Battle Chasers: Nightwar Reviews
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a gorgeous, challenging RPG that's light on story but big on tactically satisfying battles.
Battle Chasers: Nightwars' combat and activity-dense world scratch the JRPG itch, even if the storytelling and character development leave a fair bit to be desired. Its attractive dungeons and outdoor regions are fun to get lost in, and there are just enough hidden treasures to claim to make exploration rewarding in a more than visual capacity. I'd be very pleased to see more turn-based indie RPGs along the same lines as Nightwar in the future - and the ending heavily suggests this won't be the last we see of this universe in RPG form.
If you're in the mood for a grind, Battle Chasers delivers more than enough. Nightwar is full of tense action, but you have to be patient to make it to the end
Lots of work has gone into Nightwar since its first release, and the balancing improvements make it an easy game to recommend on all platforms.
I didn't go into Battle Chasers: Nightwar expecting much of anything, given the development studio's relative youth as a company and the spotty record of Kickstarted games. However, Nightwar's focus on style and character, coupled with a mostly excellent combat system, kept me hooked for much longer than I had imagined. Whatever your familiarity with its source material, this game builds a beautiful world with a surprising amount of depth just beneath the surface.
Despite a title that suggests it came out of a name generator, Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a satisfying slice of JRPG that forges a confident, colourful character of its own from formulaic ingredients. The approachable comic style, plus a couple of neat mechanics that encourage experimentation, give it a freshness that belies the age-old systems at its core, and it doesn't waste your time with filler. Depending on your skill, you'll probably spend around 30 hours on the critical path – comparatively breezy in RPG terms – though there's plenty of side content to occupy you beside the main quest, plus a trio of heroes you'll probably shun on your first playthrough. Disappointing performance dips aside, it feels at home on Switch. Ultimately, it's the same old story – numbers go up! – but it's shot through with an infectious exuberance and attention to detail that reinvigorates old tropes.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a new return to the famous Japanese RPG games, with amazing world and good characters but not tied well to each other and highly designed dungeons in the game.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
A game that pays an homage to the old RPG genre while still being innovative in some ways. Sadly this port isn't perfect.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Battle Chasers: Nightwar shows what an independent studio that cares about their graphic novel IP can do. Through hours of RPG combat and dungeon exploring, the game manages to stay interesting and fresh, which makes it difficult to put down. It's clear that developer Airship Syndicate has created a unique and fun turn-based RPG, but most of all they breathed life in the Battle Chasers universe to expose the series to a new group of fans while satisfying the old ones with a brand new adventure.
A RPG RPG with an old school RPG spirit, that may not be the best choice for those used to more modern RPGs because of its rhytm. Besides that an excellent game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a well-put-together and challenging old-school RPG. There's something here even if you have no love or knowledge of the comic series. While there are whispers that this game might mean Battle Chasers will return to print, I'd honestly prefer another game for this cast of characters. Now I'll just wait for the Switch version so I can play it all over again.
There is so much to love about Battle Chasers's take on the JRPG. Its strategic elements, well-crafted characters (although the attempts at self-referential humour with Red Monika's physique are not always successful), brilliantly judged battle system, and satisfying crafting all combine with a good, albeit not groundbreaking, fantasy narrative. Sadly it's plagued by frequent crashes which impact the score at launch, but this game is otherwise easy to recommend for fans of the genre.
The return of Joe Madureira to the videogame industry comes with a great game. Amazing visuals and artistic style that match perfectly its great gameplay mechanics.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Battle Chasers: Nightwar will conquer you from the beginning with its mix of JRPG combat-system, western aesthetics and gameplay for all tastes.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Battle Chasers: Nightwar delivers a satisfying game, but it really shines in moments where it blends a comic book with an RPG seamlessly. Fans of the series will fall in love with it, but it doesn't revolutionize the genre or come close to reaching the upper echelons of it.
While not without its fair share of problems and technical issues, Battle Chasers: Nightwar still manages to provide plenty of tense battles that challenge players. It's a shame that the characters never get to show their full personalities throughout, and that dungeons lack the personality of a truly great role-playing game, but even these issues can't hold it back from being a worthwhile time for players. It's a game that begs for a sequel, and hopefully Airship Syndicate will get to do just that as they have nailed so much of the formula.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a magnificent success.
Gorgeous to look at and packing some seriously satisfying dungeon dust-ups, Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a great RPG. Its story may struggle to surprise and its pacing is a little on the slow side, but stick with it and you'll get lost in a deep and rewarding adventure.
It might come from a small development team, it might be rough around the edges, but it's could be one of 2017 most unexpected RPG hits that more people should be aware of.