Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga

I was pleasantly surprised with the time I spent playing this SRPG. In many ways, it draws from classic heavyweights of the genre, but it also has more than enough substance to stand on its own. There’s certainly a lot to uncover and do throughout a playthrough, and it also has moderate replay value given the ways player choice alters certain narrative events. Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is an adventure fans of tactical RPGs might want to keep an eye on.

I fell in love with this highly addictive gem after just a couple of turns. If you don’t mind that it was created with RPG Maker and looks like a decades-old relic, if you’re able to turn a blind eye to poor enemy AI and you’re willing to give the story time to really get going, you’ll probably lose track of time. Just like I did when I spent 16 hours with Symphony of War just on the first day with it.

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is surprising and a little underwhelming at first. But, if one gives it time to reveal its systems, it offers plenty of tactical depth and a solid narrative. The fact that there’s no direct control over combat makes it more important to think about force composition and careful squad deployment. I never became fully invested in the story, but the tactical puzzles were always fun to work through. Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is best enjoyed in bite-sized chunks. Clear a map, prepare for another, watch the conversations between characters, see what a new area has to offer, then save the actual combat for another session. This keeps the gameplay fresh and the narrative interesting.

Perfection is not stationed in Tahnra yet, but despite this, Symphony of War is still a strong and compelling turn-based strategy thanks to the amazing mix of simplicity and depth of its mechanics.

Novel tactical mechanics make this indie a contender for the best strategy RPG this year.

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is a fabulously fun tactical RPG. The squad-based gameplay and management mechanics co-exist incredibly well, and there is a surprising amount of complexity in each of the systems. While the expanded lore has had a lot of thought put into it, the games narrative does feel rather rushed and uninteresting. If you’re a fan of management RPGs, and are looking for something that will scratch the Ogre Battle itch, then this is a game worth checking out.