Turn-based RPGs really are a well-known genre within the gaming market, but on the micro level, a brand new title that doesn't have Square Enix or Final Fantasy mounted on it may easily get overlooked otherwise careful. Well, in a market working towards open-world exploration that steps from the classic turn-based battle types of yesteryear 20 years, a brand new game is here now to remind us what's great concerning the genre and helped it last as long as it has. Battle Chasers: Nightwar is really a game that began like a Kickstarter dream and turned into a surprisingly strong contender for just one of the greatest games of the season.
The creation of the sport originates from a remarkable partnership of several former Darksiders developers, including comic book artist Joe Madureira, under the umbrella of Airship Syndicate. Originally, Battle Chasers: Nightwar began as a Kickstarter campaign having a modest $500,000 stretch goal. Since then, the sport has expanded into one that raised more than one million dollars and made a partnership with publisher THQ Nordic. Based off of Madureira's comic series, Battle Chasers, the game pumps that comic style into its visual lifeblood, providing a colorful and dynamic look at a story that accustomed to only survive the page. Motion art cutscenes, which were made by Powerhouse Animation, the team behind the current Castelvania Netflix series, also help carry forward the strong art direction this game takes. An impressive team of artists and developers are simply the beginning of the praises, though, as the game's story throws players into a well-defined universe.
The story is as sprawling as Joe Mad's original comic the sport is based on, placing players in a fantastical land full of friends, enemies, along with a political struggle that emerges after the comic series' hero, Aramus, goes missing. Aramus made a journey into a great wall of mist that stretches over the West Waters known as the Grey Line. He was never heard from again, forcing Gully, his daughter, to wield her family's powerful Gauntlets and begin an adventure to complete Aramus' mission. Accompanying the brave daughter on her behalf journey is really a rag tag group of fighters, such as the ancient war golem Calibretto, Aramus' former paladin Garrison, wanted fugitive and outlaw Red Monika, and old mage Knolan. After an airstrike from the team by enemy forces sends them crashing into The Lost Continent, the audience is split, leaving only Gully, Calibretto, and Garrison together to look the land for their two missing companions and a method to delve further into the Grey Line.
As with most traditional JRPGs, Nightwar is really a turn-based battle system, which allows the gamer to wield three fighters at a time against one to three enemies. Each character has their very own set of special abilities in battle, including basic actions like physical attacks and defensive maneuvers, they also come with an expansive roster of powers. As each character levels up, new abilities and actions are unlocked, using the more powerful abilities costing mana to make use of. These two choices are the bread and butter of most battles, giving players the strategic choice of either unloading normal actions against lesser enemies, or attempting to combine the various characters' abilities to begin a chain of support and offensive plans. For instance, Calibretto begins the sport with several healing abilities that come in handy against enemies that place debuffs on the team, so it was better to have him provide extra defense and restoration towards the characters who are able to dish out the damage. In turn, players acquainted with RPGs is going to be ecstatic to delve deeper into each character's abilities and make game plans on who to use and when.
One of the more intriguing aspects to battle has the Burst options, that are similar to Overdrives from games like Final Fantasy X. By doing damage to the enemy, a three-tiered meter fills in battle that allows a personality to unleash an extremely powerful move against a number of enemies. Each character unlocks three unique Bursts throughout the game, that was an element which i heavily relied on in battle. The Darkstalkers touch in the development team is certainly based in the impossibility of the game, as enemies, from base encounters to bosses, get progressively more difficult as the game continues. Having the Burst attacks would be a gift from heaven to get past a few of the more terrifying enemies, like those that can cast Doom on the party to make them easily die if healed. However, being an added level of stress, the mini-bosses and main bosses also have access to their own Burst attacks, which could turn the tide of a fight inside a split second.
This is where Nightwar's Perk system sets in, the most unique customization option available. Perk points are earned by leveling up and using consumable totem items, allowing players to pick and choose certain buffs to increase a character. Perk trees are specific to every character and provide simple attack boosts to a particular in-battle bonuses, like Garrison having the ability of healing himself when the battle ends. The good thing from it all is that the points utilized in the Perk tree aren't permanent along with a player can reset their choices anytime to spread the points around. At first, this technique can seem formidable to newer players, but when the game progressed and that i could see just how tough the late-game bosses got, I relied heavily on studying my team members' Perks to determine what combination worked best. Players should have control over more than just what inventory a personality might have equipped, and it would be a brilliant choice on the development team's part to incorporate a feature that can inherently change a character's stats and purpose in battle.
While the idea of a hard game could turn players off, especially if turn-based RPGs aren't within their wheelhouse, Nightwar does a solid job at pacing out the battle style for starters and seasoned pros to understand-to a point. How a story is to establish, with simply Gully, Garrison, and Calibretto because the options to use for that initial few dungeons, players can focus on the weaknesses and strengths of those three characters, while also consuming the mechanics of actions, abilities, and Bursts. Additionally, it helped greatly that each from the three succeed in one main place to teach the player the importance of using a defensive character in the mix, rather than picking three heavy-hitting fighters that just deal damage. Once Monika, Knolan, and Alumon-a completely new hero to the Battle Chasers universe, introduced for the first time in the game-joined the party, I wasn't thrown off by the diverse move pools they each had, as they all behave as combinations of what the game teaches as much as that point.
Alumon, for example, was my personal favorite option for the later game dungeons because he is really a mix from a fast attacker along with a healer, which made him a perfect option to balance my team. However, on the flip side of that compliment, once all six characters are unlocked, it may begin to feel confusing and formidable to know which to focus on leveling up. Earning experience is performed through battle, but it's a sluggish process, making grinding an element of the whole deal. Once a player invests enough time into their superheroes, those left out of the party kind of fall away. While that doesn't always have to become a negative thing in RPGs, Nightwar has a wide enemy variety that may require each of the six characters' skills to defeat. Getting through an entire dungeon only to realize in charge can't be taken down without a heavy magic wielder, like Knolan, could be frustrating if he would be a character that was not used often enough to have a decent level. All in all, the repetitive act of grinding for experience to level up each hero, in case they might be needed for even one fight, is a hurdle that may deter a great deal of players.
Thankfully, there's a slight workaround for this, and that's in the way dungeons are organized. The majority of the game is split up into two settings: the overworld map and the dungeons. Players will control the three chosen associates on the large map that can be stepped onto following organized paths, that have enemy encounters along the way and use of towns, items, chests, and dungeons. When a dungeon is reached, players have the option of taking it on in Normal mode, or they can perform the Hard mode to earn better loot. Whether a player has been to a dungeon before, the entire construct will reset itself, moving enemies, items, and chests to new locations than ever before, which provides a pleasant change when needing to revisit areas for experience grinds. Plus, getting the choice to return to a currently conquered dungeon to complete the Hard or Legendary versions to earn even better gear and items gives additional incentive beyond just returning to level up characters. I loved having the ability to return to a dungeon which was difficult the first time around and also have a easier time dealing with the enemies and bosses with my more powerful heroes. It was a great testing ground for brand new strategies I would create using the Perk trees and eventually became my main focus instead of just trying to rush with the dungeons to reach the end the story. Pouring over each new dungeon layout kept me immersed in the world, and what helped further this was the well-developed in-game universe.
Apart in the vast customization options found through the Perk, equipment, and Burst attacks, players will even find random bits of written lore hidden in dungeons that add small details towards the overall story. While it isn't imperative to read each piece of writing found to enjoy the story or understand the flow from the plot, it had been refreshing to have the option to delve further without it being a necessity. It was intriguing to understand the characters themselves were just as not really acquainted with the Lost Continent as I was as a player, so when they would find out more about a certain area's history, it never felt as if the writers were trying to info dump. Instead, it felt like a mystery slowly unraveling that subtly invested me into knowing more about the planet, and not simply concentrating on finding clues about what happened to Aramus. On an added meta level, players who have been acquainted with the original comic series will get a opportunity to actively explore our planet they already knew on a deeper level, while newcomers might want to go back and read the comics to understand the start stages of Nightwar's existence. If a fantasy game can ever pull a person in enough to spend time researching and thinking about the game's lore beyond playing, then this is a successful story.
It doesn't happen often where an RPG may come into an over-saturated market and manage to have a fresh and unique method of the genre, but Battle Chasers: Nightwar does just that. It doesn't only promote customization at nearly every degree of gameplay, however it delicately balances the line between helping new players understand the genre and delivering a challenging experience. If you're an avid fan of RPGs, this one is much more than worth a glance.
