Game2023

Arcadian Atlas

IndieRPGStrategy

Developer Twin Otter Studios

Arcadian Atlas is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Twin Otter Studios and published in 2023 by Serenity Forge. The game features 2D pixel art graphics inspired by games of the '90s like Chrono Trigger, Breath of Fire, and Suikoden and gameplay reminiscent of titles such as Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

165 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Sep 21, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works

Audience score

52
Mixed

76 positive · 69 negative
95% range 44–60%

Source+−=
Steam reviews76690
Bluesky *5110
Mastodon *004

* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).

Steam's own rating
Mixed
78 of 151 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)

What players are saying

53% recommend · 77 yes, 69 no

Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 146 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (105 of 194 positive).

A few players allege the developer traced art from Tactics Ogre. [1][2]

Liked
  • Charming pixel art and animations [3][4]
  • Unique jazz-oriented soundtrack [5][3]
  • Engaging story with mature themes [5][6]
  • Solid tactical combat for the genre [3][7]
Disliked
Representative posts
  • [1]Steam user Steam user …3409Steam review · Jul 28, 2023 · Not recommended

    READ EDIT 6!!!... THE ART IS TRACED FROM TACTICS OGRE ART!!! WTF EDIT: Developer has been begging for positive reviews on twitter (for a while now), so most of the positive reviews are just people that has no interest on the game or tactics. EDIT 2: I gave benefit of the doubt to the developer, assuming that "yeah it's just a bad game but you can only go up from here on, just improve and update the game based on …

  • [13]Steam user Steam user …0191Steam review · Aug 10, 2023 · Not recommended

    I got this because I'm a sucker for pixel art tactical RPGs in the vein of FFT or Tactics Ogre. After putting a few hours into this game I wish I'd played less so I could get my money back. Pros Pixel art is nice. Love the look. Soundtrack is unique and not what you'd expect. Your mileage might vary, but I liked it. Okay so that's about it for the pros. Cons Melee units are pretty much useless. They will get …

  • [16]Steam user Steam user …2499Steam review · Aug 2, 2023 · Recommended

    It took me a long time to figure out how I want to review this game. The ENTIRE game was made by 4 people and I don't want to crap all over their hard work. It is clear they put a lot of time, money, and love into this project and did the best they could with the limited resources they had, but it just wasn't enough. If I could rate this game between yes and no, that is how I would rate it, but since I cannot I am …

  • [4]Steam user Steam user …2369Steam review · Aug 25, 2023 · Recommended

    Ok, so, I got this game bc it looks so much like FFT I had to give it a shot. I recommend this game for a single playthrough, however, for me at least, not much replayability. Arcadian Atlas is extremely short compared to FFT, and there seem to be quite a few bugs still. Pros: * Wonderful art and animations (I love the facial animations too) * A pretty good story * Decent music Cons: * Jump ability seems to have no …

  • [3]Steam user Steam user …9602Steam review · Jul 27, 2023 · Recommended

    Amazing soundtrack, charming art style, and solid game play for a genre sorely in need of good titles like this.

Summarised from 34 of the 168 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made

RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account

Players who liked Arcadian Atlas talk about charming pixel art and animations; those who didn't talk about cannot rotate or zoom battle camera. Which matters more to you?

Critics, per Wikipedia

The PC version of Arcadian Atlas received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received weak approval, being recommended by 24% of critics. RPGamer recommended it to fans of turn-based tactical RPGs and indie games. They said the combat is easy but praised the game's focus on narrative. RPGFan called it "a solid, concise SRPG crafted with a lot of heart". RPGSite said it is "mediocre yet competent" and said it fails to effectively capitalize on its ideas. They criticized the story, the camera's fixed perspective, and what they felt was imbalanced combat, though they said…

From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.

Reactions

60 of 165 · most liked first
  • Steam user Steam user …3409Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023 · 1 h played

    READ EDIT 6!!!... THE ART IS TRACED FROM TACTICS OGRE ART!!! WTF EDIT: Developer has been begging for positive reviews on twitter (for a while now), so most of the positive reviews are just people that has no interest on the game or tactics. EDIT 2: I gave benefit of the doubt to the developer, assuming that "yeah it's just a bad game but you can only go up from here on, just improve and update the game based on feedback" and to that I saw: - Dev blaming the price of the game for the mixed…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4446Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023 · 6 h played

    EDIT: Please refer to Andrew's review for what dev did after game's release: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198031283409/recommended/691790/ I was waiting for this game for many years, following its development on kickstarter/twitter. And now we finally got it. Here are my first impressions: - Game is clearly inspired by the golden era of TRPGs, great effort on character sprites animation and music (even though some might find jazzy music to be "unfitting" for the setting of this…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Becca Bair 🐝🐝 @tupelohoney.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 14, 2026

    hello new followers 👋 i like to draw plants, buildings n such, i was creative director/lead artist on my game Arcadian Atlas so here's a few guys i'm pretty happy with~! #pixelart

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8716Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 3 h played

    New Update: Dev is trying to hide the fact that they traced art from Tactics Ogre, if you want proof here it is https://twitter.com/SrGrafo2/status/1730266400713855166?t=7k1fqnoYOs1L8NlrX8QW3A&s=19 Dev likes to delete posts on the forums. Edit: Dev doesn't like the game being critiqued "please GIVE us a break. We have to reply to the hate on our Baby constantly. Use your basic human decency to understand you should cut our team some slack." My post history is very reasonable with critiquing…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Joakim "konjak" Sandberg @konjak.orgBluesky · Aug 5, 2025

    Forgot I drew this, to celebrate my wife's game Arcadian Atlas Remember struggling a bit with the shadows but it's better than I felt at the time

    positive · AI labelView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2499Steam reviews · Aug 2, 2023 · 16 h played

    It took me a long time to figure out how I want to review this game. The ENTIRE game was made by 4 people and I don't want to crap all over their hard work. It is clear they put a lot of time, money, and love into this project and did the best they could with the limited resources they had, but it just wasn't enough. If I could rate this game between yes and no, that is how I would rate it, but since I cannot I am going with a BARELY thumbs up because I don't want to discourage the…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Becca Bair 🐝🐝 @tupelohoney.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 17, 2024

    hello all ✨ i'm Becca, a Texan in Sweden ~ i've been making games and #pixelart since i was 11 years old, my most recent being Arcadian Atlas ⚔️ #gamedev

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Becca Bair 🐝🐝 @tupelohoney.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 3, 2023

    guess i should do a proper intro post! i'm Becca, a game dev that made Arcadian Atlas with my brother Taylor, our programmer @potterness.bsky.social & our sound designer Moritz. i've been making games since i was 11, and have been in the industry as a pixel artist for ~15 yrs #gamedev #pixelart

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0191Steam reviews · Aug 10, 2023 · 2 h played

    I got this because I'm a sucker for pixel art tactical RPGs in the vein of FFT or Tactics Ogre. After putting a few hours into this game I wish I'd played less so I could get my money back. Pros Pixel art is nice. Love the look. Soundtrack is unique and not what you'd expect. Your mileage might vary, but I liked it. Okay so that's about it for the pros. Cons Melee units are pretty much useless. They will get destroyed by ranged units before you can even do anything. Skill trees are…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9714Steam reviews · Sep 4, 2023 · 1 h played

    I thought, "surely the negative reviews are a bit harsh." I turned out to be wrong. It's rare to find a game that you can adequately test within the 2-hour return limit Steam allows and I didn't even need half that time. Controls are sloppy, slow, and inconsistent. Graphics are jittery, even for a tb strategy game. Combat (the crux of games like this) was overly simple and in no way fun. The half dozen cutscenes I did see tell a decent enough story that I'm intrigued, but I can't put myself…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5642Steam reviews · Aug 5, 2023 · 5 h played

    This game is like a love letter to Final Fantasy Tactics. Except that it's so un-fully featured that it almost comes down to the level of actual parody. Instead of a complex class system, all characters are locked into a single class with two advancement option, which in many cases do not seem well connected (seriously, why does my mage become a melee punching guy? Why am I retiring the bow to take up short-ranged knives?) The main characters are presented as "lovers" and don't seem to even…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7752Steam reviews · Sep 3, 2023 · 23 h played

    Would not recommend. The game is certainly an homage to FFT, but... The story/writing is pretty bad, like *really* bad. A lot of the in-game-play mechanics don't work very well. Not only buggy, but like the opposite of ease of life. The character-building-rpg side is under-developed and unfulfilling, you can't even look at what character abilities do after you've purchased them and changed classes. There's a lot to unpack about why it's not great, but that feels like it's more effort than…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4516Steam reviews · Nov 20, 2023 · 9 h played

    This game is awful in pretty much every way. To be fair I just started chapter 2 but have all adv classes unlocked and have tried them all. Classes do not have good identity for the most part, for example: Ronin has a heal, some sort of spirit attack with chance to blind, a revive and an ability which is supposed to last 3 turns and increase your attack while lowering your defense (it does not last 3 turns, it costs a turn, then you get a turn with it and it is gone the next turn.) Reaver is…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3977Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023

    Couldn't even play the game. Started it up, hit new game, game crashed. Tried again, this time setting it on windowed mode. Game crashed my computer. I can't even give the honest, scathing review I want to based on the demos I played. I backed the game on Kickstarter. I was friends with one of the lead devs for years. Really believed in her, because she is a great pixel artist. Well, static pixel art at least. And I wanted to support my friend. But the friendship fell apart. The problems I…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1916Steam reviews · Aug 20, 2023 · 2 h played

    A lackluster disappointment. Replay FFT or give Fell Seal a try.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0762Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 3 h played

    Game is pretty solid. It could use a few QOL adjustments, but the devs are new, a small team, and are actively listening. There is also currently an issue with region-based pricing, which the devs are trying to fix. If you're playing outside of the US and the price seems weird - the game SHOULD only cost about 60% less than a standard AAA game, and the devs are currently working with the publisher to get it fixed. (For reference, AAA titles are $60-70 USD, and Arcadian Atlas is $25 USD) If…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0314Steam reviews · Aug 1, 2023 · 17 h played

    I had been excited to play this game for years. I love the art style, and it’s my favourite genre by far. I unfortunately found AA very underwhelming, like I just paid too much for an EA title. Many QoL features that are so common in games like this are sorely lacking, and I would recommend waiting to purchase it until extensive updates have rolled out. Pros Combat – I enjoyed the combat, even if the individual battles were brief and a bit one-sided. I liked the abilities, and the…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8586Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023 · 8 h played

    At this point this feels like half of a game, or maybe a skeleton of a game. There's some interesting ideas both in the gameplay and the story but they're just not developed. Game length certainly isn't everything, but my first playthrough took 8 hours on Standard difficulty, which is fairly indicative of the game's problems. It's a SRPG with multiple systems and a class system/etc, but just doesn't have the runtime to explore it. This carries over the story/characters, where lots of things…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7991Steam reviews · Jul 30, 2023 · 15 h played

    I played the game until the end and sadly I don't think I can recommend it The cons : -The important battles do not feel important at all. Bosses don't have spells that feel or look important and they have the same hp as other units and die just as fast. All major battles(Including the last boss one) felt really boring and some bosses played SPECIALLY dumb like casting spells at nothing -Story is clearly rushed. Everything converged into a "fox only, no items, final destination" kind of…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3295Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 1 h played

    Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this game, which is a shame. I've had this game on my wishlist for a very long time and FFT is one of my favorite games, so I was pretty excited for it. What the developer tried to do here is extremely ambitious, and I commend them for it, they just missed the mark. The writing and story are clunky. Nothing about them draws me in. The music is more smooth jazz than fantasy battle/political intrigue background music, and the mix is weirdly clean. It feels very…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8687Steam reviews · Aug 8, 2023 · 3 h played

    I know people worked pretty hard on this, but it's shockingly sloppy. From basic UI - the L/R buttons are shockingly underutilized (for instance, in the outfitter, not being able to scroll sideways through characters), and so is the Info button (for instance, it works when checking out equipment in the outfitter, but not in the flat purchase menu). Tooltips for skills are woefully inadequate (they don't even show whether a skill has a cast time, let alone how long it is). And that's just the…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3662Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023

    Backed this on Kickstarter (20 USD), received a key for it. FFT inspired is understandable but after games like Triangle Strategy etc have released it feels a bit lacking in polish here and there, maybe wait for some QoL fixes? Pros: Music is lovely, gives vibes from previous Final Fantasy games, current Final Fantasy games and smooth, smooth jazz. The sprites are exceptionally emotive and delightful to look at. Environment and pixel art is very pretty and looks great. Overall the shiny parts…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3788Steam reviews · Jul 29, 2023 · 9 h played

    i don't usually write reviews, but this is a genre i am obsessed with... FFT is my all-time favorite game and it has always confused me why similar games always fall short. in short, this game is nothing like FFT and isn't even a good game of it's genre. i'm only 13 missions in, but i think i've seen enough to see where this is going. MISSIONS for starters, the first dozen missions have almost been identical. i play on the hardest difficulty and i haven't been downed or lost any characters.…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6403Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 2 h played

    The game is pretty, but it has a lot of flaws. You can't rotate the screen making it hard to select people or see what's going on with terrain. The battle music is pretty, but is low tempo and soft and is not a good fit. There are points of the story that are baffling. For instance you have the option to punish someone for being a mage, but you can have a party of spell casters. For $30 it's just not worth the price.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4551Steam reviews · Nov 15, 2024 · 14 h played

    Arcadian Atlas is to Final Fantasy Tactics what Mighty Number 9 was to Mega Man. Bottom line up front: If you like Final Fantasy Tactics, you'll probably be drawn in on this game, and you'll probably even enjoy it. That's what drew me in, and it is why I ultimately did enjoy this game - but that comes with a lot of caveats. Only recommended for strategy RPG fanatics with a lot of patience. The game has a lot of great concepts that just aren't executed well. Steam is rife with games that…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0439Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023 · 4 h played

    Arcadian Atlas is what you get when someone played Final Fantasy Tactics and thought "I could do that" and understood nothing of why FFT is the GOAT in the genre. All those years on the wishlist wasted. Some of the below complaints could be fixed with some QOL patches but the core gameplay is lacking and that isn't changing. I would wait for this inevitably end up in some bundle. My SteamDeck lost internet somewhere in my playthrough so my tracked time is a bit higher than listed. Should be…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9623Steam reviews · Dec 5, 2023 · 9 h played

    honestly this game was underwhelming. feels like the poorest mans tactics. skills feel simpler in not the good way. only got like maybe 10 hours in before i forgot about the game for almost a month. story starts ok, but gameplay feels kinda rough and simplistic. maybe i didn't get far enough in, but wasn't feel challenged or interested in the fighting. likw a 2/5

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8634Steam reviews · Jun 4, 2024 · 12 h played

    I was waiting for this game for a long time as I fell in love with it’s visual style and story preamble. So what did we get? In short, not everything turned out to be smooth. First of all the strong parts of the game are: The story – if you liked the story of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together with it’s somewhat mature themes than you’ll like Arcadian Atlas as well The visual style – pixel art at it’s best The music – jazz oriented soundtrack is fabulous…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6268Steam reviews · Aug 26, 2023 · 1 h played

    After so many years, where most of it was simply siilence, then suddenly more news dropped on progress of this game, it feels like it was rushed, just to get it done. I'm writing a review based on the first few minutes on this game for one reason: I don't want more people to waste time on this game than necessary. It would have been better to waste no time at all from creatives, devs and players alike and consider it a failed project. The music is such an immersion breaker. A saxophone in a…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3611Steam reviews · Aug 2, 2023 · 1 h played

    Disappointing. As a backer from 2016, I guess I'm surprised this came out at all. I'll try to give my best, objective opinion: Pros: Sprite work is expressive and decent. Soundtrack is unique, although questionably used at times. Small dev team who finished a project. Good on them for seeing it through. Cons: Way to easy on normal difficulty. Balancing is all off in this game. Ranged characters can win everything. Elevation makes no difference. Melee characters mostly useless. Skill trees…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1609Steam reviews · Jul 31, 2023 · 16 h played

    As an original Kickstarter backer, I'm happy to have seen something published. In its current state, however, it leaves a lot to be desired. I'm going to finish it out of a sense of duty, but you certainly don't have to. My biggest complaints: - Clunky interface - Terrible font - Music that's good but breaks immersion - Lack of strategic depth (height irrelevent for weapons, etc.) - Loading screens galore - Pacing was awful - Lack of tooltips and previews has you stumbling pretty blind…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9602Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 3 h played

    Amazing soundtrack, charming art style, and solid game play for a genre sorely in need of good titles like this.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1615Steam reviews · Jul 29, 2023 · 20 h played

    More of a mixed review, as the game does do a few really good things. The most important thing the game does well: no exp grind on actions. This is the number one pet peeve I have of FFT clones; I love tactical games, but this is the feature that most of them slavishly copy from FFT that always ends up ruining the gameplay for me. Having to game the xp system to optimize is just tediously unfun. The xp system here is a lot more elegant and don't require gamification: whoever participates in a…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7396Steam reviews · Jul 29, 2023 · 1 h played

    But I honestly... feel like I'm fighting the game more than the battles. I use a controller because of disability, and getting the cursor to move in a straight line using the thumbstick is a hassle. Also the map isn't rotatable, at all, it's literally not even a feature according to the devs. In a tactics game, where I need to see if I can be in range of someone or something and terrain 'height' (Since everything is apparently a 2d map I put it in quotes) can block your movement or range…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5184Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 1 h played

    Update!: Nope, I'm out. From what I've seen, even if it is to be set at the proper price, it will still be overpriced, compared to other games in the genre. I know the team is small, but the game doesn't offer half the feature other games within the same price range does. My interest is not totally lost, I'll still follow the game silently, and if I ever, and I mean ever play the game at its complete state, this review may change then. Until it gets WAY better, so much better that makes me…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5836Steam reviews · Jul 22, 2024 · 2 h played

    Took a chance on this game despite some of the reviews, and that was a mistake. The story's got all the worst parts of Final Fantasy Tactics without the best parts of it. The game froze repeatedly on me while using basic abilities. The game lies about bow range and then froze when I tried to shoot outside my range.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0928Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 1 h played

    in the beginning of the game you have to sit through 5 minutes worth of background history that could have been explained throughout the story, not right at the beginning, the tutorial can be confusing as it is barely interactive at all. the controls are barely explained so you can almost be wandering the first save menu as you cant click on icons, and if you turtle with your troops it can be difficult to select them, and the gameplay gets boring fast. would recommend if on sale would not…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6866Steam reviews · Mar 3, 2025 · 3 h played

    Ignoring all the drama around the game, the developer and some of the developer's comments, I can't recommend the game despite its beautiful art and solid writing. The gameplay is really slow-paced, not really interesting and engaging. Actions and options are limited, movement and controls are slow and combat in general feels insignificant. There's a lot of level recycling; two early side quests lead you to the same two maps you've previously cleared on the main quest. Music choice is…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5872Steam reviews · Nov 26, 2023

    So I backed this product on kickstarter a very, very long time ago and only a few minutes of play showed me how poorly polished the gameplay and visuals are. The kickstarter campaign itself was handled badly, with poor communication, extremely sparse updateds and no word on physical rewards. And maybe if the game felt polished and looked good I would be able to let that go, but this game took 5 more years than they promised and it really does not have too much to show for it.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7197Steam reviews · Aug 30, 2023 · 17 h played

    I enjoyed the game! A classic Tactics RPG is a pretty ambitious genre to tackle with only four developers, but I think part of the appeal of such a small team is that each of the game's decisions feels more like an individual expression at that size. It bites off a little more than it can chew, but to me that's part of what makes the game engaging. If you're looking for something with deeply strategic combat and a robust, modular progression system, this game probably won't scratch that itch.…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3304Steam reviews · Aug 2, 2023 · 2 h played

    What a letdown. I helped kickstart. I never liked the "sword" slashing animation. it always looked like a flurry of something in someone's hand. Which means you can't see the weapon equipped, which was one of the highlights of customization in FFT. But fine. The music sounded great, the musician was cool, the sprite animation was relatively good, so I thought let's wait it out. ...5 years overdue later from kickstarter... And it's trash. It's watered down, streamlined, babies first tactics…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7790Steam reviews · Jul 31, 2023 · 4 h played

    I backed this Kickstarter in 2016, with a projected release date of 2018. It didnt release until late July 2023. I'm only posting this so people know the timeline. I'm about 4 hours into the game, and I have some thoughts, most of them negative. If you've played Final Fantasy Tactics, you've played AA. Or at least, you've played someones FanFiction version of FFT. Instead of best friends taking different sides in war, its lovers. Same kind of maps, literally the opening map is like the opening…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9951Steam reviews · Jul 31, 2023 · 12 h played

    This game is surprisingly disappointing. As other folks have said, there are baffling QoL things that are missing. Things like holding an arrow down not moving the cursor multiple times. Want to move 20 spaces to look around a battlefield? Press an arrow 20 times. And there's input lag/loss as well, so maybe more like 25. Lists don't cycle, so if you want to go to the bottom of a list with 10 options, press an arrow 10-15 times there as well. There are some odd design choices as well, like…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0834Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023 · 2 h played

    I backed this game on Kickstarter, and I regret to say, it is kind of disappointing. The artwork is excellent, drawing heavily from Final Fantasy Tactics, but the game play misses that high mark. It feels rather shallow, instead trying to rely on story to get it through. The story seems okay, but really I backed this game hoping for the tactical depth of the source material, and it's just not there. And then hearing that people are completing the game in as little as 8 hours leaves me…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2133Steam reviews · Jul 29, 2024

    A Final Fantasy Tactics-like, but with klunkier controls. Really that's just what stopped me dead. I couldn't rotate the camera, and sometimes I couldn't click the square I wanted to move my characters to with the mouse because something was blocking the way. It seemed fine but bad feeling controls made me not want to invest a ton of time into it.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3498Steam reviews · Jul 27, 2023 · 2 h played

    I've been waiting for the release of this game for a long time and I have to say, it does not disappoint! I'm still early on, but am enjoying the tactical play style and the music as well (honestly, I don't get the criticisms of the music, as jazzy style is fresh and different from other RPGs.) Also, I think its unfair to compare and criticize this game because its not Fell Seal. This is Arcadian Atlas and the game should be critiqued for its own self and not because someone was expecting…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2541Steam reviews · Aug 13, 2023 · 1 h played

    The game just misses all the marks. Less customization, clunky combat, awkward controls(Cant bind certain things and cant move camera).

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1252Steam reviews · Jul 28, 2023 · 13 h played

    Arcadian Atlas is a Tactics RPG that is strong in the storytelling department without trying to say too much. There were a few speed bumps as I played the game throughout the night, but it ultimately didn't stop me from seeing it to the end. If you value story in your tactics RPGs, in the same way that I did for a title such a story-driven game like TS, then this game can be a good fit. Decent Story In the $20-30+ (Canadian) price range, a lot of tactics RPGs lean heavily towards combat and…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6764Steam reviews · Aug 3, 2023 · 9 h played

    needs ALL kinds of UI/UX tweaks, and a FAR more interesting class/development system. i dont know much about the kickstarter or the wait, i was inspired to buy after reading some promising press about it. either way, very underwhelmed. i could recommend it to beginners if some of the clunky/redundant UI things (item shop, troop management etc).

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0016Steam reviews · Jul 31, 2023 · 14 h played

    Played it beat it, 4/10. Is playable, but boring if you've played any of the other greats. Most of the ability are either pointless or useless. Every combat encounter is more or less the same 4 types of monsters or bad guys. They story was a bad mix of genocide and humor only admired by the young. Prepare to follow characters into battle like old friends, although a day ago you massacred a number of their forces, and well tried to kill each other. The main characters are all supposedly…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9840Steam reviews · Jul 31, 2023 · 15 h played

    Others here have posted some great reviews of this game, especially when detailing some of the QoL failings that Arcadian Atlas has. This was my first Kickstarter and coincidentally the longest I've had to wait for a KS fulfillment. I'm many hours in and the game is just frustrating to enjoy, the non rotating camera, the inability to view character HP and SP, but what finally made me uninstall the game was the lack of elevation. The game has elevation, but it means absolutely nothing, earlier…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6750Steam reviews · Feb 19, 2025 · 1 h played

    Played it for an hour and it froze up twice. Once it recovered after a minute and the other I had to close the game. Don't buy until they fix these bugs. There are some things they could do to make the game more streamlined. Didn't seem like there was enough classes either. Lots of art just shared between main characters and ones you can recruit. Sure maybe this changes deeper in the game, I just couldn't get there because of freezing up.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5335Steam reviews · Oct 2, 2024 · 2 h played

    This is just bad. Uninteresting skill tree. uninteresting classes. I do only have a few hours, but it is easy to lock a game up. It freezes up and sometimes it starts working again after a minute, sometimes it doesn't.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2369Steam reviews · Aug 25, 2023 · 9 h played

    Ok, so, I got this game bc it looks so much like FFT I had to give it a shot. I recommend this game for a single playthrough, however, for me at least, not much replayability. Arcadian Atlas is extremely short compared to FFT, and there seem to be quite a few bugs still. Pros: * Wonderful art and animations (I love the facial animations too) * A pretty good story * Decent music Cons: * Jump ability seems to have no effect. Most of my characters could jump buildings without me even boosting…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7344Steam reviews · Jul 30, 2023 · 9 h played

    Went in very hyped about this game but there's so much wrong it'll be hard to fix them all. The game itself has okay bones, but the story is incredibly basic, at least through Chapter 1. Pros: The music is good. The bones are good, it plays like a tactics game (although the gameplay feels quite slow). It's definitely very inspired from FFT. The sprites seem well done, decent animations. Cons: No windowed full screen mode. The character portraits are just bad, wish more time was spent…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2265Steam reviews · Apr 19, 2025 · 36 h played

    For a bit of context I have had this game on my wishlist for a long time now, writing this as the credits are rolling. Decided to buy it despite the reviews. I don't know the history of the game or the studio, I don't know what they promised before release. All I can talk about it my experience with the game. The game was pretty solid indie game, one that feels like it was made by people that loved the classics of this genre like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. While they will be in…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3939Steam reviews · Mar 25, 2024 · 15 h played

    Read through the reviews prior to purchase, sensing salt in the air but gave the game the benefit of the doubt. Game was fine, abit bare boned which hopefully gets developed upon with more content between story points. It was shorter then i expected, 15hours roughly for a complete play through and 100% acheivs Crashed only once. buy on discount if you are yearning for a little short weekend jrpg experience.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5910Steam reviews · Nov 24, 2023

    Lot of problems here.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8254Steam reviews · Jul 31, 2023 · 2 h played

    Short review: I would play this if it was a visual novel. Pros: -The music. I loved smooth-jazzy feel combined with the story/setting. It felt fresh and somehow not out of place. -The story (of what I saw) was interesting and the characters mixed well together. -Visually impressive settings and the characters looked good, although some from behind looked like they were permanently squatting or bending their knees in a weird way. The portraits are fantastic. Cons: (Note: I was not expecting…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7345Steam reviews · Jul 31, 2023 · 1 h played

    This game is not good. Really unfortunate because it really hits that nostalgia of FFT. But from the start it's incredibly slow and the UX is horrible. There are other reviews that point out all the issues about the game. It just feels really really unpolished or unfinished, however you'd like.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →

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