Synchro presents itself as a “sui generis” RPG that interprets various tactical-strategic and exploration elements in a truly interesting way.
As soon as I started Synchro, I noticed that Komisoft took inspiration from 2 very specific areas: the Darkest dungeon game and the Cyberpunk setting.
As for the work of Red Hook Studios, Komisoft took inspiration from both the hand drawn graphic style and some management elements during gameplay. The cyberpunk setting, on the other hand, permeates the entire aesthetic idea that goes from the characters, to the environment and to the progression of the story and secondary objectives.
The world is in chaos and an unscrupulous corporation is carrying out experiments on the now subjugated population. It’s time to act and rebel against this barbarism.
Despite the short portion of playable story in the playtest and a small but explanatory optional section, I got a fairly precise idea of Synchro.
Obviously the title is far from being a demo nor from being a finished product. So I won’t focus on small bugs or technical problems that obviously can happen especially at this stage of development.
Let’s now see what Synchro presents to us in terms of mechanics and gameplay.
Scenarios, levels and verticality
The Synchro levels that I was able to try are the beginning of the story. We begin to get to know the first character and the movement mechanics.
These combine with the construction of levels that extend both horizontally and vertically. The player can move between different levels of verticality, also encouraged by the collectibles and scattered materials.
Some of these are simply documents that give us lore, while others are useful resources. The platforming is not very precise but it is functional to the title and what it has to do. Furthermore, it does not compromise the true gameplay experience.
Exploring seems to be a rewarding experience because it helps to understand the context in which we find ourselves thanks to documents, posters and interactions with NPCs that we find during our journey.
Tactics and actions
Synchro defines itself as an RPG, but within it we notice tactical and strategic elements that have great importance in the game economy.
We control a team made up of a maximum of 3 characters with whom we cross the game scenario. As soon as a fight begins, the game pauses to allow us to plan our actions.
In fact, Synchro is a single-turn RPG where both the characters controlled by the player and the opponents act simultaneously.
In light of this, the player must plan the actions, which follow one another with their own timing, but let’s proceed in order.
The player has 3 types of actions available: one for fast movement, one for standard attack and one for repositioning which occurs after the first 2.
The order of execution of these actions is always the same, and it is important to keep this in mind because the same goes for the enemy.
The first action will serve to place the character in an advantageous position or to use a unique special ability.
Once the quick action has been programmed we can choose the standard action, usually made up of attacks with range, damage and effects dependent on the character.
After these two, we can choose a second movement action and position the character away from attacks or in cover.
Predict and environment exploit
In Synchro we can see if our strategy was good only when we press the Sync button.
This will cause all the characters in the game (including enemies) to act at the same time, and only then will we see if our tactic was effective.
Obviously this involves knowing and predicting enemy patterns, the attacks they have and their aggression. The trial and error component is a fundamental part of the experience but it is never frustrating. Once you enter this loop it is also satisfying to “read” your opponent and their strategies.
Fortunately, some signals help us predict the opponent.
For example, there will be an icon that allows us to understand if the enemy is moving, indicating an approximate direction and in some cases we can see the range and area of the most powerful attacks.
In these cases, using the map with coverage and verticality levels is essential. If we move on a platform, we can use it as a trampoline to increase movement.
Be careful though! Using these skills consumes more resources and actions also have a cooldown. So it is essential to know how to manage the right action at the right time so as not to find yourself without a fundamental skill just when you need it.
My Two Cents
Synchro, although still in the playtest phase, presents itself as a promising product with its own personality. The narration method like pages of a graphic novel and the cyberpunk setting are well rendered, thanks also to the artistic style chosen.
His mechanics are effective for now although it is obvious that work still needs to be done.
Also interesting is how the central hub is presented once the story part is over. In this area we can, thanks to the loot collected in the missions, expand different areas where we can improve the characters and manage our resources. Unfortunately they are unlockable but not usable at the moment.
However, we can participate in missions by choosing from a map. Thanks to which we will obtain rewards for improving the hub and will increase the population’s favor towards us.
For the moment, however, we do not have concrete confirmation in the game.
Synchro needs a lot of work but I think it’s on the right path.
I hope it can continue to improve and find its place in this genre.
You can also play the playtest from the Steam page.
If you love cyberpunk and the tactical RPG genre, you won’t regret it!
