Archosaur is about to open the door to a brand new world with the start of pre registration for Noah’s Heart, and we think plenty of players will love the charming mix of JRPG influences and accessible open world RPG mechanics.
For those that have not heard of this new frontier, Noah’s heart is the latest title from Archosaur games. The new adventure falls squarely into a bracket blown wide open by a certain other Otaku influenced open world RPG, but attempts to cleave out its own space in the market. Coming to Window PC, iOS, and Android this 3D, free to play cross platform adventure drops players into a massive open world. A new and unexplored planet awaits anybody taking on this testing phase and the planet Noah has plenty of mysteries in store.
Like any big budget RPG, Noah’s Heart comes with its own set of diverse classes and character creation systems. While players can pick for the usual mix of early combat configurations, picking from a range of prescribed setups, it might be best to start with the traditional sword and board. The more experience can begin this tale wielding a bow, polearm, and more weapons but these class systems are flexible long term.
At least for me, the classic sword and shield selection was an obvious choice for me, this doesn’t make character creation a quick setup. While titles like Torchlight are inflexible, Noah’s heart lands somewhere between the ludicrous depth of Black Desert Mobile and a traditional JRPG. There are tons of options to make your avatar feel unique. These are still constrained by a large selection of pre selected settings, so it’s all about finding the right combination of customizations. That said, I cannot express how refreshing it is to find a character creation screen that doesn’t play hard into traditional male power fantasy. Models here can still cling onto exaggerated assets , but equally I can deviate and blur those expectations if I wish.
The Real World
It is a little disingenuous to compare Noah’s Heart to a traditional MMORPG like Black Desert Online or even the Blade & Soul mobile port. Instead, this is probably closer to a trip into Teyvat. It takes place in a giant seamless world just begging to be explored and full of diverse activities. The maps are just as big as you might expect for that comparison, and the graphics stand out as crisp and modern. They’re not quite the stylized approach that plenty of anime inspired ideas have taken recently, instead rendered in a style more akin to a Seven Knights or a classic JRPG. Rather than make the world feel dull, this choice lends authenticity to steampunk and industrial elements, when mechanical contraptions arrive in this mixed up world.
Aside form looking great on the small screen, this very particular approach to character design and world building means Noah’s Heart balances the flashy spark of high fantasy combat with the industrious cities that are sprawled out among the wilderness, and it does it without making either feel particularly out of place. That same animation choice also meant that, somehow, Noah’s Heart expanded across my daily driver phone, A Moto G200, with little to no trouble at all. While Heart early impressions of some other beta tests exposed the lack of cooling on this mid-range monster, Noah’s Heart ran flawlessly for hours without so much as a whimper from my toasty fingers. Despite plenty of open space and flashy combat, things still ran smoothly hitting around 50 FPS at all times whether in the open world or just flying around town.
What To Do?
While we’ve already established that Noah’s Heart looks fantastic out in the wilds or just walking around town, there’s more to do than just head out and explore. Sure, players can go searching for treasure up on rooftops or hidden across the mountains, but there’s more than just running off unaided. The inclusion of a unique jetpack and grappling hook make transporting yourself across the realm an inventive and interesting experience. There’s also in-game motor cars, personal motor bikes, and a trusty old horse of your very own to ride. However, you won’t ever travel alone.
Gacha Time
These travelling companions, as you might have already guessed, are the main gacha mechanic in Noah’s Heart. Like any good JRPG the heroes of this world will build a team of allies and supporters to take onto the battle field, and almost all of them are going to come pulled straight out of the in game shop. It’s no surprise that the traditional gacha party pulls come into play here, and there’s plenty to like and loathe. As with any system, Archosaur games will make plenty from this money spinner. Free pulls are on offer, but the animation of these might induce the tiniest bit of thirst and fan scrawl. If only for your best boy, you’ll likely want to keep on pulling to end up with the top ranked potential. I’m clearly talking about the power tiers here, probably.
Where Noah’s Heart expands beyond the very basic party pulls that other games provide, is the party progression system. Party members can level up and gain power. They, additionally, harbour an affinity for you that can enhance over time with them. This is not just a time waster, but actually means you an level up your own personal picks and choose to ingratiate yourself to that special somebody. It’s another mechanic borrowed from plenty of JRPGs and one that works well to add a little balance against the gacha whales. The potential of these allies is far deeper than your one-on-one relationship, however. With a huge array of weapon wielders, each with a different combination of capabilities and elemental powers, it may take some time before you settle on a party comp that works perfectly. Yet, even without the perfect setup, the amount of potential in just a ten pull is slightly overwhelming.
Combat Considerations
It’s these party members that will aid players during combat, and while there are lots of potential permutations, combat remains largely hands off with your hangers on. While turn based tactical titles might allow players to form fully crated plans, the action combat in Noah’s Heart relies on companion AI, only allowing players to let off some special moves on occasion. While these special skills can change the course of a battle, the actions of any new adventurer out in the field will generally have the most bearing.
Whether it’s wielding a sword and shield, a polearm long range bow, or dual blades, the combat in Noah’s Heart is simplified without being mundane. Like much of the rest of this title, it strikes a balance, asking players to worry more about the actions going on around them than the very limited skill set on offer. That expanded depth that I’ve already spoken off comes into play with a combo system that, while seemingly useless at first, can be the different between grinding out a win and skilfully succeeding against all the odds.
Levelling up a squad and learning the in-game combos won’t be necessary out in the open world, but step into dungeon style Adventures and this is when things get decidedly trickier. Starting as small and engaging little adventures, with a boss tacked on right at the end, these varied diversions from the main quest line were one of my favorite pick up and play options alongside an almost auto chess arena system. Each instanced encounter follows a fairly familiar pattern of cannon fodder, followed by a larger mob, but even from early on these final fights brought their own cycles, beak bars, and mechanics to the fore. It’s a nuance that starts to pay off when you realise quite how sick of killing the same ten rats starts to become in other situations.
It is wonderful to see that while Noah’s Heart might not be the most polished or innovative in terms of story telling, the designers building this mobile adventure have considered what they can use from other genres to give this game depth without making it utterly unplayable. There are options for long hours out in the country or a quick dungeon run. What might initially seem like a bandwagon on current trends is actually a much more nuanced tale, and while we are still keeping an eye on the ridiculous number of in game currencies, as well as the potential for end game grind, Noah’s heart ha the potential to cleave a niche in the market all its own. We’ve loved our time on Noah thus far and cannot wait to see what’s next. You can find out more about Noah’s Heart before it goes fully live, or register, over on the official website now.
