It’s difficult to preview a game that’s so heavily driven by its story. I always want to get an understanding of the mechanics but without immersing myself in the story or world too much. After all, at the end of my hour or so with the game it’ll be cruelly ripped away and I’m left waiting for the full release.
Celestial Return is one such game: a deep RPG set in an intriguing city with the promise of a dark story that’s flavoured with both cyberpunk and supernatural elements in equal measure. Within the first few minutes it’s clear that this is a story and a world you want to completely immerse yourself in, with a cold opening that puts you in Howard’s shoes as he’s about to close a mission for the PID (the Paranormal Investigation Division). What follows is a surprisingly brutal takedown of an “Abstract”, a paranormal entity that Howard’s team is there to dispatch, and an end to Howard’s career as he knows it.
It’s a great set up, and punctuating it is an introduction to Celestial Return’s core mechanic: dice rolls. Each decision, whether it’s choosing to appease one of your five personality traits or simply decide how to tackle the Abstract, is decided by the spin off a dice. Yes, dice traditionally roll rather than spin, but the dice here are more akin to spinning tops than anything else. You have a finite number of them in your pocket, and can spin up to four of them to pass skill checks.
It’s a great system that gets modified further by multiple different factors, including your environment or gear you’ve got in your inventory. There’s an awesome tactile feel to each skill check, which reminded me of the rolls in Baldur’s Gate 3, and has you waiting with baited breath for the dice to stop spinning each time. You’ll never know when you’ll collect more dice either, so do you waste four of them trying to chat up the pretty bartender, or could they be put to better use elsewhere? The decision is yours, and as someone who failed that check, I’d recommend you go with the latter option.
Howard himself is a fascinating character and one I want to see a lot more of. He’s got tinges of Harrier Du Bois thanks to his heavy drinking and general attitude to life going on around him, but more than that he’s also heavily influenced by the personas that make up his personality traits. I tended to sway more towards listening to Virtue, who was there to be on the right side of the law, but there are five traits all vying for Howards’ attention, with some being a bit more chaotic than others.
After a 3 year time skip, Howard gets his drunk ass dragged back into the world of paranormal investigations, and here is where the game opens up. You’re free to explore the seedy city of Netherveil, visit different locations and work cases. Navigation is similar to Citizen Sleeper, with a guideline on-screen that connects points of interest. I didn’t want to proceed too far for fear of getting more sucked into the story, but I liked how each location you visit feels like a vignette of sorts, punctuated with a stylish title screen.
“Stylish” is a great descriptor for the whole game. Think cyberpunk but with emphasis on the punk. Characters look suitably skeezy, and the overall tone is loud and in your face. It never felt too brash, and if you take the time to tear your eyes away from the text then you’ll soon be able to appreciate both the character and world designs. Characters are particularly striking, with bold lines that look like they’ve stepped out of a comic book you were never allowed to read as a kid.
Celestial Return puts a fresh spin on this type of RPG (pun intended), and with a unique setting and fascinating set up, I’m definitely keen to see more.
Celestial Returns is coming to PC (Steam) on May 7th.
