Alterium Shift is a fresh, new JRPG recently launched into early access. We got our hands on a copy and spent the last few days binge playing! Omg Overclockers UK loves it.
From Gravity Game Arise, Alterium Shift boasts dynamic quests, classic turn-based combat, and choice-driven storylines. An exciting combination for any game! At Overclockers UK, we are big fans of JPRGs, especially those with a classic retro feel and 8-bit artwork. So, when we got the opportunity to have a play, we jumped at the chance!
Alterium Shift Gameplay
Reminiscent of SNES-era JRPGs, Alterium Shift weaves a dynamic narrative as you adventure across the land of Alteria. You play as one of three characters, each with their own unique skills, elemental powers to use in combat, and influence on the story. With three main storylines to explore, the choices you make drive the narrative. Every playthrough will be different, for fresh gameplay on every run-through.
The characters you can play as are:
- Pyra wields a spear with fire elemental magic. She is a strict but loyal leader.
- Atlas is a ranged fighter, using a bow and arrows. He’s young and shy, but very nimble.
- Sage is a powerful weaver of Alterium Essence – the world’s magical force. They have command of many elements, showing great talent and ego, to boot!
Each has their own combat style and set of powerful moves to learn. What’s more, on the map, they each have different abilities to help you unlock new areas and find hidden treasure. Pyra can use her spear to slice through boulders, while Atlas can shoot far-off targets – including treasure chests!
Combat and Experience
Much like classic JRPGs, Alterium Essence has a turn-based combat system. You can choose from standard attacks and magical moves that cost AE (this game’s version of MP) to cast. You have to balance your available AE against the fearsome foes you face, utilising your available resources effectively and responsibly.
Once you have successfully defeated the monsters, you gain experience and occasionally items. As you gain more XP, you will level up and learn new moves. What’s more, in true JRPG style, you have a powerful ability to unleash with devastating force. This is called the Burst Bar which needs charging in battle, and each character’s finishing move is different. The charge only lasts during battle, resetting for each new foe.
Mini-Games
More than just an RPG, Alterium Shift has mini-games and side quests to diversify gameplay. Within the first hour of gameplay, you come across a noticeboard filled with quests from villagers – asking for help with retrieving escaped chickens, collecting items like slime, and more! There are even ponds and bodies of water where you can fish, bringing up underwater critters from the deep.
What Did We Think?
As a fan of classic JRPGs like the Final Fantasy Series, Alterium Shift provided a familiar feel but with its own distinct style. I very much enjoy the turn-based combat mechanic, as it gives me time to think through what the most effective moves will be – especially when orchestrating a whole team. Button mashing has its time and place, but there’s something to be said for adding some structure to the chaos of battle.
Sometimes with pixel graphics, I struggle to see defined edges, but the 2.5D art style negated this issue. I was free to enjoy the richly detailed world, without squinting! Each location is distinct and has a unique vibe, with plenty of hidden treasures to find. Plus, the map is sprawling with many paths to travel, leaving you free to explore, fight, and level up first!
I chose to play as Pyra, as she offered a nice balance of melee and magic attacks. It will be interesting to play through again as the alternative characters, to see how it affects the story and the way I engage in combat.
All in all, Alterium Shift is an interesting take on the JRPG model. It has enough familiar features and its own stamp to keep me coming back and explore the story more!
What Is Alterium Shift Available to Play On?
Alterium Shift is available on to play on Steam in Early Access.
It is a single-player adventure, but if you want to share the adventure with friends, you can stream it!
Why is Alterium Shift in Early Access?
Alterium Shift is in early access so they can implement community-led feedback. Early access offers more than a simple demo, for gamers and devs, alike. We get to play more of the game, whilst providing more data for devs to refine the world, story, and mechanics.
Alterium Shift Official Specifications
What does Alterium Shift need from your gaming PC? Here are the official specifications:
| Component | Minimum Specs | Recommended Specs |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 7+ | Windows 7+ |
| CPU | Intel Pentium G4400 | Intel i3 4130 |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon RX 470 | AMD Radeon RX 580 |
Best PCs to Play!
Alterium Shift does not have demanding specifications, but it’s always fun to look at gaming PCs! Today, we’ve picked a couple PCs plus a laptop with a similar spec to the one we played it on. Should none of them spark joy, we have plenty more gaming PCs and laptops for you to explore.
Refract Gaming Amber Pre-Built PC
The Refract Gaming Amber from our pre-built PC range is perfect for Alterium Shift. Fully tested and built ready to ship, the Amber is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 7500F CPU, which features innovative Zen 4 architecture, great for work and play, alike. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 will bring the 8-bit, pixel graphics to life, with AI-enhanced features facilitating buttery smooth frame rates. Plus, with a high-speed SSD and DDR5 RAM, you can wave goodbye to lag and slow loading times.
As part of our pre-built PC range, the Refract Amber comes with three years parts and labour warranty, for that extra peace of mind. Sadly, TPKO is not covered.
Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop
The gaming laptop I played on is a few years old, with an Intel Core i7-10750H and NVIDIA RTX 2060. Naturally, this spec is no longer available without a time machine, but the updated version will serve as a suitable replacement! The ASUS Nitro 5 is equipped with an Intel Core i7-12650H CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. Take full advantage of hybrid core and Ampere architecture in Alterium Shift and all your favourite JRPGs. The 1TB PCIe SSD offers ample space for your entire gaming library, as well as incredible fast read and write speeds.
To keep this gaming laptop cool whilst you game, the Acer Nitro 5 utilises a custom-engineered thermal solution. Featuring dual-intakes, dual-fan cooling, and a quad-exhaust, this system efficiently and effectively draw heat away from the vital components, to keep your gaming running smooth.
OcUK Gaming Enigma Enthusiast Configurable PC
The OcUK Gaming Enigma Enthusiast is packed with hardware to facilitate the best in gaming. Harnessing AMD Zen 3 architecture, this gaming PC has an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X CPU with eight cores and sixteen threads efficiently managing your gaming and workloads. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU features AI-enhanced technologies to render your games at high resolutions with super smooth frame rates. Experience Alteria in all its glory. What’s more, this gaming PC features comprehensive storage and high speed DDR4 RAM to keep latency low.
The OcUK Gaming Enigma Enthusiast is one of our configurable gaming PCs, meaning you can adjust the base spec to better suit your needs. Customise the PC case, CPU, GPU, memory, operating system, storage drives, and WiFi. Any changes will affect the price.
Will You Be Playing?
Let us know if you’ve picked up Alterium Shift in the comments below. What do you think so far?
PC specs are subject to change.
- 7 min read
Emily Haylock
Author
Emily is a board and cosy gamer, keyboard obsessive, and content copywriter for Overclockers UK. She has been with Overclockers UK for two years, writing about everything from noblechairs to 8Pack PCs. She writes from within her desk nest with a foster pup at her feet. (What, a desk duvet is a totally normal thing!) In her downtime, she likes to play board games, farming sims, and old-school Final Fantasy. IX to be specific. It is the best, and that is a hill she will die on.
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