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Etrom: The Astral Essence

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: PM Studios
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2023

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PC Preview - 'Etrom: The Astral Essence'

by Keith Durocher on Nov. 11, 2005 @ 2:06 a.m. PST

Etrom: The Astral Essence is a point & click action RPG set in a dark future where you explore sprawling cities, unravel mysteries, engage in epic battles, and navigate parallel dimensions.

Genre: Action-RPG
Publisher: TBA
Developer: PM Studios
Release Date: TBA

Italy is an unusual country to think of when one mentions PC game developers, but PM Studios aims to change that with the impending release of Etrom: The Astral Essence, a high-concept science-fiction/fantasy RPG. Patterned somewhat after the likes of Diablo, this title could very well prove once and for all that it is possible to mix action and role-playing in equal measures without sacrificing too much from either side.

Set in a far-reaching alternate version of Earth, Etrom follows the events of a soldier who accidentally stumbles across an artifact of great power, a sacred axe. This weapon fuses with the soldier, forever altering his perceptions of reality as well as bestowing immense powers upon the hapless grunt. His eyes opened, our hero finds himself an unwilling pariah in the eyes of the state he served as a militia grunt. Hunted by those who rule the mega-city he resided in, he is forced to flee into post-apocalyptic wastelands in search of answers.

The concept of a dystopian future where the elite live in walled fortresses of man-made paradise while the disenfranchised are forced to eke out a brutal life of survival on the outside is nothing new, but there are few instances of this setting in an action-RPG. For my money, anything even somewhat similar to the post-apocalypse settings of such cinematic brilliance as The Road Warrior or Hardware is worth looking into, even if it's only in the form of a brief preview build.

Etrom is very much a point-and-click action title, but unlike most of the three-quarters isometric point of view games on the market, this one is fully 3D. This is a boon for depth, but it also leads to interface control issues. Learning how to balance the keyboard and mouse interactivity isn't as smooth as gamers might be used to by now, but this may change between this early build and the retail game. Aside from the constant need to swivel the camera around, everything you need to get done in-game can be achieved with a left-click.

Etrom uses an attribute system very similar to other games in this genre, with six categories: Sacred Axe Ability, Sacred Axe Power, Accuracy, Life Energy, Astral Energy, and Astral Defense. Part of the fusion between soldier and Astral Essence included (apologies to World of Warcraft for this stolen term) a soulbound double-edged battle-axe. These first two attributes deal with your ability to wield it effectively. The rest are more or less self-explanatory, except that astral energy and defense are interchangeable with the concept of mana in other RPGs. Every level of experience you generate allows you to allot a certain amount of points in attribute improvements, creating a gradual increase in the power of your avatar.

It seems that, unlike other "level as you go" RPGs, Etrom requires you to travel back to a specific area to develop your skills and powers. The end of the build sees you gaining access to an underground temple of sorts, and it is here that you can build up your avatar. More than just a place to hang your hat, this sanctuary also houses several seals that you must break in order to open some form of portal or other to an unspecified place outside the confines of standard reality. This is the main impetus driving the game; unfortunately, the preview build ends before you can really touch on the importance and effects of these seals.

A web of powers is available when you open your inventory screen. Part of the window includes a map of talents in the shape of a six-pointed star with a triangle inside of it, each point of these geometric forms representing another power. One assumes that a total of nine different abilities will become unlocked throughout the course of the game. At level one, you're restricted to only three of these powers: the Astral Axe, the Lightning Axe, and the Power of Destruction. The first two involve pumping up your damage; the third is a full transformation into a hulking demon/devil form for a period of time. Great fun when you're up against walking tanks and the like.

Equipment plays a role, but there are far fewer slots for gear than we're used to seeing in this genre. You are allotted one slot for armor, one slot for amulets, and two slots for rings. You can also carry two projectile-weapons and 12 small items in your inventory, as well as seven slots for ammunition. Finally, you have a 10-slot "belt" for regeneration/enhancement drugs. This all seems minimalist in the extreme; however, you also have a "Palm" PDA that is crammed with a staggering amount of lore. This is where Etrom sparkles with a burning intensity; PM Studios have written a superbly comprehensive history to the world, breathing depth and life into this title. Not only do you have 22 basic files full of information on the world and its political structure, but data chips are available on the black market that provide further details on subjects the state doesn't want you to know. In effect, information becomes a form of "loot" unto its own, an interesting feature rarely seen in an RPG.

I'm a real sucker for Diablo-clone games of all shapes and sizes – I just love the click-kill-'n'-loot format. With that said, I'm an even bigger sucker for post-apocalypse science fiction, so the thought that these two ingredients might be combined together is nigh-irresistible to me. Upon playing through this early build, I must admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed. The camera-control issues I mentioned earlier are constant; often, you'll spend more time trying to arrange your point of view just to see what's going on than you will engaging the various enemies that attack you. Also, the game goes far too long between save points, so if you die, you have to start over from the last checkpoint. These concerns notwithstanding, I really believe that PM Studios is onto something with Etrom: The Astral Essence. The setting is fresh and inventive, and the depth of writing stands out above and beyond most contemporary titles in this genre. With a little bit of polish, this could be the action-RPG hit we've all been waiting for.


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