Tin tức
Lost Eidolons is a wonderful strategy game that's like discovering Fire Emblem all over again
E
Elise Avery
Fire Emblem’s gameplay satisfied me, but as the series continued, its stories and mechanics coalesced into an expected aesthetic. The strategic gameplay and political intrigue contrasted with friendship and hijinks in each entry, anchored by an anime art-style that remained fairly similar each time.
Fast forward 17 years or so, and other games are finally following in the footsteps of Fire Emblem, particularly Lost Eidolons, which has a different approach to the same design ideas. It lifts a lot of things wholesale from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, including its camp exploration between chapters, monster-slaying mechanics, and several combat nuances. However, it uses these systems in service of a different experience.
For one, Lost Eidolons’ graphics aren’t anime-style. Like a lot of fantasy games, it features somewhat realistic character models and a vaguely European countryside aesthetic. The style doesn’t work perfectly, but when placed alongside Fire Emblem and its ilk, it stands out, and gives the game a more grounded tone.
Although the gameplay is extremely similar to Three Houses, it still brings some unique twists. Instead of bringing spellbooks, mages learn spells over time, and have to choose which ones to bring into combat, with weaker magic having more uses. Rather than a weapon triangle, weapon types do extra damage against clothing, light armor, or heavy armor. These and a myriad of other tiny differences add up to a game that encourages a different flavor of strategy.
Even with these differences, it’s hard to avoid comparisons with Fire Emblem. For me, that’s not a bad thing, because it reminds me of what it was like to discover the series for the first time. Everything is just new enough that I have to rediscover it all over again. Memories flood back of playing under my blanket to stop the backlight leaking under the door, learning about class promotion for the first time, or watching two characters bond in an unexpected way.
This nostalgia wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t backed up by a solid game, and thankfully, it is. While there’s a fair bit to criticize in Lost Eidolons—its pacing, some weak emotional beats, and weird difficulty spikes, among other things—I didn’t care because I was having so much fun with its crunchy tactical combat, exciting level design, and generally solid writing.
Lost Eidolons got my attention because it's so much like Fire Emblem, but it's also a well-made game that's worthy of your time. If you grew up wanting more Fire Emblem—like me—your time is now.
Lost Eidolons is available on the Epic Games Store.