Having put a fair amount of time into Genesis War, I want to pass on my broad impressions as someone who remembers the classic War of Genesis games that this is attempting to follow.

For one, the game really nails that old school nostalgic SRPG feel. The grid-based, turn-based tactical combat is satisfying—it features meaningful positionings; terrain considerations; and elemental rock-paper-scissors mechanics that actively encourage thoughtful planning over auto-battling. Taking advantage of types and flanking will never get stale, and large army scale fights feel like a relic from the 90s originals. Anime-style character portraits and skill animations are absolutely gorgeous, probably among the best mobile SRPG gives ever today.

The narrative is another highlight. The politics that Leona/Iyolin came up against following her defeats at the hands of Geysir Empire as well as all other iconic Saladin and Beramode were riveting from start to finish. The writing is witty while respecting the intelligence of the player that's clearly had love poured into it for its source material.

However, there are aspects that need more polish. The UI and menu navigation is way too cluttered — managing your equipment, skill trees, and hero lists require far too many taps and layers of screens which can get tiring during longer sessions. Localization remains shaky, too—many item descriptions and side-quest text still show up in Korean or are poorly translated that at times made it difficult to even comprehend what exactly potential gear would do. There were also spikes in loading times every now and then along with some minor bugs after an update.

The progression is also somewhat of a slog in the mid-to-late game, with resources bottlenecking you into daily repetitive tasks. Fortunately, the game is not an outright pay-to-win nightmare—the whales can progress faster but with a well-composed free to play team you will be able to clear story content.

All-in-all, Genesis War is a strong return for an old SRPG favourite. It has such potential with UI streamlining, localization improvements and performance fine-tuning. It's the kind of game you could get lost in if tactical RPGs are your thing.

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