There used to be a time when the vast majority of RPGMaker games were merely fanfiction-level stories coupled with a thick coating of Final Fantasy-themed paint. That stereotype is starting to melt away it seems, with a recent surge of titles that endeavor to be different. One of these RPGs is Astronomic’s Atonement: Scourge of Time. Eschewing the anime-inspired illustrations and 16 bit look for a more modern art style and some Suikoden-esque pixel work, Atonement stands out quite a bit amongst its fanmade peers.
Atonement also boasts a twin story arc where you select one of two main characters and have to contend with interference from the one you opted not to use. A full list of features can be found on its steam page:
- A large, decadent, dark fantasy world with a new take on concepts of angels and demons.
- Two different protagonist teams, each one with its own point of view on the same story. Their paths repeatedly converge and diverge as they attempt to accomplish their own goals, occasionally antagonizing one another.
- 10+ hours of gameplay in total – roughly 5+ hours for each team’s story arc.
- Unconventional way of unlocking new skills: each character possesses all of their special abilities from the start. However, many are locked by high energy cost. Increase max Energy by any means necessary to get access to those skills.
- Strategically manage your energy in battles: use lots of low cost skills in a row, or use a high cost skill and wait for the overall energy to recharge.
- Two difficulty modes: Normal and Challenging. Normal is streamlined so to allow most people to complete the game and witness the story. Challenging is for those seeking blood, sweat, sorrow, and death.
- Turn-based battles and a variety of boss fights which require strategy to be beaten, especially in Challenging mode.
- A variety of weapons, armour, and accessories, allowing customization of the equipment on playable characters to fit to your playstyle.
You can purchase the newly released game on Steam for a 15% discount off of the regular 8.99 price, or head over to Atonement’s forum thread where there are listed several other outlets to purchase it from.
Thanks to reader Cameron8161 for pointing us to this news.
David
July 17, 2015 at 2:26 pmThose pre-rendered models honestly make it look far more dated than it is, especially since RM only gives you so many frames to work with. It just looks inconsistent all throughout.
But that’s just how it looks, I’m sure it plays okay enough at least.
bgrunge
July 17, 2015 at 3:08 pmYeah, the 16/32-bit pixel look is pretty superior to the circa-1998 pre rendered asset look most of the time, IMO.
Like, compare Chrono Trigger, FF6, or Seiken Densetsu 3 to Septerra Core, say. SD3 in particular looks stellar, even today.
Superscooter
July 17, 2015 at 7:39 pmThis doesn’t exactly look like a good art style. Pre-rendered CAN perhaps still look nice if used effectively, like FNAF. This just looks pure dated
As for other indie RPG games made on simpler engines, why not look into Undertale? That looks great.
Nocturnic
July 17, 2015 at 9:10 pmWhile I could get behind the game for its story; the pre-rendered graphics mixed with 2D tiles make the game look shit.
As a developer working on a RM game; and one who wants their game to be great, no matter the restrictions; I think this game has some great potential, but the pre-rendered graphics just makes it look bad.
Softclocks
July 18, 2015 at 1:45 pmIt’s no violated heroine, that’s for sure!