Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga Critic Reviews

The sound design is supported by an old fashioned art design that gets the job done. Sometimes it looks like a very attractive GBA game and sometimes the portraits are distractingly higher res than the character models. Classic game weirdness! And that’s the thing- Symphony of War doesn’t get perfect marks across the board. But it adds up to more than a sum of its parts. Once you start noticing how elegantly all of Symphony of War’s systems interact, you’ll never be able to go back.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Appreciating Symphony of War takes some adjustment to its production values, but our 50 hours with the game were largely a joy. It’s built for those who delight in fiddling with systems and tweaking squad builds, and its combination of ideas offers a distinct tactical experience.

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.