After we first loaded up Redemption Reapers, we have been in love with the aesthetic of the sport. A darkish and gritty tactical RPG with surprisingly handsome cutscenes and haunting music was precisely the palate cleanser we wanted after enjoying by Fireplace Emblem Have interaction. Whereas these robust factors by no means get outdated throughout this sport, they’re rapidly overshadowed by shortcomings within the sport’s design and execution.
Redemption Reapers takes place in a world below menace of being overrun by the Mort. These endlessly aggressive, partially feral creatures look similar to orcs from Lord of the Rings and have about as a lot characterisation. They arrive in a wide range of varieties, every with totally different skills and expertise to trigger chaos on the battlefield, however most are comparatively easy. Stabbing them repeatedly is often the ticket to victory.
The staff doing the stabbing is the Ashen Hawks Brigade, a bunch of mercenaries with a rating to settle with the Mort. The solid stays small all through the 20 or so hours it should most likely take you to finish the principle plot. Every character has a novel talent tree and skills they will use to both preserve one another protected or inflict harm on Mort models that come into vary. Not one of the characters are essentially dangerous or boring, however they do usually really feel considerably one-dimensional. We hear hints of a darkish occasion of their previous however particulars on this are scarce till a lot later within the sport.
It’s by no means clear the place the Mort got here from or what they need past wholesale destruction, which implies that the plot of Redemption Reapers by no means will get a lot deeper than shifting models across the battlefield and hoping you don’t get overrun by enemies. Sadly, the opposite characters within the sport don’t get a lot growth both, making the whole expertise really feel a bit shallow. This may be nice if the gameplay was spectacular, however, regardless of some attention-grabbing mechanics, that simply isn’t the case.
Followers of different tactical RPGs will really feel proper at house with the fundamentals right here. Characters advance to assault, with totally different models having totally different skills they will unleash on the Mort they encounter. The wrinkle right here is how the sport focuses closely on unit placement and on participating in hit-and-run ways the place you may. Characters can transfer, assault, and transfer once more, permitting you to place your extra sturdy mercenaries on the frontline whereas help models dip out and in the place they will.
Redemption Reapers doesn’t function permadeath, however many of the maps solely permit you a handful of characters. This makes every one important to conserving the motion economic system in your favour. Preserving your characters alive is less complicated mentioned than finished, notably in early maps the place therapeutic is sparse and the Ashen Hawks are outnumbered three-to-one.
Stability isn’t on Redemption Reapers’ aspect, sadly. The sport in a short time amps up the issue. The primary 5 hours of gameplay are notably irritating since you don’t have the choice to grind for expertise factors or cash, which means that you just’re largely caught with no matter you’ve earned as much as that time. One early map took us 4 totally different tries to finish, every run taking round 20 minutes, which rapidly sucked the enjoyable out of the sport. A tough sport is ok, however one dangerous flip spiralling into an entire wipeout simply isn’t good design.
When you get the flexibility to return and replay older maps, the sport’s problem turns into rather more manageable. You’ll acquire expertise with every assault you dish out or survive. Gaining new ranges offers you extra Ability Factors, which you should utilize to unlock new skills and assaults. Everybody’s talent tree is exclusive, so their roles are largely locked in place. Urs will at all times be your tank. Sarah will at all times be your nimble rogue. Glenn will at all times be your swordsman.
One unusual facet of Redemption Reapers is the visuals. Whereas the cutscenes on the Swap aren’t going to win any awards in their very own proper, they slot in nicely with the grim setting of the sport. Character fashions look stable and transfer fluidly within the pre-rendered cutscenes, which makes it all of the stranger when the motion shifts to the gameplay and the visuals bear a considerable downgrade.
Unleashing particular assaults on Mort enemies doesn’t have the impression that it ought to on account of uneven animations in each handheld and docked mode. Even in sluggish movement, the sport seems like it’s struggling at these moments. Character fashions are jagged and lack element or polish. That is along with the truth that the digicam is locked at one angle and at such a distance that you could’t at all times inform what sort of unit you’re attacking and even which character you’re sending into the fray. It actually feels just like the visuals for the cutscenes and the gameplay belong in completely totally different titles.
The sound might be the one a part of Redemption Reapers that by no means disappoints. The music has simply the suitable stability between epic and haunting. Rei Kondoh, who labored on the music for a number of Fireplace Emblem titles and Okami, was answerable for the soundtrack right here and does a fantastic job setting the scene for each second within the sport.
Should you can push your method by the primary a number of hours of gameplay, there’s a first rate sport right here. When the fight clicks, there are some actually enjoyable tactical components. Realizing when to make use of your restricted therapeutic objects and who to push ahead into fight is significant, however usually you’ll really feel such as you’re gaming the system relatively than participating with it because the builders meant. As it’s, Redemption Reapers is an unbalanced and uneven expertise that you just’re higher off choosing up on sale.
Conclusion
Regardless of having some enjoyable wrinkles on the tactical RPG method, Redemption Reapers is just too irritating in its early ranges to justify the skinny plot and undeveloped characters. The music is the one persistently stellar a part of the sport, which is let down by uneven visuals and poor gameplay stability. You’re higher off trying elsewhere in your tactical RPG repair on Swap.