Battle Chasers: Nightwar

This game is probably the SLOWEST dungeon crawler I’ve ever played. And I played a lot of them.
The artstyle is exceptional from the character design to the world, everyone and his grandma say this in the reviews, we get it, but this is, first and foremost, a videogame.
The fact that the devs did not include some basic features of every dungeon crawler since the Famicom, like skip animation, auto-actions or fast moving or… at least running instead of walking, is dreadful. I mean I am not asking for the moon, right? You move SO slow in the map and inside the dungeons, it takes too much time for something basic as going back to town or teleport between floors. Tie this with a very bad placement of teleporters in the overworld and in the dungeons and you’ll have to do so many slow unskippable encounters even against enemies way lower your level.
This is also that kind of dungeon crawling which makes you repeat the dungeons at higher difficulties for better lootboxes, yes, lootboxes, or for the chance to drop better equipment. Combine this with the excruciating slowness of everything it’s not the best experience of the genre.
At the current time I haven’t finished the game because the slowness has become dreadful so I can’t speak about plot. I just know the Battle Chasers franchise comes from a comic.
The review is positive because this is a game where the devs did an honest good job. The slowness part is really hard but not critical (this time at least).

that's Joe Madureira's game all over the place. it reminds me of games I miss a lot: Disciples 2 (its combat system), Darksiders 2 (everything else) and somehow Bastion (probably for its mood). really great game, I hope there'll be a second one someday

Short review after completing the game (missing only 2 very ginding achievements): a turnbased rpg based on the Battle Chasers comics delivering great art, combat and dungeons while lacking in the story department.

Pros:
- Very beautiful art style for environments, world map and dungeons, very impressive for and indie studio and probably the main attraction of the game
- Great soundtrack for battles, dungeons and great sound design for multiple actions like opening doors, chests and hitting stuff
- Nice looking world map reminiscent of a fantasy treasure map
- Great desing of monsters and bosses (also good animations for them, they are not static like other indie RPGs)
- Competent itemization (good amount of weapons, armor, potions and trinkets) and crafting/enhancing system (able to craft all types of gear and potions and also enhancing weapons and armor)
- Dungeons are the main bread of this game (8 unique dungeons beautiful in their design with their unique monsters, boss and puzzle mechanics with a small touch of roguelite randomization)
- Great turn based combat system with its own perks, mana is rare, however normal attacks/actions (each character has 4 unique normal attacks and even more skills) generate a special overcharge which can be used instead of mana. Normal attacks/actions are instant cast while each skill has a different speed of cast depended on their strength making all actions viable even at endgame
- A cast of 6 characters relatively unique to each other in terms of play style each having 2 massive skill trees to invest in and 3 ultimates per character
- Decent fishing system with great rewards to break up the monotony of combat

Cons:
- Main criticism you will find of this game is that its grindy. This applies to getting stuff to craft everything and to get steam and ingame achievements. While the steam achievements are just for decorations the ingame ones are not, as they permanently increase multiple stats of your party, and as they are so many of them the boost is massive and are a requirement as the game can be hard (this means multiple runs of same dungeons to kill/find stuff and some of the achievements require RNG events to happen and if you are unlucky you will loose a lot of time replaying)
- The main story is very lackluster in combination with barely any sidequests and character development it only serves to move you from one dungeon to the next one
- A lot of monsters appear as reskins in later areas (this is very noticeable for slimes, bats, bandits and spiders)
- Some bugs are present as you can get stuck in some puzzles in dungeons, or in the fishing menu if you press to quickly and before each combat start there is a slight delay

If you can show some patience regarding the grind and weak main story this game is pretty good, its beautiful art style and great combat makes this a solid indie turn based RPG worth a buy.

This is an American take on a JRPG and is inspired by a late 90s comic book.

Gameplay features:
1) It uses a randomised tile set for each dungeon, so each trip to the boss is different. However, some tile sets are more common than others so you'll soon remember where the treasure chests are. The world map doesn't change it's layout.
2) You have to take 3 of the possible 6 party members into combat as you'll generally be taking on 1-3 enemies in a fight. In the event there are 4 or more foes, they get split into equal waves so you won't be overwhelmed. Your max character level is 30.
3) The skills come in two types: zero mana cost, basic attacks with no casting time (instant) and generate temporary mana. Premium attacks that cost mana and have a casting time ranging from very quick to very slow. All skills can be modified with Perks. These come in two different character specific sets; cost 2 to 20 points each. You may acquire up to 200 perk points in total for any character and spend up to 100 points in either set.
4) The fishing mini game is annoying to complete, as the different fish have different spawn rates. There are 5 tiers of rarity (white, green, blue, purple, orange) along with the different dungeon associations. e.g. a Rainbow sub is a purple tier fish, associated with the Junktown dungeon.
5) The bestiary requires 3+ kills of a given foe to display all their stats & abilities. Possible loot is displayed once it has been acquired, not before. Completing kill challenges will award stat buffs.

battle chasers is a good game.
at its core, it's pure turn-based fun. there's not a lot to hold you back here - characters function a specific way, interact with each others nicely, and combat is pretty satisfactory. layer on top of that a not too bad world (map/dungeons) and you have a pretty decent package.
dungeons are decently paced, and having pre-set encounters (you can avoid) is a good addition. none of them feels like they overstay their welcome, but encourage revisiting them on higher difficulties for better loot. which is topped by having some collectibles merchants to take some stuff off your hands or let you craft stuff.
aesthetically and visually, the game hits all the right notes as well - pretty to look at and enjoy. a good way to complement the gameplay.
battle chasers is also a slow game.
now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but at its core the game is also slow - animations are drawn out, battles take a bit to start up, walking is not the fastest and there's no run button. on all those points, the game feels more methodical. is that good? is that bad? it feels like it makes the game last longer than it actually is. which i guess is bad. but at the same time it lets you take in how pretty the game is. which is good i think. eventually it does start to wear thin because you start fighting similar enemies/archetypes. which is bad. especially when every. special. attack. always plays in full.
i'm not going to pretend this is a bad game - it's good. but it's also drawn out a moderate bit by the speed of the game. i think that part specifically will annoy a lot of people. maybe not enough to turn them off the game. but i still think there's something decent on offer here.

This game is crazy good. Story is bare bones but combat is engaging, builds are widely varied and very fun, lots of varying enemies and bosses are very difficult while also being exciting.
This is one of my favorite turn based games ever

Note: If you love turn based tactical strategy, this is the game for you. If you want a deep story and deep characters, this game is not for you. If you need a game to vibe to and enjoy without the stress of it being in real time or online, and you are working, and have a busy life, I highly recommend this game.
I started to play this game on Xbox, I got very far and absolutely enjoyed this game, the characters abilities, bosses, dungeons and loot. I DID not play this game for the story, in fact I hyper skipped all dialogue, because honestly, there is no deep story to this game.
Whats good:
Fighting dynamics, abilities, Character ability trees as you leve up they unlock. One thing for certain, Taunt and shield will save you more than not, in fact, its how I won most my fights, however, it is not a save all; you will need to have strategy and be mindful of turn order. Also, yes, the enemies are not "Diverse" in that you will see repeat enemies even when you progress, however this is limited. I loved the fishing aspect of this game, absolutely loved it lol.
Top down traveling was a nice dynamic. I enjoyed that each character has their own abilities when entering certain areas and location. Healing, speed, poison etc. Which are very helpful when preparing for fights and navigating dungeons. Once again, no deep lore, however, super fun game if you are simply in it for the turn based combat, strategy, abilities, upgrades, dungeons and bosses.
What could be better:
I do wish they had a story, it builds the immersion. While a story begins to develop, it will erode over time and you will forget one even existed. I hardly even noticed the story. I was more immersed in combat, abilities and the turn based tactics than anything else. This is not a game for a story, it is a game to chill, have fun, do some dungeons, fight bosses, destroy enemies and creatures and just vibe.
I would highly recommend this game. I know the reviews are mixed, and many people who have the time to immerse themselves in a story should find a game that will give them that. But, I work allot, have kids and I am very busy, so when I get a chance to play games that do not require it to be PVP, or PVE, online or where I cannot pause the game, I tend to avoid them unless I have special me time, which is rare.
Another thing to Consider:
Turn based games like this are important and valuable for people who cannot play real time strategy or real time games.