It's been a year since Esperia ~ Uprising of the Scarlet Witch ~ launched on Steam! Several updates later and we're at version 1.3, bringing new UIs and gameplay possibilities. The game is also on a 40% reduction to celebrate the one-year anniversary : it only lasts for 48h and a bunch of that time has already been used, so be fast ;p
Critical cut-ins and new battle UI
We all love to see our characters' serious expression before a critical attack that will likely defeat the enemy (unless it's on an armored unit and does 3 times 1 damage...) This update brings a critical cut-in animation for every playable character and most of the enemy bosses.
It has been implemented together with our new and improved Battle UI!
-The data that was previously split between top and bottom screen is now entirely on the bottom and faster to compare. The screen also changes depending on the unit affiliation.
-When a unit is defeated in battle, the "Face" image will fade away, critical hit will shake the screen on top of the cut-in, and a "Miss" message has been added when a unit successfully avoids an attack.
-Fullscreen battles have the same cool background as the map.
New mechanic : Transport
Positioning is the key in chess, as in SRPG games. While we already had some magic able to change the terrain by creating rivers, hills or forest, we were lacking a mean to reposition effectively, and this new gameplay offers it. The mounted units, be it on horse or dragon, can now transport units on foot to make them progress faster, and even, for flying units, to prepare new ambushes by going over rivers and mountains.
Chapter title changes
Among other graphical changes, we added a new introduction for the chapters. Esperia has 20 main chapters and several secret and bonus chapters, switching between perspectives. Diana's and Liliane's chapters feel more unique now!
There were a lot of minor adjustement and changes in the game since the last article, giving the game more ease to play, but I feel like it would be pointless to list them all.
Esperia is still regularly updated after one year and will keep getting new content, if you like "Fire Emblem-like" games and visual novels, you should try it! There is a 2-hours demo version on Steam, and the game is currently on a 40% reduction (hoping it'll still be the case when you read this article ;))
With best witches,
Alice