WARNING: Minor spoilers for the end of the game ahead, so be wary when reading this review!

Kilta is a neat little thing! The game itself is an autobattler designed like a strategy RPG with tons of charm, a gorgeous pixel art style blended with equally creative and unique character designs, and a beautiful soundtrack that honestly sounds like it was ripped straight out of Octopath Traveler. The player is given a handful of units to work with one at a time over the course of three Chapters, with the ability to Rank Up one of them at the end of each Chapter's boss fight. There's MANY different enemy arrangements to fight (structured like "missions" that you pick and choose from each day), a Hard Mode which is unlocked after your first initial completed run, and is, admittedly, as hard as it says without proper preparation, and plenty of ways to experiment with the units you acquire, be it grid placement or synergies with abilities/Guildmaster skills. However, what I've described is pretty much the majority of what Kilta currently has to offer. The game is PAINFULLY short- the length of the game is offset by its replay value, I realize, but once you've gotten every single unit to Rank 3, there isn't really much left to do right now other than go for a High Score. On top of all that I've mentioned, the TRUE Final Boss is, ironically and depressingly, easier than all three of the game's bosses combined. Given what lore the game gives you, though, that might have been intentional! Either way, something to keep in mind. You may also, as is customary for games that take notes from roguelites, run into a nasty bit of bad luck with what you acquire- which can, at times, negatively impact how your progression goes and might force you into a restart (which the game thankfully doesn't penalize you for doing), but that's more of a personal nitpick than anything.

I would likely find it hard to give this game a recommendation for my main glaring reason alone, but I'm still doing so because of how much I loved what's available already. I'll be keeping an eye on this game going forward but in the future, I'd love to see more characters, scenarios and bits of the world's lore/character interactions because the game's writing and art direction are, as I mentioned, two of its strongest points. Again, despite its length there is a fair bit available right now to keep a player invested, and- most importantly- at the end of the day you're supporting a small Finnish indie developer. That alone is worth the price of admission, right?

also Shadowhorn best girl please don't nerf devs

WARNING: Minor spoilers for the end of the game ahead, so be wary when reading this review! Kilta is a neat little thing! The game itself is an autobattler designed like a strategy RPG with tons of charm, a gorgeous pixel art style blended with equally creative and unique character designs, and a beautiful soundtrack that honestly sounds like it was ripped straight out of Octopath Traveler. The player is given a handful of units to work with one at a time over the course of three Chapters, with the ability to Rank Up one of them at the end of each Chapter's boss fight. There's MANY different enemy arrangements to fight (structured like "missions" that you pick and choose from each day), a Hard Mode which is unlocked after your first initial completed run, and is, admittedly, as hard as it says without proper preparation, and plenty of ways to experiment with the units you acquire, be it grid placement or synergies with abilities/Guildmaster skills. However, what I've described is pretty much the majority of what Kilta currently has to offer. The game is PAINFULLY short- the length of the game is offset by its replay value, I realize, but once you've gotten every single unit to Rank 3, there isn't really much left to do right now other than go for a High Score. [spoiler]On top of all that I've mentioned, the TRUE Final Boss is, ironically and depressingly, easier than all three of the game's bosses combined. Given what lore the game gives you, though, that might have been intentional! Either way, something to keep in mind.[/spoiler] You may also, as is customary for games that take notes from roguelites, run into a nasty bit of bad luck with what you acquire- which can, at times, negatively impact how your progression goes and might force you into a restart (which the game thankfully doesn't penalize you for doing), but that's more of a personal nitpick than anything. I would likely find it hard to give this game a recommendation for my main glaring reason alone, but I'm still doing so because of how much I loved what's available already. I'll be keeping an eye on this game going forward but in the future, I'd love to see more characters, scenarios and bits of the world's lore/character interactions because the game's writing and art direction are, as I mentioned, two of its strongest points. Again, despite its length there is a fair bit available right now to keep a player invested, and- most importantly- at the end of the day you're supporting a small Finnish indie developer. That alone is worth the price of admission, right? [spoiler]also Shadowhorn best girl please don't nerf devs[/spoiler]