Toward Dawn

A short(ish) RPG created as a (mostly) solo project. I highly recommend it due to a tactical battle system that juggles statuses and action speed, a nice world rooted in Welsh mythology, and retro-styled art reminiscent of the SNES and GBA Fire Emblem games.

[quote] Love RPG? [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39973073/]Make sure to Follow my Curator Page[/url] for plenty more! [/quote]Toward Dawn is a heartfelt indie JRPG with sharp combat, deep themes, and stunning mythological flavor. It’s short but impactful, with clever mechanics and real emotional weight. ✔️ Unique poise-break battle system ✔️ Beautifully grounded Welsh setting ✔️ Great writing and soundtrack ❌A bit short ❌ Minor polish issues ✔️8/10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqEix3SKcBA [quote] And don't forget to [url=https://www.youtube.com/c/WizardWorm?sub_confirmation=1] Subscribe to my Youtube [/url][/quote] [quote] Join my [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/wizard_rpg] Steam Group [/url] [/quote]

Excellent effort for a first game by a solo dev. The graphics are serviceable and the close up portraits are nicely detailed. Combat mechanic is addicting, needing synergies and exploiting weaknesses to 'break' armour so that your regular attacks can do more damage. I would argue that the dev has the intended roles of each party member so you can't experiment as much as you're first led to believe but playing them within their roles was still engaging. I don't really have any negatives besides wanting voice acting throughout (I'm sure that's a budget issue), perhaps slightly longer play time (I finished nicely within 8 hours so that's about an hour per chapter), and some skits with plot relevance being easily missable (again, there is a tracker in game that tells you how to get them if you miss them, but you have to replay the game if you passed the chapter or scene so the new game plus update is a bonus). Def looking out for either a sequel or a new game from the dev.

Came for the "Did you want to bone-down with Blaidd from Elden Ring?" (and I love and appreciate the devs for the little nods and winks that show up in game to that!), stayed for the lovely (optional!) romance story with excellent writing and chemistry between the characters, challenging tactical combat with a surprising depth to it (that you can also tweak to your liking with good granular options!), and traversal that really rewards exploration through an altogether neat setting. Seriously hits the GBA game vibe and feel so well, up to and including a few unpolished bits in places that still overall didn't detract from my experience. If you're at all intrigued by it, you should play it!

[h1]Toward Dawn – A Hidden Gem You Shouldn't Sleep On[/h1] I genuinely cannot believe more people aren’t talking about this game. [b]Toward Dawn[/b] is officially one of my favorite games now ♡(˃ᴗ˂) If you love retro JRPGs, mythology, emotional storytelling, and beautiful pixel art - please give this one a chance ✧˖° [hr][/hr] [h2]Why I Loved It[/h2] [b]Welsh mythology?![/b] That alone hooked me. You rarely see it in games, and it gives the entire story such a unique atmosphere. [b]The pixel art is gorgeous.[/b] It has that nostalgic retro JRPG vibe that I absolutely love, but it still feels detailed and alive. Every area feels crafted with care. [b]The writing is genuinely strong.[/b] The story flows smoothly and explores heavy themes in a thoughtful, natural way. Nothing feels forced. The emotional moments really land. [b]The music is beautiful.[/b] Some tracks genuinely stayed in my head after I finished playing ♫꒰･◡･๑꒱ [b]The voice acting? Spot on.[/b] It adds so much depth to the characters and elevates important scenes. I looooved it! [b]Optional romance.[/b] I really respect that the developer made romance optional - it gives players freedom in how they want to experience the story. That said… I personally wouldn’t have complained about a few more romantic scenes ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) just saying. [b]Gameplay is solid.[/b] Strategic turn-based combat, ability customization, crafting - everything feels satisfying. It took me around 10 hours to finish, and I enjoyed the entire journey (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ And the fact that this was made by a single developer? Massive respect. Seriously. [hr][/hr] [h2]A Few Small Issues[/h2] Nothing major, just small things I noticed: [list] [*]The text at the beginning of some chapters scrolls a bit too fast (especially in early chapters). I couldn’t fully read it sometimes. Interestingly, this didn’t happen in the last few chapters. [*]In some chapter-ending scenes, the music volume is louder than the voice acting, which makes the dialogue hard to hear. [*]I had a small Steam Cloud issue: I viewed every skit in Chapter 7, but the game didn’t register it. I had to replay the chapter. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h2]Final Thoughts[/h2] Toward Dawn is emotional, beautifully written, visually charming, and clearly made with a lot of heart (╥_╥)♡ It absolutely deserves more visibility. If you’re into retro-style RPGs with strong storytelling and unique mythology influences, please check it out. Support indie developers, especially when they create something this special. Thank you Devi Serene ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ♡

[h1][b]6.5/10[/b][/h1] Charming indie turn based RPG based on Welsh mythology, which makes it rather unique. Has an exploration mode on top of the dialogues and combat. [h2]Pros:[/h2] - Good music & sound design, and decent voice acting - Unique turn based system where action speed and damage can change turn order - Has a decent amount of traits, passives, and skills to keep combat interesting [h2]Mehs:[/h2] - The Welsh thing means most of the proper names and races and such are unpronounceable. Sometimes, the characters say these words, but it takes many tries for the correct pronunciation to stick in my mind as an English speaker [h2]Cons:[/h2] - Too much of the text is a bit difficult to read. It's *very* pixelated so when it's small, so it gets distorted - The characters aren't terribly versatile and were clearly designed with their own specific roles in mind. Skills and passives pretty much only expand on those preexisting roles

超级棒的RPG，天才的战斗系统，10分推荐！

Toward Dawn is something that doesn’t come around very often, a turned based RPG with good pacing. The forward momentum of the narrative and character development, along with the wide range of skills and strategies, makes for a potent mixture that’s hard to put it down. I’m a dummy when it comes to turn based combat, usually hitting the basic attack, hoping the health whittles down to 0. This game however pulled me out of my comfort zone, helped me engage with its systems I wouldn’t normally understand. With each characters move set being tied to their personality and dynamics, I could clearly understand their place in the combat system and I think that’s pretty neat. The main cast is truly wonderful, with the main dynamic between Carys and Bleddyn being the obvious standout. Their gentle care for one another in light of their respective traumas is so well written that it’s impossible not to root for them. But overall the main reason I love this game is it made me feel things. The world is hostile and intolerant, but through finding your people and caring for them, the world can maybe slowly get better, like Clary’s says, it won’t happen in a day… also big wolf guys are cool as hell.