A bizarre-looking RPG, a reboot of a legendary visual novel, a Souls-like and a Hades-like walk into a bar, and… find themselves in the land of Oz? Look, this week’s games wouldn’t be frequenting the same bars, but that’s okay. The games in this edition of RPGs Coming This Week cover a lot of genres and tastes. We already have a review of one of them up, but hopefully the others live up to their potential as well. Let’s jump in!
Intro by Mike Salbato
Entropy – August 18th (Windows, Early Access)
Entropy is the next title from developer Lovely Hellplace, taking the low-poly, dark fantasy aesthetic sensibilities of their previous game Dread Delusion and adapting that striking visual style to a more traditional turn-based RPG framework. I played the demo during Steam Next Fest and fell in love with the foreboding setting of the Gloaming Isles. The game wears its SaGa series inspirations on its sleeve, with an equipment-based skill system and potential for permanent character injury or death if they fall in battle enough times. The grueling, strategic combat encounters combine well with the dark, oppressive atmosphere, and there is a vast world map to explore with a wide variety of potential events, each stranger than the last. These events range from typical RPG encounters like bandit ambushes, to bizarre happenings like a sudden storm that rains down…human teeth.
Although the game is releasing into Early Access, the level of polish on display in the demo is quite impressive, and the more open-ended, non-linear nature of the quest (another nod to the SaGa franchise) seems poised to ensure that coming back after successive updates will reward curious players with new encounters and events gradually, rather than impeding the narrative progression in a more linear title.
by Ben Love
Grim Trials – August 20th (PS5, Switch, Switch 2, XBX, Windows)
If you think Grim Trials looks like “We have Hades at home,” then, well, you’d be kinda right! But Indonesian dev Glory Jam couldn’t have picked a better roguelite for inspiration for their biggest game yet. Avelin is a young woman who’s deeply in love. The only problem is: she’s dead! As Avelin, players must navigate a series of trials to escape the Academy, a school for aspiring Grim Reapers headmastered by Death, and climb back to the world of the living and the loving.
What seems to set Grim Trials apart from Hades is the weapon and item crafting and expansive skill trees that carry over from each run—oh, and the heavy metal music, of course. Like the cast of gods and heroes of mythology in Hades‘ Underworld, Grim Trials has a variety of original characters populating the Academy that test and strengthen Avelin, as well as push her along her coming-of-age journey through the afterlife. Let’s just hope the game can fill the big shoes—er, sandals, that it aims to.
by Matt Wardell
Mortal Shell II – August 20th (PS5, XBX, Windows)
Developer Cold Symmetry returns with Mortal Shell II this week, the follow up to their debut title Mortal Shell. One of the earlier indie Dark Souls-inspired action RPGs back in 2020, Mortal Shell differentiates itself with its “shell” system, where the wraith-like protagonist inhabits the bodies of different warriors (like a hermit crab donning a new shell) to gain access to different builds and equipment. Further complementing the “shell” concept is the hardening mechanic, where the player can briefly turn to stone at any time to deflect enemy attacks (taking the place of a traditional parry mechanic). I played a bit of the first game, and found it had interesting ideas but the execution was flawed; environments were repetitive and lacked the detail and craftsmanship of FromSoftware’s work, and the combat never felt quite right.
Mortal Shell II, as evidenced by a demo released earlier in the year on Steam, takes those core ideas from the original and refines & expands them. The combat animations are more fluid, the environments more detailed and well-crafted, and the whole experience has a new layer of polish to make the core combat feel weighty yet responsive. Probably the most notable improvement is the wider (and weirder) variety of playable shells. Instead of the generic knights and rogues of the first game, the shells in the sequel range from gun-toting mercenaries or scythe-wielding skeleton warriors to a pugilistic sheep! I’m glad the developers got the chance to take a second crack at these gameplay concepts, and for Souls series fans looking for something new to play in the subgenre, Mortal Shell II may be a sleeper hit.
by Ben Love
Over Requiemz – August 20th (Switch)
Over Requiemz is an otome visual novel with a dark fantasy story that draws inspiration from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. After encountering a fierce storm in Japan, Yuhiru finds herself stranded in the kingdom of Oz only to be immediately arrested under suspicions of being a criminal due to her unusual features of black hair and eyes as they’re considered ill omens in this realm. Unable to prove her innocence, she’s left with no choice but to join a ruin-exploring expedition to slay monsters. Hopefully, Yuhiru will survive long enough to win her freedom and find a way home. Joining her are four other death row convicts and a mysterious witch.
Over Requiemz features gorgeous art and clearly wears its Oz inspirations on its sleeve, yet the premise is clever enough that it might even attract newcomers unfamiliar with the classic fantasy tale. I must admit that literary subgenre can be a harder sell for me, especially if looking at it through the sometimes heavily overused isekai power fantasy lens, but this VN’s approach seems interesting enough to still potentially hold my interest. Hopefully this darker romantic take on the Oz mythos will prove entertaining enough for VN fans when Over Requiemz releases for the Nintendo Switch later this week!
by Audra Bowling
Steins;Gate Re:Boot – August 20th (XBX, Windows)
I’m going to set aside my editorial punctuation rules now and talk about Steins;Gate Re:Boot, an overhauled retelling and expansion of the original 2009 visual novel. When an 18-year-old mad scientist MacGyvers a phone and a microwave into a device capable of sending “D-mail” messages back through time, he sets in motion a time-traveling tale that soon darkly pivots into murder, conspiracies, and secret societies.
The original Steins;Gate and it subsequent spinoffs were much loved, and this Re:Boot respects that legacy. Redone art and music by the original character designer, “huke,” and composer, Takeshi Abo, including more fluid character animations during dialogue. A new story route and potential ending. Re-recorded Japanese voice-overs. A glowing review from RPGFan’s Paul Skevington. Yessir, this seems like the best way to return to or first experience Steins;Gate‘s (surprisingly real) Akihabara when this game drops August 20th for Xbox and Windows, and later on October 29th when it comes to PS5 and Switch 1 and 2.
by Matt Wardell
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