Lost Eidolons Review (PC)

I confess, I’m a total sucker for turn-based strategy games that tell compelling stories. I know most of us are not playing XCOM for the story, but this is what hooked me when I played XCOM: Enemy Unknown for the first time.

Lost Eidolons is one of those games that start very slow but becomes a supernova after several hours. That’s one of the downsides of being a rather small title that and a very low marketing budget. The same goes for the Fire Emblem series, but no one is complaining about that because we all know we’re eventually going to get to the juicy part.

I’m here to tell you that if you manage to get past the 5-7 hours (maybe even less) of tutorial and banter between characters, you’re absolutely going to love Lost Eidolons, especially if you love the Fire Emblem games.

It’s not obvious at first, but after several hours it becomes clear that you play a different version of Fire Emblem set in a medieval world. Just about every mechanic in Fire Emblem has been implemented in Lost Eidolons in a way that would make sense for the world, characters and story. Although it doesn’t feel forced at all, I would’ve liked to see developers providing their own take on the Fire Emblem formula, but there’s little to no innovation in Lost Eidolons.

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That’s not to say the game isn’t enjoyable, on the contrary. I had a lot of fun playing Lost Eidolons and it definitely scratched that Fire Emblem itch, but I did feel that with a little bit more time, this could’ve been a much better game, especially when it comes to presentation.

Our adventure starts in a little town in the land of Aremesia, a huge continent now ravaged by civil war. You play as Eden, a wannabe mercenary who occasionally stands up for the poor and needy, along with his small group of friends.

The first few chapters (out of 27!) are meant to introduce players to many of the game’s systems and mechanics, while maintaining a compelling narrative. It doesn’t do a good job balancing the two, but if you bear with it, you’ll definitely be rewarded.

The formula, just like Fire Emblem, consists of switching between tactical turn-based grid combat and open-world-like camp where you prepare your troops and bond with the NPCs. Occasionally, you get important visitors who can be recruited if you build enough rapport with them. Usually, rapport is increased by offering gifts (which are very limited, so very previous), and spending time together doing various activities in the camp like sparring or simply eating.

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It's pretty similar to how you raise your bond with your teammates in Fire Emblem, it’s just that you can’t purchase an unlimited number of gifts. Once you raise rapport with your companions to a certain level, you’ll be getting some well-worth bonuses and even “special endings,” so I’d say don’t neglect this aspect of the game.

As far as combat goes, you’ll be relying on both melee and ranged classes. Unlike typical strategy games where you can build your characters into tank, DPS, support and healer roles, in Lost Eidolons it’s the weapons and armor you use that counts most. Each enemy is susceptible to a certain type of weapon like swords or axes, and in return they inflict more damage to your heroes wearing leather or plate armor.

It’s an interesting approach that adds more complexity to the system. Things become even more tactical when fighting huge monsters, which usually change their weakness after a few turns. Generally, it’s the team effort that is winning the fights, not a certain character built specifically to be overpowered, and that’s another thing that I really like about Lost Eidolons.

As your companions gain experience, they will unlock advanced classes and special abilities that make them more powerful. You can switch between classes freely before the fight, so there’s no cost involved if you’d like to experiment with different strategies. While most of the experience is gained on the battlefield, your companions can also be trained in between missions, allowing you to keep up with the enemy troops.

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Magic is one of the most important aspects of Lost Eidolons, one that can change the course of a battle. There are multiple types of magic in the game such as elemental, light, and dark. Each requires a specific grimoire, which can be populated with spells as your magic-specialized companions gain experience.

Because it’s so powerful, magic is limited in the fact that you can only use spells for a certain number of times. But the results can be catastrophic for the enemy if you know how to use it. For example, you can freeze enemies that are soaked, thus rendering them helpless for a turn. Or you can set enemies hiding in forests on fire so that they’ll take ongoing damage. Feel free to experiment for very fun results!

Story-wise, Lost Eidolons it’s quite stereotypical, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be enjoying the ride. There are enough twists and turns, deaths, betrayals and political struggles to keep you entertained for the entire adventure. Also, the game has some very nice cutscenes that are very close to a triple A title, so that’s certainly a plus. Not to mention that all dialog is voice-acted except for the casual banter, which totally adds to the immersion.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion