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Review: Alterium Shift (Early Access)

6/10

Summary

Alterium Shift is an interesting RPG that takes you across different worlds in a traditional adventure. Three different protagonists gives you a new perspective on the same story. However, navigation proves to be difficult and it feels like you are shoehorned into specific paths. There’s a lot of potential but also a lot of refining.

Developer – Drattzy Games LLC

Publisher – Drattzy Games LLC

Platforms – Playstation 4/5,Xbox One , Xbox Series S|X, Nintendo Switch, PC (reviewed)

Review copy given by Developer

When the world has gone through several iterations of destruction, you rely on a last-ditch attempt to turn things around. By assisting one of three heroes, you might be able to change the fate of the world. The hero you choose determines how the story proceeds as well as the combat style you adopt. Fortunately, your hero isn’t alone and you uncover the truth behind the events of the past.

Alterium Shift plays like a traditional JRPG that has three different story paths. Even though the characters may be the same, the directions the story takes are different. By forming a party and fighting various enemies, you discover more truths to a complex world. However, the game feels like it forces you into certain paths because of bugs or incomplete content. Alterium Shift has good potential but lots of areas that need refinement.

The story begins when a floating essence realizes that the current world can’t be saved. To prevent this, they choose a timeline focusing on one of three heroes. These three heroes are friends but depending on who you control, the story takes a different turn. Having three different stories provides good variety, adding more replay value for people who love the game. It also helps bring familiarity to the stories instead of jumping to a brand new setting.

Exploration and combat are also familiar for JRPG enthusiasts, encountering enemies in the field. Defeat the enemies through turn-based combat, understanding weaknesses and status ailments to win. You also have a turn order to follow but understanding how to exploit it helps you win. As your allies grow, you have more skills to draw on and more methods to exploit weaknesses.

The main problem with exploration is that there is no clear dungeon map. There’s an overworld map telling you where you are, but there are many twists and turns in a single dungeon area. It’s easy to get lost and not know where to go. Enemies are also plentiful with your main source of recovery being level increases. This makes the early-mid game tough, especially when you can get lost trying to find your way back to town.

There are also some story instances that feel forced or are bugs. For example, one story has you deliver letters to three locations. But one of them can’t be accessed and you must get someone else to help you do the tasks. There was no indication that this area couldn’t be accessed until you must deliver the letter. Being forced to pursue alternative methods feels annoying because it feels like something that should be possible.

Saving also needs some work because it doesn’t always work as intended. Manual and auto saves are easy to create but don’t load the proper instance when you select them. They always default to your most recent auto-save unless you exit the game. This makes it hard to backtrack or reload if you find yourself stuck. If you can’t rely on your saves, it makes it harder to take risks and you don’t feel like recording your progress.

You can feel there’s a lot of potential with Alterium Shift but it still needs work. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time to implement changes and improve the user experience. It’s something to look forward to if you like the classic JRPG feel and turn-based combat. Right now, it’s rough around the edges but can only get better.

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