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When I first saw the reveal trailer for Alabaster Dawn, Radical Fish Games' follow-up to its upsettingly underrated JRPG CrossCode, I said, "it sure is pretty." Well, a new trailer for the game proves I hadn't seen nuthin' yet.
First, the news: Alabaster Dawn is getting a free, public demo on PC sometime in September, which is fantastic. CrossCode took a good seven years to make, so with Alabaster Dawn, I was extremely excited, but also, that excitement was somewhat hampered by the assumption that I wasn't going to be able to actually play it for a very long time.
Now I know I only have to wait a couple months to go hands-on with it.
But beyond that, I'm also substantially more excited for the game in general simply because its new trailer is a huge level-up from the last one in terms of visual flair, with pixel art that's right up there with some of the most beautiful I've ever seen.
The harrowing shots of a panicked, fantasy coastal town under threat of meteor collision, the varied landscapes teeming with life in so many forms, the rain, the waterfalls, the cherry blossoms – it's all just brimming with dreamlike imagery.
Of course, visuals aren't everything, and thankfully pretty much everything Radical Fish is saying about Alabaster Dawn is equally encouraging.
Per its Steam page, it's got a meaty, but not overwhelming, "30-60 hours of playtime," "a deep and fast-paced combat system inspired by Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts and CrossCode," an ever-changing map guided by your choices in rebuilding settlements and establishing trade routes, parkour-ing, and most importantly, "new recipes for the cooking system" that tie into the healing and ability buff systems.
One of the best parts about CrossCode is its extraordinarily high level of polish, even at launch – everything just feels like the product of a much bigger and more well-established studio with AAA publisher backing.
And if it takes another seven years to deliver on that expectation for Alabaster Dawn, then so be it. At least we have a demo coming to hold us over until then.
In the meantime, pick something from our list of the best JRPGs ever and enjoy the ride.
