, Raymond Black, who summons both you and your equally estranged foster brother, Duncan, back with an urgent yet cryptic message. You’ve been away from them and your hometown for eight years, having spent time in a corporate prison for an undetermined crime, so naturally, tensions are high and relations are less than cordial.

However, after arriving and meeting with your foster brother Duncan (now a police officer for a private peacekeeping organization) and his superior officer, Carter, your rendezvous is ambushed by Hong Kong Police, and a few of your contacts (including Carter) are killed. Now wanted, shell-shocked, and on the run, you must venture deep into Hong Kong’s seedy and dangerous underworld to clear your name and establish yourself as a mercenary, while figuring out just what the heck is going on and why exactly you were summoned back after all these years.

The story that follows from here, and the answers that lie within it, are equal parts gritty and grounded in its urban cyberpunk fantasy, while dipping a toe or two into the mystical, with you crossing paths with the concept of qi and beings of the astral plane like the demonic forces of the Yama Kings. It’s a compelling mixture, although quite overstuffed conceptually compared to the leaner, more linear plot of Shadowrun: Dragonfall.

I will say that a huge advantage that Hong Kong has over its predecessor is that your character is far more connected to the narrative this time around. With your foster father and brother being key players in the plot and your choices in dialogue informing your previous relationship with them, the plot is a lot more personally impactful. Your character feels less of a blank canvas or avatar and more of an active contributor to the central plot and backstory.

While I maintain that I preferred the story of Dragonfall, I cannot deny that your character’s personal connection to the people and events of Hong Kong‘s story makes it all the more compelling to play out. Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal preference whether you prefer this game’s narrative to the previous, or even the one before it. They all have separately appealing strengths that are hard to argue, and I truly understand whichever game you prefer.

Shadowrun Trilogy

As complimentary as both my praise and criticisms of each of the games in the Shadowrun Trilogy have been up to now, that unfortunately does not stand when discussing the Shadowrun Trilogy console ports in totality.

You may have noticed that I have yet to talk about the music in the Shadowrun Trilogy, and that’s because I unfortunately scarcely heard it throughout my playthroughs. That’s thanks to a very unfortunate bug of the console version that causes two songs on the soundtrack to play over each other at once, with no way of fixing it outside of loading your most recent save (and even then that’s only until you reach a new area and the next song plays over the previous one).

It’s truly a shame because the scores by Gavin Parker, Marshall Parker, Sam Powell, and Jon Everist are very well done, providing a great dark synthwave soundscape to the gritty world and events of each game. The soundtracks are definitely worth a listen on their own (and are available with the deluxe versions of the trilogy on Steam). It just would have been really nice to hear them when playing their actual games.

The games will also softlock every now and then for no apparent reason. Usually it was at the end of a combat encounter, and while some of the time I was able to save my progress, other times I had to re-do certain sections and hope that it didn’t happen again (which, thankfully, it did not, most of the time anyhow). While the PC versions of each game can softlock on occasion, it’s seemingly exacerbated in the console ports of the trilogy, perhaps due to its unified console UI.

Speaking of the UI, it really is a shame about the ports’ myriad issues, since they’re not without areas to praise. The translation of the UI from the PC versions over to controller is overall solid. It all functions relatively well (when it wants to, anyway), and there was never a moment where I considered that I’d rather be playing it on mouse and keyboard. That may well be the optimal experience for a lot of people, but playing with a controller is still a decent way to play these games.

It’s especially a shame since, due to these ports being developed by Dutch studio Codeglue (now called Behaviour Rotterdam) on behalf of the original developers Harebrained Schemes, the controller UI was never backported over to the PC versions, meaning that if you wish to play the Shadowrun Trilogy with a controller, you’re stuck with the console ports.

The Shadowrun Trilogy console ports are certainly not the optimal way to experience these great games. Don’t get me wrong, they function well enough. They’re still fundamentally the same underneath the hood. But if you lack the tolerance to deal with these ports’ problems as they come, your enjoyment of these great RPGs will be severely neutered.

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch fills a gap in the strategy RPG landscape that somehow has not been done as competently, yet simply, to date. Sprinkle in some roguelite design that rewards losing, outstanding voice acting, and a short yet engrossing tale, and you have yourself a hidden gem. Released almost a year ago to date, I somehow never heard of this title, but who can blame me? With all the noteworthy, high-profile titles flooding the market in an already saturated field, a game with modest visual design that lacks true innovation is likely to go missing. I hope I can rectify that.

We act as our lead protagonist, Ashe, who washes ashore on a less-than-hospitable beach fighting the undead and Imperial zealots. Fortunately, a couple friends help him out and get him to the one safe bastion on the island, Pelikos. Stricken with amnesia, an otherworldly witch named Sable saves him from death time and time again for reasons unknown to us. Tasked with ending the undead threat on the island, Ashe and his companions charge head-first into danger without concern for their lives. Dying over and over again has to hurt, though, right?

In battle, Lost Eidolons plays like a standard strategy RPG as units move on a square grid, taking turns. Move, then attack, use a combat skill, or cast a spell. Pick your next character of five to do the same. Once all units go, then the enemy does the same. Continue until the mission is complete, which almost always involves beating all enemies or the boss. While this skeleton is tried-and-true, what about the skills and spells? Again, standard stuff here with a good deal of buffing, debuffing, and some elemental tomfoolery depending on the topography a unit stands on. Nothing too exciting here, either, but the balance, interaction, and enemy artificial intelligence make for a tight, intelligent tactical foray. The magic occurs with the roguelike design, though.

Setting aside dying and accruing buffs for doing so, when a character levels up, they either get to choose one of two stats to increase with various rarities improving the stat bonus; otherwise, they gain a new skill to outfit their arsenal of death. Each character dons a unique class not observed in other games, though expect some degree of healer, tank, bruiser, etc. The active skills vary in rarity, as well, but sometimes the more common skill is what you need for that particular build. Every character has several skills in their bank, and while some seem considerably better than others, a player can’t rely on getting “that one skill” to complete a run. Working with what the game gives you is part of the charm, and while some may bellyache about getting shafted out of a presumably essential skill, I have completed several runs making lemonade out of lemons.

Like most modern roguelikes since Slay the Spire, Lost Eidolons incorporates a pathing system over three acts. Players see what rewards lie in wait down two or three forked paths, with rewards ranging from gold to enhancements for equipment or relics granting persistent passive benefits over the course of the run. If a battle is waiting, the game clearly depicts that with crossed swords beneath the symbol. Battles are pivotal, as that’s how characters gain essential levels before each act’s boss. However, sometimes the timing isn’t right or a preferred reward lies down the other path. In this way, decisions can be chewy, but most of the time opting for the bloody path that can also include additional treasures makes for a more beneficial excursion.

While the act bosses don’t change in terms of who they are, the abilities and buffs they boast change meaningfully across runs, especially after victories, so expect some degree of variety in penultimate fisticuffs. Normal battles have a large pool to choose from, typically housed within acts, but after a few runs, expect to see some repeats since each act has six to nine pitstops. That said, some stability can make a challenging game easier in that players know how to navigate certain challenges better after repeat runs. I love this genre, so the occasional familiar mission didn’t bother me whatsoever, though I imagine some folks might quibble with this.

Dying or tasting victory can yield similar benefits, with death feeling like a shortcut to buffing the heroes as the game ramps in difficulty. Sometimes I felt like I was just trying to match pace, but the game’s various customization options made me feel like I had some control over my fate. In terms of enhancements, characters can be promoted a couple times within their classes, meaning they start with enhanced abilities and have access to new abilities. Players can also use a currency to buff offense, defense, and utility on a web of passive bonuses depending on weapon type and armor. Eventually, the shop can be altered for improved offerings and trinkets can be crafted and equipped to characters to provide additional, limited abilities within runs to create a dependable way out of trouble; trinkets tend to be extremely powerful, so the limited uses within runs is appreciated.

Like other roguelites, you can make the game more difficult with a point system. Players can jack up the price of shops, give enemies passive benefits, remove the ability to predict enemy movement, and so on. Each hurdle has a designated point value, and after reaching certain thresholds, the progression currencies increase over the course of a run, which typically means more and improved trinkets. If promoting characters or building the skill web isn’t interesting to you, eventually you can alchemize currencies into others.

While Lost Eidolons is tight and satisfyingly challenging, what kept me going throughout my several runs is the story and voice acting. An amnesiac protagonist trying to topple a god isn’t anything new, but every character has their own distinct personality and goals. How they interact with each other—supportive or otherwise—is a big draw that’s only enhanced by the superb voice acting. Nearly every actor absolutely nails their lines with power or subtlety, whatever the scene demands. I couldn’t be happier with the cast’s talent in this humble indie title.

The music’s adequate with somber drums, horns that call for battle, and rock-infused energy in combat. Nothing showy here, but everything complements the foreground. Visually, the character art and various stills bring Lost Eidolons to life, though the environments and animations aren’t amazing by today’s standards. I say “screw that,” though, because I love this world and the heart that went into the artwork. Not every game needs to be AAA-caliber, and by no means does anything look poorly constructed in Lost Eidolons.

I’m extremely glad I took a chance on Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch. I had never heard of it until recently and chanced my ever-so-valuable time on it. Hidden gem defined, any fan of strategy RPGs and roguelites will find a home here. Come for the toothy combat and customization, stay for the sorrowful tale of Ashe and his family. I only wish there was more, as Lost Eidolons respects players’ time and can be fully completed at around thirty hours, though this number can vary wildly depending on how players fare in combat. For those who can’t get enough of the combat, though, expect several challenges and achievements lying in wait to sate that completionist hunger.

Ave, a young knight in training, hails from the peacefully idyllic Starfall Village. Peaceful, that is, until she finds it threatened by logic-defying, nightmarish creatures. While attempting to protect her home, she’s defeated by one such monster only to be brought back from the brink by Lune, a mysterious being known as a Starfarer. Together, the two embark on a perilous journey to uncover the truth behind what’s going on and hopefully find a way to stop it. Ave and Lune certainly have their work cut out for them in the isometric Soulslike action RPG Lunarium, but their emotional tale is one truly fit for the stars. Can their newly born bond and friendship forged-in-fire save their world?

Lunarium is a stunningly gorgeous game, both visually and narratively. The gameplay is polished and well rounded, though if you aren’t as adept at parrying mechanics in particular, there’s now a Story Mode option included in the game’s settings for those more interested in seeing the compelling tale’s conclusion without facing as much of an arduous challenge. To be honest, I’m not too adept at parrying myself, and it took me several attempts to surpass some of the challenging boss battles spliced throughout. However, learning the exact mechanics and strategies to overcome such harrowing trials is a key aspect of Lunarium, and there’s an inherent sense of satisfaction and accomplishment once accomplished.

As Ave, beyond simply slashing away at foes with your sword and dodging and parrying as though your life depended on it (it often does!), Lunarium‘s gameplay relies heavily on your partnership with Lune. Lune not only brings vital, if limited, healing to the table, but she also provides ranged support when needed through her arrow shooting. Properly deflecting and parrying blows helps to quickly raise a foe’s stun meter, at which point Lune can unleash a powerful stun assault, leaving them open for further punishment from Ave. Their partnership dynamic is cleverly woven into how you approach fights.

Ave and Lune can rest and restore health at benches strewn throughout the various realms they travel to, which also allows them to teleport to locales they’ve uncovered. The most important location of this type is the Sanctuary, where you can craft various equipment to help you in your quest, raise plants to gather materials safely, and even unlock new skills on the skill tree, as well as Starfall Village. In this idyllic hamlet, Ave lives with her grandmother alongside her younger twin shopkeeper siblings.

You can purchase new items from the twins when needed, upgrade Ave’s sword Junonia when you have the right materials to do so by visiting Ave’s swordmaster, and see new story events that unlock every so often. Currency, crafting, and skill points share the same pool in Lunarium, so having them in abundance is vital to maintaining gear and keeping Ave and Lune strengthened. Fortunately, you can find abundant enemies that drop the shards needed for all three.

Ave dons cloaks throughout the game that grant her special advantages in battle, which can be fashioned on the loom in the Sanctuary. Finding the right materials to further upgrade the cloaks also strengthens their effects, giving a unique edge in combat beyond just skill sets. Lune can also add embroidery charms into the cloak that further boost stats or grant passive abilities to the pair, similar to equipment accessories. As you travel Lunarium‘s different areas, you also uncover special shards that increase your health and resonance pools once you acquire the correct amount of them, offering further incentive to explore as much as possible.

From an action RPG standpoint, the gameplay in Lunarium is well implemented and ultimately enjoyable thanks to the robust skills and stat boosts available to uncover and the different attack patterns that the bosses and common enemies possess. Manipulating night and day cycles, traversing through a hellish landscape by racing from safe point to safe point, there’s a unique variety to each area you uncover that’s well-thought-out and makes the journey all the more memorable. Even most branching off paths eventually lead back to safe areas in a truly brilliant display of game/map design.

The biggest critique I have with Lunarium is that I did feel as if Ave moves quite sluggishly, especially before gaining stat boosts and the like. It was almost like fighting in molasses, though I did end up getting the hang of the controls and didn’t notice the slowness as much later on once I was focusing more on simply dodging, parrying, and keeping on my toes.

Visually, the hand-drawn 2D graphics that populate Lunarium are truly breathtaking to behold and help it stand out. The character designs and artwork are also equally gorgeous. The UI is easy to navigate, and the game works phenomenally well on the Steam Deck with a controller layout. The story unfolds through visual novel-esque cutscenes and journal entries written by Ave’s own hand and in her delightful character voice. In these scenes, the English localization is decently conveys emotion, and is being updated regularly to further improve its presentation. Then, the soundtrack is emotive and fits the atmospheric, haunting mood brilliantly.

The largest strength of Lunarium is easily the bond between Ave and Lune, both narratively and gameplay-wise. In that regard, I feel this beautiful ARPG largely succeeds in what it sets out to tell. Even with the game being admittedly difficult, especially in light of my inability to effectively parry much of the time, I had genuine fun with it. I felt so much as I uncovered its various story beats and watched the two heroines grow together. For what it does well, Lunarium is a compellingly insightful action RPG with Soulslike elements, and it certainly deserves to be viewed as a shining star of the indie ARPG scene.