This piece is honestly one that I’ve been meaning to get to for quite some time, and with Lost Eidolons recently seeing release for the likes of Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, now seems like the perfect time! As a strategy role-playing game in this day and age Lost Eidolons has plenty of competition and much to prove to be worthy of players’ attention in a crowded marketplace. Does it succeed, and does it bring the strategy role-playing genre to new heights? Let’s dive in and find out, this is Lost Eidolons!

Introduction & Leadup to Release

       Lost Eidolons is the product of Ocean Drive Studio, a gaming company based out of Korea and California comprised of a team of 60 employees. The studio was founded in 2019 and this is their debut title. The development team cited two examples that inspired the project, namely Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. Although these two properties inspired the development, Lost Eidolons builds upon those inspirations to deliver something very different.

Ocean Drive Studio had several financial backers for the formation of the company as well as development of the base game. However, Ocean Drive took to Kickstarter to secure additional funding to round out the development of additional features to help Lost Eidolons be the best game it could be and reach its full potential. The game amassed over 1000 backers against a requested amount of $45,000 but they ended up raising over $50,000 to enhance Lost Eidolons into something truly special. Among the backer bonuses that Ocean Drive detailed the platforms would release for; the game initially launched for PC in October of 2022, while the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions dropped in September of this year.

Synopsis & Writing

       Lost Eidolons is set amongst the fictional continent of Artemesia with focus drawn to the once shining independent kingdom of Benerio, which has long since been annexed into an empire that had entered an era of corruption, lawlessness, and decline. At the heart of our story is a young man named Eden and his band of mercenaries who just look out for themselves in making a living to survive in this perilous kingdom. Unfortunately, a seemingly mundane contract from someone in need will throw Eden and friends into the jaws of fate as they are forced to fight for a better tomorrow.

                At first glance the story may seem like your standard affair for SRPGs as Eden and company go from humble mercenaries to experienced rebel soldiers and eventually to a proper army. But what Lost Eidolons does to set itself apart from the crowd is how it portrays its world, setting, and characters. Many SRPGs, namely modern fire emblems, treat war as a joke with no interest in presenting a nuanced story with complex morality issues.

                Lost Eidolons treats war as just that, war but is willing to tackle the heavier themes that are associated with such material. In a quote from Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried lies the truth of how war should realistically be portrayed; “A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil.”

                The narrative doesn’t spend massive amounts of time trying to convince you that the rebels of Benerio are in the right or that the empire is irredeemably monstrous, there are shades of gray on both sides. Similar complements extend to the characterization of the continent of Artemesia, which feels like a place that could exist with characters that fit the atmosphere that Ocean Drive was going for. Let us take a moment to examine our protagonist, Eden. He has made his living as a mercenary for as long as he can remember. Imperial rule to him is just a fact of life in Benerio, so his top priority is the safety of his friends and fellow mercenaries. But as the world he lives in forces his hand, he joins the Benerian movement to restore the kingdom, not because he wants to change the world but rather because it was the best way to protect what is important to him when life went all to hell. Artemesia is a cruel place, and the characters reflect that unforgiving environment, with understandable reasons for acting the way they do.

                The tone is abundantly clear from the moment the narrator recounts the events that led to the empire’s conquest of the continent. This is a tale of kingdoms, subterfuge, and war. But while on the subject of narration I must express my first major complaint with Lost Eidolons. The entirety of this game is presented to us from Eden’s perspective except on extremely rare occasions, meaning that the player’s perception of events are based on what Eden and his comrades experience and are told. This leads to several scenes where critical events are relayed to the player via narration because Eden and company hadn’t experienced them, but they are still crucial to the narrative and the player. I would very much have liked these events to have played out on screen as opposed to being told to us in this way. That being said, I understand the reasoning behind it from a budgetary perspective. The information is still relayed to us, but I just would have preferred a more active approach.

Gameplay

       Lost Eidolons in its simplest forms is a SRPG in which you lead units of varying classes through maps of increasingly challenging and varying objectives in order to claim victory. This can range from surviving a set number of turns, to defeating a specific unit or reaching a certain point on the map. The game manages to strike a nice level of variety in its mission objectives across its 27-map campaign and features over 20 optional battles as well should the player be interested in pursuing them. But more than that the map design is organic and dynamic. With the exception of the first two maps no map is what it appears to be at first glance. Lost Eidolons keeps players on their toes with maps that change over time. Maps may present themselves as a defeat all enemies sort of map, but then shift into an escape enemy pursuit objective. This is refreshing and helps to set It apart from the more sterile static design one may find with competitor SRPGs.

                Much like the likes of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, units are divided into separate classes with different proficiencies and abilities. Reaching new classes merely requires reaching a certain level in both character level and weapon and armor proficiency. Naturally the higher tier classes have higher requirements to reach, but unlike most Fire Emblem games you don’t need to make use of limited resource items in order to reach new classes.

                However, in a move to differentiate itself from its competition, weapons and proficiency are handled quite differently. Fire Emblem and Tactics would lock certain classes into certain weapon types and Lost Eidolons largely doesn’t follow this rule. The exception being that introductory physical based classes cannot use magic but can equip other basic weapon types such as swords, axes, spears, and bows. And vice versa, introductory magic classes can use magic but cannot use the primary physical weapon types. Naturally, there are advanced classes that are hybrid units that can make use of both weapon categories such as Eden’s exclusive class Overlord.

                Lost Eidolons is more than its map design and story as in between maps you will be able to freely explore a camp in real time where you can speak to your allies, purchase new equipment, and prepare for the next battle. This is where the game provides the resource “Leadership.” Leadership is used to get you to participate in activities with allies and give them gifts to raise affinity, which in turn will allow you to learn more about the people fighting alongside you, and even partake in training sessions to raise class proficiency. Completing quests at camp will grant you prestige, which will in turn increase the amount of Leadership points you have to spend. Good strategy provides constant levels of resource management, and Leadership is an extension of that. Leadership is limited, which encourages players to think carefully about spending it and to prioritize critical thinking.

                Lost Eidolons presents three primary difficulties for players to immerse themselves in. Story mode is for those not accustomed to strategy games and merely wish to enjoy the story, Normal mode is the standard option for those who have played strategy games before, and it offers a nice challenge even for the initiated. And finally there is Hard mode, which is the game’s ultimate challenge and is reserved for master tacticians. Hard mode will throw new enemy formations at you, boost the enemies that exist, and generally serve as the ultimate test of your tactical prowess. Additionally, there are a couple of difficulty modifiers to increase or decrease the difficulty. Much like modern Fire Emblem titles you have the option of Classic or Casual mode relabeled as Maniac and Casual mode, which means the difference between falling units in battle being lost forever or not. The final modifier is one that enables limited turns, which enforces a turn limit on every battle and should that battles take longer it will result in a loss for the player. These modifiers can be activated or deactivated at any time.

                Lost Eidolon’s campaign is finely tuned and balanced and offers a fine challenge even on Normal difficulty. The mechanics inform the player’s understanding of the sandbox and serve to heighten the experience. It takes the best aspects of its competitors and improves upon them to make something truly unique. Even as a lifelong player of strategy games I still felt tested all the way through my 35+ hour playthrough.

Score & Presentation

       Lost Eidolon’s score may be small, but it is indeed mighty. It paints the atmosphere of a continent besieged by conflict, and I found that the tracks stuck with me long after completing the experience. Special compliments especially go to the game’s vocal tracks, Power of the Lost as well as Broken Promises. I found myself so enthralled with the soundtrack that I went out of my way to purchase the soundtrack just to listen to it in my free time. I particularly love the theme that was present in chapter 18, for how it painted an oppressive atmosphere and general sense of unease that permeates through the track and chapter.

                The presentation is honestly quite breathtaking in terms of art direction. Many strategy games on the market possess a more Japanese animation inspired art style. However, Lost Eidolons sets itself apart from much of its competition for having a more grounded gritty approach to art direction, one that feels and looks distinctly western and wouldn’t be out of place in a western fantasy story. The game fully commits to this aesthetic, and it remains consistent throughout the game’s runtime.

                The game was rendered and created within the Unity engine. But despite this the game boasts incredibly high graphical fidelity as the models look amazing, especially when you consider the budget. Now where the presentation lacks is in the models’ facial expressions. The models will emote with their bodies performing various movements and poses; however their facial expressions are very static. That being said the voice acting more than makes up for that lack of expression on the models’ faces. Their performances are more subdued and feel very natural. The lip syncing is also top notch and the voice acting really enhances the presentation as the main scenario and main quests are fully voiced whilst optional battles and quests are not.

Conclusion

       Lost Eidolons may have been inspired by the likes of Fire emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, but it evolves the strategy genre in meaningful ways, setting itself apart from the competition in all the best ways. Lost Eidolons is easily one of the best strategy role-playing games on the market right now and I can’t recommend it enough! I cannot wait to see what Ocean Drive delivers next as Lost Eidolons is an instant classic that has more depth than the games that inspired it.