#Triangle strategy ps5 upgrade#

That intel gathering happens in a dull exploration phase, where players (you guessed it) sit through more conversations. It’s a neat idea, one where players can gather gossip from villagers and use it to sway allies into voting a certain way. The heart of the game lies in its “scales of conviction” mechanic, where players shape the path they take through the conflict by holding periodic votes. Triangle Strategy will actively punish players who try to rush through conversations. Usually, this is the part where I’d say “just skip it,” but that’s not exactly an option. I’m all for dedicated world-building, but the conversations are unfathomably boring, like an exhaustive Ken Burns documentary on a niche historical crisis playing at quarter speed. A cast of underdeveloped characters droning in monotone voices spend long stretches of the game talking about Norzelia and its illicit salt trading. Instead, most of the game’s 30-hour runtime is spent in endless dialogue sequences (which should be unsurprising if you’re familiar with Octopath Traveler). Unfortunately, that’s only one-third of the experience at best. If Triangle Strategy mostly consisted of tight tactics battles, it would be a great addition to the genre. A few extra twists along the way would have helped keep fights fresh, but it’s a lean system with hardly any fat. There are more characters and moves, but it doesn’t build on itself too much more. After a few chapters, nothing radically changes about battles. Triangle Strategy plays most of its cards early. The more I engaged with each combat nuance, the more options I got to tinker with.

#Triangle strategy ps5 upgrade#

Those points can be used to buy new moves, upgrade materials, and extra lore. Players get a special currency every time they do a special action, like performing a backstab or attacking an enemy from high ground. In fact, the game properly incentivizes that kind of play. What makes Triangle Strategy’s combat stand out is its emphasis on careful troop placement. Similarly, I felt like a military mastermind anytime I managed to box an opponent in with a few thoughtful moves. In that game, players are almost solving a puzzle by putting their mech units in the proper place every turn. At times, it reminded me of Into the Breach. That creates a satisfyingly strategic loop that rewards clever defensive formation rather than reckless movement.Īs an added twist, players can get an extra attack off on an enemy if they put a troop on each side of them. Rather than moving characters around at random, players need to protect each character’s back, or else they’ll leave themselves open for a critical blow. Fights have more personality as a result and don’t just feel like faceless battles. Roland is a horse-riding lancer who can stab through multiple enemies, while Frederica is a spell-casting fire mage that can set squares ablaze. Rather than using generic troop classes, players get a set roster of heroes, each of which has its own special moves. Much like Fire Emblem, players strategically move troops around a grid and defeat opposing forces by selecting attacks from an RPG menu. Turn-based tactical combat is the game’s primary strength. As you’d expect, that leads to lots of battles. Players control a traveling band of troops, led by the generically stoic Serenoa, as they travel the continent looking to untangle a dense political conflict that’s been raging for decades. The comically titled Triangle Strategy is a tactical RPG that takes place in the middle of a trade war between three countries on the continent of Norzelia. It’s just a shame that you have to sit through countless hours of lifeless dialogue from interchangeably vague characters to get there. Triangle Strategy features strong tactics gameplay delivered with the same striking retro visuals that made Octopath Traveler stand out before it. So why was I folding so much underwear during it instead? That genre usually means players are in for long battles that require lots of active decision-making and grid management. The new strategy RPG from the team behind Octopath Traveler is a tactics game meant to scratch the same itch as Fire Emblem or Advance Wars. The problem is that Triangle Strategy isn’t a visual novel, or at least, that’s not supposed to be its appeal. On the contrary, I often love visual novels that I can play while eating dinner like I would with a movie. When I use that term, I usually don’t mean that as an insult.