Shadow Of The Road Early Access preview - A brilliant turn-based RPG that had me at "Steampunk Japan"

Shadow Of The Road was developed by Another Angle Games and published by Owlcat Games. It is a story-driven, turn-based RPG set in Japan wherein magic meets machine during the Boshin War, also known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War. It was fought between the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperial Court.

As a player, you can assemble your team of characters, each with unique skills, yōkai, and other steampunk contraptions. Each decision will shape an outcome and either bring you closer to your allies or cause a schism. That said, let us dive into the Shadow Of The Road Early Access Preview.

Shadow Of The Road: First impressions and gameplay

Shadow Of The Road's protagonists (Image via Owlcat Games || Sportskeeda Gaming)

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I truly do not want to spoil things for new players, but I will be giving away bits and pieces of information from the gameplay I had a chance to experience. Let me start by saying that my adolescent years were filled with Total War games, more specifically, Shogun 2.

To be able to play a TBS (turn-based strategy game) set during the Japanese Civil War brought an immense smile to my face. Add to the fact that it has elements of magic and steampunk, and you have just combined the best of both worlds. To be completely honest, the game had me sold on the opening credits. If I had not played anything, I would still be able to rant about how good it is.

The level design is beautiful (Image via Owlcat Games || Sportskeeda Gaming)

Let's talk about gameplay in general. With this being a TBS, each character on the screen moves in a specific order. Some modifiers can and will change the order, but that's the fun of it. Being able to predict and counter the enemy is what makes this genre frustrating but also rewarding.

There is also an "Attacks of Opportunity" mechanic in place — run too close to an enemy, and they will whack you if given the chance. This again adds a level of complexity and makes you think before moving about (unless you have a ranged unit, then you're all good). As with all TBS games, Movement Points (MP) and Action Points (AP) are present as well.

Then, of course, there are Skills. I had the pleasure of controlling a total of four very distinct and unique characters for the course of my playthrough. And from what I've played thus far, things are looking solid. I won't spoil everything, so for now, I'll just mention two important characters, who are the protagonists of this story: Akira and Satoru.

Combat in Shadow Of The Road is smooth as can be (Image via Owlcat Games || Sportskeeda Gaming)

Your journey will begin with these two ronin, and as you play, you will encounter two additional characters on your journey. Keep in mind that this is based on an early preview of Shadow Of The Road. Things may change as development progresses. For this reason, I'm only mentioning two names for now.

Coming back to the Skill in Shadow Of The Road, aside from basic attacks, you have Delayed Skills. These take one turn to execute. When I say "turn", I don't mean that character control comes back to you after everyone else has used their AP and MP. What I love about Shadow Of The Road is that Delayed Skills execute after anyone else has played their turn; this includes enemies and allies alike. It is a bitter tricky to get the hang of, but very fun.

Fatality! (Image via Owlcat Games || Sportskeeda Gaming)

A fun fact about Delayed Skills is that you can interrupt them. For instance, when an enemy unit is using a Delayed Skill, and if you manage to attack them within the span of your turn, it will cancel. You are also awarded a bonus AP. You can even destroy cover if needed, from afar or up close, to get to an enemy hiding behind something.

Last, but not least, Powerful Skills. They can turn the tide of combat, but come at a cost. They have cooldowns, which will ensure that you cannot spam them (which is a good thing, or else combat would be far too easy). Moving on from these aspects, there's also the environment to talk about.

Shadow Of The Road offers a diverse and complex combat system (Image via Owlcat Games || Sportskeeda Gaming)

Shadow Of The Road has some beautiful environments. However, there is a complaint that I have about it - I was allowed to see much, which is a crying shame. I wanted to see every nook and cranny there was because it felt incredible. Rather than just serving as the stage for combat or exploration, the environment design is part and parcel of everything. It feels alive and lived in.

From what I've seen thus far, the world will be a living-breathing entity for you to interact with. There are items to pick up, quests to undertake, and characters to talk to. When you combine Japanese mythology, magic, and steampunk into the mix, it's something truly out of the ordinary.

Shadow Of The Road has brilliant storytelling (Image via Owlcat Games || Sportskeeda Gaming)

There's also a Skill Tree for you to play around with. You can unlock and/or upgrade skills to make them more useful in combat. Speaking of which, the enemy types I've seen thus far, are brilliant. A lot of steampunk elements have been added to the mix (and I for one demand more). Enemies have their skillset as well, which is again different from what your character can do (or at least the characters I've been able to use).

Putting all mechanics and other aspects aside, the storyline of Shadow Of The Road has a life of its own. I've only scratched the surface of it, but based on what I've played, there is a lot to expect also from the characters and how they weave into everything. As mentioned, given this is Japan with elements of magic and steampunk mixed in, the storyline is going to be amazing come what may. I truly look forward to what the developers have in store.

In conclusion

Shadow Of The Road early access preview final battle (Image via Owlcat Games || Sportskeeda Gaming)

Shadow Of The Road is one of those games that fell onto my radar at random, and it's going to stay there for a very long time. Being the TBS fanboy that I am, it will be added to the long list of turn-based games that I enjoy playing after a long, hard day at work. I know the final version of the game will take some time to finish, but given what I've played and experienced thus far, the wait will be worth it.

I want to talk more about the storyline and narrative, but I really feel that players should play it for themselves. Nevertheless, I have added an image of the final battle, it might be a spoiler to some, but to others, I hope it serves to deliver expectations and what the game will be once v1.0 is ready. That said, Shadow Of The Road is really promising, and I cannot wait to play the full version of the game and experience the storyline in depth.

Performance and sound

I played my copy of Shadow Of The Road, provided by Owlcat Games, on a system having the following configuration:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
GPU: RTX 3070 8GB
RAM: 32 GB

In terms of performance and sound, despite this not being the final build, it works as intended. There was no stutter or lag or anything that interfered with the gameplay. Everything works as intended.