They grow up so fast! Not long ago, Owlcat were just a plucky young Kickstarter-funded RPG studio, giving us the likes of Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous. Now they're a big, strong outfit, fresh from the monstrously huge Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader, and rolling out their own publishing wing. Now we get to play our first slice of Shadow of the Road, the steampunk samurai RPG from Another Angle Games, and Owlcat’s first published title. Starting today, all it takes is one click on the game’s Steam page to jump into an early alpha test version of the game.
What you’re getting here is effectively an early warts-and-all demo, with the developers seeking feedback and bug reports from interested players before the cement sets too hard on the code. But from the little I’ve played so far, it seems relatively polished (some stiff animations aside), and a good introduction to its setting and turn-based tactics. If you’re still on the fence, perhaps the surprisingly high-energy trailer below will help you decide.
Oh, and before anyone points and laughs, the villain’s ridiculous four-barrelled pistol was a real period weapon, if rather impractical.
Honestly, I wish the alpha version had half half the energy of that video, but what’s on show here seems interesting. It puts story (told mostly through unvoiced dialogue) first, and even before you’ve swung your first sword in the alpha version’s tutorial, the game is having you make narrative decisions (further informed by mouse-over glossary terms) that seem like they might keep the two vengeful samurai protagonists together, or lead to them following separate paths later on.
There’s also mention of ‘cold-blooded’ or ‘soft-hearted’ traits that dialogue choices can build toward. Standard enough for a modern CRPG, but it’s easy to see why Owlcat are publishing; this feels very much in the same vein as their recent Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader.
It’s also interesting to see the game not shying away from the politics of the era, with the Japanese imperial court portrayed here as villainously receiving technology (albeit exaggerated here, with power-armor and mechs) and assistance from overseas, with European riflemen appearing even in the very first scuffle. I’m curious to see how Another Angle—a Warsaw-based Polish studio—square that away with a story involving yokai, magic and other fantastical elements, or if they end up biting off more than they can chew narratively.
While I’ve not had long enough to dig deep into the mechanics, the main tactical twist of Shadow of the Road should be familiar to fans of Final Fantasy Tactics. While some attacks are performed immediately, anything heavier requires time to aim, pushing the attack further down the (always-displayed) timeline. If there’s a sniper lining up a shot on one of your party members, then you might have time to move the character behind cover before the shot happens, or have another character interrupt.
Simple on paper, but you’ve you’ve got a few characters charging attacks all at once, things can get messy, especially as melee combatants get to take a free swing at anyone withdrawing from range. I’m curious to see just how complex things become in the full game, but for now, this feels promising. You can grab the alpha test version or wishlist Shadow of the Road on the game’s Steam page here.
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