Reviews / 15 August 2023

My First Impressions: Alterium Shift

Alterium Shift is a retro styled RPG that captures the feelings and vibes of 90s-era JRPGs and blends it into today’s modern HD2D styled games. The game is currently in Early Access on Steam.

Choose one of three heroes on a mission to prevent a conflict between two worlds.

Pyra: a leader with a no-nonsense attitude melee fighter.
Atlas: a quiet and reserved bow wielder.
Sage: an egocentric spellweaver.

Embark on a journey through the living world of Alteria and experience its dynamic quests, unique turn-based combat, and choice-driven storylines. With three branching narratives and unforgettable characters, Alterium Shift is a retro-inspired JRPG that offers a new adventure with every playthrough.

Each character you can pick has their own unique personality, shown by how your part members refers to them and through their interactions with other characters. You are also given several conversation options, helping shape the relationships you forge with party members and story characters.

A lot of the story in Alterium Shift is learnt through the cutscenes that the game shows, and there are also a few lore books that can give you more of a history of the world of Alteria. Very early on you will have access to a library full of books delving into the world’s history. You will also learn some information through various characters that you meet on your journey through Alteria.

The combat system is just as you can imagine from an RPG. Combat is turned-based, with your party facing off against a variety of enemies. Each enemy has a weakness that you will learn the more you battle, with certain creatures being more vulnerable to a specific element, and resistant against others. You will also have a variety of heals your characters can use to help keep you and your party alive during some of the more difficult battles that can come about.

The art style is very nice, inspired by older games such as Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger while also having the modern feel that Octopath Traveller presents. The music is also very beautiful, with each theme being well composed and suited for each area you can visit.

Overall, Alterium Shift is shaping up to be a very solid JRPG and shows a lot of potential for an early access title. I look forward to seeing the game grow during its early access period.

Please note, this is just my initial first impressions of Alterium Shift, as the game is not fully completed yet and there is still plenty that can be changed or added in the future. I definitely look forward to coming back to the game once it is fully released.

I played Alterium Shift on Steam with a review copy. The game is available now as Early Access on Steam and will be hopefully coming to Playstation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox in the future.
Want to try the game first? There is a free demo available on Steam.