I knew nothing about Misplaced Eidolons: Veil of the Witch going into my Gamescom preview final month, however after simply half-hour, I used to be hooked. By its tactical fight and give attention to social gathering constructing, this Fireplace Emblem-esque RPG felt so warmly acquainted, it was like coming residence. But as I performed extra, it turned clear that it might stand by itself two toes.
Misplaced Eidolons: Veil of the Witch begins with a fairly cliched premise, as you discover out you’re an amnesiac who’s washed ashore on an unknown island. You make some fairly fundamental character creator decisions – selecting to play as a person or girl, and having some say in how they give the impression of being – earlier than you’re thrust right into a battle you already know little about.
On the face of it, the fight is spinoff of different tactical RPGs – once more, Fireplace Emblem – however that’s solely at a foundational degree. From right here, it builds its personal lessons and skills, and simply minutes into my first battle, the similarities turned straightforward to disregard.
An RPG Roguelite, Wrapped In Thriller
Every character has two preventing kinds, normally melee and ranged, and inside every type, they’ve totally different assaults at their disposal. That’s not at all times the rule although, as my magic-user might additionally change between injury and therapeutic powers, including one more device to my arsenal. Once more, identical to in one thing like Fireplace Emblem.
As soon as the combat was over, it was time to fulfill my companions. Two have been thrown at me proper out of the gate, then a pair extra as I entered the primary settlement. To my utter delight, stopping in a city let me decelerate and enter dialogue with every of them, and even when this was pretty restricted (poking them for some particulars about their previous and what they consider our mission), it’s at all times a welcome function in video games like this. I didn’t get sufficient of those alternatives in my demo to see if this might let me construct a relationship with my companions, however the Steam description means that this will likely be doable, so I’m hopeful.
Nonetheless, the largest departure that Veil of the Witch makes from different tactical RPGs is one thing I didn’t truly get to expertise throughout my time with it: this can be a roguelite. You’re imagined to die, die, and die once more to progress the sport’s story, as that is how your character’s recollections return.
I didn’t die in any respect (as a result of I’m the most effective) – one thing I can solely apologize to the developer watching me play for. The truth is, I didn’t even know this was a mechanic till I received again residence and seemed Veil of the Witch up on Steam. To my nice disgrace, I’m not precisely a fan of this style, however I am a Hades lover, so at the very least the recollections mechanic is paying homage to my favorite function from Supergiant’s masterpiece – dying is rewarded, not punished.
With out with the ability to expertise it for myself nonetheless, the one roguelite mechanic I encountered was the traversal system. Getting from one place to a different concerned selecting between totally different paths, with the outcomes of those generated at random. Outcomes ranged from encounters with NPCs to totally different loot to come across, nevertheless it was all pretty fundamental from what I noticed. If something, it was the dullest a part of the sport, and I discovered myself hoping to run right into a combat. Maybe I’ll really feel otherwise on my fiftieth run.
Regardless of the case, my temporary time with Veil of the Witch confirmed sufficient promise to get me over my distaste in the direction of roguelites. The truth that I used to be hooked inside minutes has me hopeful that dying over and over gained’t be irritating however rewarding – particularly because it unlocks extra of the primary character’s recollections.
A demo is offered on Steam now and is effectively price attempting out whether or not you’re a fan of roguelites or tactical RPGs. As somebody very a lot within the latter camp, I can’t wait to dive again in and uncover the thriller that engrossed me from the very starting.
