Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a role-playing game (RPG) developed by Airship Syndicate and published by THQ Nordic. An adaptation of Joe Madureira's fantasy comic book series of the same name and originally released as a PC game, it has been ported to the mobile platforms as well. For the purpose of this review, I will be talking about the Android version.
The game immerses players in a captivating storyline where the main cast of characters finds themselves stranded on an island. In order to secure their escape, they must embark on a heroic quest to thwart the wicked schemes of an evil sorceress.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar offers a well-balanced and satisfying gameplay experience, blending various elements seamlessly. Players will need to form a party of three, from five a selection of five characters. During the first five hours, you quickly start off with three party members, and will discover the rest of the crew later on. The game can be divided into three core components: exploration, overworld navigation, and turn-based combat.
Exploration: The exploration aspect of the game captures the essence of dungeon crawling. Rather than random encounters, enemies are visible in the game world. Upon contact, the game transitions into turn-based combat encounters. Players can switch seamlessly between any party member, and use limited abilities while exploring. These abilities can stun enemies, heal party members, or provide other benefits, further enhancing the gameplay experience. This unique approach adds a strategic layer even while outside combat.
Overworld Navigation: The overworld navigation utilizes a point-and-click system, where players select their desired destinations on a hand-drawn cel-shaded campaign map. The artistic aesthetics of the overworld map are visually appealing and contribute to the game's immersive atmosphere.
Turn-Based Combat: The main highlight of the game is its traditional turn-based combat style, where units take turns attacking or using abilities against each other. The turning queue system is intuitive, allowing you to easily determine the order of actions. Each skill has its own weight in the turn order, influencing their placement. For instance, selecting an Instant skill immediately casts the spell, while choosing Very Fast or Fast puts the character a few steps behind.
Overall, aside from being tactical, the combat is flashy, kinetic, and pure fun presentation wise. All the abilities of the characters are well balanced and are all actually usable, depending on the situation. The addition of the overcharge mechanic adds more freedom to the character to perform abilities despite lacking mana.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar's engaging storyline, strategic gameplay elements, and visually stunning art style create an immersive experience that effectively translates the essence of the comic series into video game format.