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Othercide Review: One Mother of a Game
Othercide draws players in with its killer art direction and keeps them engaged with a robust combat system that breathes new life into the classic tactical RPG genre. Developed by indie studio Lightbulb Crew, Othercide promises players a challenging gameplay experience with elements borrowed from roguelike games, all set in a gorgeous post-apocalyptic horror-noir world.
Othercide has players take control of the Mother, a powerful goddess-like being, and an army of Daughters, badass women who serve as units on the battlefield in a brutal war against the Other. The Other seems to be a typical corrupt force bent on destroying the world as players know it, and they pretty much succeed too. Players are tasked with battling against the corruption in a world that is a broken and twisted mirror to a metropolis at the turn of the 20th century.
The game is visually stunning, with a powerhouse of an art style illustrated solely in monochrome with accents of vibrant red, all to provide players a high contrast and stylized world. Each level feels equally like a ruined city right out of The Last of Us 2 with derailed metro trains and broken pavement, and a surreal nightmare populated with innumerable and monolithic statues of the very enemies at biting players' throats. The commitment to this gorgeous art style is sure to captivate players and draw them into the moody world and challenging trials offered by Othercide. The enemies in Othercide are mostly humanoid but have been twisted and exaggerated in ways reminiscent of the enemy design in Remnant From the Ashes.
Players who enjoy the combat in the Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, and XCOM series will feel right at home with Othercide's turn-based grid structure, but will soon find themselves playing with and mastering the game's unique initiative mechanic: the Dynamic Timeline System. Without a doubt the game's best innovation, this system does away with the team and individual-based turns that serve as the backbone to other TRPGs, and instead challenges players to think more fluidly about turn order with moves that end their turn immediately but don't take effect until 25 initiative counts later, or by placing their units on standby to combo with or protect another unit during their turn. Othercide also borrows elements from the roguelike genre, where each "run" continues until players lose, sending them back to the beginning with resources and abilities persisting from the last run.
There are 3 types of Daughters available to players: the high damage, low defense Blademaster; the heavily armored Shieldbearer; and the ranged damage dealer Soulslinger (as well as a secret 4th class). When a Daughter's turn begins, they have 100 AP to spend on movement and most actions. Actions can be simple melee attacks that take effect immediately or large AoE damaging moves that charge up after your turn is over. Alternatively, players can sacrifice a bit of a Daughter's HP to have them take more powerful reaction-based actions until the start of their next turn, like the Soulslinger who can stop an enemy from attacking a player's units while dealing a significant blow to the would-be assailant. If the Daughter uses 50 or less AP, they take their next turn 50 initiative counts later, but if they spend more than 50 AP, they take their next turn 100 initiative counts later. This allows for high-risk, high-reward tactics, and can even be combined with the reaction-based abilities to have them be active longer.
Despite the in-depth combat and stunning visual direction, Othercide isn't perfect. Most of the issues come down to the combat UI, which while sleek and modern, deprives players of features found in most TRPGs. The camera controls, for instance, while smooth when using a controller, can be clunky when using a mouse and keyboard. There's also no way to rotate the camera around obstacles that can obstruct a player's vision of the battlefield - a feature in the upcoming Baldur's Gate 3. There's also no mini-map or top-down view to help players keep track of their Daughters and their enemies more easily. The enemies also have distinct behaviors that players can read about in their codex entry between missions, but there doesn't seem to be any way to view the same information during combat when it matters most.
Regardless of its more technical flaws, Othercide promises a fresh and challenging TRPG experience for both new and veteran players of the genre. With captivating visuals and a unique take on turn-based initiative, Lightbulb Crew has given players a game more than worth its $34.99 price tag.
Othercide is available now on Steam, PS4, and XBox One, with a Switch release coming later this year.
