Redemption Reapers

This game is truly an underrated and hidden gem, with some of the strongest worldbuilding and soundtracks within the genre. Redemption Reapers is a turn-based tactical RPG with a solid foundation and great gameplay-loop. The Joint Attack mechanic is a great addition to the formula, creating explosive turns solely off the back of good positioning. The select cast allows for a focused narrative true to its setting, and character growth meaningfully complements combat. The dark setting feels grounded, realistic to its setting, and constantly threatening. The world-building is excellent and one of its strongest points, with letters and notes strewn on the battlefield as collectibles that read as real documents. Everything in this game breathes atmosphere, making it an extremely immersive experience. To break it down in an overview: PROS: - The combat is excellent, offering solid fundamental tactical combat on a grid. Action Points are used for attacks and abilities, and are completely decoupled from movement. This allows your units to split actions and movement how you see fit, giving the player every possibility to optimize their positioning. At the heart of Redemption Reapers’ combat lies the Joint Attack system, where characters adjacent to the enemy target can attack as well; chaining for multiple adjacent characters. This system is very smooth, transparent, and fully utilizes the positioning-opportunities just mentioned. However, damage is high both ways (you deal a lot of damage, but you also receive a lot of damage), so proper positioning is maximally rewarded in this game. - Redemption Reapers presents a world in decay, overwhelmed by unknown forces. The setting is dark, grim, and realistic within its own boundaries. This world is immediately gripping, amplified by the notes and letters scattered throughout this world. All characters (both PC’s and NPC’s) act and react in a plausible manner, and each character feels like their own personality. The story of Redemption Reapers focuses on a notorious band of mercenaries with some skeletons in their closet. The ending is true to its setting, and fulfills a power fantasy rarely fulfilled. Combined with the music (which is an OST that perfectly captures the scene presented), the game can bring you to tears on more than one occasion. - The game lets you control five players, each with their distinct personality and playstyle. Character growth is meaningful and ties into their combative roles very cleanly. Though the options might seem limited at first, as your characters grow, their interactions become increasingly clear. When you reach the mid-game, you’ll notice the party running like a well-oiled machine. And due to it being “only” five characters, the narrative is contained to itself without delving too much into the larger scope of this world. CONS: - Most of the game is presented via written text next to still-images, though the game is fully voice-acted. There are several FMV’s, which (though appreciated) look dated quickly and feels like something from a PS3-game. They are certainly good enough, but not up to par to the standards of many other games. - The story is contained and satisfying, but feels part of a larger whole. The world is so rich in scope and detail that the entire narrative feels like a first act to a larger story. Although the story of the Ashen Hawks is fully wrapped up, many things about the larger world and other NPC’s remain unanswered. - The game can be quite repetitive. Since damage is so high, you’re rewarded for a slower, tactical crawl. Since you only have two frontline characters (but rarely size-two chokepoints), you’ll often find yourself in an intense tactical retreat. Although true to the setting and an embodiment of the stakes of the setting, it slows the game down considerably. This happens twice, once when you’re retreating to create the space to maneuver. And since damage is so high, you’re rewarded for aggro’ing as few enemies as possible. This can make for a slow crawl. TL;DR: The combat is great with the Joint Attack system offering a fresh and unique addition to the genre. The world feels real, and is rich in detail and immersion. Alongside a gripping, self-contained story and an amazing soundtrack, this game can move you to tears more than once. If you’re a fan of rich, immersive dark fantasy worlds, or if you’re a fan of tactical RPG’s like Fire Emblem, Gears: Tactics or even something like Hard West II, then you’re gonna love this game.