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Alterium Shift

82%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
replayability, optimization
82% User Score Based on 148 reviews

Platforms

Mac OSMac OSPCPCSteam DeckSteam DeckWindowsWindowsLinuxLinux
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About

"Alterium Shift" is a classic JRPG with immersive 2.5D graphics and pixel art, featuring turn-based combat and dynamic quests. Choose from three unique characters, each with their own skills and elemental powers, to explore the magical world of Alteria and uncover its secrets. With branching storylines, the game offers a new experience with every playthrough.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Alterium Shift screenshot

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 148 reviews
story36 positive mentions
replayability3 negative mentions
  • Alterium Shift offers a nostalgic 2.5D RPG experience reminiscent of classic titles like Chrono Trigger, with engaging storylines and unique character abilities that enhance gameplay.
  • The developers are responsive and actively engage with the community, showing a commitment to improving the game based on player feedback.
  • The game features charming visuals, a delightful soundtrack, and a humorous writing style that adds personality to the characters and world.
  • As an early access title, the game suffers from bugs, performance issues, and a lack of quality-of-life features such as a quest log and detailed maps, which can hinder navigation and gameplay.
  • The combat system is considered repetitive and lacks depth, leading to a less strategic experience as players may find themselves spamming the same abilities.
  • Some players have reported significant technical issues, including game freezes and crashes, which can disrupt the overall experience.
  • story
    138 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of Alterium Shift is still in development but shows great potential with its engaging narrative and unique character arcs, allowing players to experience different storylines based on their choices. Each of the three protagonists offers a distinct perspective, enhancing replayability, though the current lack of a quest log and navigational aids can hinder the experience. Overall, the narrative is intriguing and well-crafted, with a mix of humor and depth, leaving players eager for the complete story.

    • “Aside from the obviously gorgeous visuals, the game has a fun spin on the story with multiple characters that go through variations of the main story.”
    • “The story unfolds through engaging dialogue and well-crafted lore, adding a compelling narrative layer to the strategic gameplay.”
    • “Engaging storyline and character development: Alterium Shift offers an engaging story with three unique characters, each with their own paths and storylines, adding considerable depth and replay value to the game.”
    • “The storyline could use a bit of sprucing up, and the characters could do with a bit more personality through interactions.”
    • “The first 20/30 minutes are way too slow; I would cut some content or speed it up to get the player fast into the story or in the action.”
    • “However, not a lot of replayability after you finish the story, and no map or waypoint system that made me feel often lost and not sure where to go.”
  • graphics
    52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their nostalgic blend of retro pixel art and 3D backgrounds, reminiscent of classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger and Lufia 2. Players appreciate the unique and well-designed sprites, vibrant environments, and engaging animations, which contribute to a fresh yet familiar visual experience. While some note a cap of 30fps, the overall aesthetic and art style are considered a strong highlight of the game.

    • “The graphics are perfectly on-point for the era of games they're trying to evoke, with unique and well-designed sprites, gorgeous environments, and excellent sound design, complete with a musical score that pulls you into the situation without ever feeling repetitive.”
    • “The visuals are very nice, featuring retro pixel art and are very reminiscent of games like Chrono Trigger, especially for its animations.”
    • “The graphics are crisp, the nostalgia is high, and the systems have just enough new and interesting stuff to make it feel like a fresh take.”
    • “The visuals are in pixel art, maybe not as excellent as in, for example, Dead Cells or Blasphemous, but still quite well made and with a 3D effect.”
    • “Graphically it is typical of the genre, but there are some really fun animations in battle.”
    • “I'm over 40 and the last gaming system I had was the original NES, so the graphics seem like a throwback to games like Zelda.”
  • gameplay
    38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is a blend of nostalgic RPG elements and modern mechanics, featuring a top-down view and turn-based combat that allows for strategic depth and character customization. Players can engage in meaningful choices that impact the storyline and explore various character abilities, although some map design issues can obscure gameplay. Overall, the game promises a fun experience with a compelling narrative, engaging mechanics, and potential for extensive playtime, despite being in early development.

    • “The story unfolds through engaging dialogue and well-crafted lore, adding a compelling narrative layer to the strategic gameplay.”
    • “Customization and choices: players can customize their gameplay experience through meaningful choices that affect the storyline and have the opportunity to explore different character abilities and strategies in combat.”
    • “Tough but fair gameplay, amazing art design, and soundtrack.”
    • “The trees and buildings need a fade out so you can see what you're doing, as some portions of the maps are just too obscured by oversized art, and it detracts from the gameplay.”
    • “Sure, the story and pacing could use a bit more work, but the mechanics, the world, the art - it's all there.”
    • “The gameplay is classic of the genre, with a top-down view and turn-based combat.”
  • music
    38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its captivating and beautifully crafted soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. However, some players find the music repetitive, particularly during menial quests, which detracts from the enjoyment. Overall, while the soundtrack is often described as phenomenal and diverse, its looping nature can be a point of frustration for some players.

    • “The graphics are perfectly on-point for the era of games they're trying to evoke, with unique and well-designed sprites, gorgeous environments, and excellent sound design, complete with a musical score that pulls you into the situation without ever feeling repetitive.”
    • “There's a vast diversity in the music you'll hear, each track absolutely amazingly crafted for the game.”
    • “It's a witty game (puns and clever jokes galore), however, the looping soundtrack drove me crazy.”
    • “The art and music are totally captivating; exploring the game is a super relaxing dose of escapism.”
    • “There's a vast diversity in the music you'll hear; each track is absolutely amazingly crafted for the game.”
  • humor
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever and nostalgic dialogue, reminiscent of classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger. Players enjoy a mix of witty lines and groan-worthy dad jokes, with humorous interactions between characters and amusing responses from objects in the game world. Overall, the unique sense of humor enhances the gameplay experience, making it both fun and engaging.

    • “The game's sense of humor makes me want to leave no stone unturned for a bit of extra fun dialogue.”
    • “There is plenty of humor in the dialogue ranging from smart and clever to groan-worthy dad jokes.”
    • “From fishing mini-games and other mini-games to grinding for levels, reading books, and taking tests, straight up to entering a house only to be greeted with 'get out of my house!' followed by a really great 'knock next time and then you can come in' kind of dialogue with NPCs, it has already made me laugh, smile, and get blasted with nostalgia.”
  • replayability
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Alterium Shift boasts exceptional replayability due to its engaging storyline and the presence of three unique characters, each offering distinct paths and narratives. The option to play from different perspectives, combined with a unique save system, enhances the game's longevity, making it a standout title in its genre.

    • “The ability to play from three different perspectives in addition to the unique but optional save system gives the game longevity and replayability.”
    • “This level of replayability is rare, making Alterium Shift a standout title in the genre.”
    • “Engaging storyline and character development: Alterium Shift offers an engaging story with three unique characters, each with their own paths and storylines, adding considerable depth and replay value to the game.”
  • optimization
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization remains a significant issue, with persistent performance problems such as frame rate dips and lengthy loading times, particularly in town areas. Additionally, critical quality of life features are lacking, including visibility in combat and essential UI elements, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players note that performance is acceptable in certain areas, the overall technical execution is still considered poor.

    • “As far as performance goes, it's pretty good, although you can see that a few areas need to be improved.”
    • “However, a year later, the game is still poorly optimized, still missing critical UI features (combat has virtually no visibility to speak of), and the game is really struggling on a technical side with constant frame rate dips, loading on every screen transition including entering the same cookie-cutter houses. The maps of the overworld are bland and uninteresting to the point that the game becomes hard to navigate, and it is very unclear where the map will transition until you step on the transition point and see a loading screen.”
    • “Performance issues in some areas and missing quality of life (QOL) features, such as the display of enemy HP bars, logbook/bestiary to see what your current mission is, or to get more information about enemies.”
    • “Performance issues: the game chugs when in town.”
  • character development
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Alterium Shift features an engaging storyline with three unique characters, each offering distinct paths and storylines that enhance depth and replay value. While the character development is praised for its potential and uniqueness, the early access version requires further refinement, particularly in combat and navigation. Overall, the character designs are well-received, contributing positively to the game's appeal.

    • “Engaging storyline and character development: Alterium Shift offers an engaging story with three unique characters, each with their own paths and storylines, adding considerable depth and replay value to the game.”
    • “While the game shows great potential with its unique storytelling and engaging character development, the current early access version may still need polishing to address issues like the combat system's repetitiveness and navigational challenges.”
  • atmosphere
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its adventurous quality, enhancing the exploration experience. The original soundtrack complements this ambiance effectively, further immersing players in the world.

    • “I'm loving the adventurous atmosphere and have been having a blast exploring the world.”
    • “The OST is wonderful and really matches the atmosphere of the game.”
  • stability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, including severe UI bugs when switching between save files and frequent freezing that can result in lost progress. Players have reported confusing mechanics related to save file interactions and unexpected game overs, suggesting that the game may still be unfinished. Overall, while it has charm, the stability problems detract from the experience.

    • “It's a decent RPG game, but it has a repetitive bug where the game suddenly freezes and you lose all your progress, so make sure to do lots of saves every now and then.”
    • “Has a lot of cute ideas and a certain amount of charm, but it's also really buggy (severe UI issues when switching between separate save files for characters), has some confusing concepts (again, that multiple save files somehow interact thing), weird gender politics, and it either gives you a sudden game over after a certain bandit-cave section without explanation or that's the game not being done yet (and not having gotten an update for over a year).”
  • grinding
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mix of enjoyable and tedious tasks, such as hunting expeditions, mini-games, and chores that contribute to character development. While some appreciate the nostalgic elements and humor in NPC interactions, others may feel overwhelmed by the repetitive nature of grinding for levels and completing various tasks. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a blend of fun and monotony.

    • “From fishing mini-games and other mini-games to grinding for levels, reading books, and taking tests straight up to entering a house only to be greeted with 'get out of my house!' followed by a really great 'knock next time and then you can come in' kind of dialogue with NPCs, it has already made me laugh, smile, and get blasted with nostalgia.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    While the game delivers an emotional narrative, players express concerns about its lack of replayability and navigation tools, which can lead to feelings of confusion and disorientation after completing the story.

Buy Alterium Shift

12h Median play time
12h Average play time
12-12h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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