Reality collapses around Tokyo, and monsters shamble through the streets. Despite the apocalyptic scenario, the police’s Public Safety Department has a couple of tricks up its sleeve in the form of the two half-human, half-monster protagonists: Rena Hizuki and Soma Hoshigami. This is the premise of Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow, an experimental JRPG published by Arc System Works.
Regardless of execution, Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is a game full of fascinating ideas. Some of these ideas hit the mark, some are questionable, and others may be limited by budgetary constraints. Overall, the end product is intriguing, but whether it will be worth your time and money is another question altogether.
Point and Click
A lot of the time spent in Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow will involve looking at a map screen. There are plenty of spots to investigate, but they do not present equal opportunities. The game features something of a time management system, with each investigation taking a day or night time slot.
As such, players are incentivized to peruse the many reports, files, and in-game message boards for further context. This leads to a slightly disjointed narrative, but this may be somewhat intentional. However, the story takes some time to gain momentum, and many of the character interactions are bland, making it difficult to get attached.
To some extent, the game asks the player to piece the story together themselves. There is a lot of information about reality collapses, an opioid that turns people into monsters, and a mysterious cult. As the game progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to sort through it all, especially with regard to the message boards. Some quality-of-life improvements could have gone a long way here.
What Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is trying to do here is interesting, however. It’s a smart approach to take with a game that is clearly working with a limited budget. It gives players exploratory freedom despite the lack of a 3D environment to navigate in and explore.
The Best of Both Worlds
The star of the show here is the combat mechanics. Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow would’ve been right at home on the PSP as a cult hit if it had released in 2009. In fact, the battle system is somewhat reminiscent of Black Rock Shooter: The Game, but there’s still nothing out there quite like it.
Described as a “Tactical Timeline RPG,” Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow combines concepts from turn-based JRPGs and character action games. Players may slow down, analyze the situation, and even stop time, but that doesn’t necessarily reduce the challenge. Precise timing and situational awareness are often required.
The player’s primary offense comes in the form of color-coded attacks. Enemies also utilize these, and with the right timing, they can be countered with the same color. Once an attack is used, a cooldown initiates, but the player doesn’t have to let up the pressure.
Attacks can be continuously deployed regardless of the cooldown meter, but their full potential can only be unleashed once the cooldown has reset. This allows players to keep their combo going and counter enemy attacks if needed. This often results in a hypnotic rhythm, achieving a flow state when the player is using every tool at their disposal
Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is a Deep Combat Experience
While the game attempts to explain its battle mechanics through several tutorial pop-ups, the explanations vary in quality. It’s better to learn the game by simply playing it. So many of the quirks of this system are understood better through the harsh process of failure.
However, once players gain a better understanding of the combat system, it proves itself to be a rich and rewarding experience. As more skills are obtained, the game opens up in tactical depth. Players can optimize for a higher damage output to speed up encounters and reward aggressive tactics, or opt for a more strategic build.
A ranking system incentivizes flawless play, much like a Devil May Cry game. By maintaining combos, damage multiplies, making those long combos all the more satisfying. Strong positioning or a lack thereof can mean the difference between life and death.
Overall, the combat system is what will keep players coming back to Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow if they decide to pick it up. It’s almost a perfect fit for handheld play, and it’s a shame there aren’t more games that play like this.
Uneven Presentation
Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow‘s lack of budget is largely felt in its presentation. While not inherently poor, it leaves a lot to be desired. The amount of assets here is severely limited and heavily recycled throughout the game. This results in an often repetitive experience, even if the basic art direction can be appealing.
The game’s 3D environments go for a stylized look, but often just come off as ugly and empty. The character illustrations in the game’s menus are brimming with gorgeous detail, but they are not very consistent with the art style found in the visual-novel style portraits.
There are some notable tracks to listen to, but the music is also limited. Fortunately, it was hard to get tired of listening to the battle themes. What music is here is solid, but it doesn’t stand out too much either. Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow isn’t a bad-looking or sounding game, but it does come off as cheap, for lack of a better word. Outside of an animated opening, the game cuts corners wherever it can.
Cult Appeal, but Not a Cult Classic
While those who pick up Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow will likely enjoy their time with it, it’s hard for the game to stand out in such a packed month. With the recent release of titles such as Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, RPG fans are not short on tempting options.
However, the reasonable price point at $24.99 and unique battle system may make the purchase worthwhile. Hopefully, the game does find an audience, because there are plenty of strong ideas on display here. There is plenty of room for improvement, and these combat mechanics should be revisited in another title.
Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is available on September 24 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Disclaimer: Arc System Works provided Final Weapon with a Steam copy of Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow for review purposes.
