Of Threat and Threnody Imagine a digital afterlife, a post-mortal coil of 1s and 0s within which dwell the mental shades of folks willing to pay for the right and the upkeep. That is Maya, and it's been a thousand years since all contact with the physical world was severed following a mysterious blackout. Just restoring the sun to its proper place took thirty-three years to accomplish, and corrupted data floods the bandwidth every four years to cause even more chaos. This is news to the protagonist, a young, newly deceased cancer patient named Karma, as he has roughly eight minutes on his personal record when he hears about it. Somehow, he is the first client to be uploaded into the system since the blackout, and this causes issues with his registration that make him uniquely suited to surviving the mess of a situation that is Maya and its presiding artificial sapience, Nocturne. The situation grows increasingly grave over the course of the game's eight chapters and roughly ten hours of core narrative gameplay. Automated Crawlers proactively dispatch corruption where they find it, often to the detriment of the remaining digital citizenry. Of the four appointed system admins, three are at odds over what to do, how to do it, and whether the ends ever justify the means. The fourth is simply nowhere to be found. Through all of this, Karma's one goal is to locate his brother, who uploaded a few years ahead of him, but drama can't help but complicate things. And what drama it is! In a corrupt world slowly losing its war against decadence and deletion, the themes of cyclical self-destruction are prevalent--a point which Nocturne herself hammers home in the final plot sequence. There is coercion, betrayal, strange revelations and things better left unknown. In his quest to locate his brother, Karma sees it all, and the question in the end may well be, "Which is more important, the family you seek or the family you find along the way?" [caption id="attachment_202028" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Someone should reboot the Sun.[/caption] Combat in Nocturne takes center stage in the most literal way possible, as everything is beat-rhythm based. The developers recommend a keyboard for this game; however, as my laptops are either underpowered or overheated, the Steam Deck was the only viable option, and that worked quite well for me. The main beat-rhythm sections feature four lanes of notes, mapped to the left shoulder, right cursor, X, and right shoulder buttons. This looks rather random in the game's battle tutorial explanation, but the four buttons align perfectly with the thumbs and pointers on both hands. The A button for attacks is a little harder to work with, but it can be reassigned to another button if necessary. In battle, the main goal is to survive to the end of the song. While it plays, energy bars for both Karma and the enemy will charge up. Karma can stock up to three hits, then unleash all stocked damage at once with the A button, while the enemy usually only attacks when its energy reaches full. Just before an enemy attacks, there will be a flash and a chance to strike for a critical hit while its guard is down. Reducing an enemy to zero health won't end the battle, but it will stagger the foe for a short while, during which time Karma can stock more energy and regenerate health. [caption id="attachment_202027" align="aligncenter" width="640"] No, this is not a boss. Things just get hairy in the later chapters.[/caption] The beat-rhythm aspect is what helps keep things going. The penalty for missing beats or hitting mines (red notes) is that Karma's energy gain is momentarily paused, and the enemy's energy may receive a boost at the same time. Playing the game well increases his ability to attack and reduces how often he gets hit. Every enemy has its own tune, with non-boss mobs having two bonus tunes that can be unlocked with high performance grades. Additionally, there's an arcade in the main town with a record of all battles and tunes unlocked thus far for the player to enjoy during or after the main game. There are also many types of specialized equipment and other secondary systems available, including a riposte mechanic, but these aren't necessary for the basic gameplay at Beginner level. Difficulty can be changed at any save point, thankfully, but it's important to note that difficulty is mainly scaled by the frequency and pattern of notes in the battle sequences. Some songs will still be fast and furious at the lowest difficulty. For the non-combat rhythmic sequences, clearing out corruption or doing the occasional special skills check, the base difficulty appears to be set, which makes these some of the biggest challenges in the game. In combat, it's not uncommon for specific mobs to mess with the lanes in some fashion, making them temporarily shorten, clog, vanish, or otherwise be obscured. In one particular major battle sequence, it even becomes a five-lane setup with A as the middle lane. But in the non-combat sequences, things get wild and weird, with the lanes shifting, bending, rotating, or wandering off elsewhere as the player is trying to hit all the right notes. The skill check in the middle of Chapter 4 is a high-speed, five-lane nightmare for those (like this reviewer) who found Beginner difficulty enough of a challenge for the main game. [caption id="attachment_202024" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Retreat in F-this-minor.[/caption] Music is obviously the most important aspect of this game, with strong tunes for all enemies, and lyrics sung during some of the major boss battles, but the art aspect is equally well-matched to the game's narrative. Scenery gradates between the soft, soothing colors of an intended virtual Eden and the jarring dark shades of things going off the rails. The art style largely forgoes outlines in the scenery, lending an element of impressionism as well. The scenery itself appears strongly coded towards Japanese and Chinese design aesthetics that match up with the narrative's philosophical leanings. Nocturne manages a tight narrative in its ten-hour run, and the beat-rhythm aspect both helps to pad out the relatively small number of mobs in the game and keep things interesting. The spritework is fluid, and the animation poetic. While the concept may sound like an odd mash-up, genre-wise, Pracy Studios makes it work.   Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher. The post Nocturne Review appeared first on RPGamer.

Back to the Past, Present, and Future Wright Flyer Studios's free-to-play RPG Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space has enjoyed good success since its release on mobile in Japan in 2017 and internationally in 2019, still ongoing and receiving new story updates at the time of writing. Seeking to make the most of the game, Wright Flyer Studios has partnered with Studio Prisma to convert it to a premium release on PC and Switch consoles as Another Eden Begins. The conversion is at least successful in parts, resulting in an enjoyable traditional RPG experience that holds up through its thirty-hour runtime, albeit one that doesn't quite manage to excel in any particular area. Another Eden Begins contains the contents of the first story arc of the mobile title, spread across slightly over two dozen chapters. It follows Aldo, who is found apparently abandoned just outside the village of Baruoki as a young child along with his baby sister Feinne. After being raised by the mayor, Aldo joins up the village guard, but soon the village is attacked by beastmen, with the kidnapping of Feinne their apparent objective. When looking to rescue Feinne, Aldo is sucked into a rift and finds himself seemingly eight hundred years into the future. [caption id="attachment_188462" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Aldo's adventure takes him forward and backward through time.[/caption] The resulting adventure takes Aldo and his allies across three time periods, and dealing with conflicts between humans and beastmen, hostilities between humans and synths, and mysterious timequakes. The story works on the whole, thanks largely to an endearing set of main characters, but has a habit of jumping back and forth, with the initial premise of setting out to rescue Feinne seemingly becoming oddly forgotten about for a lengthy period of time until it suddenly becomes important. There's lots of bits of small worldbuilding here and there that helps give some character to the setting, but it never really forms into a properly cohesive whole, especially towards the end as it darts between plot points with little apparent care or reason. One important element to note about Another Eden Begins is its approach to New Game+, which it interestingly blends into the narrative, adding a new character and associated story elements as a result. However, despite the promise of ten new possible endings, it's debatable as to whether the narrative additions are enough to make it worth revisiting the game's events again. Gameplay follows the general template of visiting locations and defeating bosses in order to advance the story. Outside of the city locations and the fields linking them, this means advancing through various dungeons. There are numerous fast travel points to make getting around easy, which is just as well as the game happily sends players all over after a certain point. All of the locations in the game are 2D and primarily built from a number of side-scrolling channels that players can move up and down between, with encounters visible on the field. Most dungeons have a camp at around the halfway point that can be used to heal, and as an extra fast-travel point if players need to go elsewhere for a time. The locations are all quite easy to navigate; puzzles are rare and those that exist are quite trivial, with players generally just needing to find the path forward while deciding whether they want to seek out the treasure chests that lie in the various offshoots. [caption id="attachment_201488" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Environments are largely the side-scrolling type, but with channels to move between and encounters that can be avoided by moving up and down.[/caption] Battles see up to four party members engage against a number of opponents in turn-based combat, each turn granting a single action to each participant. The player and enemy's turns play out at the same time, with the order of action based on each combatant's speed. Each party member has a regular attack and up to four skills that cover any number of effects from elemental attacks to heals, buffs and debuffs, causing status effects, and more. In addition, each party member has their own Chain Skill, which is triggered after meeting its condition enough times, such as using a fire-based attack, doing a critical hit, or healing an ally. Being able to trigger Chain Skills proves to be a very useful tool in both making regular encounters end more quickly and for taking down bosses. Another distinct element of Another Eden Begins's combat is the Another Force party-switching system. As players pick up optional party members, they can assign them to three additional parties in addition to the current active one. This partly makes up for the fact that there are no healing items -- nor healing opportunities outside of combat aside from resting at a camp or inn -- and effectively no way to revive a KOed party member during combat, though any who end a battle knocked out have a small bit of health restored afterwards. It also gives players the opportunity to create different parties for certain situations, such as being able to handle when the opponent heavily favours a particular element. Finally, a gauge in the top-right corner builds up and gives players the opportunity to unleash an uncontested series of skills with no MP cost considerations. Ultimately, the combat works really well at keeping things easy to understand and learn, while still offering a lot of strategic options in their party makeup. It's overall fast-pace also works nicely in the game's favour and keeps its gameplay ticking along. [caption id="attachment_184160" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Players will take on a mixed variety of foes and have plenty of party members to do it with.[/caption] Another Eden Begins does a decent job removing any gacha elements and roadblocks from the original version and more naturally integrating playable characters and upgrade systems into the game, albeit not so much into the main story. Outside of the main story characters who do appear in the event scenes, players can also pick up a variety of optional party members. Collecting additional party members is a simple job of completing the relevant side quests, which the game readily lists out to players when they become available. Virtually all of the game's side quests are related to the party members, with each having their own individual story arcs that progress based on the very light bonding system. All side quests generally involve the same formula, where players will need to revisit prior locations to view event scenes and have to take part in one or two event battles, with the balancing and lack of scaling enemies means that players will more often than not be overpowered for the foes encountered within them. At times, these can hinder the momentum of the game, particularly as the game likes to use certain chapter completions as the time to unlock new side quests. The character stories are themselves varied in their effectiveness, and at least run a gamut of themes while giving each of the characters time to shine. However, all of the optional party members prove to be ultimately irrelevant to the main story, rather undercutting the effectiveness of their individual arcs. Upgrading characters is pretty straightforward; there is a standard experience system, with experience shared across all parties, ensuring that the roster remains fully balanced and players can readily swap around party members as they wish. New ability points are gained by each character every three levels, which can be spent in two linear upgrade paths that provide passive bonuses and new or upgraded battle abilities. In addition, each party member has a weapon and an armour equipment slot, with a rudimentary shop and crafting system available to provide upgrades. There are also two slots to equip "proofs" dropped by bosses and highlighted powerful enemies that usually protect treasure chests, which provide passive bonuses that can be used for party synergy or to help cover up potential weakness. It means that players have perhaps a bit of a limited customisation scope for individual characters, but there is a decent amount of flexibility on strategy when it comes to the party and its individual groups as a whole. [caption id="attachment_200561" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Another Eden Begins has a lot of plot points, but doesn't really manage to link them together cohesively.[/caption] Visuals are generally pleasing, with its puppet-like character models working well with the general character art style and quite colourful environments. Combat also moves along at a decent clip, preventing the game getting bogged down during regular encounters. The UI is largely effective, though the game doesn't offer much complexity that it needs to deal with. The music, primarily composed by Shunsuke Tsuchiya and Mariam Abounnasr, is catchy and enjoyable to listen to throughout, even if there's a bit of repetitiveness as players find themselves listening to the same location themes again and again. Voice acting is a bit more variable between the English and Japanese options. The main story scenes are fully voiced in both; however, there is no English voice acting in the side quests. The English voice acting is also a bit stilted, though it's harder to judge how much of that comes from the script or the voice direction. Another Eden Begins does well enough at making for an experience that will keep players engaged for its runtime, but not really enough to stand out from the crowd. Combat is enjoyable and the base gameplay loop moves things along to prevent things from becoming too tired, though its side quests can drag things a bit. However, despite the promise of additional narrative elements in the New Game+, what's currently there isn't really enough to entice diving back into it right away. It's ultimately a solid RPG with lots of scope for improvement.   Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher. The post Another Eden Begins Review appeared first on RPGamer.

Welcome to the latest edition of RPGamer's round-up column, where we look back at some of the articles that we have posted over the intervening period. This article is designed to give reminders of some interesting content and stories that our readers might have missed.     --- Editorial Content * BioWare: A Retrospective While its future is uncertain, BioWare has made many hits over the years. The RPGamer crew takes a look back at the studio’s RPG catalogue and how its titles evolved. * Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review Onimusha: Way of the Sword revives a long-dormant franchise that’s been out of commission for two decades. Jordan McClain reports it makes a triumphant return with deliberate, exciting combat and a gorgeous, immersive, and authentic Japanese setting. * Lies of P: Complete Edition Review Lies of P: Complete Edition brings the acclaimed soulslike to Nintendo Switch 2. Ezra Kinnell reports that the release, containing the full game and its Overture prequel, it does so to great success. * Entropy Early Access Impression Lovely Hellplace’s Entropy features retro polygon visuals, interesting lore, and punishing turn-based combat. Ryan Costa examined how well these aspects are introduced with its Early Access release. * Village in the Shade Preview Nippon Ichi Software looking to blend cozy life sim with supernatural horror in Village of the Shade. Alex Fuller was able to learn more about the game ahead of its appropriate release just before Halloween. * Adventure Corner ~ Signalis Signalis is a retro-styled survival horror game about an android searching a derelict mining facility for a missing crewmate. Irtaza Hashmi finds that by hiding an obsessive love story inside the shell of a bleak, blood-soaked mystery, it rewards those who pay attention.   --- Major Headlines * Final Fantasy VII Revelation Sets April Date Square Enix revealed an April release date for Final Fantasy VII Revelation. The company also unveiled the various editions of the final part of the Remake, as well as showing some gameplay. * Aniplex Publishing Fate/Extra Record * Fate/EXTRA Record Releasing Worldwide in January, Western Publishers Announced * Fate/EXTRA Record Receives Gameplay Showcase Fate/EXTRA Record received a mixture of updates this week. Aniplex, XSEED Games, and Marvelous Europe were revealed as game's publishers alongside a January release, with Type-Moon later posting a gameplay showcase video giving an introduction to the game and its new card-driven combat system. * The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster Coming West NIS America is bringing Shinigami Hime to Ishokan no Kaibutsu west as The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster. The picture book-style adventure will be coming to PC, PS5, and Switch consoles, but has not yet been dated. * Astonishia Story Returning Next Year In one of this week’s more surprising reveals, Astonishia Story is making a return. The game, last released as PSP title, will be coming to PC and consoles this February. * Code Vein II Reveals More Mask of Idris, Free Update Details Bandai Namco posted a new developer message for Code Vein II. In the video, Director Hiroshi Yoshimura and Producer Keita Iizuka reveal more details about next week’s Mask of Idris expansion and free version 2.0 update. * Final Fantasy Resonance Demo Released Square Enix has released a demo for Final Fantasy Resonance. Players can check out the opening hours to the HD-2D reimagining of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius ahead of its release next month. * Another Eden Begins Demo Available Wright Flyer Studios and Studio Prisma have released a demo for Another Eden Begins. Players can try out the turn-based RPG’s first six chapters ahead of its release later this month. * Stupid Never Dies Demo Available * Stupid Never Dies Shows Wyvern Boss Fight GPTRACK50 and Sega released a demo for Stupid Never Dies. Players can try out the first couple of hours of the undead action RPG ahead of its launch next month. * Crimson Desert: Charting the Unknown DLC Announced for Next Month Pearl Abyss announced the Charting the Unknown DLC expansion for Crimson Desert. The DLC, launching next month, will let players explore the ocean around Pywel, in addition to other content. * Digimon Story Time Stranger Expansion Announced Bandai Namco revealed an expansion is coming to Digimon Story Time Stranger. A Hero’s Eternal Legacy will release next year.     Other News * Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest Releasing in October * Effulgence RPG Fully Releasing Next Week * Lie of Caelum: Spirit Undergoing Kickstarter Campaign * Daba: Land of Water Scar Announced * The Eminence in Shadow: Phantom Echoes Announced * Crescent Tower: Rising Announced * Rev. NOiR Releasing Next Year * Blight Doctors Releasing Early Next Year * Mewgenics Console Physical Release Announced * Arc Games Publishing Sil and the Fading World * Genesis Maidens DLC Coming to Echoes of Aincrad * Shujinkou Arriving on Epic Games Store, Mac App Store Next Week * Card-Based RPG Astral Dive in Development * No Rest for the Wicked Full Release Delayed to March * Everspace 2 Receives Final Update * Blades of Mirage Demo Released Media and New Releases * Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Introduces Relic Expeditions * Persona 4 Revival Gets Lyrical Battle Theme Video * Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World Trailer Goes Monster Wrangling * Metaphor: ReFantazio Receives Switch 2 Pre-Order Trailer * Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendence Gets Official Trailer, Shows New Boosted Actions * Keen Games Details Enshrouded Version 1.0 Improvements * Into the Fire Gets New Trailer, Playtest * Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Receives New Trailer * Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow Receives New Trailer, Pre-Orders Open * New Wardens of Avalon Trailer Released * Bellwright Trailer Teases Horseback Traversal * Petty Ungodliness Gets New Trailer, Open Playtest * Zenonia 1: Unraveling Memories Released on Steam * Aegis Force: The Scorian War Released in Early Access * New Release Round-Up (September 3, 2026) --- Podcasts * RPG Backtrack 369 – Emerald SaGa Dreams The SaGa series continues growing strong with its latest entry in the series, SaGa Emerald Beyond. We have the Q&A Quest crew as guests on this week’s show, so stay tuned for turn-based fun! * Episode 453: Fated for Fire Emblem – Q&A Quest This week in Q&A Quest, we prepare for the coming of a new Fire Emblem. We also answer the usual variety of questions. * RPG Cast – Episode 825: “FF7 Disc Shrine” Kelley lets nature deal with her festered ice cream. Chris learns that the real key to fame is how well he can hide his drama. Meanwhile, Robert is just sitting here with his popcorn because Nikke is now more drama than butts. Get off the subreddit! The post RPGamer Round-Up: August 30 – September 6 appeared first on RPGamer.

Outwardly, the village appears like a typical cozy rural Japanese village, but harbours dark secrets, ominously hinted at by some of the rules that its denizens must follow, chief of which is no going out at night. The current preponderance of farming sims can make it difficult to stand out. However, such a task should not be difficult for Nippon Ichi Software's Village in the Shade. Already a strong success for the developer in Japan, the game should have plenty of takers when it appropriately arrives in late October. RPGamer was given an early look at its farming sim gameplay and how it blends it with supernatural horror. Village in the Shade could be considered a thematic successor to the Yomawari series, sharing a similar visual style and perspective in addition to its overall supernatural horror elements. The game casts players as a customised protagonist in the village of Kagatsu. Outwardly, the village appears like a typical cozy rural Japanese village, but harbours dark secrets, ominously hinted at by the rules that its denizens must follow, number one of which is no going out at night. The section shown in the preview presentation came after the protagonist's chicken was brutally killed during the night, only for them to wake up to find an egg and a mysterious note outside of their house, with other short events and scenes hinting at something nefarious going on. [caption id="attachment_200498" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The game's farming sim elements appear appropriately deep and inviting.[/caption] The game is more plot-focused than most farming sims and divided into daytime and nighttime sections. The daytime has all of the usual farming/life sim aspects with players able to tend to their farm, mine resources, build relationships, decorate their home, fish, and more. However, the game's distinct elements come out at night, after the 11pm curfew, where players will discover the streets are haunted by ghosts and even greater threats. Nevertheless, going out at night will be necessary, not just for story reasons, but also to obtain items that can only be found during the night. Its life sim sections appear to be sufficiently strong and deep, with great customisation of the expandable farming lands and house available, plenty of tools to utilise and upgrade, and a wider variety of crops to plant across different seasons. Each crop takes different amounts of time to grow, and growing enough of the same crop will see the produce raise in quality, allowing them to be sold for more. Players will gain rewards for completing numerous tasks and achievements around the village related to farming, resource gathering, or crafting, as well for completing specific requests and for presenting produce at the end of the month. Field design can be important for farming; for example, placing a stone path or boardwalk around crops can prevent encroachment from weeds. [caption id="attachment_200494" align="aligncenter" width="640"] There are definite hints at the darkness lying in the village's shadows.[/caption] Players will also be able to create processed goods, such as copper, as well as use various ingredients and resources to craft furniture and other items that can be used personally or sold for money. As they venture into town, they will be able to witness scenes, interact with characters, or purchase items from merchants. Each character has their own star level, which rises as players interact with them or give them gifts, with new star level providing a new event scene that helps show their story and place in the town. Players can also make use of a helpful notebook function to remember items they might want in future but can't afford yet, or need for a certain request. Players have two meters for their character: health and stamina. Health is more important for the danger at night or when mining, while stamina is used across the life sim sections and can be readily restored by eating food. Mining sees players venture down various floors to gain access to new ores; each floor has the rope to the next one hidden under a mineable rock, and some dark floors may harbour a ghost within them. Every ten floors offers a new checkpoint, but players will likely use up a lot of stamina searching for the ropes down, so players will want to keep sufficient food on them to make expeditions worthwhile. Players do not need to worry about the curfew if they don't wish to break the number one rule accidentally, as the game will automatically bring players back to their home when 11pm hits. This does mean that going out is an active rule break on the part of the player, and they will need to be prepared for any consequences. The village's transformation at night is certainly striking from the overall coziness of the day, with the preview event leading to a spooky sequence where the player has to escape a large ghost, seemingly led to safety by a ghostly chicken and an encounter with a mysterious tree. [caption id="attachment_200491" align="aligncenter" width="640"] You were warned.[/caption] What can happen to players at night depends on the situation, there will be some linear story events like that shown in the demo, while others will see the players exploring the town dealing with monsters, finding new resources, or completing small missions. If players do get knocked out while exploring, they will wake up in the day where they were caught with less health and stamina, though the more linear story events will let players retry them if they fail. The game has a stylised visual style that looks great, with even its lo-fi character models exuding plenty of charm and distinctness. The painted environments are packed with great little details. The game's use of light is highly effective, particularly when it gets into the spookiness of nighttime, giving players that sense of impending dread and active danger that a horror game requires. Village in the Shade has all of the ingredients to be a big hit among both farming sim and horror fans, even more so for those in both categories. Its blend of charming cozy daytime and spooky nighttime appears to be immensely effective. RPGamers will be able to uncover the secrets of Kagatsu when the game releases for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27, 2026.   [foogallery id="200480"] The post Village in the Shade Preview appeared first on RPGamer.

Nippon Ichi Software looking to blend cozy life sim with supernatural horror in Village of the Shade. RPGamer was able to learn more about the game ahead of its appropriate release just before Hallowe...

While it is universally considered an RPG studio, BioWare's first title was, in fact, 1996's Shattered Steel, a mech action game very much in the vein of MechWarrior. After that, however, the developer — founded in Edmonton by doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip — turned its attention to a shared interest in RPGs, on computer and pen-and-paper. This led to the creation of the Infinity Engine, which BioWare used to convince publisher Interplay of its potential with the popular Dungeons & Dragons licence. Success was achieved with the highly regarded Baldur's Gate, with the engine also used by other developers with the licence for good effect, such as Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale. Further success was found with Baldur's Gate II, while the studio also developed a game for consoles for the first time in 2000, the action title MDK2. After financial issues separated it from Interplay, BioWare went on to establish relationships with Atari, LucasArts, and Microsoft in the early to mid 2000s, furthering its reputation with Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire.     As BioWare returned to the forefront of RPG-gaming with Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, it was snapped up by the behemoth Electronic Arts. The subsequent history of BioWare is very much defined by its relationship with its new owner. One can definitely see how the larger budgets afforded to it have helped make its storytelling and gameplay much more cinematic and visually impressive. However, those larger budgets have come with loftier expectations and some development hiccups, with many of the key players departing during the 2010s. Earlier releases in the partnership have been notable for quite aggressive DLC offerings, while Dragon Age II was the very picture of a rushed sequel, and its most recent titles are emblematic of the industry's issue with live-service games in different ways. Given the recent purchase by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and other partners, it remains to be seen if BioWare will have a continued place going forward. With that in mind, we have taken the opportunity to look back across BioWare's RPG catalogue and remember the fascinating titles it has produced across the years. We hope you enjoy our brief tour across the studio's history and invite our readers to share their favourite memories from its library. by Amaan Bhimani, Alex Fuller, Austin Langer, Robert Sinclair, and Sam Wachter --- Baldur's Gate Available on: PC, Mac Enhanced Edition (created by Beamdog) released on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android Released in 1998, Baldur’s Gate stands as the monumental achievement that put BioWare on the map, successfully translating Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules into a breathtaking digital format. Players create their own protagonist and are thrust into a sprawling epic across the Sword Coast to uncover a sinister conspiracy involving the region's escalating iron crisis. The game's narrative is expansive, defined by open-ended exploration, memorable companion encounters, and the foundational lore of the Bhaalspawn saga. The game’s greatest strength lies in this unmatched sense of epic scale and world-building, which established the template for computer role-playing games for decades to come. However, its mechanical foundation is infamously unforgiving for modern audiences. The real time-with-pause engine implements complex tabletop mechanics complete with obscure stats, THAC0 calculations, and brutal difficulty curves where a single unlucky die roll can wipe out your party. To the unfamiliar, watching characters constantly miss attacks or succumb to sudden death spells can feel baffling and impenetrable. Despite the steep learning curve, Baldur's Gate remains a pillar of the genre. It captures the very soul of classic dungeon-crawling and tactical party management. The game showcases deep, uncompromising origins of BioWare’s legacy and is where its legend begins. -- Austin Langer   --- Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Available on: PC, Mac Enhanced Edition (created by Beamdog) released on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android Released two years after the successful Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn refined every conceivable element of its predecessor, expanding the scope into an unforgettable masterclass in high-fantasy storytelling. Players resume the role of the Bhaalspawn, starting in the torturous dungeons of the wizard Irenicus before spilling out into the vibrant, sprawling city of Athkatla. The game's narrative is legendary, defined by morally grey antagonists, deeply reactive companion quests, and romantic subplots that set a new benchmark for character interaction in video games. The game’s greatest strength is its masterful pacing, rich quest design, and iconic party dynamics, featuring unforgettable characters like the unhinged ranger Minsc and his miniature giant space hamster, Boo. Like its predecessor, its mechanical foundation presents the same daunting hurdle. The continuation of AD&D rules means players must master multi-classing, spell counters, and high-level magic management to survive. For newcomers, navigating the sheer volume of spells and stats can quickly become overwhelming. Regardless of the intimidating complexity, Shadows of Amn is widely regarded as one of the greatest computer RPGs ever made. It perfects the isometric party-based formula. For anyone looking to see BioWare operating at the absolute peak of its classical storytelling powers, this is the definitive masterpiece. -- Austin Langer   --- Neverwinter Nights Available on: PC, Mac, Linux Enhanced Edition (created by Beamdog) released on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android Neverwinter Nights shifted BioWare's focus toward digital tabletop empowerment, set within the beloved Forgotten Realms city of Neverwinter amidst a devastating magical plague. The game's true revolution was technical: the Aurora Toolset. By handing robust, user-friendly creation tools directly to the community, BioWare transformed Neverwinter Nights into a digital engine for Dungeon Masters, spawning countless legendary persistent worlds and custom modules. The game’s greatest strength is this unprecedented level of player creativity and flexibility, paired with a smooth transition of the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition ruleset into a 3D perspective. Its mechanical and narrative foundations in the vanilla game and its official campaigns, especially the first one, feel dry and more like a tutorial for the toolset rather than an epic, unforgettable adventure. The official campaign traded the rich, organic companion chemistry of Baldur's Gate for a more solitary, utilitarian adventure that often functioned as a showcase for the engine rather than a deeply emotional epic. Despite the relatively uninspired core campaign, Neverwinter Nights remains a monumental achievement in developer-community synergy. It proved that BioWare could build not just great games, but entire platforms for imagination. For anyone looking to understand the roots of community modding and digital tabletop gaming, this remains a fascinating milestone. -- Austin Langer   --- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Available on: PC, Mac, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android Released in 2003, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is a seminal role-playing game set four thousand years before the creation of the Galactic Empire. Players assume the role of a customizable protagonist caught in a galactic war between the Jedi and the villainous Darth Malak. The game's narrative is legendary, defined by sharp dialogue choices, a deeply impactful morality system that charts the player's path between the Light and Dark sides of the Force, and one of the most famous plot twists in gaming history. The game’s greatest strength lies in this masterful storytelling and character writing, which set the gold standard for cinematic RPGs. However, its mechanical foundation presents its biggest hurdle for modern audiences. The real-time-with-pause combat relies heavily on invisible d20 dice rolls, stats, feats, and skill checks derived from Dungeons & Dragons tabletop rules. To those more accustomed to direct visual hit-box correlation, watching a lightsaber visually pass through an enemy while the game registers a "miss" can be frustrating and unintuitive. Despite the aged combat, KOTOR remains an excellent introduction to BioWare titles. It perfectly encapsulates the studio’s core DNA: squad-based storytelling, rich lore, and meaningful player agency. For anyone looking to understand where BioWare's modern formula truly found its footing, Knights of the Old Republic is where to do so. -- Austin Langer   --- Jade Empire Available on: PC, Mac, Xbox, iOS, Android Chinese mythology is uncommon in Western RPGs, and finding one that truly understands the mythos is even more challenging. With Jade Empire, BioWare clearly wanted to pay homage to traditional Chinese cinema and wuxia fiction. The story has a strong focus on magic and martial arts, with players making choices through a morality-based dialogue system that can affect narrative elements depending on their responses. Players take on the role of the last Spirit Monk, who is on a journey to save their missing tutor and quell the darkness that is plaguing the world. The morality system is neither good nor evil, but rather focuses on a specific type of philosophy, "Open Palm,” which is being altruistic, or “Closed Fist,” which focuses more on self-reliance. Jade Empire is very linear for a BioWare game, with the player selecting one of six story archetypes, with exploration done in third person, wherein players can pick up side quests along the way. The game’s combat is a third-person action RPG that takes place in real-time, giving the feeling of real hand-to-hand combat or of having attacks tied to a specific weapon type. The player can build their hero to be purely offensive, defensive, or even focused on magical energy known as “chi.” There is a lot of flexibility in Jade Empire’s combat, and it’s very fast and fluid, replicating the wuxia stories it pays homage to. Jade Empire is the game that many BioWare fans long for a remaster or remake of, simply because they want to see how the combat and story could be elevated on newer hardware. Sadly, Jade Empire sold well below expectations when it released on Xbox in 2005, but it got its due once it was released on PC in 2007. It's a fine standalone RPG, and there still isn’t much out there in the RPG-sphere to compare it to. Jade Empire is a unique experience, and while the game will feel somewhat dated in look and feel, it’s impossible to deny how important a title it is in BioWare’s back catalogue, as it was a reminder of how creative this developer could truly be. -- Sam Wachter   --- Mass Effect Available on: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Sci-fi franchises have been renowned for generating great fanbases across the years, and BioWare established another one with Mass Effect. The game is set in a future version of the Milky Way where humanity has recently joined the society of space-faring species and cultures and sees players navigating the interesting politics that come with that while uncovering a larger potential threat looming in the background. Its version of the galaxy neatly skirts aspects of soft and hard sci-fi elements to create a galaxy full of fascinating peoples and solid internal consistency as players control Shepard, a candidate to become the first Human SPECTRE, effectively a special investigative agent with wide-ranging authority. Much of what makes Mass Effect so successful is shared by other BioWare games, and comes in much of the finer details of the setting. The lore and setup of the world provide lots of fascinating details for players to uncover, while the game characters and writing do a great job sucking players into the story and setting. The game also made significant changes to dialogue options and the good vs. evil, light vs. dark-side choice structure of many games. With Shepard always being a hero, players were instead able to decide what sort of hero: being more of a Paragon of virtue or a “get the job done by whatever means necessary” Renegade. Meanwhile, choices are handled by the highly effective dialogue wheel, which swiftly became a mainstay for the studio, and players are even given the options to interrupt scenes with special actions. Its story structure and approach to dialogue help to allow Shepard to be fully voiced and help make them stand out far and above among BioWare’s previous customisable protagonists. As with the following Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect ends up in a slightly awkward place combat-wise. The game is effectively a third-person shooter RPG, whereas BioWare's previous sci-fi title, Knights of the Old Republic, used a full roll-based RPG system, and it falls in a slightly awkward place between it and a full shooter. As a result, damage is somewhat of a clunky mixture of player skill and character build, making for a bit of an awkward feedback loop. Planetary exploration was also a bit hit or miss; the fun of finding possible quests and secrets while bouncing around on the Mako was a bit undercut by the samey nature of the experience. Nevertheless, Mass Effect was an enormous success and gave BioWare an incredible setting to work with, and the improvements made with the Legendary Edition trilogy collection help with the onboarding. -- Alex Fuller   --- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Available on: Nintendo DS BioWare made a Sonic game? It’s an unexpected crossover, but it happened in 2008 on the Nintendo DS. The events of Dark Brotherhood take place after the 2003 Game Boy Advance title Sonic Battle, opening with the “death” of Eggman and Sonic being on vacation. Sonic receives a call from Tails, who informs him that Knuckles has been kidnapped by a group known as the Mauraders and the Chaos Emeralds have been stolen. Sonic teams up with Amy and Tails for a turn-based adventure to save Knuckles and the world. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood was BioWare’s first handheld project, though it wasn’t well received by the critics. The game is a turn-based RPG that is divided into multiple chapters. Unfortunately, the game’s combat system is simple, with rhythm and timing elements that weren’t well designed. The game also received multiple complaints regarding its poor audio and easy difficulty, though it was praised for its graphics, likable characters, and cartoony vibes. It is worth the investigation if one is a long-time Sonic fan, but likely a very low priority for anyone exploring BioWare’s overall catalog. -- Sam Wachter   --- Dragon Age: Origins Available on: PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 After successfully reviving sci-fi RPGs with Mass Effect, BioWare turned its attention back to high fantasy with the very ambitious Dragon Age: Origins. Looking to emulate the success it had with Baldur’s Gate II, BioWare was this time able to create its own fantasy world as part of that. The game starts out incredibly strongly with its emphasis on player choice with its eponymous Origins system, allowing players to select from six possible introductory acts based on the customised player character’s race and/or class. All of these origins ultimately lead to the same starting point, with players recruited into a group called the Grey Wardens, tasked with defeating creatures called Darkspawn, only to be left as the last line of defence following a spectacularly disastrous battle against the rampaging horde. However, it sets up the possibility for strong diverging events and outcomes based on the player’s actions going forward. Dragon Age: Origins marks the start of a period of transition for BioWare in terms of its fantasy combat that would be fully explored in its sequel. The game tries to continue along the lines of the real-time-with-pause tactical systems of the D&D games, but its controls didn’t necessarily translate effectively to console, necessitating less focus on micromanaging a full party in future. The combat is strong, and never shies away from giving players a challenge while providing the tools to overcome it, but it found itself in an awkward spot between adherents of the previous systems and newer console players. Where Dragon Age: Origins does succeed and stand out is through its introduction to the world of Thedas, through just a small part of it. It does a great job of introducing the world’s lore, as well as its societal and political conflicts, through a mixture of the events players experience. The agency of player choice is also excellently handled, with the state of the nation at the end or its individual characters being vastly different depending on player choices, with those choices also majorly impacting various scenes and sequences throughout the game in highly memorable ways. Much of its strong reputation stems from its great quest design and lore-building. The game also benefits from a bit of star power, with Kate Mulgrew, Claudia Black, Tim Russ, and the late Tim Curry among the notable names involved. Dragon Age: Origins is also notable for its DLC in a time when the concept was very much coming to the fore. Reception to the DLC itself is mixed, but it certainly wasn’t helped by its in-game advertising being awkward and distracting, even when the content was decent enough. The game also received the Awakening expansion, which also has a mixed legacy. The expansion draws some interest from its new cast, but doesn’t really do enough with them and feels a bit disconnected from the main game, ultimately feeling like a diluted version of the game. -- Alex Fuller   --- Mass Effect 2 Available on: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii U Although the first game was successful, Mass Effect 2 is where the series and BioWare really came into wider popularity. The game received a major overhaul to gameplay and story structure, ramping up its cinematic nature and bringing its combat much closer in line with third-person shooters. EA also spent a lot more effort on marketing for the game, including recruiting some big names (and faces) into its cast with Yvonne Strahovski, Martin Sheen, and Tricia Helfer. The result was the best-received effort of BioWare's time under EA. Coupled with an impressive narrative that builds on the events of the first game while taking things in an interesting new direction, the game is readily considered one of BioWare's strongest titles, bringing an army of new fans to the series. Such is the difference that many players will not see a need for newcomers to bother with the first game, the important events and choices of which can be covered in its opening. Interestingly, despite its more cinematic presentation, the game's story is a bit more personal, focusing on the motley crew that players put together for its suicidal end goal. The game starts with a bang, and it grabs players right from the get-go. The gameplay is tight, the different classes vary your ways of tackling each engagement, and the story grabs you from the first scene and doesn’t let go. The recruits you get along the way are mostly compelling and feel like they have their own lives and agendas, and all the sub-stories really make the galaxy feel alive. It fully rewards players for building up relationships and earning their loyalty, giving substantial weight to player decisions. Mass Effect 2 effectively offers a much more streamlined experience that removes much of the RPG bloat of the first game. It still has some flaws: planet scanning gets tiresome, there's not much variation in combat or character customisation, and decisions in the first game don't carry a lot of weight. While some might be disappointed that some of the harder RPG elements are frozen out, the game is an outstanding title that gets remembered as one of the best of its era. -- Robert Sinclair     --- Dragon Age II Available on: PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Dragon Age II released a scant sixteen months after Dragon Age: Origins, and it absolutely shows that it was a game created within a very limited time frame. It takes players to the city-state of Kirkwall as Hawke, a refugee from Ferelden who rises to become known as the Champion of Kirkwall. Some choices players made in Origins can be carried into Dragon Age II, though they are ultimately for flavour rather than anything substantial. Dragon Age II was clearly built to garner more mass appeal and keep on board those who were turned off by the heavier RPG combat mechanics of Dragon Age: Origins. The game’s combat is much more streamlined and fits much better on console, taking what worked previously and finding ways to help improve the overall flow and excitement of battle, although the PC version retains some of the tactical full-party-control gameplay. However, the crunch development is made blindingly obvious by the game’s enforced reuse of environments and assets. Some repeated visits are entirely understandable, but many different areas look exactly the same and end up making exploration in the game very dull. In addition, it’s clear that the story only has one possible path to follow, and that the choices players make are thus less impactful than in the previous game. Some of the complaints were addressed in the Legacy DLC that connects the game more deeply to Dragon Age: Inquisition, though this arguably serves to highlight the initial rushed development. Where Dragon Age II mostly succeeds is in its character work, as the characters each have their own arcs that tie into Hawke and Kirkwall’s own story. Of particular note is its introduction of fan-favourite Varric Tethras (played by Brian Bloom), who is a standout character across the entire series, but the supporting cast all does an admirable job in making Hawke’s story worthwhile, and it provides some interesting expansions to the Dragon Age lore. Its emotion-centered version of the dialogue wheel introduced in Mass Effect also works well in giving Hawke more of a personality and building on the role-playing aspects of conversations. There are definitely some things to like about Dragon Age II, but it was always going to be majorly hampered by the unreasonable development time. -- Alex Fuller   --- Star Wars: The Old Republic Available on: PC, Mac Taking the foundation built by its predecessor, Star Wars: The Old Republic expanded the universe into a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Set three centuries after KOTOR, the game allows players to experience eight distinct, fully voiced class stories across both the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Built by a new team in Austin, but with significant support from Edmonton, it masterfully bridges the gap between single-player narrative depth and multiplayer world-building, essentially acting as eight standalone BioWare games wrapped into one online package. Though development was officially handed off to Broadsword Online Games in 2023 so BioWare could pivot back to its single-player roots, the game's core identity remains deeply tied to its original creators. SWTOR’s absolute triumph is its emphasis on narrative and choice, a rarity in the MMO genre where story is often treated as an afterthought. The dialogue wheel lets players shape their character's personality and make dark or light choices that affect their companion relationships. On the downside, the gameplay relies on traditional, tab-target "hot-key" combat. Depending on player preference, managing rows of ability cooldowns can either feel like a comforting, classic MMO experience or a dated, repetitive chore. Also, for fans looking for a deep MMO endgame experience, SWTOR may feel lackluster. Though the team behind the game has worked hard to address this concern since the game's launch with dungeons and raids that drop high-level gear, the endgame loop is a mixed bag for seasoned MMO veterans. Because of its massive scope and free-to-play model, SWTOR is a surprisingly great alternative introduction to BioWare. It offers the classic storytelling and dialogue flexibility the studio is known for, but with a smoother, more modern user interface than KOTOR. It is an ideal gateway for players who want BioWare-style writing but prefer the open, ongoing structure of an online world. -- Austin Langer     --- Mass Effect 3 Available on: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii U Commander Shepard sets out to unite the galaxy and all life in it against an existential threat in the final game of the Mass Effect trilogy. Cinematic and conclusive, Mass Effect 3 feels like the fullest expression of RPG storytelling, with characters, plot points, and player choices from the first two games coming together for a tale of heroism and destiny that feels both larger-than-life in its conflict and personal through the player's role in it. The cover shooter gameplay is faster and smoother, while each mission has a measurable impact on the story and world, keeping it from being as slow as Mass Effect and as disconnected as Mass Effect 2. However, its wholehearted approach to capping off the trilogy as thoroughly as possible means that longstanding conflicts between species are settled relatively quickly. Shepard is made into an unrealistically capable commander who is very easily able to corral a bitter, divided galaxy to arms against impossible odds, but it is that defiance and strength embodied by Shepard that makes its themes of hope, perseverance, and unity resonate. The game's use of those themes meant the convenient solutions found in its story could be readily overlooked; however, its reputation suffered a significant hit as players found themselves underwhelmed by its original endings, later "fixed" through additional cutscenes in free DLC and the Legendary Edition. Without this, its finality would have been better appreciated and its reputation more favorable. Mass Effect 3 necessitates that players experience the previous titles to get the most from it, as it relies on the emotional payoff to make it what it is. While it includes RPG elements like skill trees, classes, and leveling up, its streamlined action gameplay also doesn't require the kind of in-depth customization and familiarity with mechanics that classic BioWare games are known for. As a whole, it manages to steer the series towards a proper and grand conclusion after the first game planted the seeds for the main conflict and the second game expanded upon the world and characters to make them mean something. All three games are somewhat disconnected in tone and in their individual strengths, but the Mass Effect trilogy comes off as a very competent and cohesive series because of the closure provided by Mass Effect 3 and the bittersweet emotions that come with the end of all things good. -- Amaan Bhimani   --- Dragon Age: Inquisition Available on: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One After Dragon Age II notably suffered from its short development time, the third game in the series received a notably longer development time, releasing in 2014. The result is the biggest game of the lot, with Dragon Age: Inquisition offering a huge amount of content for players to sink their teeth into. Like the other Dragon Age games, Inquisition has its own player-created protagonist, the survivor of a delegation that is wiped out with the emergence of a giant rift. Initially suspected of being its cause, their ability to fix rifts sees them appointed as the leader of the newly-formed Inquisition and tasked with resolving the new threat to Thedas. While it starts off linearly, Dragon Age: Inquisition soon opens up to offer a lot of freedom and expansive areas. It does suffer from the issue many games of the time had: a reliance on flooding points of interest across its maps, but Inquisition’s areas are pretty good at giving players freedom to do as much or as little as they please, even if it is easy to get caught up in completionism. The game’s combat is arguably the most successful of the series as well, furthering many of the improvements originally made in Dragon Age II, but ensuring that players have plenty of flexibility and tactical options within their party loadouts while keeping it fast-paced and exciting. The game once again demonstrates BioWare’s great strengths with character writing, with its great cast having something for everyone. Familiar characters from the previous two games quickly return – most notably Leliana, Cassandra, and Varric – with an array of new faces also quickly making themselves known. Perhaps the one argument against it is that the game doesn’t quite have the same level of internal conflict that the previous games managed, as characters remain fairly cordial even if they don’t agree with decisions made. The game is also perhaps when BioWare managed to hit its best stride in terms of making player decisions from the previous games have an impact on events. While none of the choices may make huge waves in terms of how things play out, it does the best job of the series in acknowledging those past choices and how they impact the characters involved. A lore-heavy story, outstanding cast of companions, and impressive villain who sticks around throughout the tale make Dragon Age: Inquisition a thoroughly engrossing experience. It perhaps isn’t for everyone; those who aren’t fans of taking time to explore large areas and marking off a lot of collectible objectives will likely dislike a fair bit of its day-to-day gameplay, but it remains a deservedly memorable title. -- Alex Fuller   --- Mass Effect: Andromeda Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Mass Effect: Andromeda is an interesting example of something trying to make something new but failing to escape the shadow of its predecessor. The game itself was developed by a new team based in Montreal rather than the “main” team at Edmonton. Realising that the trilogy and its numerous choices would make staying in the Milky Way galaxy a giant mess, Mass Effect: Andromeda takes players to the titular neighbouring galaxy as many species of the Milky Way send out ark ships in case the fight against the Reapers ends in defeat. The game puts players in the role of the human Ryder as they seek to establish new homes in the unexplored frontier. Mass Effect: Andromeda felt like it was always going to be divisive, and various lead changes throughout development can’t have helped. It doesn’t help that the game’s weakest parts are its earliest ones, as it struggles to get out of the gate with its new premise. While returning focus to exploration and larger zones works to an extent, the game ultimately doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before. There are definitely rewards in sticking through it as the story picks up nicely, and the gameplay remains strong throughout despite a few technical quirks; the final product is still highly enjoyable, but it just doesn’t pack the same punch that the trilogy did. I ended up being a lot higher on it than most (or at least the most vocal) on Mass Effect: Andromeda. For me, it marked a welcome return to the more explorative aspects of the first Mass Effect, but it’s easy to see that it isn’t as cohesive an experience or as widely appealing as the original trilogy. Unfortunately, it looks very likely that Ryder and co.’s further adventures in Andromeda will go untold. The game did not perform as well as the paymasters at EA hoped, resulting in the series being paused while BioWare’s main team was sucked into the ruinous live-service black hole with Anthem. -- Alex Fuller   --- Anthem Defunct, but released on: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Hailed as part of a second coming of multiplayer online RPGs, Anthem was all hype and little substance. Anthem was everywhere leading up to its release in 2019, and it was a huge gamble on BioWare’s part given that it positioned itself as a third-person shooter with action RPG elements, keeping in line with the larger gaming industry’s attempt to hit live-service paydirt. Taking place in the world of Coda, players take on the role of Freelancers, adventurers who wear special exosuits that assist them in dealing with the elements. The Freelancers are tasked with safeguarding the city from all threats to protect the Anthem of Creation, a mysterious force that is responsible for all of the world’s technology, and trying to keep it out of the villainous Monitor’s hands. Anthem received tons of criticism when it launched, particularly for its dull, lackluster gameplay, terrible flight controls, and overall design shallowness in its design beyond its graphics. In 2020, BioWare attempted to address many of the issues raised by critics and the player base, but unfortunately, it was far too late to boost sales or its player population. In January 2026, the game was shut down and is deemed no longer playable. Ultimately, its legacy is just one more example of this period’s pivots to live-service proving ill-advised. -- Sam Wachter   --- Dragon Age: Veilguard Available on: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S Dragon Age: The Veilguard had a lot to prove when it released in 2024. The game experienced a long development cycle, likely partially steered by the failure of Anthem, as what was initially envisioned as a live-service game was ultimately reworked into a single-player title. BioWare had a lot riding on this title, hoping that, after the long stretch, Dragon Age fans would be ready to dive into a new adventure. Still, with so much riding on Veilguard’s shoulders, what fans received was ultimately a mighty fine game, but not enough to satisfy triple-A corporate demands and EA’s lofty expectations. Veilguard features a very streamlined experience from both a combat and narrative perspective, which led to mixed reviews amongst fans. Combat sees players taking on the role of Rook, the game’s protagonist, and they cannot directly control their companions. It’s heavy, action-based combat; however, it is quite robust, and depending on the class you select, there are tons of choices for Rook’s overall playstyle. It’s simple and intuitive, but compared to previous games in the series, it’s nothing to write home about in terms of the tactical choices available to players. In terms of the narrative, only three choices from the previous game, Inquisition, carry over, and even then, it’s mainly for how Veilguard’s overall world develops. The story stands on its own, with the Blight having run rampant across Thedas, and each one of the game’s many factions is facing unique struggles, from cults to climate change. The game offers one major choice per chapter, and there are clear consequences for the player’s actions. While previous Dragon Age games present plenty of conflict within the party, the companion characters in Veilguard are very supportive of one another and solve their problems like adults. However, there is some disappointment in how few characters from the previous games make their return in Veilguard. Still, while the game’s locations are not as grand as, say, Origins or Inquisition, there are still lots of exploration and side stories to be had. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a decent game that is getting its due well after its initial release. While its connections to previous games feel minimal, and the combat is very streamlined, there’s a lot to enjoy in this version of Thedas. While one would think having prior knowledge of the previous Dragon Age games would be important for this fourth installment, this is actually a great starting point, given the game’s recap of previous events and the fact that it isn’t too hyper-focused on past events. Veilguard frequently goes on sale, and it’s a decent game that stands on its own, even if it doesn’t feel truly connected to the Dragon Age series on the whole. -- Sam Wachter   --- We hope you enjoyed our deep dive into BioWare's catalogue. Would you recommend a specific starting point? Join the conversation by dropping a comment below! The post BioWare: A Retrospective appeared first on RPGamer.

Not everyone can simply become a hero; sometimes one needs to find their proper calling in insurance, and then get roped into being a hero to save the company. Ledgerbound tells an entertaining, and h...

While the Nintendo Switch 2 version comes with some compromises, the core experience remains fully intact, allowing players to experience the incredible journey through Eorzea wherever they go. Final Fantasy XIV is my favorite MMORPG of all time. For years, fans, including myself, have hoped that Eorzea would eventually make its way to a Nintendo platform in a form that could properly handle the game. Now, thanks to the Switch 2, that hope has finally become a reality. While the Steam Deck has already made it possible to take the PC version on the go, the Switch 2 marks Final Fantasy XIV's first official native handheld release. Of course, the real question is how well the game holds up on Nintendo's hardware and what, if anything, players are giving up to make that possible. After spending time with the Switch 2 version, the overall experience is an impressive technical achievement with some notable caveats. First of all, the Nintendo Switch 2 version targets approximately 30 fps in both docked and handheld modes. While this is understandable given the hardware limitations, it does make docked mode compare unfavorably to other platforms when played on a larger screen. The lower frame rate is noticeable, especially during combat, where animations and performance can feel choppy. That said, the performance is at least consistent. Outside of heavily populated hubs where the frame rate can dip under heavier load, gameplay remains stable throughout most zones. However, larger encounters, such as battles in the Occult Crescent, can result in noticeable frame drops due to the sheer number of characters on screen. [caption id="attachment_198506" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The power to defeat Kefka in the palm of your hands![/caption] The handheld mode, on the other hand, is a much better experience. The smaller display does an excellent job of masking the lower resolution and frame rate, making the overall presentation feel much nicer than on a large monitor or television. It is an especially enjoyable way to tackle more relaxed activities such as crafting, gathering, or knocking out daily tasks, while still feeling perfectly capable during dungeons and story content. Players looking for a way to experience Eorzea on the go will find that the Switch 2 version successfully delivers on that promise, making portable play its greatest strength. The elephant in the room is the loading times. Whenever the screen fades to black, the Nintendo Switch 2 version takes noticeably longer to load than other versions on modern platforms. While this is typically only a minor inconvenience during questing or casual activities, it becomes a significant liability in high-end content. Combined with the 30 fps target, the Switch 2 version is not recommended for Savage and Ultimate raids. Even less demanding activities can be affected; Critical Engagements in the Occult Crescent, for example, often take so long to load that bosses have already begun executing mechanics before the player even enters the battlefield. Players coming from the PlayStation or PC versions will have little trouble adjusting, as the controller layout transfers over almost identically, especially if transferring settings from other platforms. Existing controller settings can be carried across, allowing the familiar PlayStation-style layout to remain intact, with B serving as the confirm button and A as cancel rather than adopting Nintendo's traditional button arrangement, and the controls can be remapped to suit individual preferences. The standard Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con controllers, however, have noticeably more sensitive analog sticks than a typical PlayStation controller. While this is easy enough to adapt to over time, those looking for a controller that more closely resembles the feel of PlayStation's analog sticks will likely prefer usijng a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller. [caption id="attachment_198518" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Overworld content is a great fit for handheld play.[/caption] The subscription prices are a bitter pill to swallow. Players who begin playing during the Nintendo Switch 2 launch period receive the first month of service at no additional cost, followed by a complimentary month of play time. After that, however, those who already subscribe on another platform must purchase a separate Nintendo Switch 2 subscription to continue playing. Although Square Enix offers a 50% discount for existing subscribers, it still results in an additional monthly expense simply to take Final Fantasy XIV on the go, without offering any other worthwhile benefits in return. Adding perks such as additional retainers or expanded veteran rewards would go a long way toward making the separate subscription feel like a stronger value proposition. The Nintendo Switch 2 version also comes with a few platform-specific considerations. Players transferring their settings from another platform will likely need to rescale the HUD for the smaller display, though the process is simple thanks to Final Fantasy XIV's extensive interface customization. Just like any other version, cross-progression works seamlessly, allowing characters, settings, and progress to carry over without issue. Nintendo Switch 2's haptic feedback is another welcome addition, adding subtle immersion throughout the game. Flying across Mare Lamentorum during a storm, for example, feels more satisfying thanks to the subtle haptic feedback from the controller. [caption id="attachment_198507" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The cutscenes still look quite good on Switch 2.[/caption] At the end of the day, this is still Final Fantasy XIV, one of the greatest MMORPGs ever created. While the Nintendo Switch 2 version comes with some compromises, the core experience remains fully intact, allowing players to experience the incredible journey through Eorzea wherever they go. It may not be the recommended way to play for those with access to more powerful platforms, especially for players focused on high-end content, but it is still an excellent secondary option for anyone who wants the freedom to take the game on the go. The arrival of Final Fantasy XIV on a Nintendo platform is exciting in itself, and this version finally delivers something many fans have wanted for years, even with some limitations along the way. Disclosure: This article is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher. The post Final Fantasy XIV Switch 2 Deep Look appeared first on RPGamer.

Beyond the Blight I never thought I'd be writing about a Game Freak game without mentioning Pokémon. Beast of Reincarnation is such a dramatic departure from the studio's usual work, but that's exactly what makes it stand out. It presents a bleak vision of post-apocalyptic Japan, where humanity has already lost its battle for survival. Civilization has all but disappeared beneath an ever-spreading blight, leaving behind scattered ruins and powerful creatures that dominate what remains of the world. Standing against that destruction is Emma, a young woman tasked by the mysterious Administrator with defeating the monstrous Nushi that govern each region before finally confronting the Beast of Reincarnation itself. The premise is intriguing, but the idea of a world-ending threat and a chosen hero tasked with stopping it is hardly new. Stories centered around this idea have become increasingly common. The story improves as the journey progresses, but it never escapes its predictable foundation. Emma begins the adventure almost entirely devoid of emotion, with her lost humanity gradually returning as she encounters new allies, locations, and memories throughout the journey. While this personal growth offers the story its strongest emotional thread, it never develops beyond the surface level, leaving many of its more meaningful moments without the impact they seem to be aiming for. The broader narrative follows a similar trajectory. Several twists help keep the adventure moving, and additional lore gradually expands the history of the world, but few revelations prove especially compelling. Beast of Reincarnation tells a perfectly serviceable story, but its greatest strengths lie elsewhere. [caption id="attachment_197799" align="aligncenter" width="640"] A clash of convictions.[/caption] The game is at its best when its exploration and movement is able to shine, most notably when players reach the later zones. Emma is remarkably agile, capable of using her hair to propel herself high into the air, scale buildings, and traverse terrain in ways that make exploration feel wonderfully fluid. Climbing over cliffs, scaling ruined structures, or discovering shortcuts encourages players to think beyond simply fighting every enemy they encounter. There is a great sense of freedom to the traversal that sets it apart from many action RPGs. Navigation also benefits from an excellent map system. Koo, Emma’s loyal canine companion, will frequently point out collectibles along the way and mark them on the map. This makes it easy to locate objectives and points of interest without diminishing the satisfaction of discovering hidden areas. That freedom occasionally comes at a cost. Beast of Reincarnation can be pretty rough around the edges, with the ambitious movement system exposing some noticeable bugs. Characters sometimes clip through scenery, while enemy reinforcements can occasionally spawn inside trees or other objects, leaving them unable to participate in combat. Traversal can occasionally feel a little janky as a result, but these moments are usually just brief distractions. In many ways, they feel like a worthwhile trade-off for just how liberating the experience can be. Tightening every aspect of the movement system may have resulted in a more polished game, but it also risks sacrificing the flexibility that makes simply moving through the world so enjoyable. The structure of the world has similar issues, though it improves considerably over time. The first region is a large, open environment that often feels repetitive, particularly as the same enemies begin to reappear. Later regions adopt a much tighter design philosophy, replacing sheer size with greater environmental variety and more memorable layouts. Abandoned buildings evoke comparisons to NieR: Automata, presenting haunting remnants of humanity long after civilization has disappeared. Exploration remains rewarding throughout thanks to hidden items, optional routes, and the ability to bypass certain encounters entirely by approaching objectives from different angles. Invisible walls occasionally restrict what appears to be a viable path, making the world’s openness feel slightly inconsistent, but Beast of Reincarnation steadily becomes more impressive as each new region introduces more creative environments than the last. [caption id="attachment_197800" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Emma is never short on enemies.[/caption] Combat is an interesting blend of deliberate action and RPG customization. Defensive play is heavily encouraged, with successful parries creating opportunities to counterattack while rewarding careful timing over reckless aggression. Emma's moveset remains satisfying throughout the adventure, but much of combat's personality comes from Koo. Well-timed parries allow Koo to unleash a variety of special abilities, and the game briefly slows time while players choose which skill to activate. The system introduces a welcome layer of tactical decision-making without interrupting the flow of battle for long, creating encounters that often feel like a blend of Sekiro's emphasis on timing and a more traditional action RPG. Elite enemies also provide some of the game's most exciting battles. Unfortunately, regular enemy encounters never evolve at the same pace. While the battle system itself is great, the standard enemy roster begins repeating itself surprisingly early, making many overworld battles feel overly familiar by the latter half of the game. Larger encounters can also become somewhat chaotic when multiple enemies surround Emma, occasionally tanking the frame rate and making it difficult to react accordingly. These issues do not undermine the combat system itself, but they do lessen the appeal of the semi-open world, where repeated encounters gradually lose much of their excitement. That said, Beast of Reincarnation continues introducing more creative bosses and skills as the adventure progresses, ensuring the overall experience steadily improves even as regular encounters become repetitive. While the story is rather formulaic, Beast of Reincarnation still creates a memorable world. In a sense, it feels like the developers saved their best ideas for the latter half of the game, with each region introducing more creative environments and stronger ideas than the one before it. The downside is that it takes time to reach that point, and the earlier areas feel underwhelming in comparison. By then, however, the world itself does most of the storytelling, with documents and collectibles scattered throughout each region further enriching its lore and encouraging players to piece together what happened long before Emma's journey began. [caption id="attachment_197801" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Light at the end of the forest.[/caption] Beast of Reincarnation's visuals are mostly carried by the game's art direction, with character models and environmental details lacking the polish found in many recent high-profile games. The game’s graphics often feel like they belong to an earlier generation, with character models and environmental details lacking the polish found in many modern games. However, its distinct atmosphere helps overcome those limitations. The contrast between decaying ruins, overgrown landscapes, and the remnants of human civilization creates a world that remains visually interesting even when the underlying assets are rather unimpressive. The art style does much of the heavy lifting, transforming a technically lacking presentation into one that still has its own charm. The soundtrack complements that atmosphere well. The music is consistently enjoyable and enhances exploration and combat alike. That said, there is not enough variety across the adventure, with each region relying heavily on a single overarching theme that repeats throughout extended periods of exploration. The music itself remains pleasant throughout, but repeated loops gradually diminish its impact. A broader selection of environmental tracks would have helped each region develop a stronger musical identity. Beast of Reincarnation rewards patience. RPGamers who venture further will find an adventure that becomes increasingly engaging, thanks to excellent traversal, satisfying combat, and a memorable companion in Koo. Although the story is underwhelming and technical issues can disrupt the experience, its focus on exploration and movement remains its greatest strength. Its combination of atmosphere and discovery, even at the expense of a little jank, ultimately gives Beast of Reincarnation a distinct experience that more polished games lack. There is plenty of room for refinement, but Game Freak has nevertheless delivered a solid action RPG. Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher. The post Beast of Reincarnation Review appeared first on RPGamer.

Once Upon a Time Does anyone remember the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books that were so popular in the 1980s? Tabletop gamers in Japan do, and they developed their own twist to the formula. For four decades and counting, there has been a niche in the hobby gaming market for game books, a variation on the choose-your-own formula that incorporates elements from popular Japanese tabletop RPGs such as Sword World. The reader-player must keep track of stats and items on a sheet, as well as roll dice on occasion to battle monsters or to determine which page is to be next in the adventure. While they have never been much more than a niche in the market, it is apparent they have a long hold on the hearts of developers in Japan, whether for tabletop or computer. This is how we get a game like Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle, in which a former Vanillaware developer shares his love for the genre, including making it available to a new audience in the West. The game functions as a story within a story, as its framing device sets the reader-player in a wizard's magical library, reading a book about the adventures of someone long ago and far away, and yet still quite immediate in the consequences of the reader's choices. From time to time, the wizard will even raise the stakes by providing a coin to flip, playing one half of a dice-rolling chase scene, or setting a magical pocket watch to tick down the seconds and encourage swift choices of page-turning. From the start, the reader has a choice of narratives to follow: the brave warrior Havelock or the mystic novitiate Paneri. Each has their reason to travel to the city of Erishing, which has of late fallen under dire influences. Golems block the city gates and formerly living residents roam the streets beyond the walls of the last safe zone. The castle itself is in the hands of the Witch Ingeborg, whose designs are unknown but unlikely to be of any good to the rest of the world. Havelock and Paneri cross paths regularly, but the nature of the narrative choices means they are separated often as they pursue their goals.   [foogallery id="190155"]   One thing that is immediately evident is that Veritas Tales has all the tropes inherent to Japanese Westernized fantasy fiction while playing nothing like any sort of JRPG one might ever have experienced. Beyond the simple act of page-turning, the action is tied to the narrative so strongly that it is easy for the reader to be snagged by the ill fortune of a poor choice. Valuable equipment may be lost to a plot point and then never recovered; this plays against the inherent use-limits of all attack and defense items and incentivizes the reader-player to use everything at their disposal without hesitation. It also encourages replays, forward thinking, and meta-planning, as there are times where not having the right item immediately on hand locks the reader out of specific choices. A click of the bookmark allows the reader to save a location, in addition to the game's auto-save, and if the reader's choices lead the hero or heroine to the fateful Page 14 (You Are Dead), then the option is given to turn a few pages back to where the current predicament began. A first read-through of the game book takes around ten hours or so, depending on the vagaries of the dice rolls and how often the reader feels like going back to previous bookmarks to avoid mistakes. A second read-through with the other protagonist, however, both speeds things up and is influenced by choices and actions in the first. As a primarily literary form of game endeavor, text localization is an essential matter. And in general, the narrative elements read fairly well. There are no obvious grammatical issues of the sort arising from a bad Japanese-to-English translation, and in general the text feels around the level one might expect of a choose-your-own adventure. On the other hand, the text has issues with punctuation. There's emphatic quote-marking that makes more sense in Japanese, whereas in English it looks like misapplied shock quotes. There's also a kerning issue where the starting quote mark, for whatever reason it is used, has a full space coming after. It's a notable stain on what is otherwise perfectly readable and enjoyable text.   [caption id="attachment_198041" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The most-viewed page in the game.[/caption] On the plus side, it does a good job with hyper-text, allowing the reader to quickly double-check the identities of people or places named in text. However, it isn't used where it's needed most, which is the explanation of the game's combat resolution and damage calculation. This tutorial text is repeated every single time the attack choice page appears on screen (roughly ten to fifteen times per combat) and swiftly becomes grating. The game has a nice, soothing background soundtrack, perfect for reading along with the adventure. There is voice acting, but it's all in Japanese. The Library Wizard even acknowledges that the reader is a foreign visitor who speaks a different language, but that the magic of the library accounts for this. Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle is an experience that needs to be read through multiple times to catch all the possibilities, nuance, and meta-knowledge to make the best of the narrative choices. Dice rolls will still make outcomes uncertain, but that's what makes it a game. As an avid fan of the written word, it was an enjoyable experience for me, but it does require a different mindset from the usual JRPG grind.   Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher. The post Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle Review appeared first on RPGamer.

At Anime Expo 2026, representatives from CyberConnect2 were present, showcasing early information about .hack//Z.E.R.O. RPGamer was able to spend time with the Vice President of CyberConnect2, Taichiro Miyazaki, and ask questions about the game, its development, and the .hack series as a whole. Mr. Miyazaki's answers were given in Japanese and communicated through a translator. .hack//Z.E.R.O. is still early in development, with neither a release date nor platforms announced. The game is not related to the .hack//ZERO novel written by Michiko Yokote. .hack is a multimedia franchise that began in 2002 with a four-part PlayStation 2 video game series — comprising .hack//INFECTION, .hack//MUTATION, .hack//OUTBREAK, and .hack//QUARANTINE — and the prequel anime .hack//SIGN. Another video game trilogy, .hack//G.U., began in 2006 and was remastered in 2017 as .hack//G.U. Last Recode, and had its own prequel anime series titled .hack//Roots. It has also received additional animations, spin-off games, novels, and manga. --- Jordan McClain (RPGamer): It has been many years since fans saw a brand-new, major .hack project. What did it mean to you and the team at CyberConnect2 to finally return to this universe with .hack//Z.E.R.O.? Taichiro Miyazaki: When it comes to this new .hack title, this has been a long time coming. Not sort of in terms of development itself, but there has always been this in-house… if we could make a new one, we would do it like this sort of atmosphere. And with our coming 30th anniversary, it just felt like something right to do. RPGamer: What aspects of the original .hack games did you feel were essential to preserve, and where did you feel that the franchise needed to evolve? And then, to be clear, will newcomers require any foreknowledge of previous .hack games? TM: When it comes to the nitty-gritty, actually, .hack//Z.E.R.O. is going to be entirely self-published, as you are probably aware. This was with the permission and the blessing of Bandai Namco Entertainment, who, of course, holds the majority of the rights. So, in that sense, it's going to be a completely new game, but retaining that .hack feel that old players have gotten to know. However, in no way is a new user going to play this and be bombarded with things that are going to confuse them. RPGamer: What has been the guiding principle behind .hack//Z.E.R.O.’s development? TM: There's sort of a two-part answer to that. When it comes to the series itself, as we spoke before, it's important for us to sort of maintain what makes .hack, .hack in this new work, and yet, at the same time, avoid being held back by too much by the old portions of the franchise. As a game development company, as a whole, whenever we develop something, it is always with the goal of moving the users, making them feel something. Sort of allowing them to emphasize or place themselves into the position of the protagonist, and sort of really feel that. To have something that resonates and the game leaves within them. In a simpler sense, it is something like, if you had a bad day and you played this game, then you'll forget about that bad day. RPGamer: Regarding that, what are you most hoping that players will come away with in terms of emotions or feelings? In other words, what intended emotions do you want to convey, or what do you want players to experience when they play .hack//Z.E.R.O.? TM: Unfortunately, this talk is going to have to wait for a little bit farther in the future as more developments will be released to the public. But for now, I think a good way to answer this question, as we spoke earlier, we will be keeping true to the previous works in .hack and sort of retaining the major themes of camaraderie and faith. RPGamer: Can you tell me a little bit more about the “Z.E.R.O.” in the title? What does that aspect of the title represent about the game? TM: That is also something we cannot talk about right now. Sorry. RPGamer: The original .hack franchise explored ideas about the meaning of relationships formed in virtual spaces, long before those became mainstream topics; the internet was much younger. As you approach .hack//Z.E.R.O., how have your thoughts on digital relationships evolved, and what themes do you feel are the most relevant to explore today, with the world being so different in that regard? Steven Chen (translator): Are you talking about IMOQ [Ed. Note: acronym for the original .hack tetralogy: Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine] specifically, or including G.U.? RPGamer: Including G.U., but the original four titles. TM: As it stands currently, with the IMOQ series in particular, a player who is completely new from this current generation of information is going to see the relationships in .hack significantly differently from how a player of that era is going to see it. And this ties into sort of how we create games. Before we start the actual development of the game, the specific background, the world itself, the settings, every tiny bit is sort of set before development starts. And this is done so that the game world doesn’t feel fake. However, at this current state, we can’t talk about specifics of the game’s development. RPGamer: So many games are integrated into live services, streaming, social media, and the internet broadly. If you can speak to that, how has the real-world development of technology, especially things like artificial intelligence, influenced the conception or vision of “The World” in the game at all? TM: As far as the game's specifics and backgrounds of the game world itself go, there's still a lot of portions that are undecided. However, when it comes specifically to something as large as AI, it's difficult to imagine it will be omitted in the story. So, to some extent, you can expect that AI will be an important part of the .hack//Z.E.R.O. story. RPGamer: With CyberConnect2 having sole creative control over .hack//Z.E.R.O. and Bandai Namco's blessing, what opportunities does that give the team that maybe weren't available before? Or does that open new doors for development? TM: The project itself is still in early stages. However, during the period when we were working with Bandai Namco Entertainment, we have always had this very positive relationship. But then, when we were able to freely discuss — there was never this sort of like hard yes or no — we were able to discuss what we wanted to do and what we were able to do. At this current moment in time, we don't feel anything particularly that we were able to do that we were not able to do with them. Yeah. We had a great relationship with Bandai Namco Entertainment and we never felt like we had a lesser degree of freedom with them than we currently do have now. RPGamer: Have there been any changes in the gameplay compared to previous titles? And can you speak to — I realize it's still early in development — what the design philosophy behind the combat is? TM: Well, it has been roughly ten years since the last .hack game. So, the gameplay itself, the battle is going to be more modernized. RPGamer: Modernized in what particular aspects, if that’s something you'd be willing to talk a little bit more about? Are there any influences in the RPG landscape as to how you approach the design of the battle system? TM: As far as the particular changes in the gameplay, or particular RPGs — action RPGs that we want to pull from — there are no particulars. However, the reality is in the last ten to twenty years, game design has obviously changed greatly. Things have gotten a lot more user-friendly. Tutorials are much easier to understand. The dreaded grinding stage of the JRPG is, of course, something we also want to sort of reduce and get rid of in our own games. Ultimately, what we are trying to create is an action RPG that retains the essence of a CyberConnect2 game, which means this has to be a game that only CyberConnect2 could create, and that is our goal. So, a certain idea of what this change is going to look like. To be very, very specific, we are not going to reference this game. This is not going to be a direct inspiration. But the Persona series changes greatly from Persona 1 and 2 to Persona 3 and 4. And that is sort of what we're imagining for .hack//Z.E.R.O. We have the older games; we have the newer games. It's going to be a big change. We're not specifically going to reference anything, but it is going to be a big, positive change. RPGamer: What are you most excited for fans to experience in .hack//Z.E.R.O.? TM: In general, "The World" of .hack//Z.E.R.O. is something we really want our fans to look forward to enjoying — being able to immerse and lose themselves in that world. RPGamer: Is there anything that you want our readers to know about .hack//Z.E.R.O., or anything that you want to convey about the game or its development – anything at all? TM: It has been ten years since our last title. And with .hack//Z.E.R.O. coming up, I'm sure we're going to have a lot of new faces and new people who have not come in contact with the franchise before. We hope that they understand that our goal, at our heart, has always been to create games that emotionally move the players. And not just that — .hack//Z.E.R.O. something that we plan to be moving — but also, that this is just the start of a project that we plan to continue to share news as soon as we’re able to. But we also have been entrusted with IPs like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Dragon Ball Z, and Naruto. There are a lot of things to get excited about, especially for us. And for us, particularly, it's also really important to connect with our North American fans. And we hope they will continue to sort of support and look after us and chase after our news as it pops up. So, just to close things up. We are going to create a Japanese action RPG — the sort of Japanese action RPG that only we at CyberConnect2 could create — and we hope our fans will look forward to and enjoy that. --- RPGamer would like to thank CyberConnect2 and Taichiro Miyazaki for taking the time to answer our questions, as well as Steven Chen for coordinating the interview and translating. .hack//Z.E.R.O. is still in development, with a release date and platforms yet to be announced. The post .hack//Z.E.R.O. Interview appeared first on RPGamer.

At Anime Expo 2026, Arc System Works was on hand to showcase the upcoming SRPG Demons' Night Fever. RPGamer sat down to interview the game's producer, Sohei Niikawa, about the game’s unusual flip on SRPG conventions, its story, characters, and art style. Mr. Niikawa’s answers were given in Japanese and communicated through a translator. Demons' Night Fever is set to release later this year for PC (via Steam), PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. --- Jordan McClain (RPGamer): You helped define modern SRPGs with Disgaea, which is built around growth, optimization, and unit investment. With Demons’ Night Fever, it feels like the gameplay inverts that, where loss and sacrifice become core to progression. What inspired you to flip those SRPG conventions like that? Sohei Niikawa: One part of that is that since now I have this opportunity to work independently, I wanted to create something that was quite different from the Disgaea series. RPGamer: Does being able to work independently give you an opportunity that maybe you didn't have before? SN: I'd say because of that independence, I have a lot of freedom with how I will invest my own time, so I'd say that the environment I have right now is really ideal for the creation process. RPGamer: The game borrows a lot from roguelikes, where repeated deaths lead to becoming more powerful. When translating that into a grid-based combat system, what was the biggest challenge in making it feel natural within tactical combat? SN: I think it actually fits quite naturally with those two elements, because the idea for the more minute, in-battle level of gameplay is that the more you kill your allies, the stronger they become. I feel like that actually melds really well with the roguelike elements of the game, like, as you get game overs, you become stronger over time. I think that those actually harmonize quite well together. RPGamer: Can you talk a little bit more about the progression system as it relates to stats? Something I noticed during the demo that I played on the floor was that Killshiro didn't do much damage early on with his attacks; I think he actually did zero. So, is that something he's able to build through Misdeeds and other means? SN: Yeah, it is possible to make him stronger, as well. But it's a more efficient way to play to continue killing your servants or Peons and killing enemies using them instead. RPGamer: The Peon Exploitation System rewards players for deliberately killing their own units during battle. Mechanically speaking, how do you incentivize players to engage with this instead of relying on more traditional habits like unit preservation, caution, or too much deliberation? SN: I felt that just from the game mechanics, it would be quite challenging to make it so that you would start naturally wanting to use those kind of killing your allies and mechanics. I think because it's very natural for players, not only in SRPGs, that you want to kind of protect and defend your allies. So, we added two elements. One is that all of your Peons, they’re criminals themselves. Like, they've all done bad things themselves. And the second is that, in battle, they don't listen to your commands. They just kind of do what they want in battle, as well. These two elements provide reason enough for it to feel okay for the player to kill them. RPGamer: [laughs] Yeah, no, that's totally fair. I get that. Were there any challenges in designing the combat system, and were there any mechanics you wanted to implement that didn’t work out? SN: The biggest challenge when creating the battle mechanics was to try to find how to make it fun for the player when the Peons don't listen to their commands. And that’s something that I don’t think any other game really has mechanics like that, so we didn’t have any reference to build upon. We had to try to do trial-and-error ourselves to figure that out. RPGamer: How did you approach balancing attacking enemy units – as Killshiro or making offensive decisions – and then sacrificing your own units? SN: Well, during development, in some versions, we did have some versions where you were kind of able to make Killshiro quite strong and fight with just him. But we found that in that approach, that you couldn’t really feel any unique characteristics to the game. It kind of felt similar to other games, so we adjusted it to make Killshiro extremely weak so you have to rely on these "killing your Peons" kind of game mechanics. And we felt that that made it more interesting and let more of the personality of the game shine through. RPGamer: What was the inspiration behind the game's plot and world? SN: I didn't have any particular source of inspiration, but I did start with a concept which was to enjoy doing evil. So, I thought of like, what is a story that would naturally kind of lead the player into wanting to kind of enjoy doing or indulging in these evil deeds? So, for sake, I came up with the evil deity character who has this grudge against God and he wants to get revenge on God, so his goal is to be risked to have his power restored. And then I made Killshiro a character who, he works at this unethical third-rate game company where he’s forced to stay up working all night, and he has this, like… he just wants to see the whole world burn. To me, I value the concept of the game above all else. I see it in a way of kind of collecting these different elements — the story, the characters, the game mechanics — so that they all kind of fit and harmonize together to create and realize that concept. RPGamer: Were any of the characters more fun or more difficult to write than others? SN: So, all three of these three main characters, all three of them were really fun for me to write. And God is also kind of a… you don't really like the guy, but it was really fun to write him. There aren't too many characters in the game, so there weren't any really that I struggled with writing in this one. RPGamer: And then, do you have a favorite character? SN: The cat. RPGamer: Demons' Night Fever has a really vibrant, colorful, and distinct art style. What inspired that art style, and were there any particular details of it that were important to convey? SN: So, when considering the concept of this game, I wanted to find the illustrator who I felt was the best fit for this concept. The illustrator I wanted to work with is the illustrator from Etrian Odyssey, Yuji Himukai, and so he was the choice for the most fitting illustrator for the art style we were looking for. And it was really important for me. One thing I valued with the artwork is that I wanted not only the ally-side characters, but also for the characters who appear as your enemies, I wanted them to be really appealing and interesting characters as well. If you think of my representative work, the Disgaea series, there’s a lot of characters who appear in the Disgaea series — including both the ally and the enemy characters, monsters included — and within that, there are so many that I would say that there are some within there that I don't particularly have really strong feelings about. I worked really closely on the designs with the designers for this game, to ensure that with Demons’ Night Fever, that there are no characters that I don't particularly love or don't really feel strongly about. If they presented the design to me and I was kind of iffy on it, I would push back. I'd be like, “No, I don't like that one, do it more like this.” So, we kind of worked through process to ensure that I loved all of them. RPGamer: What are you hoping that players experience while playing Demons' Night Fever? SN: One thing I'd like players to feel is — and I do believe that this is true — that the play feel of the game is completely different from Disgaea. I feel like with this game, I set out to create truly one-of-a-kind, so I hope that when the players are playing it, that they’re thinking, “I've never played anything like this before.” I hope that they’ll feel that way. RPGamer: Yeah, I will say, I've never played anything like it. Having played the demo, I was a little bit thrown for a loop. [laughs] SN: I'm really happy to hear that. And with that in mind, if you're able to think, “Oh wow, this game's really fun,” then that would be the happiest for me. RPGamer: Is there anything else you want our readers to know about Demons' Night Fever? Or do you have any other final thoughts? SN: It's kind of repeating myself, but I just wanted to share with everyone that this is a completely different game from Disgaea. And I think I was able to create a game that will be a completely new play feel, something that you've never experienced before. And I think some elements of it will surprise you, and maybe some of them will kind of confuse you. But within that, I do strongly feel that there is a kind of fun that can only be experienced through this game, so I hope that you'll enjoy this kind of unique, one-of-a-kind experience. And since we are creating something new, even for ourselves, we don't really have this kind of confident sense of whether or not what we're creating is perfect, in a sense, so I do expect that from the players, we'll hear a lot of things like feedback, and I wish that this was kind of more like this, I wish it was this way. And I'd like to hear all of the requests and feedback from the players and create an even better sequel. And, in order to create a sequel, I need the game to sell well, so please buy the game. I hope you'll find something to love about this game and then spread the word to the people around you. I'd be the happiest if I'm able to work with the fans to create a series out of Demons’ Night Fever. --- RPGamer would like to thank Sohei Niikawa for taking the time to answer our questions, Steve Willis at DKC and Lany Chantharak at Arc System Works for helping coordinate the interview, and Amber Seitz for her excellent translation. Demons' Night Fever is set to release later this year for PC (via Steam), PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. The post Demons’ Night Fever Interview appeared first on RPGamer.

Arc Games and Snapshot Games's Frosthaven is a fantasy tactical RPG based on the board game of the same name. After spending a year in Early Access, the game is approaching its full release on PC this October. RPGamer was given the opportunity to put some questions to Game Director Hristo Petkov about the Early Access process and how it has impacted the game. --- Alex Fuller (RPGamer): What made you elect to go down the Early Access route, and how happy are you with the experience? Hristo Petkov (Frosthaven Game Director): Initially we were considering not going with Early Access, since this is a second game in the haven universe (Gloomhaven digital being the first) and normally sequels are not using Early Access. With that said, we decided that such game really needs its community to be the best version of itself. We have three main types of gamers that we would like to capture: fans of the boardgame, people that have played Gloomhaven digital, and also people that are fans of tactical games. For us, capturing the first group (the board game fans) was a must and we wanted the players' opinion to help us shape the game. Overall, we are really happy with our decision and the process. Alex: How do you feel the Early Access process has benefitted the final game? Hristo: The community is very vocal about the issues they are having and it really helped find the right balance of how to interpret the board game in the digital space. Frosthaven being more complex than Gloomhaven was a huge challenge on how to not overwhelm the players or interrupt the gameplay with constant decisions. We needed to work with the community to find the right balance between information and control that we give to the players and fluidity of gameplay. This process is still ongoing moving towards 1.0.   Alex: How closely have you worked with the community throughout the Early Access process? How helpful were they for identifying areas of improvement? Hristo: The community was nothing but helpful to us. The players are very understanding and we have great conversation on how to improve the game. Alex: What are some of the main pillars that you have looked to adhere to throughout through the game's development? Hristo: Everything in the box is in the game was one of our first principles -- no splitting of the game into DLCs. Faithful adaptation with a fresh look of the world visually was our second. We added a lot of small things to make the characters and the environment feel more alive; we did not want to copy the board game feeling, but to actually feel like a digital RPG. Alex: Are there points where you have ended up taking something in a different direction than you might have originally intended? Hristo: Mostly on the UI front, we have changed a lot of concepts and designs based on the player feedback and this process is still ongoing. I am happy with the changes based on the community feedback -- I prefer us to be flexible and not stubborn when it comes to what the players want. With that said, we try to understand the reasoning and if there is a better solution than what the players suggest, we open a conversation. Alex: Were there any elements where you looked to diverge from the board game, or consequently any elements where you ended up tying back closer to it? Hristo: For the most part 95% of the game is exactly as the board game when it comes to balance and mechanics, but there are several exceptions. One was the trials system from the board game, which was centered around player interactions in real life. It was cut from the digital version, but we are exploring a way to bring it back in a different form. Another one was the puzzle book, where we kept the requirements but we completely changed its purpose; in the board game it was supposed to be a mystery you need to solve, and in our case it is a guiding system for the game's ending. In the board game version of the puzzle book, it was gatekeeping progress of the players and it was not immediately obvious how to finish the game; that being a good thing for a board game is actually not very good for a digital game that already has very deep mechanics and interactions. Alex: Are there any extra challenges you've found from going through the Early Access process? Hristo: We have not found anything new because we already knew that the main problem with Early Access, especially in our case, is that we are treating it as a live game and not really a beta. We decided that we will not break saves for the players and will keep the game stable during the whole of Early Access. That caused a production pipeline nightmare of our doing because we needed to work both on the next update and on the live game at the same time. Alex: Are there any areas that surprised you with how the community responded to them? Hristo: I wouldn't say there was anything very surprising, but anecdotally something that I have not realized before we started Early Access is that players playing the board game often play it "wrong" and come to blame us that the digital version is wrong. That is normally resolved very quickly when the community explains that the game works as intended, but it is an often thing that happens. That made me think that we should focus more on play-it-your-way options for the game. Alex: You managed to keep a consistent three-month major update cadence for the Early Access process. How easy was it to follow? Hristo: Since we are delaying the 1.0 to October from the original date of July, I don’t think we fully managed to do it. But with that said, it was not easy, especially for our QA team who did an amazing job despite the game being so complex and interconnected. I want to thank the whole team for making it possible, and I want to mention with almost no overtime. Alex: Do you have any final messages for players, new or current? Hristo: Me and the team love working on this game with you. Keep helping us make it the best possible version of Frosthaven. If there is anything that bothers you being UI, difficulty, graphics, or even bugs we are easy to reach so talk to us so we can make it work. --- RPGamer would like to extend our deepest thanks to Hristo Petkov for taking the time to answer our questions, as well as to Tyler Gardner and Sandbox Strategies for setting up the interview. Frosthaven is available now in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store ahead of its full release for PC on October 15, 2026. The post Frosthaven Interview appeared first on RPGamer.

One of the great things about RPGs is how they enable players to immerse themselves and explore brand new settings and locations. There is a huge variety of worlds for players to find themselves in, be it versions of real-world locations or truly bizarre and physically-impossible creations from the developers' minds. We invited the RPGamer staff to pick out some of their favourite settings from across the RPG universe and share what drew them into the world or made them particularly memorable. It should be noted that as revelations regarding the setting may be key for what makes them memorable, there may be some spoilers in the particular write-ups, though we have endeavoured to minimise them where possible. As the hopefully makes clear, this is the second part of our two-part feature, with the first half available in part one. As always, we also invite our readers to share your favourite settings in the comments or on social media! --- Mass Effect -- The Milky Way Rather than restricting itself to a single planet, BioWare's Mass Effect gives us a full galaxy to play around in. Set at the end of the 22nd century, it sees humanity taking its relatively new place among the interstellar community after it uncovers the mass relays that link star systems and permit faster-than-light travel. Its version of the Milky Way features some interesting approaches to physics that run a bit of a gamut from hard to soft sci-fi through the use of Element Zero and its ability to empower both the eponymous mass effect fields that much of the technology runs on and telekinetic Biotic powers, but it all comes together nicely to produce a coherent galaxy. One could argue that there's not a whole lot new around the worlds themselves, often falling into the usual selection of sci-fi biomes and usually. However, what makes the Mass Effect version of the galaxy so compelling is all of the different species populating it and the different stories and conflicts they generate. This stories play big roles in the overall plot lines and the individual quest lines and character stories for Shepard's allies, of particular note being the conflict between the Quarians and their robotic Geth creations, and the usage of the Genophage on the warlike Krogan. While the grand scale of the series' story and setting is definitely a major draw, it's some of the smaller parts of the setting that really come to the fore to make the whole Mass Effect experience what it is. The Citadel and the Normandy in particular are fantastic mainstays that become a home-away-from-home for players, while the diverse set of crew that players will pick along the way really helps to build up the series's setting and cultivate its passionate fanbase. -- Alex Fuller --- Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator -- Septerra Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator is a game that is upfront about its world. The name Septerra is formed from the Latin words for seven and earth (septim and terra), which represent the seven layers of floating islands called shell, forming tighter and tighter around a central core. All shells have unique identities that are separate from each other, yet are connected through travel and trade. The adventure starts on Shell 2, a Wild West-themed shell built around an economy of scrap collection from upper Shell 1. The largest city is Oasis, which is founded on being able to draw water from pipelines connected to a mysterious factory in the north of the map that sports an impressive foundry, while its other town, Galdon, is in a far less safe place, next to the worryingly-named Outlaw Canyon. Each of the locations also has a purpose for the story that is uncovered, with players often needing to revisit them. However, one can’t talk about Shell 2 without also talking about Shell 1. It is home to the mysterious Chosen, humans said to be derived from an ancient savior, Marduk. Holding the highest level of technology in the story, it is also the most mysterious shell, and its actions shape most of the major plot developments either directly or indirectly. This shell only has one town, the Chosen Capital, but it hides some of the game's largest locations. Shell 3 features a simpler agrarian society around Wind City and Southfarm. The former is named for the giant wind turbines north of the city and protected by an order of knights called the Holy Guard, while the latter is known for breeding Helgaks, a species of thick-plated flying creatures that can get to impressive sizes. Another sizable town called Armstrong can be found on the other side of a huge mountain ridge, but it is generally stable. Shell 4 is more chaotic despite having a singular location, the World Bazaar, which stretches throughout most of it. When entering it, players pick among various districts to visit, changing between them many times. In addition to the slums, which have a more sci-fi than fantasy feel, players will also find a bounty hunter district where mercenaries rule, a red light district, and a shipping district. Shell 5 is basically a warzone. Home to two nations in Ankara and Jinam, which can be considered the second-most powerful factions in Septerra Core, but are currently devoted to trying to defeat each other. While the Ankaran Capitol acts as the central location, players won't see much of it, and find their focus more drawn to the various side locations, such as the other main Ankaran town, Gregor. For reasons related to the story, players will only find one Jinam location on this shell: a crashed Jinam warship full of mechanical war machines. Moving onto Shell 6 presents an alternate type of frontier town to Shell 2, themed around being a pirate heaven. There are two towns in Pranno and Scumm Town; Scumm Town is a more sci-fi outlaw town, while Pranno is not too different to those from Shell 2. Going through this Shell, you realize that pirates run the show here, even having an island fortress in the middle of a lake, and what isn’t controlled by them is simply wilderness. Past this lies the wilderness of Shell 7, which tightly wraps around the core of the world of Septerra. The core not only acts as its center, but also as the controlling force keeping the Shells in place. Shell 7 is characterized by unbound mushroom growth, with certain areas being concentrated with spores so heavily that entering them is toxic to every human. If Shell 2 and 6 are the frontier to the wilderness, then Shell 7 is wilderness incarnate, with its human civilization amounting to just some mining efforts on the core itself by the nations of Shell 5. You will be able to find a village; however, it won’t be a human village for once, but one of the mysterious alien-like natives of Shell 7 called the Underlost. What makes the world of Septerra Core work isn’t just that it has many varied locations, but that you will gradually explore each of them as side locations further draw you deeper into each of the Shells. The game is also not scared to have world locations change fundamentally, unearthing dungeons that are initially not present, or having hidden locations revealed deep within previously visited places. Septerra Cores's world and story function quite similarly, both pulling layers away as you dive deeper and deeper into more and more important locations. -- Benedikt Geierhofer --- The Legend of Heroes -- Zemuria The continent of Zemuria. The land blessed by the Sky Goddess Aidios, where elementally-charged Septium veins criss-cross the land, granting the gift of magic to those who can extract and utilize the miraculous minerals. Here divine mysteries, technological advancement, and ruthless human ambition intersect to shake the very land to its core. For thirteen games thus far, Falcom’s Trails series has taken players through the ongoing story of the Zemurian continent. It’s a fascinating setting that I feel contributes a lot to the series’ pull, as so much effort goes into making it feel like a world truly full of history, and that said history continues to progress as the games play out. Zemuria is a continent defined by the nations within it, and the Trails series takes a piecemeal approach to exploring them, with a subseries of games focusing on a country. The series starts with Trails in the Sky, taking place in the southwestern Kingdom of Liberl, where peace reigns through a benevolent monarchy and rapid technological progress. The Trails from Zero/Trails to Azure duology brings the action to the more central autonomous city-state of Crossbell, with its geographical significance and vast wealth as a merchant city constantly putting it at threat of invasion by the two superpowers flanking it. The Cold Steel games shift west to one of said superpowers, the Erebonian Empire, where strife grows as the nation sees division from within. Most recently, the Trails through Daybreak and Trails Beyond the Horizon take players to Erebonia’s rival superpower just east of Crossbell, the Republic of Calvard, where the veneer of peaceful democracy hides subterfuge and dissent. With multiple games dedicated to exploring each of these nations, players learn a great deal about them. Their history, culture, and relations with the other nations of Zemuria are explored thoroughly. It leads to players getting very invested in these places and the characters in them. Crossbell in particular is a favorite of mine. You spend two games exploring a relatively small place, getting attached to the characters you meet, and learning Crossbell’s sad history as a small nation pushed around by greater powers. It’s hard not to connect with a setting when you spend so much time exploring it, and that’s a philosophy that holds true for every part of Zemuria the Trails series has let players explore. A host of other nations are also mentioned throughout the series, helping to make Zemuria feel more full as a world. Leman State, the seat of high-tech innovation. The Holy City of Arteria, where the near-universally-worshipped Septian Church congregates. North Ambria, a harsh, snow-covered country that was flung into disarray when a mysterious object appeared from nowhere and turned half the landscape into salt. These places have not yet been visited in-game, but characters from these and other countries are met throughout the games and their accounts of their homelands add more texture to Zemuria. There’s also a sense throughout the games that its history is continuing to be built upon as the games progress. When something major happens in one place, the news spreads and affects the entire continent. Trails from Zero lets players quickly find a book about “The Liberl Incident”, which details what the general public knows about the climax of Trails in the Sky SC. Characters in the know talk about the incident and its ramifications for coming events in Zemuria as a whole. Players quickly get the sense that the continent of Zemuria is a world in motion. Trails’ take on magic and technology is also quite striking and adds to the allure of its setting. Zemuria is effectively a fantasy world rushing quickly into the invention of modern and sci-fi technology. The minerals known collectively as Septium are infused with elemental magic, but for much of Zemurian history few knew how to utilize that power. The Orbal Revolution, occurring roughly 50 years before the events of Trails in the Sky, saw the invention of a type of technology that could channel refined Septium to various ends. This technology was given the blanket name Orbment, and quickly began to reshape Zemuria. Some flashy uses of Orbments lie in people using them to cast spells and the invention of airships, but most Orbal technology takes the form of modern technology, including lights, trains, cars, radios, and guns; the list goes on. This tends to push Zemuria towards a level of technology that seems more realistic than fantastical, which creates an interesting dynamic with the reminders that this is indeed a fantasy world crop up. Monsters, demons, and artifacts of unknown power are real in Zemuria and pose a very serious threat. It creates interesting friction as rapid advancement in technology and these truly magical elements collide, especially since the technology is built upon the scientific use of the magic of Septium. It creates a sense that, mundane as the technology can seem, Orbments are the culmination of humans attempting to grasp magical or even divine power. Between the rich history of its many nations, the sense of connection and progression between them, and the interesting interplay between magic and technology in the setting, Zemuria is a place that captured me and many others with fascination when playing the Trails series. It’s a place that engrosses players by having them spend multiple games getting to really know every single region and teasing with knowledge of places beyond. Personally, I can’t wait to see what part of Zemuria we’ll be visiting in the next game. -- Sven Ferguson --- World of Warcraft -- Azeroth World of Warcraft is built on the Rule of Cool -- if it’s cool then add it in -- and the end result is a wonderful mess. Azeroth is the kind of setting where you need to meet it halfway to get the most out of it. Sure, it’s silly at times, but that’s part of the fun too. Want to play as an orc? You can! Want to play as a zombie? You can! Want to play as a space goat? You can! The setting includes a cookie-cutter medieval-ish human kingdom, but Azeroth’s elves are visually distinct and come in multiple flavors. They both live in the same world, alongside a few extraterrestrial peoples, and no one treats that as strange. World of Warcraft is at its best when it plays with standard fantasy tropes. For example, their demons are alien invaders from another planet, and use spaceships to travel from planet to planet as they conquer them. Having played World of Warcraft for over ten years also means I’ve witnessed years pass by in Azeroth too. I’ve been present for major events and celebrations, and even watched characters grow older or grow up. When I started playing, Anduin Wrynn had no lines and used a generic child model. Now he’s old enough to not only have his own voice actor, but also has custom models in multiple cinematics. I’m so proud! It’s a fun relationship to have with a piece of media. Though my opinion of the game as a whole and of Blizzard has gone up and down over the years (mostly down in recent times, if I am honest), my love for the world endures. What keeps that love going is seeing what creative fans can do with Azeroth as a sandbox. Seeing what kinds of characters -- especially ones that aren’t generic heroes -- people come up with, and how they play with established lore, is inspiring. It’s a fun and wild mash of ideas, and I adore the things people can make with it. -- Kay Vandivert --- Xenoblade Chronicles -- The Bionis and the Mechonis The Xenoblade series is well known for its incredible settings, but the setting of the original Xenoblade Chronicles is perhaps the most memorable. The game is set on an unnamed oceanic world with two landmasses, the Bionis and the Mechonis. These two landmasses are in fact two ancient titans, who long ago were locked in battle and ended up in an apparent mutual defeat, rending them the basis of life on the planet as flora and fauna flourish on their massive bodies. However, despite the ending of the direct battle between them, the fight between the Bionis and the Mechonis continues. The prologue begins a few years before its main events, with a large battle between the human Homs and the hostile Mechon, seemingly ending in the favour of the Homs thanks to the powers of a mysterious sword called the Monado. We then cut to the true beginning of the game, where protagonist Shulk appears to be living a fairly idyllic life in Colony 6, at the base of the Bionis. That temporary peace is soon shattered, however, by a sudden invasion from the Mechon. This becomes the driving force for the plot, as the events of that invasion see Shulk taking up the Monado and setting out on a mission of revenge, accompanied by his friend Reyn, to defeat the Mechon danger once and for all. The location and world design plays a massive part in keeping players enraptured in the game. Players get to enjoy some stunning locales and views as they make the journey up the Bionis and eventually onto the Mechonis, visiting some spectacular and varied biomes along the way. Players stepping into Gaur Plains for the first time is one of the most noteworthy moments in the past couple of decades, and there are tons of other great places that will stick in memory for a long time, such as the fascinating glowing crystals of Valak Mountain and the floating islands of the Eryth Sea. The world itself also comes with some great mixture of races and characters, including the Nopon and High Entia, and players get to watch plenty of smaller moments that further build up the world as they see connections between its people evolve and flourish throughout the game, pleasingly building up the worldwide Affinity Chart that shows the relations between all named characters in the world. As one might expect from Monolith Soft, players get to learn many fascinating fundamental reveals about the setting. Without spoiling the particulars, players eventually uncover the full story about the creation of the world and the cause of the conflict between the Bionis and the Mechonis, which ultimately tie it into both Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, despite both being set in their own different and fascinating worlds. The nature of Xenoblade Chronicles 3's world in particular offers incredible callbacks that come about purely because of the outstanding design of Xenoblade Chronicles locations. Traversing the Bionis and the Mechonis is a treat from start to finish thanks to the incredible efforts and attention paid to its setting through the game's narrative and its visual and gameplay design. -- Alex Fuller --- 8-Bit Adventures -- The Computer's World When deciding upon a favourite place to explore, I typically enjoy a lot of variety, and yet in that same breath, there are many worlds in which there are one or two areas that I'd dread revisiting. Some mechanic, boss fight, or party restriction that just makes the entire memory of the setting tarnished in some way. When I was trying to think if there's a game world where I look back fondly on every space, the first title to come to mind is Critical Games's 8-Bit Adventures 2. There is something heartwarming about going through all the typical areas -- be it desert, ice, fire, forest, or sprawling kingdom -- seeing their inhabitants and recalling fond times in every single spot. On the surface, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is a world that embodies the nostalgia of earlier titles, feeling like the expansive worlds of early turn-based RPGs. But, the story of 8-Bit Adventures 2 takes some connections between the technological and mystical and finds a way for everything to feel organic. It's a setting that seamlessly blends robots, ancient civilizations, volcanoes, computer glitches, and medieval fantasy kingdoms, while managing that incredibly difficult balancing act of having every area feel impactful and exciting. There's a level of unknown that is built into the comfort of seeing all the recognizable areas that are typically found in a turn-based RPG, through the character designs, enemies, and plot purposes for visiting and revisiting each area that just build together in a way that encapsulates the feeling of adventure. This is a pixelated world that, due to its inhabitants and how they interact, makes every adventure, big and small, held within it feel immensely enjoyable. -- Ryan Costa --- Once again, we hope that you've enjoyed reading about our favourite RPG settings, and in case you missed it, make sure to catch up on the first part of the feature. As always, please share and let us know your favourites! The post Exploring New Worlds: RPGamer’s Favourite Settings, Part 2 appeared first on RPGamer.

For over fifty years, Yoshitaka Amano has entranced audiences with his ethereal illustrations, spanning a variety of mediums including anime, games, novels, and fine arts. Beginning his career in 1967 at Tatsunoko Productions, Amano worked on anime such as Speed Racer before moving into character design for titles like Gatchaman, Tekkaman, and Honeybee Hutch. After becoming independent in 1982, Amano continued working as a freelancer on projects such as Vampire Hunter D and the critically acclaimed Angel's Egg. RPGamers likely know Amano from his longstanding work on logo, character, and world designs in the Final Fantasy series. At Anime Expo 2026, Amano was on hand to showcase his latest work: a new animation project, ZAN, based on a series of illustrations that were later adapted into a 2013 visual novel. RPGamer sat down to talk with Amano-sensei and his team about ZAN, his current work, and what lies ahead for his career and art. The interview was conducted in Japanese with a translator. Also present were Mariko Suzuki, Amano's manager; Hiroaki Ikegami, a member of Yoshitaka Amano Inc.; and Michael Gombos, Senior Director of Licensed Publications at Dark Horse Comics.  --- Jordan McClain (RPGamer): I'd like to start with ZAN, which began as DEVA ZAN over a decade ago as a visual art project. What changed that made now the right moment to finally bring it into animation? Yoshitaka Amano: Actually, it wasn't like we ever really left. At the time, things with 3D and CG animation were just coming to full swing in terms of what we wanted to see with ZAN. And of course, it was a book that came out and things that I had been working on. But the people that we were working with kind of pulled out. There were some parties we were working with. It just... some things happened – it wasn't anything bad. But they pulled out. And then Mr. Ikegami got together a new team of folks to sort of reunite everything for a different take on it. And now 3D and CG are so ubiquitous that we actually wanted to take things full circle and kind of bring it around to the classic hand-drawn animation. So, in a way, what had been fresh ten, fifteen years ago would have been the CG or 3D stuff that is ubiquitous now, maybe overplayed. And so, we said, well, we have the team, we have the people, the players to build a team to do DEVA ZAN in a new way. What if we took it back to the classic Japanese animation style? And thus, imbued it with a new freshness that it wouldn’t have had if it were done CG or otherwise. RPGamer: To expand on that, is there something you think you get with hand-drawn animation that you don't get with CG? Yoshitaka Amano: It's really, what I see it as, or what is special about it, is I’m just getting back to my roots. I mean, as you know, I was part of Tatsunoko a long time ago, and I drew for them. So really, this is kind of being who I was in the first place. I’m getting back to real animation, where I started, and I’m bringing it full circle. RPGamer: During the long period between ZAN's release as a novel and now, has the original vision for ZAN evolved, or has it remained consistent over time? Yoshitaka Amano: Everything’s remaining the same, but the core concept of ZAN was, generally, for most things – animation included – you start with the story and say, here's the characters, here's the story, whatever, and then you draw the illustrations. And so, for me, ZAN started as sort of an amalgam of illustrations and from then, I drew the story out of it. So oftentimes for my work, I’ve been commissioned to create a world for something like Final Fantasy. But with the book with Dark Horse, that Dark Horse published, I didn't really have a story or anything like that, but I’m just going to start creating my own world and from that, we’ll draw a story. RPGamer: So much of your work is visually driven. With ZAN and its upcoming animation, how do you approach building the narrative as you expand those images in that sort of world into a full animation? Michael Gombos: It's kind of a little unorthodox, and I wasn't sure. So, Carl Horn, he's the editor. He was the editor of Evangelion, kind of a famous editor in the manga world. Originally, Amano-sensei and Suzuki-san sent all – we had the original illustrations for ZAN at Dark Horse – so they sent the actual original paintings. And they said, “here’s the paintings, and here’s about what we were thinking when we were drawing it.” And so, it was kind of a puzzle. It’s not like Mad Libs, but imagine you had four hundred different sentences, and there's forty different ways to arrange them and to make a story. And so, he sent the illustrations in order, and then Carl Horn was kind of the visual interpreter. And that story that is in the Dark Horse book is what has become ZAN now. But Amano-sensei didn’t write a story. The images didn’t come to Amano, and then Amano wrote the story. He did the images, which told a story, and then Carl Horn interpreted what the images were. We knew the characters’ names and whatnot, but he basically formulated the story from the ZAN images. Mariko Suzuki: And that was just for the visual novel. For the new animation that's happening, we do have a director attached to it who's going to refine it and make it a more palatable story for audiences that you could put into animation. Because the book is rather esoteric – I don’t know if you’ve read the book. RPGamer: I have not had the chance to read it. It's at a distant library, and I just couldn't get it before. But I'm familiar with the concept of it, I think. Mariko Suzuki: So, for the anime, there's a director attached who kind of refines things into something that works for animation. Because reading a book and watching animation are two different things. RPGamer: Completely different, right. So, the ZAN project boasts a lot of legendary veterans of the animation industry. How do you preserve your vision for ZAN while also working with such a large collaborative team? Hiroaki Ikegami: The most important thing was, he was able to keep his thing, and the most important element for actually getting all the creators on board was that they would respect Yoshitaka Amano's vision for what the story was. He didn't have to worry about anyone overshadowing or overpowering each other. The main qualification was: will they respect the work that's done and wanted to work with Amano-sensei? So they didn’t recruit, they kind of put their hands up. And then the people who would therefore respect his work were the ones that were brought into the project. Mariko Suzuki: So we're pretty sure that it'll be something great. [laughs] RPGamer: [laughs] Amazing, I love to hear that. Have any collaborators influenced ZAN in ways that surprised you creatively, or has it sort of stuck to the initial vision? Yoshitaka Amano: Right now, we’re at the stage where it is kind of a confluence of all these influences together and we’re working on it together. So, no one is really influencing anyone, per se. Everyone has a chance to speak up, and I’m not feeling influenced. They’re all respecting the work, and we’re all working together to create something. RPGamer: One of the things in the press release that really interested me was wanting to create alongside Amano-san. So, in that regard, what does that sort of collaborative process look like going from something like the Dark Horse visual novel into animation? Mariko Suzuki: Another thing to notice. When we’re working with the creators, there is, like, no… there is hard timeline for ZAN, but it’s really, really long. Like I said, it’s kind of esoteric. Basically, about one tenth of what’s the book is going to be in the animation. You don't have to adhere yourself to any specific timeline. You could have a creator working on something that’s happening in the past, or in the future in ZAN. And so, everyone was able to work together to interpret what was in the book and make it something, again, we didn't do the whole thing front to back. And there was no hard timeline. So, we say omnibus, but what we mean is it's kind of customizable where you can put in different stories into the thing. RPGamer: Beyond the visual design and the action, what emotional or philosophical themes are most important for you in ZAN? And what do you hope audiences feel when watching ZAN? Yoshitaka Amano: Just have fun with it, that’s all. I just want them to enjoy it. I mean, the first thing is, it has to be enjoyable or no one's going to get to the part where they think about the philosophical or emotional parts of it. So basically, that they enjoy it first and then the people will have a chance to, once they’ve enjoyed it, take what they want from it. RPGamer: And are there any intended philosophical themes in ZAN, or is it more left to the audience's interpretation? Mariko Suzuki: And you know, he's very into mythology. As you know, he used to work on the Greek mythology works, but there's all these different mythologies, like Olympus being a mythology, even Star Wars being a mythology. But he just kind of wanted to have mythology laid forth that he worked on. So, the idea of mythology has always interested him, and we’ve talked about it since way back, so to create his own mythology was a big deal. RPGamer: Yeah, I believe ZAN has Buddhist influences – or at least the Dark Horse novel did. Have there been any overarching, guiding influences with mythology behind ZAN, other than Buddhist philosophy? Yoshitaka Amano: You know, there's many religions, but there's probably just one truth. And for example, there were the twelve disciples, and that's kind of a maybe more Christian thing. But then in ZAN, there’s twelve, there's a team of twelve, so, it's not necessarily all based on Buddhism. It shares things across many religions, but I didn't expect it to be specifically about a religion. It's a truth that could be interpreted through various religions if you wanted to. But not strictly Buddhist, or anything like that. RPGamer: Having talked about ZAN as a creative work, I'm curious about the structure behind your work. The press release mentioned Yoshitaka Amano Inc., which was recently formed. That gives your work a formal structure. So what led to its establishment, and is there anything it makes possible that wasn’t possible before? Yoshitaka Amano: At the root of a lot of things, specifically Tezuka Pro or Tatsunoko Pro, was a person who wanted to create something. And then other people came in and were able to help make more things out of that. This is really the first time I’ve been able to do what I want to do. Because it started with a person, a production company based off of the vision and the creativity of a person, and then we were able to do things by adding more people into the mix and creating, basically establishing, a company to do what we want. This is the first time I have my own company. It’s just like there was a Tezuka Pro or Tatsunoko Pro, this is kind of Amano Pro, basically. That's the easiest way to think about it, I think. That is at the core of it, so now I can do what I want to do and bring in the people that I want to bring in to work on projects with me. And Miyazaki Hayao is another example of what I’m trying to do. Tezuka, Miyazaki, Tatsunoko, all of them at the beginning were just like this, so this is how I want to do it my way. RPGamer: With the announcement of AMANO, the exhibitions, and broader experiences, what is the intent behind how you want audiences to engage with your work in that regard? Yoshitaka Amano: It’s a one-stop shop for how I want people to feel. The way that I feel when I’m engaged or immersed in my art, I want to immerse people in my art so they can feel maybe how I feel when I’m creating or drawing it. So, they can go to the exhibit, walk around, immerse themselves in my art, and then have a coffee in the café that’s based on my thing, and just kind of feel fully immersed in whatever they’re doing, just like how I feel immersed when I’m creating it myself. RPGamer: Is there a plan for how wide the exhibitions will be? Hiroaki Ikegami: Basically, what we would like to do is kind of make it almost like a franchise, where if you wanted to have it in your country, you could then approach us and we franchise it and have it be selected or adapted for the taste of the country or however they wanted to do it. So, anywhere that could have it. There's no, like, we want to have it in 30 countries, or we want to have it in 30 cities, but wherever people like the idea is that they would franchise it and then people could take it anywhere and have it everywhere. RPGamer: Is there anything that Amano-sensei wants our readers to know about the future of ZAN, future projects, or anything at all? Yoshitaka Amano: I have a broad perspective and just do art, but if someone wanted to take something and interpret it their own way, like make a game out of it, they could make a game out of it. Or however they come up with, and the animation turns out. I want the readers to know that I’m excited to see how people take what I do and develop it into what they would like to see. The main thing for me is to just be original. I want to do my main thing that I do, and it’s not anyone else’s. It’s something that I’ve created, and it’s an original piece that isn’t something you’ve ever seen before – something totally fresh and new. --- RPGamer would like to extend our deepest thanks to Yoshitaka Amano for taking the time to answer our questions, as well as to Mariko Suzuki, Hiroaki Ikegami, and Michael Gombos. RPGamer would also like to thank Jon Baumgardner at JBranding for helping to coordinate and schedule this interview. RPGamers interested in learning more about ZAN can check out the official press release, visit ZAN's official website, or view ZAN's pilot film, which premiered at Anime Expo 2026. The post Yoshitaka Amano Interview appeared first on RPGamer.

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Welcome to the latest edition of RPGamer's round-up column, where we look back at some of the articles that we have posted over the intervening period. This article is designed to give reminders of some interesting content and stories that our readers might have missed.      --- Editorial Content * Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Switch 2 Review Final Fantasy VII Rebirth honors the legacy of a classic while building an identity of its own. Despite technical issues, particularly in handheld mode, Imani Jones reports that its story, combat, and world still make it one of the best RPGs on Switch 2. * Zero Parades: For Dead Spies Review Although much of the creative personnel is different, ZA/UM persists and has released new title Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. Alex Fuller finds that the narrative espionage RPG comes with some strong world-building and mysteries to uncover. * LumenTale: Memories of Trey Review A creature collector needs to do a lot to stand out and Beehive Studios’ LumenTale: Memories of Trey has plenty of positive qualities. However, Ryan Costa notes that it comes with notable flaws attached. * Swords of Legends Interview Aurogon Shanghai debuted its first gameplay video for its upcoming action RPG Swords of Legends. RPGamer was able to ask the development team some questions about the video and the game in general. * Petit Planet Stardrift Test Impression HoYoverse recently held a beta Stardrift test for Petit Planet, its entry into the cozy life sim genre. RPGamer’s Robert Albright was able to try out the test version and came away suitably impressed. * Full Steam Ahead #2 | FIVE: Champions of Canaan Michael Baker returns with a second entry documenting his Steam Deck-enabled journey through his Steam backlog. The latest effort looks at Biblical-themed action RPG FIVE: Champions of Canaan. * Taking Pride in RPGs, Part 1: Ladies Who Love Ladies, Gents Who Love Gents It’s another year, another June, and the world needs more Pride than ever before. This month, we’re waving the flag for "RPGaymer" and celebrating examples of queer representation in video games.   --- Major News * Final Fantasy VII Revelation Announced for Spring 2027 Square Enix announced the third and final part of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy. Final Fantasy VII Revelation will release on all platforms in spring of next year. * CONTROL Resonant Receives September Date * CONTROL Resonant Receives Further Trailer September is swiftly filling up, with Remedy Entertainment’s CONTROL Resonant joining the release line-up. The action RPG sequel to CONTROL will be available on PC, Mac, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. * Stranger Than Heaven Releasing in January Sega and Ryū ga Gotoku Studio revealed that Stranger Than Heaven will launch worldwide this coming January. The announcement also came with a surprise cast member reveal. * Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance Expansion Announced Capcom announced a large-scale expansion for Monster Hunter Wilds. Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance will take players to the skies when it releases next year. * Stellar Blade: Blood Rain Announced Shift Up announced a follow-up to 2024 action RPG Stellar Blade. Stellar Blade: Blood Rain continues the story after the events of the first game, following new protagonist Evie. * Guild Wars 3 Announced, First Beta Set for Fall 2027 ArenaNet announced a brand new MMORPG for its Guild Wars franchise. Guild Wars 3 takes place over a thousand years before the events of the original game.       * Archetype Entertainment Showcases Exodus Gameplay Archetype Entertainment provided a twenty-minute gameplay showcase for sci-fi RPG Exodus. The video provides details on various part of the game, including its story, combat, and choices. * Onimusha: Way of the Sword Releasing in September, Demo Available Capcom announced that Onimusha: Way of the Sword will launch this September. In addition, a free demo is now available for the action RPG. * Bancho the Chef Announced MINTROCKET announced Bancho the Chef, a prequel to Dave the Diver. As the title suggests, the game follows Bancho on his journey across Asia to become a culinary master. * Elden Ring Tarnished Edition Hitting Switch 2 in Late August Bandai Namco and FromSoftware revealed a Switch 2 release date for Elden Ring. The fantasy action RPG will arrive on the console in late August. * Star Wars Zero Company Releasing in August EA and Bit Reactor revealed that turn-based tactical title Star Wars Zero Company is releasing this August. The game will be available on PC and consoles, with pre-orders available now. * Fields of Mistria Fully Releasing in August NPC Studio revealed that Fields of Mistria is fully launching in August after two years in Early Access. The full release will include marriage and children, additional language options, and more.       Release News * No Rest for the Wicked Fully Launching on PC, PS5 in October * Viractal Coming to Switch, Switch 2 at End of September * Montabi Launching in August * Runescape: Dragonwilds Fully Releasing in September * Pokémon Champions Releasing on Mobile Later This Month * Citizen Sleeper Games Coming to Switch 2 * Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked Coming to Switch 2 This Month * Fable Reboot Delayed to February * Entropy Coming to Steam Early Access in August, Demo Available * Artis Impact Coming to Switch in September * Retro Soulslike Memoirium Launching in August * Duo Quest Releasing in September * Signy & Mino: Against All Gods Hitting Steam in July * MMORPG Aion 2 Releasing Internationally in September * Dive or Die: Children of Rain Releasing in July * Kernel Hearts Releasing in September * Silver Blade of Gods’ End Releasing on Steam in July * The Scroll of Taiwu Fully Releasing This Month with English Translation * Aniimo Releasing in Q3 2026, New Closed Beta Sign-Ups Begin * Lords of the Fallen II Releasing in Fall * Chronoscript: The Endless End Arriving in Fall * Action Roguelite HellHeart Breaker Releasing Next Year * The Hearth and Harbour Releasing Later This Year * Edenfall: Legacy of the First Wardens Releasing in Q4 2026 * Taste of Heaven Releasing Early Next Year * Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists Releasing in Fall * Science-Fantasy MMORPG Stars Reach Releasing in Early Access This Summer Other News * Road-Trip RPG Ithaca Announced, Undergoing Kickstarter Campaign * Gravastar Officially Announced * A Fighter’s Nova: Mindara Begins Kickstarter Campaign, Demo Available * Colossus: Eternal Blight Revealed, Undergoing Kickstarter Campaign * Ember and Blade Also Coming to Consoles * Zenless Zone Zero Version 3.0 Releasing This Month * Mirthwood Reveals Seafarers Update * Failbetter Games Discusses Mandrake Folklore Inspirations * Upcoming Crimson Desert Update Plans Revealed * Under the Island Physical Release Announced * Moonlight Peaks Demo Released * Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle Demo Available * Horror RPG Catechesis Receives Demo * Culdcept The First Demo Released * Prelude Dark Pain Demo Available * Mortal Shell II Open Beta Now Available * The Book of Prosperity Demo Released * The Dark West Gets Trailer, Demo Additional Media and New Releases * Swords of Legends Receives First Gameplay Trailer * Phantom Blade Zero Gets Teaser Trailer, Pushed to October * The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Receives Making of Video * The Blood of Dawnwalker Gets New Trailer * Threads of Time Receives New Trailer * No Straight Roads 2 Receives New Trailer, Screenshots * Petal Runner Receives New Trailer * Koshmar: The Last Reverie Gets Gameplay Trailer * Sea of Remnants CG Trailer Shows Some Crew * Hellcard II Trailer Shows Blackmail Manor * System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster Released on Switch 2 * New Release Round-Up (June 4, 2026) --- Podcasts * RPG Cast – Episode 815: “Geoff Keighley’s Nice Sneaks” Chris puts together a team of R2D2 to dominate the universe. Robert finally meets the cat girl; life is good. And Kelley reveals Red XIII’s favorite food — Lasagna! The post RPGamer Round-Up: May 31 – June 7 appeared first on RPGamer.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth honors the legacy of a classic while building an identity of its own. Despite technical issues, particularly in handheld mode, its story, combat, and world make it one of the...

Although much of the creative personnel is different, ZA/UM persists and has released new title Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. The narrative espionage RPG comes with some strong world-building and myst...