Alterium Shift Early Access Impressions
For the dog owners out there, you know those trigger words that get your dog to cock their head or get up immediately? That is me when I hear anything relatively close to Final Fantasy VI. I mean, most 2.5D, turn-based JRPGs are going to get me curious but mentioning the holy grail (personal opinion) of games in the developer’s profile…
Developed by Dratzzy Games (drass_ray and Mottzy), Alterium Shift is a 2.5D, turn-based JRPG with clear inspirations from the SNES era of gaming (specifically Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III). You play as one of three characters as you journey through Alteria uncovering secrets and magic. The three characters to choose from are Pyra, the fighter (heavy Marle vibes from Chrono Trigger); Atlas, the archer; and Sage, the mage. In addition, you will be joined by others on your journey as the story progresses. Each character’s powers grow as you explore and level up.
Similar to Chrono Trigger, you can see enemies on the map. There is the occasional ambush but generally, you will know when combat is about to take place or if you can avoid a fight. In your travels, you will have the opportunity to set up camp and rest but only when the area has been cleared so it may be in your best interest to fight most enemies you encounter. Plus, this is the only way to earn experience and monsters always drop loot. Depending on who you play as, you will come across obstacles impeding your way. For example, with Atlas, you may see a large log blocking the path and that it is connected to a pulley system. If you find the high ground (these are designated areas that will activate the ability), Atlas is able to aim at and shoot switches activating the aforementioned pulley or moving walls. Each character has their own unique ability to interact with the environment.
Combat in Alterium Shift is turn-based (duh). Your party goes, the enemy goes, and back and forth until one side is left standing. Party members can do a basic attack, use a skill, guard/evade, or use items on their turn. The turn list can be seen on the top of the screen allowing for some planning/strategy. The skill menu is all-encompassing meaning it contains any attack or defense ability that is not your basic attack. The majority of Atlas’ attacks are all archery based but you will also find his heal ability here or Pyra’s defensive buff and Sage’s essence boost. Health and essence are not refilled upon exiting combat so you need to use items, rest, or level up to get it back.
One benefit of seeing enemies allows for time to regroup instead of stumbling into another fight with no essence and having to burn a turn using replenishment items. At a certain point in the story, the characters can learn an ultimate attack. This functions similarly to limit breaks in Final Fantasy 7. Every action that the character takes will add a varying amount to their burst bar. Once filled, the spell will become available to use. These spells pack a punch and do heavy damage. Unfortunately, you generally only see them during boss fights as most enemies die before the bar fills up. It will be interesting to see if more is planned for these abilities. When selecting the ability, the game indicates that one segment of the burst bar will be used but in the game’s current state, there is only one segment that can be seen.
All games generally have a “gimmick” or something that makes them unique and different than the other games in their particular genre. How about the save system? Huh?? Yes, the save system is not just for saving your game state in Alterium Shift. When you first start up the game, you pick one of the three main characters. It is not evident at first but when continuing the game, you may notice that each character has their own set of save slots.
My original thought was that this was just to organize and help you remember where you were when playing as each character. Actions taken on one character can impact the other characters and you can freely swap between them. Early Access is only two acts currently so hopefully we get a clearer picture of how this will work and how much of an impact it will really have in the full release. This could lead to near-endless (maybe not that many but you get the point) possibilities of gameplay action
Alterium Shift is in Early Access which brings about inherent risks and may be a turn-off for some gamers. There is definitely more to love than not even in the early stages. The combat is fun and when you do have longer fights, utilizing buffs and debuffs adds some excitement to the fight. There is plenty of humor in the dialogue ranging from smart and clever to groan-worthy dad jokes. The ability to play from three different perspectives in addition to the unique but optional save system gives them gave longevity and/or replayability. Are there things I wish would be different or fixed? Sure. Are they game-breaking? No. The developers have been straightforward with the current state of the game and even recommend the demo first to get a proper feel. “But you got a free code!” Yes so feel free to check out both the steam reviews and the discussions. You will find many instances of the developers responding and even welcoming criticism. This is the best part about Early Access, especially with active developers. You get to watch the game evolve over time. If you love classic SNES-era JRPGs, give this a chance. If you are on the fence after reading the review, go download the demo and join the discord to have real-time discussions and provide feedback. At the very least, add it to your wishlist and wait until the full release.
