In the year 2024, an encroaching darkness has a stranglehold on the people of Shibuya. Discrimination and oppression plague the once lively city, forcing its residents into an unwanted life of suppression. Despite the dour circumstances, there are those who act freely; liberated of society’s burdens. Only those who hold their ideals close to their hearts can make a change. Step into a world of magic and use your powers to make your desires a reality in Reynatis. Our Reynatis Demo Impressions will let you catch a glimpse of this dark reimagining of Shibuya before the game or demo reaches a worldwide audience!
Taking a Nighttime Shibuya さんぽ
It’s another dark night in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward. Drugs that turn people into monsters flood the streets. Social media rumors about rogue wizards have put the populous even more on edge. The normal stress of everyday life already burdens everyone plenty. Can their reliance on the government prove enough? Or are the people in need of change? Of Liberation?
The Shibuya streets have a wonderful moody vibe, perfectly accompanied by Shimomura’s score. Despite the game perfectly capturing its tone, the Shibuya streets are a fairly plain overworld. You walk around to your story objectives while engaging with side quests you pick up from NPCs. This isn’t bad! These activities enrich the world. But the normal modern RPG content isn’t where the game shines with its overworld. Reynatis integrates the story themes into your navigation. When you take control of Marin or other wizards, you must be wary of your public perception. Avoiding fights, wearing your hood, and taking back streets are key to both proceeding and strengthening the themes of the game. Your character’s stress levels and public perception also affect the side content you can access.
The vibe of walking through Shibuya at night is great. The underlying mechanics at play, with stress and attention, also create a much-appreciated story-relevant connection to the gameplay. Thus, making the dark yet bright strolls through Shibuya even deeper. However, certain versions of this game will jerk you straight from your fantasy back to reality. (foreshadowing)
Magic Under the Hood
In a world where wizards can’t walk the streets, Marin and his compatriots must keep to the shadows. Sticking to back alleys and low-foot traffic areas won’t always be possible. Good thing that our fashionable protagonist struts his stuff in a hoodie! Strolling through the city streets as a fugitive is much more manageable this way. Avoid unwanted attention while furthering your agenda. While Marin is ‘incognito’ during ‘Suppression Mode’ he can easily calm his nerves with a refreshing vending machine drink or even help give wizards a good name by accepting quests from the citizenry. However, the dark machinations at play will force your hand…
When the going gets tough, throw off your hood and shift into high gear! In ‘Liberation Mode’ you cast aside the veil and reveal Marin’s true nature as a wizard. Wandering around in the open, flaunting your magic, is risky. Unneeded attention from the outside world is foisted upon Marin as his internal stress unwantedly builds. Juggling society’s judgment and the desire to be yourself is exhausting, but it’s necessary.
Marin’s combat prowess really comes out in ‘Liberation Mode’. Magic flows throughout Marin, enabling him to accomplish great feats of strength. Combat is fast and frantic, with our wizard protagonists zipping around and swinging wildly. Wizards are frightful in this sense, no? Tapping into his magical abilities allows Marin to cast magic in the form of wizarts. Wizarts consume some of your magic meter to enact magical feats that can devastate enemies or work into greater strategies. Combining the instant pop of a wizart with the relentless draining of your MP Liberation mode forces the player to be mindful of their play style. Running out of MP forces Marin and other wizards to revert back to their suppressed, hooded states.
MP regeneration is one of the two, key, flavors of Reynatis’ combat. Offense and defense in a sense. Offense is using your attacks and wizarts to consume MP, while defense relies on idle MP regeneration and perfect dodges to replenish your MP. Yes, while in suppressed mode you regen MP. Perfect dodges reward daring players a chance to instantly regain a large chunk of MP and immediately go back on the offense. This action also treats the player to a lot of delicious flair. It does take some getting used to the perfect dodge mechanic. The timing feels a little wonky. Also, the dodge is so effective in terms of speed and distance that I would just careen PAST attacks. Too much of a good thing?
Reynatis Demo: Switch vs PS5 Comparison
Sadly, one of the release platforms for Reynatis just can’t contain the magic. Let’s take a closer look at the Nintendo Switch version. Graphically speaking, I don’t really have anything to complain about. The cutbacks in image quality and graphics settings make sense and don’t detract from the final product. It’s more than expected at this point in the Switch’s lifespan. Sub 1080p visuals and small cuts to asset quality have never deterred me from having a great time on the hybrid system.
What will snap me back to reality and create a “less than ideal” gaming experience is poor performance. Just look at this. In its current state on Switch, Reynatis is plumb outta MP. It just drags along. What should be a nice vibey jaunt through Shibuya is now a stuttering mess. Gotta love that especially in combat. The low framerate and poor frame timing pair excellently with the perfect dodge mechanic. Not. I hate to say it, but in this state, I simply cannot recommend playing the game on Switch. Hopefully, the performance will be polished up for the full international releases.
At least those who will be picking Reynatis up on PS5 are in luck! The performance isn’t perfect in every scenario, but it does basically lock 60 fps. Running through the Shibuya streets with your hood on is crystal clear AND smooth as butter. Even magical explosions boom with extra clarity and smoothness. As of now, PlayStation is certainly my platform of choice. I don’t even think the Switch’s portability can make me choose it over its crispier, silkier counterpart.
Our Hooded Liberator Bides His Time…
The world is unjust and corrupted. Can enough strength truly Liberate it? Reynatis presents the modern world-inspired, magic-injected, reimagining of Shibuya in very interesting ways in the story. The actual exploration is basic but gives us some sights to see and ground to cover. The combat is where Reynatis shines outside of its story intrigue. The combat is fast and flashy with an addictive perfect dodge mechanic that rewards skilled players with MP. Perfect for doling out even more explosive combos and Wizarts. This is all a great time on PS5. However, the poor performance of the Switch version severely hampers the moody exploration and action combat. Reynatis is on my Radar. For PS5 that is. Here’s to hoping for improved stability in the full release!
Feel free to check out this interview featuring Reynatis director, TAKUMI, and the legendary Yoko Shimomura and Kazushige Nojima!
