2023’s epic hit role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 sure has enriched the market, so much so that every single big-budget computer RPG will be compared to that title. And who can blame people?

Of course, if you rather temper your expectations with a modest fare, especially one that takes place in an alternate feudal Japan, then Shadow of the Road may whet your appetite for CRPG-slash-turn-based combat. With games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows out and Ghost of Yotei slated to come out this year, this may be the year where Feudal Japan in gaming makes a comeback in different flavours.

Slice of Lives

This time, we’re focusing on the alpha build of the turn-based combat flavour kind. The premise of Shadow of the Road is this: you play a pair of ronin (masterless samurai) as you have to escort a boy with mystical powers to the current emperor. Along the way, you meet up with new party members who may join your cause, bond with them and mayhaps romance them, find out conspiracies, and fight a ton of ninjas and ne’er do wells. Much like a CRPG.

All combat is sorted out in turn-based format, with a priority on messing with the timeline and using action and movement points (one uses red notches, the other blue) to pull off your moves and act first before your opponents get the drop on you. The timeline determines who moves first, with faster fighters like ronin or ninjas moving faster and with less intervals (ie: more actions) and bigger characters moving less.

On the flip side, bigger characters hit harder and take more damage than the aforementioned archetypes. Akira is swift and can strike from afar with his bow and arrow, but he has to stay away from enemies lest he perish quick.

While you and enemies have special moves that take a turn or two to activate (delayed moves), they can be broken if they get attacked during this stance. These moves deal massive damage and will always hit your opponent (unless they move out of the way and out of sight; it tracks), but you are given ample time to deal with it if you have fast characters who can act faster and frequently. Some special moves for each party member have limited uses, and can only be recharged with certain battlefield criterias are met. Satoru the ronin has a powerful two-hit sword attack, but can only be refreshed if the party kills two enemies. Party composition is key, and we do hope Shadow of The Road’s full game let you customize your party and recruit more members.

Apart from a few alpha level bugs and sounds not playing in key moments, the game’s combat and story seem solid so far. I made by ronin pair be a more diplomatic as to have a smoother sailing mission and not pick future fights I can’t win; this is par on course with decision-making and future-affecting story bits tailor-made by developer Owlcat Games. They’re known for the really good (but ill-timed released in the same year as Baldur’s Gate 3) Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, so hopefully 2025 (or 2026) is the year Shadow of the Road comes out unhindered and outplayed by bigger-budget CRPGs.

Check out the full alpha demo longplay below; we had a go at the tutorial, a couple of skirmishes against imperial soldiers and demon yokai as a boss at the end.

There’s no release date announced for Shadow of the Road so far, but we do know it’s slated for a PC release.