Square Enix's success with HD-2D style games has paved the way for other developers to explore this nostalgic RPG subgenre. Taipei-based studio Justdan is the latest to announce a new entry, Tianji: Shadow of the Ancients, which pays homage to classic role-playing games with a distinct East Asian influence. Instead of traditional magic, the game is set during China's Tang Dynasty and centers on the concept of Qi energy, a force found in all living things that practitioners harness for mystical purposes.
The narrative follows Shangguan Shuo, a protagonist who loses his memory after an encounter with the mysterious Xuanxin Order. This incident launches him on a quest to recover his past and understand a strange voice within his head that questions his identity. Along his journey, he will recruit a cast of characters, each with their own stories and unique abilities, who will join him in turn-based combat.
Tianji: Shadow of the Ancients aims to blend light exploration with deep turn-based combat mechanics. The game features 2D chibi-style characters that are sharply rendered, contrasting with the more realistically proportioned key art. These characters are animated with subtle details during in-engine cutscenes, which are complemented by others that utilize an ink-on-canvas aesthetic alongside conventional 3D scenes. The game world itself is rendered in Unreal Engine 5, presenting a combination of 3D villages, towns, caves, forests, and mountains, with a fixed camera distance that creates depth-of-field effects.
To accommodate modern players, the developers have included features to streamline gameplay. Battles can be sped up to twice the normal speed, and after sufficient leveling, players can automatically defeat lower-level enemies without initiating a combat sequence. The progression system includes a vertical skill tree offering meaningful choices, with skills that can combine across the entire party rather than being character-specific. Many skills focus on elemental strengths and weaknesses, adding a strategic layer to combat. For instance, the skill Scattered Stars II performs three hits on random targets and can trigger again on a critical hit.
Companions, a staple of the genre, will also be a significant part of the experience. Each companion comes with a personal side story and a unique skill that can be improved by spending time with them. These improvements can range from weapon enhancements to improved camping buffs or item trading capabilities, encouraging players to utilize different party members rather than sticking to a static optimal team.
The overworld map, rendered in a beautiful ink-wash style, is not just for navigation. Qi leylines are integrated into the environment, leading players off the beaten path to discover hidden bosses, side quests, and dungeons, rewarding exploration beyond the main objectives.
Tianji: Shadow of the Ancients is slated for release in 2027 and is planned for distribution on Steam, PlayStation 5, and both Nintendo Switch generations. While the release is still some time away, the combination of its distinctive art style, intriguing narrative premise, and strategic combat system suggests a promising addition to the turn-based RPG landscape.