Alder Forge
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An Adaptive Turn-Based RPG, and an easy-to-use Combat System.
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A Story-Driven Adventure through the eyes of the 5 Members of your Party.
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A Cast of Characters with their own stories and a unique world, handcrafted and built for your enjoyment.
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An easy-to-use Camp Menu and Crafting System with equipment, party, and skills management.
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Special Skills for each Player Class, unlocked either by solving mysteries, finding new Anima Stones, or just Leveling Up.
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Plant harvesting and Alchemy Craft made simple to help you easily acquire usability drinks during or out of battle.
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Fight, Explore and Walk the path of heroes in the world of the Alder Forge.
The Alder Forge story is set in the western part of the Ertheryan Continent, the game will take you during its 4 chapters to the Duchy of Elysia, the Kingdom of Royne, the Mighty Kingdom of Orvys, and the Atlas Court (The seat of your employer). In your adventures you are going to face a dark plot that will try to engulf the continent and break the two centuries lasting peace, meanwhile, you will discover that nothing is ever simpler than that while facing the complexity of human behavior and the lines that draw good and evil in each character you encounter throughout your journey, secret organizations, political entities, and other groups, each has their agendas and plots, meanwhile, the 5 protagonists will be in the center of those events.
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Adriel: Party Leader, known by his intelligence, pragmatism, and powers, Age:21
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Mirabelle: Anima Caster, funny with a massive appetite, but serious when things get heated, Age:13
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Cassandra: Heavy Arms, and the strongest defense of the team, Age:21
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Leo: Archer and a disciple of the legendary Dead Eye, fun and quick to spot threats, Age:22
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Fiona: An Elysian Knight, serious and unforgiving, she’s equal if not stronger than Adriel, Age:21
The Alder Forge environment was carefully designed to convey the world you will engage and invest your time in, but it is also full of enigma, hidden secrets, and backstories, each element placed, sculpted, and handcrafted is there for a reason, The Fate of Ertherya is now in Your Hands.
Read More: Best Turn-Based JRPG Games.
8-Bit Adventures 2
A Retro RPG That’s More Than a Throwback!
8-Bit Adventures 2 is everything you love about NES, SNES and PS1-era JRPGs - with all of the charm, heart and soul, but none of the inconvenience.
That means an earnest, engaging storyline; relatable, easy-to-love characters; strategic turn-based battles; deep party customisation; bizarre monsters; an unforgettable soundtrack; and a large, fantastical world, traversed by Airship, and filled with people full of personality – all brought to life by vibrant 8-Bit inspired visuals.
Our modern approach to design ensures no random encounters or mandatory grinding, the freedom to save your game anywhere, and precise pacing which never bogs the player down with pointless filler, and ensures you’re always doing something fun and meaningful over the 20+ hour playtime. From beginning to end, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is focused on telling an engaging story, not wasting your time.
It may be a sequel, but anyone can jump into this brand new JRPG adventure!
EXPLORE
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12 Towns and 29 Dungeons, every environment featuring its own feel and flavour.
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An expansive World Map filled with secrets and optional locations to discover; both on-foot and by vehicle.
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Take to the skies in your Airship and fly wherever you want, or take a walk on the deck to do a bit of shopping and chat with your party members. It’s your high-in-the-sky home away from home!
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Constant variety – everything from ancient ruins to a robot murder mystery – realised through charming pixel art which walks the line between authenticity and aesthetic.
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Everyone has a story, and you’ll find 8-Bit Adventures 2 full of weird and wonderful people eager to tell you theirs. They might reminisce about the past, offer helpful hints, complain about their daily lives, or just make a joke – you never know what they’ll say!
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Curiosity is always rewarded; the more you explore, the more powerful your characters can become!
BATTLE
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A turn-based JRPG battle system with depth and strategy, inspired by games like Final Fantasy X and Chrono Trigger.
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Build your party from 7 playable characters, who can be freely swapped in and out of battle – without even wasting a turn!
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Unleash 99 unique abilities, including Team Attacks and Omega Burst finishing moves.
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Mix and match between an arsenal of weapons, armour, and accessories, or tap into a flexible Augment system which allows you to customise your characters stats and give them all kinds of special effects!
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Snappy, stylised menus and icons make commands easy to find and execute, even if you’re new to menu-based combat.
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Face down 98 of the toughest and weirdest foes you’ve ever seen – complete with the occasional name pun. They wander the world just like you do, so there are no random battles!
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A carefully balanced experience with a gentle difficulty curve that allows players of all skill levels to enjoy the game, while still encouraging strategy. In 8-Bit Adventures 2, victory requires more than spamming the Attack button!
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Numerous side-quests and super bosses – some of which provide a significant challenge!
STORY
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Become absorbed in an engaging, character-driven tale about living a full life and protecting the things that really matter.
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A feel-good adventure filled with love, laughs, and drama, which deals with the dark stuff but always wants to leave you feeling uplifted over its 20+ hours.
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Meet a loveable cast of characters who form relationships, make mistakes, and struggle with their past, but still work to save the world and overcome their demons.
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Save the world from a vengeful Glitch! A mistreated child with terrifying powers threatens to reshape the world in his own chaotic image. A unique and persistent foe from beginning to end, the Glitch changes and develops over the course of the story like any other character, grappling with what he is…and what he could be.
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8-Bit Adventures 2 has a script the size of a novel, and every line of text has been meticulously timed to make dialogue flow naturally and bring out each character’s personality - just like if they were speaking out loud.
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A focus on tight pacing and providing a consistently enjoyable adventure, rather than dragging things out or artificially extending the length.
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Some fun references and out there ideas, but this isn’t a Meta, fourth-wall breaking story; it’s a heartfelt, character-focused adventure through and through. While the conflict with the Glitch drives the overall narrative forward, the personal struggles and relationships of the party members give the game its heart.
This game features bright screen flashes for certain special attacks and effects. If you are susceptible to these kinds of flashes and bright lights, or have an epileptic condition of any kind, please consult your physician before playing.
Read More: Best Turn-Based JRPG Games.
Wander Stars
Wander Stars is a turn-based RPG with roguelite elements where you make your own attacks by combining words to make your own fighting techniques. Learn new words to collect, combine, and experiment to discover enemy weaknesses, synergies, and strategies that will help you win your battles!
The story of Wander Stars follows Ringo, a young martial artist looking for her brother, and Wolfe, a mysterious scoundrel running from his past, as they join forces in an unlikely partnership to collect the pieces of the Wanderstar Map.
Key Features
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Make your own attacks - Collect and combine different types of words to make your own fighting techniques like a SUPER AWESOME FIRE KICK!
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An anime you can play - Each run plays like an anime episode where you experience the adventure through exciting cutscenes and intense battles.
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Wander into adventure - Explore every place you visit through a randomized map and find treasures, rivals, special events and more!
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Binge and reruns - Replay episodes to learn hidden aspects of the story, find any events you missed, and train to earn permanent upgrades.
Read More: Best Turn-Based RPG Games.
Tears of Avia
Update: I originally wrote this review on launch day, I have now completed one full playthrough and adjusted some comments to reflect this.
A great genre aware indie game. If you love JRPG’s then this will embody every trope, cliche and worn-to-the-ground charisma you’ve come to love in the best ways possible.
With a selection of protagonists straight out of a pregen dungeons and dragons adventure, colourful and classic personalities along with bright and iconic designs (RIP Reina’s spine) there’s someone you’re bound to love. I myself was torn between the obviously-the-protagonist Kai and the all too matching a description Iris. And the rest of the cast, so far, hasn’t been a let down either for me. From the hard working superior you bump into to the obviously-not-merlin (which I have nicknamed Fauxlin) provides plenty of laughs. Although you don’t spend much time with some of the later characters, revisiting previous locations will sometimes provide interesting inter-character dialogue that you can watch while in the tavern, and replaying some levels with mixed up parties will let you see interesting dialogue combinations. With the added bonus who you recruit and how you treat your party members changing their outcome in the epilogue also, some of which can be quite sad.
– Real player with 38.0 hrs in game
This review has been updated to reflect my thoughts after completing the game on normal.
1. Nice character and enemy designs
2. Nice animations (you can skip them and enemy movement)
3. Good music and the main menu theme song is catchy
4. Varied skill trees kind of encourage skill experimentation
5. Loot from battles is worthwhile - a nice gameplay loop of finding better gear
6. Combat is streamlined (healed after battle and can quickly retreat to town)
7. When you equip a new weapon its shown in battle and also the main character in town exploration
– Real player with 17.8 hrs in game
This Is the Police 2
I can highly recommend This is the police 2 for everyone who played the first game as it heavily improves on the gameplay. In every call you get to choose how your officers react, what happens after that and how it actually goes, something the first game didn’t really offer. The officers are also much more human. While in the first game they were basically a portrait with a name and a professionalism stat, here they have various more stats, individual loyalty levels and a few special traits. For instance Kamatari Kurosawa is really lazy and only does one call per day, Galen Woolbag smells bad Leo Bradhi loves coming with his own uniforms. This along with some “Can I have a day off?” questions unique to a certain officer or them asking go to a funeral when a fellow officer dies or developing alcohol problems when they see them die in front of them makes them seem much more human and adds to the atmosphere and adds a new layer to gameplay.
– Real player with 252.0 hrs in game
I loved This is the Police 1, but unfortunately this fails to reach anywhere near the same quality.
There are some genuinely good additions made here:
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Having officers with particular skills (speed, etc) made calls much more interesting (and gave a great incentive to keep good cops alive)
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The XCOM style tactical combat system is a very neat idea, and at times was very fun to play. I would love to see this done in any future related games.
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The ability buy and give out equipment to cops with relevant skills was a nice touch, and made the dept. feel much more real
– Real player with 35.8 hrs in game
Expeditions: Viking
STORY
Good. Is well written and very immersive. I always wanted to know what is going to happen next. I don’t know if is historically accurate but it feels so. There is at least three ways to beat up the game: gaining wealth as trader, gaining support of a powerful ally or impose the Danish law (kill, burn and pillage) which gives you replayability. The only fantastic thing is the game so you won’t fight against orcs or elves and you won’t use magic missiles and fireballs. Your choices matter and will greatly influence the way you will walk the story, the factions attitude toward you and if some joinable characters will leave or not the party.
– Real player with 158.5 hrs in game
This is probably my favorite game of all times, and I’ll definitly be honest and say I have a bias towards Vikings and the setting, that’s not why it is my favorite game of all time(though it’s a great bonus, no question!). I’ll split things into sections to make it easier to read:
Map\Travel\Exploration
The game is an isometric turnbased RPG, you travel between locations on a world map, and in\on the locations you have a local area to run around in, Like in Fallout, Wasteland, etc. Unlike Fallout there are no random encounters, but instead random events(often bad, but sometimes good), where you are given some sort of decision to handle(when sailing it could be a companion falling off the boat, or a storm closing in etc, dependant on your ship and resources depends on the effects that’ll happen and what decisions are avalible).
– Real player with 130.1 hrs in game
Jack Move
Jack Move is a JRPG that features a unique blend of gritty cyberpunk story telling, turn based battles, and beautiful modern pixel art. Coming to Steam in 2022.
Take on the role of Noa: A young vigilante hacker from Bright Town. As the overreaching mega-corporation, Monomind, kidnaps her estranged father, Noa has no choice but to get him back, before it’s too late. Help her find her dad, as she finds herself on the way.
Noa won’t be alone on her journey. She’ll be helped out by her best friend and tactical planner, Ryder, as well as her Martini drinking uncle and ex-corporate spy, Guin Blakely.
Jack Move features beautifully animated, exciting and tactical turn based battles.
Customise the software of your Cyber Deck to switch roles mid battle, balancing offence, defence and buffs. Choosing which software you load during battle is the key to victory! Hardware upgrades can help boost your stats, increase the amount of software you can install or give Noa extra abilities.
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Gorgeous “Hi-Bit” pixel art inspired by retro RPG’s and enhanced with modern techniques.
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Battle your foes in cyberspace. Take them down using a multitude of sweet hacking software.
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Explore the dangerous world of Monocity-1 and take down Monomind, the evil mega corporation that controls it.
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Play as Noa Solares, a sassy hacker out to save her father and the world.
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Fight your way through a bunch of dungeons filled with allsorts of cyberpunk villany. Street punks, gangsters, corporate militia, secret service agents, and horrific cyber-experiments-gone-wrong will all be battling against you!
Manafinder
In a world vastly untapped by mankind, powerful beasts roam the land. A community of survivors, the exiles, depend on the power of manastones to keep their settlement safe. Manafinders like Lambda risk their lives seeking said stones in the wild. Against external threats and internal conflicts, the mission starts becoming increasingly complicated. Can Lambda achieve a miracle?
Manafinder is a Japanese-style RPG with original pixel art and turn-based combat with an emphasis on weapon selection and elemental affinities. Immerse yourself in this tale of drama and intrigue, hope and suffering, fantasy and morality. Explore the beautiful and fantastical world of Aevi, and fight your way against ferocious beasts and other threats in the quest for manastones as you define the fate of the exiled!
Key features
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8~12 hours of playtime!
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Explore the fantastical environments of Aevi, with over 23 different biomes!
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Fight over 120 different beasts, each with a unique design and combat strategy!
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Use different weapons and elemental ores during combat to exploit enemy weaknesses!
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Collect items and weapons, find manastones, harvest healing plants, and mine elemental ores to aid you in your quest!
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Meet exiles, manafinders, nomads, the Gods, and other mysterious characters!
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Choices made throughout the game will not only define the fate of the exiled but also result in one of the two completely different final chapters!
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Take a break, and take on side quests with varied activities (including minigames!) that dive deeper into the lives of the exiled.
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition
With as much written content as a novel, branching storylines intimately linked to your character choices, and a real tabletop feel where intrigue and negotiation can supplant the need for bloodshed; Shadowrun: Hong Kong is the commensurate single player RPG experience. It is best suited for avid readers who love video games, and for gamers who love interactive fiction. The tactical combat, the freedom of character creation, and the a-la-carte missions should appeal to the more goal-oriented RPG fans among us. But if you don’t like to read, you’ll find the game (and its predecessors) to be a bit of a turn-off (even though they are a much better read than basically every other RPG these days). For me, the game’s writing and art are on par with Dragonfall, and its gameplay has been dramatically enhanced.
– Real player with 79.6 hrs in game
The Shadowrun mythos is an edgy, magic-infused cyberpunk dystopia that stepped off the neo-noir streets of Seattle this run into the fluorescent, neon light of a noodle shop. Of all the Shadowrun games, I think Hong Kong inundates you the most thoroughly in mood and environment. It’s like walking onto the set of Bladerunner with all its mixed-ethnic, cultural richness and rain-coat dripping, depressive atmosphere; the setting is both gorgeous and miserable.
I avoided Shadowrun for a long time because I’m just no fan of isometric games. They take away what is, for me, the most important feature of storyline gaming: that first-person point of view escapism. A top-down, god’s view of the world is a big wall when I want to feel immersed in an environment and persona. But the Shadowrun cult-following has been so widely celebrated, I overlooked that when I bought and binge-played this trilogy. And I’m so glad I did.
– Real player with 76.7 hrs in game
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director’s Cut
Disclaimer: This review was written when Dragonfall was a DLC and will be updated to better reflect Director’s Cut in the future. If you are already familiar with the DLC version, skip to the end for my initial thoughts on the new features.
When Shadowrun Returns came out there were numerous complaints. Rather than ignore them, HBS listened to the fans and fixed many of them when they released Dragonfall. That wasn’t enough for them, wanting to better address the players suggestions they re-released it as a stand alone game and freely upgraded everyone’s existing copy.
– Real player with 605.2 hrs in game
2054. Berlin. The Flux State. It’s a world of magic, technology, metahumans, megacorporations, and dragons. You are a Shadowrunner, a criminal who does the dirty work for clients who can pay for your skills. But things aren’t always as they seem, as you’ll soon find out.
As the story unfolds, you’ll find yourself faced with some hard choices. Your clients can’t or won’t give you the whole story, and moral ambiguity will cloud the decisions you make. Not only that, the way you lead your team can have repercussions on how they view you. As you progress through the story, they may open up to you, giving you information about their lives. I felt like this was really well done. Your teammates have back stories, character flaws, and even side quests. It’s up to you to say and do the right things to gain their trust.
– Real player with 124.0 hrs in game