Shadow of the Road Preview – A Different Take on Japanese History

Shadow of the Highway is an upcoming tactical, turn-based RPG from One other Angle Video games. Set in an alternate model of Nineteenth-century Japan, you’re pitted towards an Emperor who has embraced outdoors influences and goals to destroy the Shogunate. within the mix of steampunk weaponry and delusion, I took half in a gameplay presentation and hands-on preview of the alpha. 

Shadow of the Highway Preview – Steampunk vs. Samurai Showdown

You start enjoying as two ronin on this conventional Japanese setting, the place hints of steampunk weaponry from the West have invaded the land. That’s the overarching story of Shadow of the Highway, Civil Battle. The Emperor has declared the tip of the Shogun, utilizing fierce weapons like flamethrowers to take out his enemies. The Shogun do not simply lie down and die, nevertheless, as they recruit all warriors, even Ronin, to face the Emperor.

In the course of the battle, layers of non-public missions, mystical experiences, and character developments impart further tiers of narrative. Moreover, there are tie-ins with mythology, giving the title additional story layers to find. Throughout your explorations, you possibly can encounter yokai, who’re each pleasant and aggressive. Whereas the spirits are based mostly on Japanese lore, they’re modified to suit the alternate world constructed by One other Angle Video games. 

Exploration can lead you to facet quests, however that is not all. Medicinal gadgets, like reishi mushrooms, are discovered all through the land. These are necessary in maintaining you alive in robust battles. Lootable gadgets are marked with a pillar of falling blossoms making them straightforward to tell apart and acquire. That is nice for individuals who have points selecting out gadgets in a sensible setting.

In the case of the tactical a part of Shadow of the Highway, I performed via three totally different fight situations. The primary is your fundamental tutorial fight. This primarily entails the right way to break an enemy’s focus, destroy cowl, assaults of alternative, and shifting. I actually loved how the timeline shows turns for the entire battle, not only a single spherical. 

Your hand is simply held for a part of the battle with the remaining providing you with free reign to check out what you’ve discovered. Whilst a tutorial, you possibly can lose the sport if Akira or Satoru dies. Initially, I assumed if considered one of them survived the sport would proceed. However I used to be improper and shortly the sport over graphic was on my display. 

The next combats have been utterly totally different, tactics-wise. Within the second, you are tasked with defending a younger boy and warding off a number of waves of enemies. Within the third, you face fireplace, a yokai, and exploding eyeballs. By the tip of the battle, virtually my entire area was an inferno. I drastically needed to change how I moved my occasion to try to keep away from getting burned, making the battle extra drawn out than I might’ve appreciated. Nevertheless, none of my items fell, and I used to be in a position to make the most of some new ranged choices I acquired within the talent tree. 

By the tip of the playable demo included with the presentation, I used to be hooked. Not solely do I need to be taught extra about how yokai seem and probably accomplice with people, however I additionally need to know extra about these characters. How do the alternatives you make finally affect the story in a while within the recreation?

These all have me wanting to totally discover the world of Shadow of the Highway. I need to see how my decisions change characters all through the story. I need to see how yokai additional alter fight and what they add to the standard samurai fight expertise. 

Shadow of the Highway was previewed on PC with a code offered by Owlcat Video games over 90 minutes. Screenshots have been taken through the course of the preview.