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[archangelmorph]

It's one of the few games that nails the feeling of playing a SNES action JRPG, the developers were not shy in saying that their main inspirations were Terranigma, Seiken Densetsu 3, Chrono Trigger and even Xenoblade (for the expansive world design).

The exploration is always interesting, you need to pay attention and be smart about it if you want to find all the secrets. The combat remains engaging from start to end and the story gets really interesting at a pivotal point in the game. The MC is semi-mute but she's way more expressive than some a non-mute characters out there thanks to her fantastic sprite expressions. The presentation is reminiscent of those SNES games, it's way more detailed obviously, but the inspirations are clear.

While it takes inspiration from the games I mentioned, it's not a copy cat, far from it. The game heavily relies on both traversal and traditional puzzles, much more than anything I've seen in the genre. If you don't enjoy some good puzzles then you might find it hard getting into it, I can't stress enough that there are as many puzzles as there is combat. Speaking of the combat, it's way more fluid and involved than any of the games I've mentioned above, it's really fun and I never got bored personally, the mix of tactical use of ranged and melee attacks does not get stale at any point.

The first part of the game is focused on exploring the MMO world (CrossWorlds), meeting charming characters, partying up and trying to complete the content of this MMO. So you need to approach it in a chill way, just relax, explore the world and enjoy the character interactions. The game takes its time to ramp up the story, this a long game compared to the old SNES action JRPGs, my playtime was 90 hours (DLC included, which is mandatory, don't skip it).

The main critique for me is that sometimes there is... too much of the good stuff. No, I'm not trolling like that Gears meme, there is so much in the game that it can get a bit overwhelming. The best example is the first dungeon, it's so long and full of puzzles that they had to put various teleports to get you outside if you feel you are burning out... and that's the best way to experience that dungeon, taking breaks and doing something else in the game when you feel like you had enough for the day.

The game is a true banger, no doubts about it.

As people said above, we don't get many games in this style. We have CrossCode, UNSIGHTED, Hyper Light Drifter and a few other less known games like Shrine's Legacy. If you like these kind of games they are all must play.

Is CrossCode on switch and is this coming to switch too?

 

[John Bilbo]

It's one of the few games that nails the feeling of playing a SNES action JRPG, the developers were not shy in saying that their main inspirations were Terranigma, Seiken Densetsu 3, Chrono Trigger and even Xenoblade (for the expansive world design).

The exploration is always interesting, you need to pay attention and be smart about it if you want to find all the secrets. The combat remains engaging from start to end and the story gets really interesting at a pivotal point in the game. The MC is semi-mute but she's way more expressive than some a non-mute characters out there thanks to her fantastic sprite expressions. The presentation is reminiscent of those SNES games, it's way more detailed obviously, but the inspirations are clear.

While it takes inspiration from the games I mentioned, it's not a copy cat, far from it. The game heavily relies on both traversal and traditional puzzles, much more than anything I've seen in the genre. If you don't enjoy some good puzzles then you might find it hard getting into it, I can't stress enough that there are as many puzzles as there is combat. Speaking of the combat, it's way more fluid and involved than any of the games I've mentioned above, it's really fun and I never got bored personally, the mix of tactical use of ranged and melee attacks does not get stale at any point.

The first part of the game is focused on exploring the MMO world (CrossWorlds), meeting charming characters, partying up and trying to complete the content of this MMO. So you need to approach it in a chill way, just relax, explore the world and enjoy the character interactions. The game takes its time to ramp up the story, this a long game compared to the old SNES action JRPGs, my playtime was 90 hours (DLC included, which is mandatory, don't skip it).

The main critique for me is that sometimes there is... too much of the good stuff. No, I'm not trolling like that Gears meme, there is so much in the game that it can get a bit overwhelming. The best example is the first dungeon, it's so long and full of puzzles that they had to put various teleports to get you outside if you feel you are burning out... and that's the best way to experience that dungeon, taking breaks and doing something else in the game when you feel like you had enough for the day.

The game is a true banger, no doubts about it.

As people said above, we don't get many games in this style. We have CrossCode, UNSIGHTED, Hyper Light Drifter and a few other less known games like Shrine's Legacy. If you like these kind of games they are all must play.

Thank you for the detailed answer. I mainly remember the combat being repetitive and meaningless.

 

[mèx]

Is CrossCode on switch and is this coming to switch too?

It's on Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/it-it/Giochi/Giochi-scaricabili-per-Nintendo-Switch/CrossCode-1501057.html

If you like the game, you must get the DLC too! It basically puts nice bow to the story and characters, it's a post-ending story.

Maybe wait for a sale, it goes between 50% to 70% off depending on the sale.

 

[tamago84]

yes i agree cross code was a wow moment at the time of play. the chrono trigger type font even made it more appealing for me to play it. music was fresh, puzzles were really cool. i think the only problem i had was how hard the game got later on and i just stopped playing it.
i think very good games are ones that aren't hand holding, no over the top cliche story bullshit, and novel. it HAS to be novel. art must be extremely aesthetic as well. sadly alaabashert dawn failed to deliver on it. i hate the character designs on this one vs cross code, story is retarded as fuck and its literally a copy paste of cross code just more convoluted

 

[MagiusNecros]

I disagree. Full scope of the story isn't even available and it's much better then any of the games(which aren't Action RPGs anyway) you listed. The stories present in Stardew Valley, Undertale/Deltarune, Dave the Diver aren't particularly interesting to me. Compared to the entirety of Stardew what little I've seen from Neverway with it's slice of life life/farm sim stuff and focusing on depression and a fresh start delving into the supernatural and eldritch lovecraftian theme just draws me in immediately. But variety is the spice of life.

I think it's also important that the setting and themes for Crosscode and Alabaster Dawn are different from each other.

I did remember another game that not only has a an interesting battle system but also an amazing aesthetic is Radio the Universe but I doubt the game will see completion. The demo is worth a playthrough regardless.

 

[John Bilbo]

Thank you for the detailed answer. I mainly remember the combat being repetitive and meaningless.

I reinstalled the game and played it for three and half hours. It has a certain charm to it even though I don't enjoy the RPG mechanics in the combat. The puzzles seem to be the highlight for me.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I did remember another game that not only has a an interesting battle system but also an amazing aesthetic is Radio the Universe but I doubt the game will see completion. The demo is worth a playthrough regardless.

I added that one to my wishlist back in 2022.

Wonder what happened. The game looked cool.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I added that one to my wishlist back in 2022.

Wonder what happened. The game looked cool.

It's only one guy and there is no way to track development other then occasional depository changes so there is development in a sense so we will never know. It's been in development since 2013.

 

[mèx]

They put out a roadmap (no dates though): https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3110760/view/680750978144665916

We currently plan with 8 major updates until the game will reach its full release with version 1.0.

Most of the updates will focus on gameplay content, adding new areas and dungeons, featuring new enemies, puzzles, boss battles and lots of content of explore. The story, on the other hand, will only be partially extended. Once the end of the plot is reached the game will switch into a gameplay preview, allowing you to play through more content without the story. We will try to keep any progress made within the preview (such as collected chests and solved puzzles) valid once the story is added in later updates, but in general we recommend replaying the content of the preview mode again once the story is added for the best experience. If you enjoy the gameplay of Alabaster Dawn and have no problem replaying content, we'd very much appreciate your feedback on all content available through the preview.

In turn, certain other updates (like version 0.5.0 and 0.8.0) will focus on the story, adding cutscenes and main-story quests for all available areas and dungeons. If you see yourself playing the game for the story, we recommend waiting for these updates as they allow you to experience all new content with proper context and close to the complete state.

Structuring updates like this helps us a great deal when developing the story, since it gives us more time to work out the finer details, avoid changing dialogs and re-doing scenes later during development. At the same time, we believe that delivering the plot in bigger chunks will give you a better experience, as it allows you to emerge yourself into the story for a longer time.

It should be noted that the roadmap might change. We might decide to change certain milestones, or add smaller updates in-between. Whenever the plan changes, we'll let you know in advance!

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

They put out a roadmap (no dates though): https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3110760/view/680750978144665916

Well, it's nice to have this visibility at least. I'm guessing it'll be a couple years before I play the game.

Which I suppose is okay - I've been wanting to replay CrossCode for years anyway, so I might as well do that first. Genuinely one of my favorite games of all time, and I really hope that Alabaster Dawn can reach those same heights.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I think I'll wait for the full release before I tackle AD again. I enjoy the combat in Crosscode much more. Part of me feels that while AD will be great it's going to be tough for Radical Fish Games to top it.

 

[NT80]

I enjoyed the demo of this. Reminded me of Ys Oath in Felghana with a hint of Zelda. The boss at the end of the demo was good.