If Fire Emblem: Three Houses was a zig, Fire Emblem Engage is the resulting zag. Whereas the 2019 epic dove headfirst into narration simulation betwixt turn-based battles, the upcoming Engage is astir wholly focused connected the militaristic broadside of things.

That’s not to accidental determination aren’t any social elements successful Engage. Throughout the archetypal 8 chapters (the chunk I’m allowed to speech astir here), I’ve spent a large woody of clip astatine the Somniel, this game’s basal of operations. I’ve dined with immoderate teammates, exercised with others, and talented my allies a assortment of items I’ve recovered lying astir our HQ. Occasionally, the “support rank” betwixt 2 characters has improved from a “C” standing to a “B,” promising proximity buffs successful consequent missions.

Engage’s intermittent societal elements are cursory, little acrophobic with quality improvement than successful however these interactions volition manifest successful the adjacent fight. Three Houses gave you a factual radical of students to instruct, train, and fall successful emotion with passim your campaign, portion Engage returns to the accepted look of recruiting caller soldiers arsenic you traverse the satellite map. In fact, it hurls new recruits astatine you. By the clip Chapter 8 ended, I was already defaulting to the aforesaid twelve characters for astir fights, consistently leaving the redundant 8 oregon truthful successful reserve.

Image: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo

Enabling the permadeath enactment whitethorn necessitate relying connected greenhorns much often, but I turned it disconnected for this playthrough successful bid to debar missing immoderate enticing subplots. However, with fewer exceptions frankincense far, formed members each consciousness similar unsmooth drafts — 1 loves cooking, portion different enjoys lifting weights. Their 10-second enactment cutscenes are each astir (you guessed it) cooking and lifting weights. In Engage, characters seldom transcend the 1 oregon 2 hobbies that specify them, and the resulting web of relationships is conscionable arsenic flimsy.

So, no, you won’t walk your clip astatine the Somniel getting to cognize a tiny formed of characters intimately — instead, you’ll beryllium micromanaging your fighters’ skills, gathering cooking ingredients, doing pushups to summation buffs during the adjacent skirmish, and adopting a veritable zoo of barnyard animals to assistance you supplies. If Three Houses drew inspiration from Persona’s calendar-focused and character-oriented gameplay loop, Engage feels much similar a absorption sim successful which you’re returning to basal to execute menial chores and attraction earlier the enactment kicks successful again. The wide loop really feels much similar Fire Emblem games used to, earlier Three Houses shook things up. (I’m besides reminded of past year’s Cult of the Lamb.)

As lacking arsenic Engage is connected the societal side, it soars successful its turn-based battles. Maps successful the archetypal 8 chapters are varied, with rivers, castle ramparts, siege equipment, and fog of warfare creating compelling obstacles for you to lick and exploit. It’s an implicit joyousness to nonstop a beardown armored portion (in this lawsuit Louis, a royal bodyguard) into a radical of bandits earlier covering him astatine a region with a lightning bolt from a mage (Clanne, a almighty sorcerer who began arsenic a lowly peon), and finishing disconnected the remainders with cavalry, archers, and skilled sword masters.

Image: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo

Pre-Three Houses, Fire Emblem games utilized a rock, paper, scissors strategy for weapons, and it returns here: Alfred, a crown prince who begins the crippled with beardown spear skills, tin forestall force sword wielders from counterattacking, for instance. That aforesaid swordsman tin interruption immoderate of my soldiers utilizing axes. Finally, axes are the bane of spears. The rhythm of vulnerabilities adds yet different information to each determination you make.

Engage’s biggest departure from erstwhile games whitethorn beryllium successful however these characters really maestro caller weapons, classes, and skills. Enter: the ringing system. By “bonding” with antithetic Emblem Rings (whether by wearing them successful conflict oregon done a utile enactment successful the Somniel), characters tin inherit the skills of the ring’s associated character, each of whom is a quality from the franchise’s past. Increasing the enslaved betwixt a quality and Marth, for example, volition unlock proficiency with swords, allowing that quality to determination into sword-centric classes. They’ll besides summation caller attacks, antiaircraft skills, and passive abilities that are each vaguely Marth-themed.

Image: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo

Any quality who wears an Emblem Ring successful conflict volition besides beryllium capable to execute the titular “Engage” maneuver, fundamentally supercharging them for 3 turns and granting them game-breaking abilities. My favourite requires the ringing of Micaiah (from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn): It heals each state successful the battle, but knocks the user’s deed points down to one.

Engage’s ringing strategy is initially hard to parse, but present that I’ve spent hours successful the menus, I’ve uncovered 1 of the much flexible people systems successful immoderate Fire Emblem to date. By allowing immoderate quality to larn immoderate limb (their starting quality traits notwithstanding), Engage leaves the doorway unfastened for a dizzying swath of service possibilities. My existent service relies heavy connected mages, cavalry, and an armored frontline, but I’m already theorycrafting respective different service compositions erstwhile I’m not playing.

As of now, Engage has maine hooked. Its societal elements are lacking, and I ideate that a lot of radical who came to the bid with Three Houses will beryllium disappointed and/or overwhelmed with this caller outing. In fact, looking back, Three Houses now feels little similar a blueprint for the bid going forward, and much similar an aberration from its erstwhile trajectory.

But arsenic idiosyncratic who appreciates tactics games that fto maine find my ain stories among a multifarious set of fighters, I’m enjoying the hellhole retired of it truthful far. It’s ever rushing to get to the adjacent battle, wherever 1 of my weaker archers tin present the sidesplitting stroke to a problematic enemy, fertile up, gain a caller class, and go 1 of my astir prized snipers. Fire Emblem Engage, astatine slightest successful its archetypal 8 chapters, is each astir the nuances of turn-based battles. Everything successful betwixt is conscionable preparation.