Shattered Heaven is an upcoming single-player, narrative-driven deck builder with RPG elements. Developed by Leonardo Production, the game will be hitting Steam on May 31st. However, those interested in taking it for a spin can try out a brief demo version to see what the game is about.
Containing roughly 2 hours worth of content if you were to explore all nooks and crannies and chat with anyone and everyone you see, the demo gives a taste of the things to come: unique characters, engaging battles, dungeon exploration, progression, crafting, great visuals and OST and, of course, an immersive narrative. Proceed below for our Shattered Heaven demo impressions but beware: there be spoilers to the overall plot of the game.
The events of Shattered Heaven take place in a dark fantasy world where humanity pays for their ancestral sin, having killed their god in the past. Now every ten years, four girls – one from each different Land – awaken their amazing powers and become the Holy Vestals. Accompanied by their respective Guardians, they make their way to the Equinox Cathedral where they are to partake in challenges bestowed by the Divine Child Heliad and participate in the War of the Ascension that spells doom for losers.
The lower parts of the Cathedral are also populated by a variety of people coming from the tribes to support their Vestals such as merchants and crafting specialists. Of course, the relations between the tribes grow colder before the War of the Ascension begins and so there is no trust or mingling between the different people.
The demo lets you play as the Vestal of Ashram, Andora, who is accompanied by her two Guardians Magni and Ishana. As you play through the available content, you will encounter two other Vestals, leaving the last one an enigma for the full release of the game. From the early moments of interaction between the characters of the same tribe as well as with those from other Lands, it becomes clear that they all are very different in their behavior, goals, upbringing and more, making the moments of character bonding feel impactful and unpredictable.
Andora is a fierce fighter with a somewhat explosive temperament and overwhelming personality. She feels the weight of the responsibility for her tribe and never lets herself forget about it, being direct and resolute in the face of adversity. One of her Guardians, Magni, is a tenacious warrior and a duty-bound protector whose mechanics allow him to shield Andora and their third companion, Ishana, on the battlefield. He is similarly driven by his commitment and manages to find common grounds with Andora in their roles as warriors. Meanwhile the last (but not the least) member of the party is a blind outcast that can control a mysterious, ever-hungry entity. However, her curiosity and a lack of social awareness frequently put her at odds with Magni and especially the Thunderborn Vestal herself.
As you play through the game, go through certain story beats and allow the characters to rest by the pyres during dungeon exploration, you will learn more about what drives them and where they come from. Other Vestals and their companions act as adversaries or not-quite-allies but not-yet-enemies on your journey, providing further fuel towards the character development. After all, even if you combine your forces towards a trial, sooner or later only one Vestal will remain for the Ritual, with the rest either having perished during the challenges of the Cathedral or slain during the duels between the four Chosen.
Once you leave the Cathedral and proceed on your given task that usually revolves around killing someone, you will have to make your path through procedural dungeons, featuring tiles connected in a linear fashion.
Each tile has a chance of containing a battle or an event, of which there are a few varieties. You will frequently run into traps that can either be avoided or disabled (dealing damage if you don’t succeed), there are simple events that usually give you 2 or 3 choices of how to proceed, offering both negative and positive outcomes. The greater the bonus, the greater the risk that comes with it.
However, there are also some especially powerful events: Arcana events that provide you with a sizable boon on your travels and the Blasphemous events that will test your mettle with some hard choices.
After every battle, you will get a choice of three Neutral cards that can be assigned to your characters, one for each. These are not a permanent addition to your deck and will disappear once you leave the dungeon.
When it comes to battles, Shattered Heaven plays a lot like other deck-builders but still with certain nuances. You have your three characters, each with their own AP, cards and the order in combat shown at the top of the screen. Andora is a fierce warrior that is focused on lightning-fast sequences of attacks and self-buffs. Magni is your tank, providing armor for himself and the party while little Ishana is the debuff specialist.
Monsters come in all sorts and shapes – and what gorgeous if disturbing shapes those are – and have their own unique spins on combat. Some keep stacking bleeds on the entire party, forcing you to go all-out with attacks or keep topping health up with healing, while others deal enormous damage with their direct attacks – that’s where Magni’s armor comes in handy.
You can tell the monster’s intentions by indicators above their models. In addition to your deck, you have access to your characters’ unique abilities (that require a certain amount of Thirst/Rage/etc. and then go on a lengthy cooldown) and even items that you acquire from your travels or purchase from the vendors in the city.
Battles with bosses are a whole different matter. First, you characters automatically restore their health to max when starting such an encounter. Needless to say, bosses have a much higher diversity of abilities that only increase in number and strength as you go through various phases.
The game also boasts character progression and deep crafting system, however, those are mostly for the full release as the opportunity for powering up and crafting in the demo is quite slim. In addition to the impressive visual style, enchanting OST and engaging battles, Shattered Heaven also brings forth an immersive story that will change depending on player choices.
The demo offered two such opportunities that will have lasting consequences. Perhaps there is still a way to defeat the ancient prophecy and come out on the other side without fulfilling the requirements of the Divine Child – and surviving.
Or maybe your obstinacy will only lead to your ruin far faster than if you were to fall in line and do as is required of you.
Shattered Heaven is coming to PC via Steam on May 31st, 2023.
