Popular genres run the risk of being stale. After a while many games start to blend together, something that doesn’t diminish the overall experience, but certainly decreases interest. Battle Chasers: Nightwar doesn’t do much to change the turn based RPG, outside of adding some flare. With different visual representations, lore, a mystery to solve and a rag tag group of heroes or something along those lines, is Battle Chasers: Nightwar worth chasing after or is it better to let this one get away?
Battle Chasers: Nightwar premise is almost painfully bland. Gully’s father was a legendary figure that passed away. Eventually she found his special gauntlets, setting to motion a chain of events that resulted in her being hunted. With her band of allies, Gully hopes to discover the secret of the gauntlets and stop the evil around her.
Even if the basic premise is weak, the characters themselves are interesting. Between an opportunistic woman, wise cracking wizard, serious robot and more, the story unfolds in a more tolerable way. As your party grows the interactions also get more interesting, along with different perspectives and twists.
A big part of what makes Battle Chasers: Nightwar interesting is that it combines a lot of different styles. Some cutscenes are done in a comic book style, where as others are the standard characters talking with a dialogue box. Along with the story, gameplay goes from a board game style to areas to explore.
Most of the time players will explore via the overworld. There is a town, with various venders to talk to or buy supplies from, with enemies and treasure to find on the map. None of these things are hidden and they’ll reset after a while. This can be a benefit, as you can constantly fight and level, along with collect loot/resources to enhance your team, at the cost of being annoying for anyone looking to explore.
Exploration typically takes place in dungeons. In these stages there will be puzzles that unlock treasure, along with traps, foes and other obstacles to deal with. These stages can take a while to complete, with my full exploration of the first dungeon taking about an hour, though they’re where Battle Chasers: Nightwar shines the brightest.
Throughout these locations you’ll find books with lore, along with other important resources. What makes Battle Chasers: Nightwar stand out are these little touches. Certain interactive items buff your party, where as other ones weaken them. It’s important to pay attention to lore, rules and other things to know which direction things will go. Beyond just buffs, some of them make for neat mini-games. Like you’re told there is an item in a pond, so you need to grab when the corruption is gone. Another one requires you to choose the correct path in a choose your adventure book.
Eventually players will end up in combat and need to defeat various foes. The combat system manages to be accessible, engaging and a little frustrating. Most fights will start with normal attacks, which will give overcharge. This is a fancy way to give players MP, but only for the duration of the fight. Building this up will allow players to use special attacks for free or with minimal MP used.
To be successful at Battle Chasers: Nightwar, you need to think multiple steps ahead. Every attack gives you an idea of how much damage it does, so using a little MP to guarantee no one takes damage might be worth it for tough fights, where as playing it slow might benefit players during long fights. The best tactic is to know what they do and how to utilize it. For instance, a move that gives haste might not do the most damage, though the extra speed might prevent damage taken. By understanding, leveling and enhancing your team, you can come out successful.
The only downside to this style of combat is that it highlights errors. At times I might not consider this or that, only to notice making an enemy bleed, healing or just buffing would make a substantial difference. Thankfully, most fights allow for some error, just be mindful of what you’re doing. Also, since enemies retain damage, fleeing is a perfectly viable option for mounting a comeback. It won’t always work, nothing ever works 100 percent of the time, just helpful to know about the option.
Verdict
Battle Chasers: Nightwar might look like a standard turn based RPG, though it manages to be so much more. Fights have enough information for even the most forgetful player to hold their own, with the depth hardcore players are looking for. The different playstyles help Battle Chasers: Nightwar stand out, especially for exploration. Combine this with plenty of lore, charming characters and much more, Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a solid choice for RPG fans to enjoy.
[Editor’s Note: Battle Chasers: Nightwar was reviewed on PS4 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
