#lou plays aedis eclipse: generation of chaos

[catiuapavel]

True to my word, I started playing Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos after it was voted as the winner of my SRPG poll.

You can choose between three different parts: the Lower World Greckland, the Surface World Aedis and the Divine World Galadia. Starting with the first part (the Lower World) felt the most logical pick.

Currently, I'm well into this first part and I can without doubt say this is the clunkiest, messiest strategy gameplay I've played to date (note: I'm not saying it's the worst). This game is oveloaded with ideas and mechanics, none of which particularly well executed.

The gameplay is a mix of turn-based strategy and real-time battles: each turn you get to move your units across a board. You need to move across the stage and capture the enemy base while paying attention no enemy captain reaches and captures your own base.

Each unit is a captain that comes with its own troops, and you can assign them unit types in the equiment menu. On top of this you can assign your captain a partner (which is another captain you will not be able to use but they will assist you in combat).

Once you engage in battle with an enemy captain, you can decide on a formation and give your troops different basic orders.

You can use skills from your captain (or your partner) using SP points during battle. Special characters come with their own personalized unique skills, otherwise you can purchase more.

Once you defeat an enemy captain, you may take them prisoners and/or choose ro release or execute them. If you bring them back to a base, you may also persuade them to fight for you. However the enemy may also capture your units and choose to hold them prisoners (in which case you need to rescue them) or release them (in which case... they're just gone. they jump on the opportunity to desert).

There is also plenty to consider when it comes to the terrain of the stages as well, the tiles (can) have elements which may grant you a buff or a debuff. You can change them by terraforming them.

You'll encounter all sorts of buildings, and you also have to possibility to build your own if the tile allows it. You may also explore these places for events (finding items or characters to recruit) or to grind.

Honestly it's unlike any other strategy game I've played, and that alone is enough to retain my attention despite the fact that none of this feels quite finished, and other aspects of the game (the story and writing, the soundtrack, the sound effect, and the voice acting) reflect that same roughness.

[catiuapavel]

This is possibly the funniest (derogatory) plot twists I've experienced

Aedis Eclipse: GOC's second storyline (The Surface World) starts with a cutscene of two characters as children: prince Raphelos from Laurid and princess Fiona from Zemora. Their kingdoms are allied, and they see each other as childhood friends until Zemora invades Laurid.

The prince is rescued by his guard, and the game skips ahead to 10 years later, introducing the three main characters: two pirates (Duo & Liza) and a vagrant knight (Herault)

Out of these three, Herault, the long haired blond knight sporting a similar attire to prince Raphelos, gets the most focus (Liza is the daughter of the captain, and Duo is just there). He wants to return to his birth country Laurid to rid it of its occupier, and to get revenge on what was done to him.

Eventually he comes face-to-face with the princess and attempts to take her life. This is easily the best cutscene I've seen in this game, and Herault undeniably has the most fleshed-out and compelling character arc (that being said the competition isn't very strong).

Evidently, Herault is the sweet prince we see at the beginning. The loss of his country has turned him into a bitter man who resents the childhood friend he had untold romantic feelings for (and clearly his feelings toward her remain complex). Right?

Wrong!

This isn't the conclusion you should come to:

This is the conclusion you should come to:

The pirate with little to no story involvement (and little to no personality) is the prince. Herault is actually just Jeliah, the son of the bodyguard you see at the beginning.

Obviously the game baits you into believing otherwise until this reveal. Not just through looks, the entire framing leans into this interpretation on purpose. Perhaps, the point was to subvert your expectations, but

This wasn't well executed (much like a lot of things in this game).

This has come at the cost of the single most fleshed out and compelling character arc in this game. Now all that baggage implied through the introduction cutscene is gone, and all this build-up collapses on itself. Herault's character suffers from it, and Duo's character doesn't even benefit from it 🤔

[catiuapavel]

Whenever you pick a storyline, you get this epic (one might even say over-the-top) intro showing characters with every effect and transition possible while a gritty rock song plays. It's incredible.

[catiuapavel]

The best part of Aedis Eclipse GoC is without doubt its beautiful women in (somewhat) pragmatic military outfit

In general, the art and design (by  Youji Hiraiwa) across all three worlds is really nice. Here are some of my other favourite character design:

[catiuapavel]

When you choose to battle the final boss using his sister the theme song is this gentle lullaby which is kind of sick and twisted

[catiuapavel]

Incredible class upgrade

[catiuapavel]

This guy has classic main antagonist vibes and yet I just randomly picked him up from some tile. he asked to join my party and now he's just vibing

[catiuapavel]

This is my favourite character: she is the morally grey leader of an enemy nation, and the protective mother of the clone of her dead husband she adopted. She is also really handsome.

[catiuapavel]

me neither tbh

[catiuapavel]

Only 4 stages into "Part 2: The Surface World, Aedis" and it already delivers stronger writing and character drama than the entire first part.

[catiuapavel]

I finished the first plotline of AEGC yesterday (the lower world) and while neither the plot nor the writing was any good, the amount of women in military outfits and/or sick character design compels me to play the rest of the game (the ambitious yet clunky gameplay comes second though).

I started the Surface World plotline just now, and tbh the begining is fairly generic, but at the very least it makes an attempt at fleshing out relationships between the main characters as well as the overall setting, so that's already a large improvement over the previous one. I may even be a little hopeful 🤞