From its first moments, redemption reapers it adopts a slightly different aesthetic than most other fantasy-themed strategy RPGs. While the most visible examples of the genre focus on color, light, and a grand operatic narrative, the most prominent color in the palette used by developer Adglobe is a dull, muddy gray. The game itself is set in predominantly winter temperate forests, ruined cities, and ash-strewn battlefields. All of its main characters wear variations of black and brown leather. In its own way, it’s like someone trying to translate the dark fantasy styles of a manga into mad oh Old house to the conventions of a strategy RPG.
the story of redemption reapers it’s just as dark. A vicious orc-like race called Death is rampaging across the land, killing and devastating all in its path. From one of the fallen nations comes a group of mercenaries called the Ashen Hawk Brigade. Its members fight desperately to save what remains of their land, exact revenge on the dead, and rally allies to the cause of beast suppression. It’s a pretty simple premise, but ironically it’s almost unwieldy because the storytelling is so understated. Much of the narrative focuses on the momentary need of the match, the immediate task at hand. However, the game takes a bit of time to establish Mort, or even the world the characters operate in beyond a simple “Baddies are invading, we must fight” level of motivation.
Up to a point, this is fine: redemption reapers this clearly goes for a gritty, “low fantasy” style of storytelling, where most people, including the audience, have to work with limited information about their larger situation. In such stories, it pays to keep the details of the world vague. Unfortunately, the game fails to counter this lack of context with character dynamics or development. Members of the Ashen Hawk Brigade work as a joint team, but don’t get enough development to be interesting on their own. As a result, redemption reapers it feels “generic”, with little to distinguish its setting or plot from its basic story points. The story changes in the second half of the game, but not engaging the player in the early stages can make developments feel weightless. In a way, the game’s story illustrates the problem of justifying a bad first impression with “Upgrade Later”.
Fortunately, if the narrative and setting don’t do enough to make the game feel truly unique, its approach to tactical combat is refreshingly rare. At the fundamental level, redemption reapers is quite similar to a fire emblem qualification. Players can highlight, at a glance, the “danger zone” of each enemy on the field, and move their units around the map to minimize the risk of enemy attack is central to their game. units also perform a familiar rhythm of attack and counterattack, exhausting their weapon “uses” each time they attack.
unlike a fire emblem However, your actions are governed by action points rather than a simpler “move, then attack” scheme. A basic move can cost 6 points, while a character’s special ability can cost 10 points, requiring you to “save” AP from previous turns to do so. With careful spending, it is even possible to attack or move multiple times during a single character’s turn. redemption reapers it is also distinguished by its approach to risk and the economics of players. Even low-level Death infantry can remove significant portions of a character’s health bar. However, early healing is limited to a single “spirit drink” potion which can only be recharged from limited use points on the map. Additionally, the money needed to repair, upgrade, and buy new weapons is hard to come by, forcing you to spend your resources between battles sparingly and make tough decisions about equipment. In fact, it’s not uncommon to find at least a few of your party fighting with broken weapons in some battles.
Even step-by-step tactics aren’t spared from a relentless pressure curve. From the very first stage of the tutorial, players are constantly fighting against them. You’ll end up with just a handful of characters tasked with eliminating dozens of enemies from the map. The damage that can be dealt to your characters focuses tactics on keeping your party in tight spaces, to take advantage of bonuses and abilities that benefit from being with party members.
You’ll also want close formations to maximize the damage you deal by surrounding an enemy with your characters to unleash as many follow-up attacks as possible. This approach to combat forces an interesting level of reflection around the cohesion of the two groups. Combined with consideration of AP costs and adjacency bonuses, the default tactical playstyle in redemption reapers it is a slow and conservative advance. He will constantly make considerations about which character is most exposed to damage at any given time. For example, Sarah, who wields a double dagger, has many moves that allow her to avoid being hit by a counter, so she’s great for making a first move or executing enemies about to die. However, her armor is paper, which means that even misses have a chance of knocking her out or forcing her to drink her precious potion.
Fortunately unlike fire emblem additionally, the game does not enforce a “permadeath” style of play, and any non-target characters eliminated from combat simply return for the next stage.
In general, there is an interesting sense of tension in redemption reapers fight. Instead of the bold strides and quick moves more common in newer strategy titles, your fights feel like heavy brawls as your characters move together to methodically take down threats. The game relaxes a bit in the rear half. Money and weapons become easier to find, and character abilities unlock plenty of other options for dispatching threats while minimizing exposure, but the focus remains on tracking throughout a redemption reapers run.
There’s not much drama, and over time the engulfing-kill-replay rhythm can start to wear thin, but it’s a rare mindset to opt for a genre that typically strives to make players feel like strategic geniuses. harassed tacticians. Whether you like that hard-earned sense of progress is ultimately a matter of taste. But since there’s not much in the way of narrative reward, you should take advantage of that feeling of hopeless victory for its own good.
the final, redemption reapers is an engaging, if somewhat special, tactical RPG experience. Its strong moment-to-moment battle emphasizes a sense of hard knocks and desperate victories, but a thin story and difficult early stages risk alienating potential fans before they get a taste. of its atmosphere.
redemption reapers is available for PC, Nintendo Switch and PS4. This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of the game provided by the publisher.