Battle Chasers: Nightwar
A turn-based RPG based on the Battle Chasers comic series.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a turn-based RPG from Airship Syndicate, published by THQ Nordic. It launched in October 2017 on Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with Nintendo Switch and Linux versions following in May 2018. The game draws from Joe Madureira’s Battle Chasers comic series, dropping its main characters on a mysterious island where they must thwart an evil sorceress to get home. Critics praised its visuals and art style but noted issues with difficulty spikes and a heavy reliance on grinding.
The story centers on five characters: Garrison, a brooding swordsman; Calibretto, a gentle war golem; Red Monika, a rogue; Knolan, an old wisecracking mage; and Gully, a young girl with magical gauntlets searching for her father. After their airship is shot down over the island, they face a flood of villains drawn by a massive mana discovery, including the sorceress Destra.
Players move through a linear overworld, fighting enemies at set points, then enter dungeons in an isometric view reminiscent of Diablo. Inside, they battle foes and dodge traps using special abilities. A key mechanic is “overcharge”: non-magical attacks generate this resource, which can substitute for mana. Before entering a dungeon, players choose its difficulty, with higher settings yielding more experience points.
This was Airship Syndicate’s debut title, founded by former Vigil Games staff. Despite being an American studio, the game follows a traditional Japanese RPG structure, with additions like procedurally generated dungeons. Development was partly funded via a Kickstarter campaign that raised $856,354 in October 2015.
Reviews were generally positive, earning a Metacritic score of 78/100 for the Windows version. Destructoid’s Rich Meister gave it an 8/10, calling it fun and visually striking but criticizing a difficulty jump that forced grinding later on. RPG Site’s Bryan Vitale also rated it 8/10, noting unoriginal story and gameplay but praising the novel presentation as greater than the sum of its parts. IGN’s TJ Hafer gave an 8/10 as well, describing it as a skillfully modernized retro-style RPG, though he found the characters two-dimensional, lacking growth or personal challenges.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar
- Developer
- Airship Syndicate
- Publisher
- THQ Nordic
- Director
- Joe Madureira · Ryan Stefanelli
- Designer
- Steve Madureira · Hakan Borazanci
- Programmer
- Christopher S. Brooks · Andrew Nguyen · Andres Ortiz Suarez
- Artist
- Grace Liu
- Writer
- Joe Madureira
- Composer
- Jesper Kyd · Clark Powell
- Engine
- Unity
- Platforms
- macOS · Microsoft Windows · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Nintendo Switch · Linux · Android · iOS
- Genre
- Role-playing
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Battle Chasers: Nightwar was the first game developed by Airship Syndicate, a company formed of former Vigil Games staff. Though Airship are based in the United States, the game is a traditional Japanese role-playing game, with some additions such as procedurally generated dungeons. The game was part-funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, raising $856,354 towards its development in October 2015. The main cast of characters includes Garrison, a brooding swordsman; Calibretto, a kindhearted war golem; Red Monika, a rogue; Knolan, an old wisecracking mage; and Gully, a young girl with a pair of magical gauntlets who is searching for her father. When the airship of the game's main characters is shot down over a mysterious island, they are forced to contend with a large group of ne'er-do-wells who are flocking there due to the discovery of a motherlode of mana. This includes Destra, an evil sorceress. Players explore the game's overworld in linear fashion, fighting enemies at set instances, until they enter a dungeon, where they explore in an isometric view that has been compared to Diablo. There, they can fight enemies, and dodge traps using special abilities. During battle, the game features an 'overcharge' mechanic, where using non-magical attacks generates 'overcharge' that can be used in place of mana. The player can set the difficulty of dungeons before entering, and completing dungeons at higher difficulties results in receiving more experience points.
Reader's Guide
Battle Chasers: Nightwar holds significance as the debut title of Airship Syndicate, a studio formed by former Vigil Games staff, and as a crowdfunded project that raised $856,354 via Kickstarter in October 2015. Critics praised the game's graphics and visual style, but noted issues with difficulty balance and a high level of grinding. Reviewers gave the game scores of 8/10 from Destructoid, RPG Site, and IGN. Rich Meister of Destructoid called it 'fun and visually striking' but criticized a jump in difficulty that led to grinding as the player got deeper into the game. Bryan Vitale of RPG Site rated it 8/10, calling the narrative and gameplay unoriginal but saying that it is more than the sum of its parts due to its novel presentation. TJ Hafer of IGN similarly rated the game 8/10, saying that it is a 'skillfully modernized' retro-style RPG, but criticizing the characters as 'two-dimensional', saying that character development was lacking and that they did not 'grow, evolve, or face personal adversity'. The game's legacy is tied to its successful Kickstarter campaign and its reception as a visually striking but grind-heavy RPG that modernized retro-style mechanics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Battle Chasers: Nightwar?
It is a turn-based role-playing game developed by Airship Syndicate and published by THQ Nordic, first released in October 2017. The game adapts Joe Madureira's comic series into an interactive story in which a group of heroes is stranded on a mysterious island and must stop an evil sorceress to find a way home.
Who are the playable characters in Battle Chasers: Nightwar?
The party is made up of five distinct heroes, including Garrison, a brooding swordsman, and Calibrett, a sorceress. Each character brings a unique skill set to the turn-based combat system, and the player switches between them as the story unfolds.
What platforms is Battle Chasers: Nightwar available on?
The title launched on Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in October 2017. Nintendo Switch and Linux editions followed in May 2018, broadening the game's reach to portable and open-source setups.
How does combat work in Battle Chasers: Nightwar?
Battles unfold in a turn-based format where each character acts in sequence, using attacks, abilities, and positioning to outmaneuver enemies. Reviewers generally praised the tactical depth but flagged uneven difficulty spikes and a tendency toward repetitive grinding to level up.
What is Battle Chasers: Nightwar based on?
The game is an adaptation of Joe Madureira's Battle Chasers comic series from the early 2000s. Airship Syndicate brought the characters and world into a full RPG, and the project was partly funded through a Kickstarter campaign that collected over $856,000 from backers.
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