Recent reviews by TheBloodyAugust

This game is the best. Tactical, turn based combat like the early Trails games. You assemble your own build based on moves from different martial arts schools after finding teachers across the land. If you dive into the stats, they are very complex and rewarding.

There need to be like a dozen games in this engine with more open world content- join what faction you want, learn forbidden texts, etc etc etc

The original has been kicking around in my imagination for the last decade or two. It's such an incredible concept and world that I can't recommend this remake enough.
Combat is turn-based tactics with the added conceit that you are a Shaper, a being who *creates* their entire team. Naturally, you will form a strong bond with some of your creations and tweak their characteristics as you see fit.
The only hurdle is accepting the art direction. If you can manage that, there is an awesome role-playing experience in this game and its sequels.
In regards to the remake, I'm a few levels in and it feels better and smoother than ever.

What so many RPGs get wrong is the combat.

It feels like most developers use turn-based battles to fill time. They make you use the same commands over and over, whittling down creatures until they're dead. Fill health bars back up when they're low. Repeat.

What I really want is a set of tools that I can use to address a given problem. I want interesting encounters that make me do clever things. I want to feel like I'm a freaking genius because I pulled off a W. And I want to feel like I'm getting stronger as I do it all.

In the Harrowed, every fight plays like a miniature puzzle. You have a multitude of tools on a multitude of characters. The cooldown-based moves add an interesting angle and the balancing is top notch. Leveling up slowly brings new playstyles and strategies, but the whole thing never feels like it's too much or totally impossible.

The Harrowed is a 6 hour game that reuses a few tileset assets from the standard RPGM suite, but at 3 bucks it scratches the RPG itch and leaves me wanting more of Vlastok and Beckett.

I don't think there's much else to say. It's easy to pick up and the main theme slaps

This is a five-star game that is truly ruined by a single, significant bug. 20 hours into a WotC Iron Man campaign, the game crashes at a crucial cutscene, and the save file was deleted. 20 lost hours.

Do not play Iron Man mode until they fix this game.

Edited to add: Have had good stability since