Played Theia a few months ago and thought it was alright, so I've had my eye on this for a while now. Tried out the demo this morning. I have to say, so far it feels very messy.
Visually the game is extremely noisy- basically everything on the map has the same sort of visual importance, which led me to miss some doors, overlook some chests and other such things as well as sometimes bump into scenery that looked traversable at a glance. Combined with the soupy, floaty camera (which I really can't explain, it seems functionally unnecessary) and the overbearing neon/bloom effects in places, it made movement and exploration more of a chore than it needed to be.
Outside of that, even the UI is kind of confusing at times? The gab windows appearing on the screen mid-exploration is an odd choice- I miss 90% of that dialogue if I don't just stop in my tracks to read it, at which point it may as well be a normal cutscene. I get this is intended to be like squad/ambient conversations in games like Mass Effect, but I don't think it works very well in this kind of game, or as text only. Those windows sometimes cover up the player or elements of the map as well, lending to visual clutter and confusion. That kind of element-stacking happens elsewhere too, like objectives covering map names, or exceed activation warnings ironically covering the actual exceed button during combat.
As for the mechanical content in the demo, as an intro it feels like there's a bit too much tossed at the player right off the bat. There's no real easing into the setting or much of the mechanics, and almost out the gate you're given this huge map to wander around on with the random rogue-like elements, idk. It just feels sort of jumbled up? I'm not a huge fan of persistent sidequest-y stuff in JRPGs to begin with, so I guess its a grain of salt thing, but I felt like maybe opening the map up should have been more gradual, so the player became better acquainted with everything before they had a chance to mess around.
The combat as well felt like it didn't really know what it wanted to be. You have these concepts like armor breaking, or debuff/status stacking, or bonuses for hitting weak points, but they all just kind of compete for space. This not even mentioning customizable skill trees and class swapping, which I didn't really get much out of here for a demo. The encounters didn't feel like they were set up very strategically in that regard, it was kind of all over the place without one real "click" moment of learning how to deal with certain enemies or squads. It's a bit hard to explain, I suppose, but it felt kind of off overall. Compare something like Fuga, where these kinds of elements form a very solid strategic core. The bosses especially felt like they were kind of devoid of strategy, they basically wound down to spamming exceeds, even without attempting to use it as a crutch, since they charge/activate so quickly and do such heavy damage.
Further, the touch encounters feel a bit off, especially coupled with the exploration issues noted previously. The monsters are so easy to avoid that I feel like I have to deliberately go out of my way to bump into them and ensure I'm getting leveled appropriately. Combined with the soupy movement/visuals, some brief loading times entering fights (on a high end PC, mind) and generally clunky feeling combat, and it made things really unpleasant rather quickly. The fact that the number of enemy formations is so small compared to the pacing of the encounters made me feel even more like just avoiding them altogether, and that's not really a good sign so early into the game.
Overall, none of this is enough to make me say I'm not interested in the project anymore, but its definitely tempered my expectations more than a bit.
Hi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the demo. I noted your feedback and I'll do everything I can to make the experience smoother. I'm aware of some things like overlapping texts and the confusion about the city map system. I'll figure something out : )
Alright, those 9 characters of the Path. The Destruction: high damage and great survivability. The Hunt: main damage dealer with extremely single-target damage against Elite Enemies but poor survivability. Erudition: main damage dealer multi-target against groups of enemies but lowest HP. Next is support buff Harmony: buffs their ally team’s combat. Nihility: is a debuffer to foes, reducing combat effectiveness and applying damage over time. Preservation: tank with powerful defensive skills and high HP to protect allies in high threat, but damage dealt is reduced. Lastly, there is Abundance: healer to recover allies' HP and ensure good survivability.
Thanks! I work on the game every single day, actually! I'll release the new demo as soon as I can and the full game will most likely come out next year : )
Bro I Just Found Out About You, My Friend Told Me There Was This Guy In Itch Io Who Make The Greatest RPG Game He Ever Taste (Theia RPG) Just From The Comments Section And From The Screenshot Enough He Say "You Probably Gonna Love It" And Boy Do I Love It (Gonna Play Theia Today) Can't Wait For Your Newest Game (Take Your Time Bro If You Sick Or Just Doesn't Have The Motivation To Work On It, Take A Rest I Can Wait For Something If It Was Gonna Be Masterpiece)
(Sorry English Is Not My Main Language What I Want To Say Is "Always Cooking Bro" I'm Also Follow You I Be Waiting Until The Game Complete 👍)
Hello. I played Theia: the Crimson Eclipse back in 2023 and it was such a pleasant surprise, especially the story, I loved it so much. I'm super excited for this game, and it looks like it'll be just as good if not better. Cant wait!!! :)
My English and Italian aren't that great, but here we go...
From what I’ve seen, it looks extremely promising. It even made me want to make something similar just for fun, that’s how much your game inspired me. One thing I really loved was how you built the environment and made it feel so dynamic. Honestly, if the Game Awards accepted RPG Maker games, yours would definitely be my Game of the Year once it's fully finished.
Congrats I wish you all the success the world has to offer!
You are the creator of Theia: the Crimson Eclipse - what a legendary, absolutely amazing game! I haven't even finished playing that masterpiece yet, and you already have a new game for us to try. Absolutely incredible! I love your work so much and I'm fully supportive. When the full version comes out, I won't hesitate to buy it regardless of the price. You always have my encouragement and support. Please take care of your health!
I've almost completed all of the game's content (I'm still working on a couple of side quests and the post-game content), and the main story alone takes around 35 hours to finish. With all the optional content, it'll probably go over 50 hours. The release will still take some time, as many of the final assets still need to be created (music, artwork, and battle animations) and the game has to be translated in english, but the content is nearly complete. It'll definitely come out next year :)
Ciao, nessun disturbo, figurati! Entro qualche mese uscirà una nuova demo aggiornata che metterò anche su Steam, il gioco completo se tutto va come pianificato uscirà nella prima metà del prossimo anno : )
I hate to do this and hope you don't mind, but I stumbled upon this game randomly and thought it was pretty cool because I'm personally a big fan of JRPGs. I was wondering since it is still under development, would you need music for this game? I would love to write some music for your game if you'd like that. If not then I hope your project is successful anyway!
Wow, thanks for the DEMO... This looks like it could be really good, easy to tell a lot of effort has been put into making it a high quality experience.. Looking forward to playing! I'll check back in with some feedback :P
Hey, complimenti per il tuo lavoro prima di tutto. Provata la demo dopo aver finito Theia e sarei interessato ai giochi che hai sviluppato in passato (come il Fifth Era che viene citato negli e-book di Theia), ma non riesco a trovarli in giro. Sai se è possibile?
Ciao! Grazie mille per l'interessamento. Ad oggi non so se siano più disponibili, ma forse cercando su Google potresti trovare qualcosa. Prova proprio a cercare "Fifth Era rpg maker italia" o qualcosa del genere (o anche Tales of Banalia). Comunque te li sconsiglio perché sono giochi invecchiati molto male e su alcuni pc un po' più moderni potrebbero addirittura non girare correttamente. Comunque grazie ancora per i complimenti e fammi sapere se hai bisogno di altro : )
The amount of work and attention to detail that the dev put into it is really impressive. And while this is true for pretty much every aspect of the game, the writing/storytelling aspect is what I enjoyed the most. The characters are well-introduced, they have depth, and they all have their own distinctive set of features that makes them believable and unique. The dialogues are very well written, too: they feel natural and flow well. Even the way the camera is used during the cutscenes is worth a mention, and it manages to make the scenes look alive and dynamic.
If I had to bring up something negative, I'd say that the narrative aspect of the game is so intense that sometimes - especially during the introduction sequence - it doesn't leave much space for the player's agency. You may find this frustrating if you're one of those players who like to roam freely and explore without interruptions. But for those of you who enjoy being immersed in the story, you're certainly in for a treat!
I streamed your game last weekend. Overall, I just didn't have much fun with this one, but to be fair, I also didn't give this game enough time to give a better impression, so I hope you won't take my critique too personally.
The writing seems to be incredibly amatuerish, with weird timing leading to things feeling comedic when they are likely intended to feel dramatic. There are swear words thrown into dialogue for no reason - while I personally don't have a problem with swearing, I'm not a prude, it's use in writing should serve a purpose, otherwise it just sounds like a kid who just discovered naughty words and wants to put them everywhere.
The story really struggled to grip me, which is a real problem for this game since that seems to be the route it decided to go to get the players attention, with a severe lack of combat at the beginning there is very little else other than the weak story trying to get the players attention, and to me, the writing failed. One of the largest flaws is how it doesn't want to include the player into the world; it regularly throws around vocabulary and faction names that are never explained, requiring the player to either read some wiki somewhere or go into the mind of the devs.
To end on a more positive note, the game's art seems to be its strong suit. It's clear that a lot of work has been done on not just the sprites but also animating them, putting this game leagues above many other pixel art games in the visual aspects.
I wish the devs all the best with their game.
If you'd like to watch my experience with your game, I've linked the archive below. You can click the timestamps to jump to when I start playing your game.
Had the game freeze on me with this error message. (Mind you my computer is pretty low-end, so it struggled to even run it at times)
It happens right after first part of the prologue, when Three Years(or was it Months?) Later, the 'Sleepy Guy' -Redian- wakes up, has a conversation with his collogue, and gets dressed.
Possibly important info: I would sometimes, throughout the prologue, resize the window as a cheat to get my computer to run it faster (lower resolution gets handled better). And when it slowed down/froze I did it here too. After a few minutes the error message popped up.
Oh, where I begin? This demo is absolutely amazing! The story captivates you right away and all of the characters are well developed and realistic. The aesthetics and the portrait are stunning and I also really appreciated the care given to the lore of this unique world.
All this amazing work done by a single person, kudos! I would totally buy it when released!
Gioco stupendo, ho appena provato la demo, avevo giocato anche al vecchio fifth era,Theia e Tales of Banalia, ma questo gioco è tutt'altra cosa. La storia sembra ben fatta, gameplay entusiasmante con meccaniche di gioco meravigliose, stile pixeloso che ricorda i bei vecchi j-rpg e ambientazioni da urlo con giochi di luci e ombre bellissime. Che dire...WoW!! Aspetterò con ansia l'uscita del gioco completo che a quanto detto uscira(forse) verso la fine del 2024?O sbaglio?
Spero di poterlo finire entro il 2024, ma è tutto da vedere. Diciamo che è il mio obiettivo! Ora mi prendo un paio di mesi per raccogliere i feedback ed eventualmente aggiustare qualcosa, poi andrò avanti coi lavori ^^
Spectacular game.
Everything blends perfectly to give the player moments of pure immersion in a world designed in a masterly way.
Nothing is left to chance, graphics, mechanics and history create the perfect mix for a deep dive.
A game that steals the heart
![5th ERA [DEMO]](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzIzOTYwNDQ4LnBuZw==/original/lIVxFv.png)
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Played Theia a few months ago and thought it was alright, so I've had my eye on this for a while now. Tried out the demo this morning. I have to say, so far it feels very messy.
Visually the game is extremely noisy- basically everything on the map has the same sort of visual importance, which led me to miss some doors, overlook some chests and other such things as well as sometimes bump into scenery that looked traversable at a glance. Combined with the soupy, floaty camera (which I really can't explain, it seems functionally unnecessary) and the overbearing neon/bloom effects in places, it made movement and exploration more of a chore than it needed to be.
Outside of that, even the UI is kind of confusing at times? The gab windows appearing on the screen mid-exploration is an odd choice- I miss 90% of that dialogue if I don't just stop in my tracks to read it, at which point it may as well be a normal cutscene. I get this is intended to be like squad/ambient conversations in games like Mass Effect, but I don't think it works very well in this kind of game, or as text only. Those windows sometimes cover up the player or elements of the map as well, lending to visual clutter and confusion. That kind of element-stacking happens elsewhere too, like objectives covering map names, or exceed activation warnings ironically covering the actual exceed button during combat.
As for the mechanical content in the demo, as an intro it feels like there's a bit too much tossed at the player right off the bat. There's no real easing into the setting or much of the mechanics, and almost out the gate you're given this huge map to wander around on with the random rogue-like elements, idk. It just feels sort of jumbled up? I'm not a huge fan of persistent sidequest-y stuff in JRPGs to begin with, so I guess its a grain of salt thing, but I felt like maybe opening the map up should have been more gradual, so the player became better acquainted with everything before they had a chance to mess around.
The combat as well felt like it didn't really know what it wanted to be. You have these concepts like armor breaking, or debuff/status stacking, or bonuses for hitting weak points, but they all just kind of compete for space. This not even mentioning customizable skill trees and class swapping, which I didn't really get much out of here for a demo. The encounters didn't feel like they were set up very strategically in that regard, it was kind of all over the place without one real "click" moment of learning how to deal with certain enemies or squads. It's a bit hard to explain, I suppose, but it felt kind of off overall. Compare something like Fuga, where these kinds of elements form a very solid strategic core. The bosses especially felt like they were kind of devoid of strategy, they basically wound down to spamming exceeds, even without attempting to use it as a crutch, since they charge/activate so quickly and do such heavy damage.
Further, the touch encounters feel a bit off, especially coupled with the exploration issues noted previously. The monsters are so easy to avoid that I feel like I have to deliberately go out of my way to bump into them and ensure I'm getting leveled appropriately. Combined with the soupy movement/visuals, some brief loading times entering fights (on a high end PC, mind) and generally clunky feeling combat, and it made things really unpleasant rather quickly. The fact that the number of enemy formations is so small compared to the pacing of the encounters made me feel even more like just avoiding them altogether, and that's not really a good sign so early into the game.
Overall, none of this is enough to make me say I'm not interested in the project anymore, but its definitely tempered my expectations more than a bit.
Hi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the demo. I noted your feedback and I'll do everything I can to make the experience smoother. I'm aware of some things like overlapping texts and the confusion about the city map system. I'll figure something out : )
Alright, those 9 characters of the Path. The Destruction: high damage and great survivability. The Hunt: main damage dealer with extremely single-target damage against Elite Enemies but poor survivability. Erudition: main damage dealer multi-target against groups of enemies but lowest HP. Next is support buff Harmony: buffs their ally team’s combat. Nihility: is a debuffer to foes, reducing combat effectiveness and applying damage over time. Preservation: tank with powerful defensive skills and high HP to protect allies in high threat, but damage dealt is reduced. Lastly, there is Abundance: healer to recover allies' HP and ensure good survivability.
If you break shield will stunned won't take action is that right?
Nope, they just take double damage for that turn and the next one
glad to see you're still working on it. This has been an awesome project to follow! Can't wait to see the new demo and/or full game ;)
Thanks! I work on the game every single day, actually! I'll release the new demo as soon as I can and the full game will most likely come out next year : )
Bro I Just Found Out About You, My Friend Told Me There Was This Guy In Itch Io Who Make The Greatest RPG Game He Ever Taste (Theia RPG) Just From The Comments Section And From The Screenshot Enough He Say "You Probably Gonna Love It" And Boy Do I Love It (Gonna Play Theia Today) Can't Wait For Your Newest Game (Take Your Time Bro If You Sick Or Just Doesn't Have The Motivation To Work On It, Take A Rest I Can Wait For Something If It Was Gonna Be Masterpiece)
(Sorry English Is Not My Main Language What I Want To Say Is "Always Cooking Bro" I'm Also Follow You I Be Waiting Until The Game Complete 👍)
Thanks man I really appreciate that! 5th ERA is nearly finished, I'm working on it every day, don't worry hahaha
It will be released in 2026 ; )
Hello. I played Theia: the Crimson Eclipse back in 2023 and it was such a pleasant surprise, especially the story, I loved it so much. I'm super excited for this game, and it looks like it'll be just as good if not better. Cant wait!!! :)
Thanks a lot! : )
My English and Italian aren't that great, but here we go...
From what I’ve seen, it looks extremely promising. It even made me want to make something similar just for fun, that’s how much your game inspired me. One thing I really loved was how you built the environment and made it feel so dynamic. Honestly, if the Game Awards accepted RPG Maker games, yours would definitely be my Game of the Year once it's fully finished.
Congrats I wish you all the success the world has to offer!
Thanks! Hopefully you won't be disappointed by the fullgame hahaha :)
You are the creator of Theia: the Crimson Eclipse - what a legendary, absolutely amazing game! I haven't even finished playing that masterpiece yet, and you already have a new game for us to try. Absolutely incredible! I love your work so much and I'm fully supportive. When the full version comes out, I won't hesitate to buy it regardless of the price. You always have my encouragement and support. Please take care of your health!
This means so much to me, thanks a lot for your support!
Game almost complete, how many hours will this game be, 50 plus hours I am hoping?
I've almost completed all of the game's content (I'm still working on a couple of side quests and the post-game content), and the main story alone takes around 35 hours to finish. With all the optional content, it'll probably go over 50 hours. The release will still take some time, as many of the final assets still need to be created (music, artwork, and battle animations) and the game has to be translated in english, but the content is nearly complete. It'll definitely come out next year :)
Ciao, scusa il disturbo.
Si sa quando uscirà il gioco? Qualunque sia la risposta vi auguro un buon sviluppo e una buona giornata :).
Ciao, nessun disturbo, figurati! Entro qualche mese uscirà una nuova demo aggiornata che metterò anche su Steam, il gioco completo se tutto va come pianificato uscirà nella prima metà del prossimo anno : )
Hey, hope you're having a nice day,
I hate to do this and hope you don't mind, but I stumbled upon this game randomly and thought it was pretty cool because I'm personally a big fan of JRPGs. I was wondering since it is still under development, would you need music for this game? I would love to write some music for your game if you'd like that. If not then I hope your project is successful anyway!
Hi! Thanks a lot for asking, but I'm already collaborating with a composer for this game. : )
It's alright, good luck to your project!
Wow, thanks for the DEMO... This looks like it could be really good, easy to tell a lot of effort has been put into making it a high quality experience.. Looking forward to playing! I'll check back in with some feedback :P
Hey, complimenti per il tuo lavoro prima di tutto. Provata la demo dopo aver finito Theia e sarei interessato ai giochi che hai sviluppato in passato (come il Fifth Era che viene citato negli e-book di Theia), ma non riesco a trovarli in giro. Sai se è possibile?
Ciao! Grazie mille per l'interessamento. Ad oggi non so se siano più disponibili, ma forse cercando su Google potresti trovare qualcosa. Prova proprio a cercare "Fifth Era rpg maker italia" o qualcosa del genere (o anche Tales of Banalia). Comunque te li sconsiglio perché sono giochi invecchiati molto male e su alcuni pc un po' più moderni potrebbero addirittura non girare correttamente. Comunque grazie ancora per i complimenti e fammi sapere se hai bisogno di altro : )
This is great stuff! I sent you a message in Discord if you still go there!
Ciao MissingSeven, si hanno qualche notizie del gioco? Come sta andando lo sviluppo?
Ciao! I lavori procedono : )
Non riuscirò a rilasciarlo quest'anno, purtroppo. Spero per il prossimo ma non posso esserne certo.
Is the game still under development?
Hi! Yes I'm still working on it. I hope to release it next year. I'll probably release an updated demo here and on Steam this year.
This game is shockingly good!
The amount of work and attention to detail that the dev put into it is really impressive. And while this is true for pretty much every aspect of the game, the writing/storytelling aspect is what I enjoyed the most. The characters are well-introduced, they have depth, and they all have their own distinctive set of features that makes them believable and unique. The dialogues are very well written, too: they feel natural and flow well. Even the way the camera is used during the cutscenes is worth a mention, and it manages to make the scenes look alive and dynamic.
If I had to bring up something negative, I'd say that the narrative aspect of the game is so intense that sometimes - especially during the introduction sequence - it doesn't leave much space for the player's agency. You may find this frustrating if you're one of those players who like to roam freely and explore without interruptions. But for those of you who enjoy being immersed in the story, you're certainly in for a treat!
Hello,
I streamed your game last weekend. Overall, I just didn't have much fun with this one, but to be fair, I also didn't give this game enough time to give a better impression, so I hope you won't take my critique too personally.
The writing seems to be incredibly amatuerish, with weird timing leading to things feeling comedic when they are likely intended to feel dramatic. There are swear words thrown into dialogue for no reason - while I personally don't have a problem with swearing, I'm not a prude, it's use in writing should serve a purpose, otherwise it just sounds like a kid who just discovered naughty words and wants to put them everywhere.
The story really struggled to grip me, which is a real problem for this game since that seems to be the route it decided to go to get the players attention, with a severe lack of combat at the beginning there is very little else other than the weak story trying to get the players attention, and to me, the writing failed. One of the largest flaws is how it doesn't want to include the player into the world; it regularly throws around vocabulary and faction names that are never explained, requiring the player to either read some wiki somewhere or go into the mind of the devs.
To end on a more positive note, the game's art seems to be its strong suit. It's clear that a lot of work has been done on not just the sprites but also animating them, putting this game leagues above many other pixel art games in the visual aspects.
I wish the devs all the best with their game.
If you'd like to watch my experience with your game, I've linked the archive below. You can click the timestamps to jump to when I start playing your game.
Hi, I'll definitely watch your stream. I'm sorry you didn't like it. I'll see what I can learn from your playthrough. Thanks again for playing!
Looks cool! I'll def have to check this one out!
Thank you! Let me know your thoughts about it, so I can improve the final product ^ ^
Love it! Very well done and amazing design/systems. I hope to see more soon!
Had the game freeze on me with this error message. (Mind you my computer is pretty low-end, so it struggled to even run it at times)
It happens right after first part of the prologue, when Three Years(or was it Months?) Later, the 'Sleepy Guy' -Redian- wakes up, has a conversation with his collogue, and gets dressed.
Possibly important info: I would sometimes, throughout the prologue, resize the window as a cheat to get my computer to run it faster (lower resolution gets handled better). And when it slowed down/froze I did it here too. After a few minutes the error message popped up.
Uhm, that's weird! It's the first time this happens. I'll try to understand what went wrong and I'll let you know! Thanks for the report!
EDIT: it looks like this is a known problem with slow computers. Someone reported this in RPGMaker forums
https://rpgmaker.net/forums/topics/26259/
I'll try to find a solution to this.
Oh, where I begin? This demo is absolutely amazing! The story captivates you right away and all of the characters are well developed and realistic. The aesthetics and the portrait are stunning and I also really appreciated the care given to the lore of this unique world.
All this amazing work done by a single person, kudos! I would totally buy it when released!
Thanks a lot! I'll do my best to complete this game the best way possible :D
Gioco stupendo, ho appena provato la demo, avevo giocato anche al vecchio fifth era,Theia e Tales of Banalia, ma questo gioco è tutt'altra cosa. La storia sembra ben fatta, gameplay entusiasmante con meccaniche di gioco meravigliose, stile pixeloso che ricorda i bei vecchi j-rpg e ambientazioni da urlo con giochi di luci e ombre bellissime. Che dire...WoW!! Aspetterò con ansia l'uscita del gioco completo che a quanto detto uscira(forse) verso la fine del 2024?O sbaglio?
Grazie mille per il commento! Apprezzo molto :)
Spero di poterlo finire entro il 2024, ma è tutto da vedere. Diciamo che è il mio obiettivo! Ora mi prendo un paio di mesi per raccogliere i feedback ed eventualmente aggiustare qualcosa, poi andrò avanti coi lavori ^^
Thanks! I hope other players can enjoy this in a month or less! And now, let's fix some bugs XD
wow, this game is awesome! I want to buy it on day one!
Thanks a lot! I really appreciate that ^ ^
Gladly, you'll be able to try the demo this year :D
Probably both :D
I am really looking into it! Awesome job and this will be an awesome game! <3
Thanks a lot Michael! ^^