Alterium Shift is a leap into the past. A game inspired by old 16-bit RPGs. Still in early access, let’s see what this title has to offer.
People like me who are quite old, playing Alterium Shift will surely remember the golden era of 16-bit RPGs. Especially together with the SNES they formed a granite dichotomy that marked and transformed the gaming world. Unforgettable titles like Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Star Ocean, Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana, just to name a few. Their legacy has been so strong that their pixel art style and basic dynamics have been revived and enriched in recent titles. Just think of Octopath Traveler, Sea of Stars or Chained Echoes.
Above all, Octopath Traveler seems to have inspired a dynamic of Alterium Shift, even if the title declines it in a different way.
Drattzy Games LLC and GRAVITY GAME ARISE Co have released this title, still in early access, which aims to pay homage to the RPG genre.
Alterium Shift and the 3 Protagonists
Exactly! Alterium Shift has 3 protagonists, 3 potential heroes whose paths and destinies will cross depending on our choices. Although, in all honesty the deus ex machina seems to be a luminous orb. A sentient entity trying to remedy a catastrophe that has already occurred.
But now we come to our heroes and their characteristics.
Pyra is the classic warrior. Rigorous, punctual, with a great sense of duty and an innate predisposition for command. He is skilled at channeling the element of fire into his spear attacks. She has an almost big-sister bond with Atlas, an archer who dominates the element of wind. Skilled but quite insecure, he has a very close relationship with Pyra who often helps and encourages him. An interesting gameplay character with both attack and defense skills. Sage is a completely different character, sleepyhead, snooty and vain. A wizard who possesses the ability to control all elements in the game. All the characters are well characterized, and are capable of involving the player with their thoughts. Each of them will react to events based on their character and there will be no shortage of funny moments.
A Slow Start
The beginning of Alterium Shift is exactly old school, slow and full of little details to grasp. Whichever character we choose, we will always start the adventure in the village of Summiton. We are on the eve of the exam which, once passed, will allow us to venture outside the village. To pass both the practical and written tests, we will literally have to study on the books in the library. An expedient that serves to introduce us to the lore of this world and offers us some advice on the combat system, based on elemental weaknesses.
The village also offers some typical JRPG quests such as fetching chickens that have escaped from the yard. Obviously the houses can all be explored and as per tradition we can freely sneak into other people’s homes and perhaps open their chests. Although interesting and respectful of JRPG traditions, the beginning is quite slow. Especially with Pyra, getting the story off the ground becomes tiring even for those who know the genre and its clichés.
The World Map
Once we leave the village we will face the world and the game map. The map presents the points of interest that we can reach, but here the first problems begin. Crossing the game world to reach our goal is quite difficult and not very intuitive. For example, if we want to reach a place to the east starting from the village, however much we move our icon on the map will remain fixed on the same point. Furthermore, there are uploads within the same area, the latter disorientate and do not encourage exploration. This is a shame because the areas are well designed, with secrets to discover and enemies clearly visible.
Even if you get used to it, the disorientation is strong and you risk losing little secrets that are part of the experience of this genre. To overcome this problem, bright circles were placed at the edges of some areas of interest. Just enter it with the character to be able to navigate the map to another circle, practically a fast travel. Convenient, but which makes you lose any interaction with both the environment and the enemies.
Alterium Shift and the Game Mechanics
The mechanic of this title is certainly the characters’ choice, with the relative implications that this entails. For this reason many have compared the title to Octopath Traveler, even if there are substantial differences. In Octopath Traveler the characters are strangers to each other.
The chosen character starts in a specific point of the world and depending on his path he can cross paths with others, knowing and participating in their story. In Alterium Shift we have 3 friends. Once the protagonist has been chosen, we essentially experience the same story, but from his point of view. There is no shortage of different interactions and areas depending on the character chosen. Basically the destination and some points are the same, the way you get there partially changes. Each character has a unique ability to use while exploring the map. Pyra can destroy some rocks, Atlas can activate switches by shooting them with arrows while Sage senses traces of Alterium to uncover secrets and sense enemies.
The combat is classic turn-based, some skills also have secondary effects such as decreasing the attack, defense or speed of the opponents. There are also elemental weaknesses, but it all results in extra damage without additional bonuses or status. By increasing the level you unlock more skills, plus you also unlock a bar that fills every time you inflict or take damage. Once filled we can cast a particularly powerful special shot.
Two Worlds
We discover the other fundamental mechanic with a plot twist. Without giving too many spoilers, we will discover that we can interact with crystals, through which we can literally move into a parallel world. The world of the dark elves. From this moment the interaction with the crystals becomes fundamental. By interacting with them we can unlock light barriers by changing the color of the crystals, decide whether to change characters or talk to that orb of light that we encounter at the beginning of the game.
These last two options are very important because we will discover important plot and lore elements, in addition to these we will understand another fundamental thing. Every story starts with a character that exists in a specific timeline. The interactions are different because they belong to a unique timeline. If we change characters we open another save slot, which means that we open another story that will never intersect with that of the other character. For this reason, only certain characters can open certain passages and have unique interactions.
My Two Cents
Alterium Shift certainly has some excellent ideas and you can see that the developers love and know the world of JRPGs well. Perhaps they are tied too much to that world and inevitably bring into their game the defects and dynamics of games created almost 30 years ago. The pixel art and the soundtrack are extremely accurate, well detailed and evocative. With this style we are catapulted into the past of the old titles.
The combat dynamics are also basic and you are often limited to using the same move almost all the time. Difficulty and balance should also be balanced. A player who knows the genre well can almost break the game and obtain powerful objects from the various vendors. The side quests themselves are a bit repetitive and typical of early 90s titles even if the rewards are good. The mechanics of the 3 protagonists and the interaction with the crystals is an excellent idea and encourages the replayability of the title. Furthermore, the story seems promising and has interesting twists. However, this is not a final judgment because the game is still in early access and the story ends exactly at the best moment.
We’ve basically played a prologue and we still have to see all the development. We have to take into account whether the mechanics and ideas will hold up throughout all the title and whether the rough edges will be fixed. Personally I can’t wait to play the finished product to evaluate it as it deserves.
“Alterium Shift certainly has some excellent ideas and you can see that the developers love and know the world of JRPGs well. Perhaps they are tied too much to that world and inevitably bring into their game the defects and dynamics of games created almost 30 years ago. However, this is not a final judgment because the game is still in early access and the story ends exactly at the best moment. We have to take into account whether the mechanics and ideas will hold up throughout all the title and whether the rough edges will be fixed.”
- Good gameplay ideas
- Interesting plot
- Good crystals mechanic
- Good retro pixel art
- Some map issues
- Basic gameplay and balance issues
- Plot needs to be developed
6.8/10
I’m a musician (pianist), a nerd and a longtime manga lover.
My gamer life started with a copy of Pitfall (1982) for Atari 2600, and so I grew up hand to hand with this medium until now. Later I started to look for what’s behind the final product, its design and what happens behind the scenes of the video game world.
