Fate/Samurai Remnant

Did You Know?

• The game features hack-and-slash combat with musou-style elements, allowing players to switch between stances and control Iori's servant in certain situations.
• A short manga introducing the game's setting was published in Type-Moon Ace VOL.15 by Kadokawa.
• A promotional anime featuring Saber and Berserker traveling around Japan and eating was broadcast in December 2023 as part of a New Years' celebration.

Plot

Miyamoto Iori, a ronin who keeps the peace, gets pulled into the Waxing Moon Ritual, a variation of the Holy Grail War. He calls forth a Saber-class servant, Yamato Takeru. To get details on other Masters and their servants, Iori and Saber team up with Takao Dayu and her Berserker-class servant, who happens to be Iori's deceased teacher, Miyamoto Musashi. While looking into Yui Shousetsu and her Rider-class servant, and also clashing with Chiemon and his Lancer-class servant, Iori and Saber are rescued by Zheng Chenggong and his Archer-class servant Zhou Yu.

This pair wants to join forces to handle a troublesome Assassin-class servant. Following their investigation, they encounter the Assassin's master, Dorothea Coyett. She unleashes a strong assault on the Saber-Berserker-Archer alliance, wounding Iori. This brings out the Pseudo-Servant Ototachibana-hime, who has been living inside Kaya's body.

Shousetsu notices this and orders Chiemon and Lancer to grab her. Iori and Saber give chase, battling Lancer at Kanagawa, but Rogue Servants corrupted by Tsuchimikado, the Waxing Moon's overseer, cut the fight short. Saber gets affected, but Iori manages to save them. Archer starts killing people in Akasaka, leading to his own sacrifice.

Assassin lets himself be brainwashed, betrays Dorothea, and she ends up allying with Iori and Saber. They find Yui Shousetsu under attack by Rider and several Rogues, while Dayu sends Musashi to handle the chaos with the corrupted servants. Shousetsu tells Iori and Saber that Tsuchimikado is at his stronghold in Kan’ei-ji Temple. On the way, a corrupted Assassin causes destruction, forcing Iori and Saber to choose between helping Dorothea fight him or heading straight for Tsuchimikado.

If they go after Tsuchimikado, they see Lancer kill him but learn Dorothea died battling Assassin. If they help Dorothea, they find out Tsuchimikado was killed by someone unknown. Both paths end with Shousetsu seizing the Waxing Moon's Vessel.

Development

Type-Moon and Aniplex announced a new Fate series role-playing game in development at Koei Tecmo during a December 2022 broadcast on BS11. Gameplay leaked a day before its formal showcase at a Nintendo Direct on June 21, 2023. Omega Force led development alongside Aniplex and Type-Moon. Kinoko Nasu aided as supervisor, with writers Hikaru Sakurai and Yuichiro Higashida. Composition was handled by Keita Haga and Daisuke Shinoda. The opening animation was produced by CloverWorks. Development began at Omega Force in 2018, spurred by Koei Tecmo CEO Yōichi Erikawa being a fan of Fate/Grand Order. The game used Koei Tecmo's in-house Katana Engine.

Promotion and release

Fate/Samurai Remnant launched on September 28, 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. A physical Treasure Box edition came with a poster, soundtrack CD, Command Spell stickers, extra materials, and a code for Iori and Saber costumes.

Reception

Fate/Samurai Remnant received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic for PC and PS5 ports. OpenCritic assessed fair approval, with 92% of critics recommending it. Critics focused positive feedback on the narrative. In Japan, four Famitsu critics gave a total score of 36 out of 40.

Stephanie Liu of Siliconera praised the story and characters as the strongest points. Alex Fuller of RPGamer praised the story and setting despite criticizing gameplay. Mitch Vogel of Nintendo Life called it hugely enjoyable with strong development of the Musou formula. Smangaliso Simelane of Destructoid commended its adequate explanation of world elements and praised the art style.

Robert Ramsey of Push Square found the storyline consistently intriguing and the portrayal of a grounded character compelling. Matt S. of Digitally Downloaded noted the surprising effectiveness of characterization. As of April 2024, the game had sold 410,000 units globally.