Destiny Saga 5.2 Editors’ Choice RPG

Destiny Saga is a mash-up of retro-style goodness, JRPG art style, ARPG gameplay, and modern gacha and RPG elements. Players can collect heroes, upgrade and equip them with gear, and engage in ARPG combat, all while being driven by a compelling narrative story.

The gameplay follows a 2.5D style of format, in which the character is able to move in all four cardinal directions, however attacks can only be performed sideways or horizontally, which is still highly reminiscent of side-scrolling game style of combat. The only chance you can do damage vertically, is by use of skills. It’s worth noting though, that some enemies, especially bosses, can attack vertically.

One of the unique standout features of Destiny Saga is the seamless character switching. From your unlocked characters, you can form a squad of three to bring in missions. These characters “merge” into one during gameplay, allowing for seamless switching or tagging between them with only a very quick cooldown.

This feature enables you to chain attacks based on your squad composition, encouraging constant switching between characters and cycling through their skills. With each character having different health points and skills, the combat feels dynamic and fresh, offering engaging back-and-forth action between the three characters. The smooth transition between characters keeps the action fluid and engaging, ensuring players are always in control.

Although it is marketed as an roguelike + ARPG, I don’t really see any rogue-likeness in it. There is no permadeath. When all of your characters die, you can still retry the mission or boss fight without having lost any progress or having to restart anything back from zero. It may have that rogue-like feel with the Dungeon Crawling, but I think the term Dungeon Crawler would have been a better choice to define this game.

As for the ARPG elements, Destiny Saga features a traditional RPG system commonly seen in mobile gacha games. Recruiting the other heroes and acquiring rarer items requires some form of premium currency, grinding, or waiting. These individual heroes can be leveled up not only by killing monsters but also by “upgrading” them using materials and resources obtained from the game world. This upgrading aspect also applies to weapons and items. The itemization is reminiscent of ARPG game design, with items of different rarities providing various stat bonuses, including set items that can be completed to gain even more bonuses.

While Destiny Saga is still under developed, the game already feels feature complete and is perfectly playable. However, the whole model is probably not yet finalized. You can expect a decent amount of grinding or spending real money to unlock the more heroes and gear. Still, I hope that this will be a fun game to pick up and play without the absolute need to spend money.

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Seamless character switching, nostalgic visuals, and ARPG combat | First Impressions - Destiny Saga

Destiny Saga is a mash-up of retro-style goodness, JRPG art style, ARPG gameplay, and modern gacha and RPG elements. Players can collect heroes, upgrade and equip them with gear, and engage in ARPG combat, all while being driven by a compelling narrative story.