The Tenth Line Special Edition

Genre: Action-RPG / Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

The Tenth Line is an RPG with Action-Based elements (similar to the Mario & Luigi series) within a Platformer. It’s a game that doesn’t shy away from unique and original concepts, and has a lot of depth for players looking to fully explore its intricate systems.

As RPGs go, this game is complicated, with multiple gameplay systems at work behind the scenes. Players collect items as they go, naturally, and every item can be used in multiple ways to enhance characters’ strengths, such as by placing them on a gridlike system that upgrades their stats and unlocks abilities, using them to enhance the elemental nature of their different types of attacks, or changing the characters’ various affinities.

It’s… a lot to take in, and this game’s tutorials try their hardest to acquaint the player with how everything works, but I suspect even many seasoned RPG veterans will have difficulty absorbing all of it.

Thankfully, the game isn’t too punishing to those who choose to just look at the surface-level details. Combat itself involves the real-time input of commands, assigning buttons to each party member (a la the Mario & Luigi series), and then tasking players with using those same buttons to defend those characters from attacks, with timing being key.

Outside of battle, you will be swapping between your characters and using their unique abilities to get past obstacles. This is a nice little touch, but in practice it means that you’ll often be covering the same ground multiple times as you move each character up to the same point.

As for the presentation goes, this game has pretty nice visuals and good music, but what really makes this game feel like something special is the story, with excellent writing, strong characters, and a great sense of deep lore that you can feel coming from the game by the time you depart the first town.

This game takes place in a world beset by intrigue, where the local monarch has recently been assassinated and there is trouble brewing between the human population and beastmen. You’re not really told this directly, though – instead, you’re dropped into the world and meant to simply absorb it by listening in on the conversations around you. Thankfully, this game’s writing does an excellent job of giving you a feel for the world of this game.

Ultimately, I would say that The Tenth Line is not a game for RPG novices – its complex interwoven game systems will prove confusing for many, I don’t doubt. But the game’s rich story, well-crafted characters, and wealth of options for character progression should prove more than worth a look for those willing to endure its complexity.

tl;dr – The Tenth Line is an RPG with action-based elements that are somewhat comparable to the Mario & Luigi series, but builds on that with layers upon layers of complex game systems. This may be a bit too much for many players, but those willing to bear with it will find a deep and rewarding game with an excellent, well-written story.

Grade: B

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2019 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Story

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