Troubleshooter – Abandoned Children Is A Gem Fans of Deep, Tactical Gameplay With Some Missteps
Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children is a JRPG with strategic, turn based combat. Set in a near future representation of Valhalla as a mega-city overrun by crime. Players will take on the role of a Troubleshooter: someone who fights back against the growing gang violence. While recruiting allies for a new company, players will also find themselves drawn into a conflict which connects to their pasts. At times this is hard to keep track of as the list of characters becomes a little overwhelming. Most characters have strong personalities, but lots of exposition can make scenes hard to understand.
A large chunk of time in-game will be spent at a bar hangout where players will get to learn about their companions and level up through an incredibly complex skill tree. This is exciting at first. There will be multiple battle systems to understand on top of that. It makes Troublemaker stand out while also creating a hurdle. Players who aren’t intimidated will find a myriad of ways to combine skills while building characters to either fight on the front lines, or at range. There’s also resource gathering and crafting, but important items can be missed with the amount of useless rewards after a mission. Maneuvering through a dense UI as well can be a headache at times.
Surprisingly for a cyberpunk game, players will go outside the city. The urban areas also have their own look. This gives the world a more authentic feel. Since players will spend many hours with this game, it adds much needed variety. The narrative is constantly twisting though the execution isn’t always perfect. It’s a breath of fresh air even when there are some systems that remain confusing.
Troubleshooter does get bogged down with grinding. Missions are repeatable but long. Each area brings its own challenges and there’s different ways to move through a single map. As the difficulty ramps up it can be less and less tempting to dive back in. Despite that, it’s one that fans of tactical RPGs will want to check out. There’s a lot to chew on here. The ambition behind the game is clear from just how many pieces it attempts to combine.
