OVERALL IMPRESSION
This game took me by surprise. Underneath the initial impression there’s a strategic and challenging turned based RPG that focuses on setting up different teams across various challenges. I played a bit of the final beta test and was not that interested. But after coming back for the official launch, this game really captivated me. There’s a lot of duality in what is presented. It’s initial impression is not that strong by pulling players into a narrative that can come off as generic; however, beyond the story chapters much of the experience is about the combat. The core battle mechanics are solid and fun. This comes down to various classes, factions, and itemization that allow for interesting and satisfying team combinations. The gacha system is also somewhat different. All current featured characters are available in the standard banner. On top of that, using the regular pull currency on a limited banner costs much more. Meaning there’s a much greater incentive to pull from just the standard pool. In addition, there is no dreaded 50/50 on featured banners. Meaning if you do pull for an SSR on a featured banner it will be the current new SSR character. Altogether, there’s much promise and potential here.
GAMEPLAY
The turn based combat is intriguing and fun. This comes down to an interesting battle system, class design, and itemization. Many turned based and tactics games revolve around character speed. The ability to manipulate speed and when characters perform their action plays a significant role in most encounters. Combined with distinct roles and you create an interesting foundation that allow players the ability to customize and create different teams. The core roles from most RPGs are here and include: damage dealers (DPS), supports (buffers/debuffers), tanks and healers. Some characters are hybrids and offer combinations of various roles. The interesting aspect about the characters (similar to their other game: Sword of Convallaria) is that the SR characters can also be viable options. Not only are some of the SR units viable, they can also be right up there with some of the SSRs. You don’t often see that in these types of games, but its a refreshing take that we need to see more of in this genre. This enables free to play players the ability to create teams even if they aren’t able to access certain SSR units.
Factions
Similar to most other games in this genre there are also several different factions. Factions gain bonuses/weaknesses against others. The design follows many similar systems with a core 3 factions that are strong/weak against each other (Hollow, Odd, Reason) and then 2 factions that only have 1 counter (Constant, Disorder). The various factions make it a necessity to build different teams in order to defeat certain enemies.
Combat
The actual combat experience is a mix of auto battling and manual play. For much of the campaign and in farming resources you’ll be setting up your team to complete fights more as an auto battler than playing through it manually. On the upside, you don’t have to manually control your team against trash mobs; however, this makes these types of encounters uninteresting. This is alleviated in that to farm certain resources or for certain challenges, you’ll need to fine tune your team as these types of encounters are actually difficult.
The more difficult fights are actually some of the most fun in the entire game. Because you’ll mostly be playing these manually. These fights will destroy you at first. But with a greater understanding of the game and developing your team you’ll be able to overcome these challenges and this is deeply satisfying as numerous combinations and setups can work. This allows the player creative freedom to tackle the challenge. Players are rewarded for not only understanding the boss mechanics but also experimenting with different strategies, like manipulating time, applying buffs, debuffs, maximizing damage or survivability. There’s enough components here to make for strategic and captivating fights.
Gear
Interesting options for gear also add to the combat system. Like many other games the gear is quite standard. There are various item sets that provide additional buffs for wearing a certain number of said gear. There are also shells that can be equipped. Shells are an additional type of gear that contain stats but also allow the player to roll for specific stat bonuses. In addition, they also provide unique perks. For example, some will buff your characters before they attack or follow up with an attack or increase speed. There’s a wide array of these shells and I can see how adding more in the future will continue to build a toolbox for players to be able to customize their teams and their strategy.
Rewards
The reward systems are also well designed in that for every activity you can do in the game there is some type of reward. This creates a loop that allows you to keep powering up your characters and progressing by gaining additional resources. Out of most gacha systems I’ve come across I’d say Etheria Restart has done a pretty good job here in that the rewards are quite easy to obtain so that by doing even a few activities you’ll be able to unlock different rewards and resources.
Game Types
There are also a variety of game types that you’ll come across. The story campaign is only one small component. The majority of your time is usually outside of that by clearing stages in content that allows you to farm resources. Outside of these PVE encounters there are some co-op missions, guild boss fights and PVP. PVP offers both non-real time battles, where you fight pre-made teams that the AI controls and real-time battles with picks and bans. I could see many players gravitate towards this type of game just for the PVP. Altogether, there’s quite an array of content to work through at launch.
STORY
The story revolves around humanity facing a global threat and requires the main protagonist to deal with it. Beings known as Animus co-exist with humans. However, due to recent events these super powered beings start to lose control. In response, the main character (you), a hyperlinker is tasked with resolving these challenges. The narrative did not resonate with me for various reasons due to pacing and lack of interest in the plot and characters. Nevertheless, I could see players enjoying this type of story. Especially if they like the characters and themes. Conversely, I could see an equal number of players that don’t enjoy the story, but still play the game since much of the time spent in the game is outside of the story campaign.
ART & CHARACTER DESIGN
The overall execution of the art design is quite polished. The 2D art in particular is stylish and reflects some personality from the design team. However, how this translates to some of the 3D art is not all quite at the same level. It’s not just that are differences in how some of the 2D and 3D art compare but in overall visual identity and uniqueness. For example, some of the character designs are quite imaginative and distinct while many others feel generic and forgettable. In a landscape of many gacha anime RPGs, it can be easy to feel like they all look and pull from the exact same sources of inspiration. Art design is the foundation for capturing your attention and building an interesting world that invites players into it. The most challenging aspect is creating one that matters and that comes from exhibiting a unique and memorable vision. As the game progress, I hope we see more of that uniqueness shine through.
GACHA
The gacha system here is slightly different. All characters, whether limited/featured are available on the standard banner. Featured characters are also available with higher rates on their own banner. The pull rates/pity is similar to many other gacha games. Additionally, there is no 50/50 system for featured banners. This is a step in the right direction for the genre as a whole. Moreover, the game rewards the players with plenty of pull currency and tickets. The true measure of a gacha system needs to be evaluated not just on the rates or how banners are setup but with the ability to get the characters you want. This has to take into account the amount of currency you can save but also if you can actually obtain the character. It’s still a bit too early to really know as with any launch there is a ‘honeymoon’ period where rewards/resources are abundant. Overall, the system does appear more free to play friendly compared to others.
CHALLENGES
First Impression
The nature of how this game is presented doesn’t necessarily give off the best first impression. Playing through the initial chapters makes it feel like a narrative focused RPG. In some aspects it can be; however, the narrative elements are secondary to the stellar turn based combat. In fact, I’d say I enjoy the game despite the story campaign and I didn’t discover this until getting through the first few chapters and focusing on other gameplay activities. Others may feel different and enjoy both aspects.
Energy
Energy is required for most activities. This is not surprising in a gacha style game. However, as I’ve covered this genre in the past year, there are games in this style where not all content requires some form a energy. For example, some gacha games do not require energy for the main story campaign. This makes the title feel much more like a regular console game. I know many gacha players are use to energy, but I also believe that these types of ‘standards’ need to evolve as the genre develops. This isn’t all bad news, as you can use your premium currency to obtain energy. In doing so, this will not only allow you to play for much longer, the trade off in progression is also significant. Meaning you can develop your characters much faster if you find the right balance between saving for pulls and investing in farming resources.
PVE vs. PVP
The balance between PVE and PVP may become a challenge. PVP in these types of games can take over the entire experience. I’ve seen other turn based gacha games that eventually focused much of their content towards PVP. It’s always tricky to try to please both PVE and PVP fans as they are really different types of experiences that usually require distinct approaches towards balance. I’ve also seen many of these types of games get the PVP aspects wrong. In a game where you can go up against large spenders there’s not much ‘balance’ and genuine competition unless you can separate the spenders and free to play players into different leagues and match based on current power. On the upside, there does seem to be much more options in how matches are setup compared to any other turned based PVP I’ve come across. Like many aspects of a live service game, it’s too early to really know how this will all play out.
Lasting Appeal
The long term lasting appeal is also up in the air. It’s too early to say how interesting content will stay and if it will become too predictable or repetitive. This isn’t a new challenge to just Etheria Restart, it’s an issue for any live service games. Most games don’t have truly interesting end-game type content that stays interesting. It’s a unique challenge that requires constant innovation. We don’t know where Etheria Restart will land on this aspect. What I do know is that what’s captured my attention are the fights where I have to manually control my team through a difficult battle.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Underneath the challenges is a stellar core combat system that is intriguing and fun especially when coming up against difficult encounters. The true test will be if the developers can overcome some of the potential pitfalls of creating engaging and interesting end-game content and being able to please both PVE and PVP focused players. There’s a lot of potential here. This game took me by surprise and captivated me more than most live service games I’ve come across lately. If you enjoy challenging turn based combat in a PVE or PVP setting, this may be a title for you to check out.
THANKS:
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GAME DETAILS:
PLATFORMS: PC, Android, iOS
RELEASE: 2025
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: XD
GENRE/TAGS: Turn Based Combat, RPG, Auto Battle, Narrative, Gacha, PVE, PVP
TARGET AUDIENCE: Those that enjoy challenging turned based combat with a mix of auto battler and manual play.
IMAGE CREDITS: Etheria Restart
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