Forge of the Fae and the Rebirth of Indie JRPGs

Forge of the Fae is an impressively gorgeous pixel art RPG that relives the nostalgic games of the SNES era for the modern times.

RPGs. Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance are clear proofs of it, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 makes a further statement on it. More to it, pixel art turn-based RPGs are on a roll with the likes of Octopath Traveler, Chained Echoes, and Sea of Stars take it to the next level. Now, another pixel art turn-based JRPG is coming into the fold as Datadyne and Deck 13 Spotlight bring steampunk fairytale in the form of Forge of the Fae.

The demo is out now, and you can play it yourself. You can also watch it here:

A Game Forged in Myth and Machinery

Currently in development by Datadyne, Forge of the Fae is turn-based pixel-style RPG inspired by Celtic folklore, featuring a story-rich and mysterious where powerful magic and impactful choices decide your fate. You will follow the story of Fiora, a brilliant inventor set on a quest to learn the truth behind a series of mysterious disappearances. 

Beautiful Pixels Fit for the Modern Times

There's no shortage of pixel art games nowadays, and for good reason! When executed correctly, pixel art games look very impressive. Octopath Traveler and Sea of Stars made the genre shine, and that looks to be the same case with Forge of the Fae. The environment and effects are superb and are a joy to see in action. I even had some moments with the water reflections and the aurora (not pixel-art btw, but that's probably not easy to visualize), and the character designs look impressive as well. Even the battle arena looks great!

Gameplay That Honors Tradition While Innovating

From the demo, Forge of the Fae comes with an interesting turn-based combat that rewards tactical thinking and timing. Battles are initiated when you come across shadows. There's a turn order at the top and your basic party information such as HP, SP, and adrenaline are below. The "Surge" mechanic is a power-up once you fill up your adrenaline meter, which provides your character or party with beneficial status effects like no SP cost, increased damage, enemy elemental weakness, and invincibility for a couple of turns. It can come as a crutch if you find yourself in a pinch.

There's also the ARC Crystal System that wasn't put into good use during the course of the demo, which is understandable given that it's only the first hour of the game. This is where you can create a unique combination of magic and skills, and again, from the demo, I was only able to try out one system per character. I may have missed something, so I'll look around into it.

Forge of the Fae will also employ a day and night system, although to note again, during the demo, our part for that one seems to be story-related for now so we'll see how it will go once the game comes out. At night, powerful creatures called the Fae come out and they make for very fun challenges.

Looking Ahead

Currently in development by Datadyne and published by Deck13 Spotlight, Forge of the Fae is planned to be released on Switch, PlayStation Xbox, and PC. No word yet on the release date, but based on the Kickstarter page, we may see it as early as 2026.  We hope to learn more about it, or hey if the opportunity presents itself, we'll be happy to review this once it's out! 

Meanwhile, you can play the demo by going to this link.