Redemption Reapers Hands-On Preview: Tactical Medieval Warfare
Imagine Fire Emblem went through kind of a moody, emo phase and started reading a lot of dark fantasy novels and you'll have some idea what to expect from Redemption Reapers. This turn-based tactical RPG, from the developers of the excellent and unsung side-scrolling 2021 Soulslike Ender Lilies, puts you in command of the moody Ashen Hawk Brigade. Your task is to fight back against the Mort, an army of mysterious and murderous humanoid fiends who seem to care for nothing but the constant slaughter of innocent people. So, you know, you should probably do something about that.
Admittedly, I didn't get too much of a sense for the shape of the world or what the larger arc of the story is going to be after playing through the first seven chapters. We still don't know where the Mort came from or if there is any greater purpose to their terrifying rampage. That served as an interesting question that pushed me to seek answers, but it can also lead to the plot feeling a bit aimless. My band of beleaguered fighters was simply traveling from village to village trying to solve smaller problems in the wake of a seemingly all-consuming invasion, which left me asking if we were really making a difference at all. And maybe that's intentional. But I longed for some clearer, long-term goals.
The characters mostly come across like anime archetypes who rarely showed any hidden facets or surprised me by playing against their surface-level traits. Lugh is an edgy spear-wielder who enjoys the thrill of battle and bloodshed. Urs is a beefy barbarian type with a stony demeanor. We do get a few hints that our protagonist, Sarah, blames herself for some past failure in the war against the Mort that still haunts her. But in this small slice, it's
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