Jack Move: I.C.E. Breaker

Note: In an earlier version of this short review, I made a mistake about what engine was used. The game was created entirely from scratch in Unity, the developer responded. The review was updated to reflect this, I failed my due diligence here to look into the game folder, as the menus felt right at home to me. My apologies go to the readers and the developer. This review is rather short, but of sufficient length, I hope, to inform about this "I.C.E. Breaker" version (the start of the full game, it seems) that indeed broke the ice for me. What is "Jack Move: I.C.E. Breaker"? This game is essentially a prologue (or the start of the full game) to the upcoming title "Jack Move". As the gameplay is reminiscent of classic RPGs, I will point out how it differs from those. Note that the game actually uses the Unity engine, and was made from scratch. In an earlier version of my review I had that wrong, and I apologize to all readers and the developer for this. Knowing this, it is even more impressive what was created here, as all was created from scratch. The controls support the XBOX gamepad, which is a really nice way to experience games in general. Alternatively keyboard controls also work, obviously. The battle system is overhauled, so skills are leveling up as well. In this slice of the game at least there is no party, but it seems from what I saw that you will spend most - if not all - of the game with only the single character, the girl Noa. The setting is a cyberpunk world with high pollution. You battle your way through the office of a megacorporation, then escape spectacularly. For a moment I thought this prologue ends on a cliffhanger, as you put your life completely into trusting a guy you're in contact with - your business partner in crime, it seems. Oh, yes. You're a criminal. You steal data to blackmail people, or in this case a megacorporation. That can't end well... or will it? I guess we will find out in the full game. There is a tutorial that explains the intricacies of the battle system. The major downside I found so far is that you can use "cache" all the time, i.e. with cache you defend and postpone your move (instead of losing it). So you can chain two moves together, attack or heal in the first and "cache" in the second. That way you always defend against enemy attacks, apart from when they attack you first. Oh, yes, you can see the predicted order in which you and your opponents will attack, but not what attacks they will use. But they also won't be able to predict your "Jack Move", the limit break that deals huge damage if you do a rhythm minigame correctly. People with dexterity issues or who don't like this minigame can just set the Jack Move to always do the maximum damage. As for the battle system, you can install hardware and software modifications. One of those is an equipment system, the other is a skill system where you swap out skills depending on what you need in the current situation. This can also be done during a fight, but uses up a move. However, it guarantees you always have an answer, as long as you have "Data" (skill use points, essentially MP) available. There are items that refill health and data, as well as some stations that also refill you for free. At least there was one in the prologue. You can freely save at any point, it seems. Recommended? All in all, this small portion of the game is around 25 minutes long. If you play over 10 minutes, you can also win the full game, so it is definitely worth playing through the demo if you enjoy cyberpunk RPGs.