We recently traveled to Malimo to visit indie developer The Bearded Ladies and play their upcoming project Miasma Chronicles, published by 505 Games. The 505 has a knack for funding large independent projects that exist in the middle ground between indie and big budget. Existing in this gray area, Miasma Chronicles is an excellent tactical RPG that draws on genre classics like Final Fantasy: Tactics, Ogre Battle, and X-COM.
Miasma Chronicles is set in a devastated America, where the world has been destroyed by a mysterious energy source called Miasma. The country is characterized by violent class polarization, with the upper classes exploiting the rest of society. Players take on the role of Elvis – a mechanic who unravels the nature of energy and the totalitarian structure of society as he searches for his missing mother. During his journey, he meets a colorful cast of characters who illustrate the challenges he overcomes. The game’s environments are straight out of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop, with a cool sci-fi western aesthetic.
Miasma Chronicles touches on many different subjects. The game primarily revolves around the climate crisis, but also touches on the consequences of uncontrolled capitalism. These themes are not articulated, but lie between the game’s environment and the lines of the characters.Game director Lee Varley himself described the themes as“Rampant Consumerism”, and a naive belief in relying on big business to solve the environmental and climate crisis. He sees both issues as problems in today’s society.
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Varley explained: “One of the themes running through the game is: If we mistreat nature beyond repair, what will replace it? After that?”— an unsettling question that is interestingly explored in-game and makes Miasma Chronicles one of the more interesting games of 2023.
Game producer Mark Parker also highlighted the game’s dark humor, including the use of plastic as in-game currency: “It’s an ironic currency. We’re talking plastic in the legend. You can see that the undamaged plastic is very valuable because it’s so rare, and it hints at what the miasma might be. We thought it was fun to have an element of irony and touch on an important issue.
Not only is the game promising on a thematic level, but the gameplay also draws players into the universe. The developers have managed to create a minimalist UI that seems very attractive to players. The tactical RPG genre is notorious for having complicated menus taking up all the real estate on the screen, which makes the UI in Miasma Chronicles very impressive. The sophisticated yet intuitive approach is also reflected in the game’s combat gameplay, where you effortlessly navigate players around the field and set up the perfect attack.
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The genre mix also plays a role in the game’s design philosophy, as Miasma Chronicles uses a rather impressive stealth mechanic. Thus, players can choose their own fighting style, either killing enemies one by one with a suppressed rifle, or attacking them with rocket launchers and grenades. This invites players to come up with creative ways to meet the challenges of the storyline.
However, the game has some issues. The dialogue may seem stiff and superficial, but this fits well with the genre aesthetics that the game borrows from. It’s a dystopian sci-fi western that borrows from the genre’s greats — and it’s an aesthetic that really works. Environments are vibrant and full of details that give the world its character. So even if the cast of characters is a little cliché, it’s balanced by strong world-building.
Miasma Chronicles seems like a promising RPG game that can surprise experienced gamers as well as appeal to newcomers to the genre.
The game will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on May 23.
