Artis is a beautifully animated pixel art JRPG adventure where a rookie operative and her back-talking bot fight an AI scourge that’s terrorizing the world.
In Artis you take on the role of Akane – a young woman who’s recently been hired by an agency tasked with dispatching AI controlled robots that roam the world. After many big battles in the past, it seems that humanity now has the upper hand, but there are still plenty of robots around and there may be trouble brewing. You do have your own personal bot who travels with your an and aids you though, often with some fun little jibes thrown into the mix.
The demo of Artis takes up to two hours to play through and is packed full of content. There are certain main missions to complete, but outwith them you’re free to explore the world and discover its many quirky characters, secrets and weird incidental events. When you encounter an enemy the game switches to turn-based combat, which has fairly basic mechanics, but is quick and beautifully animated.
At the moment the turn-based combat is way too easy (the difficulty will be raised in the future), and there are a few minor translation issues/grammatical mistakes. Aside from that though, it’s an incredible game. Akane and her bot buddy are extremely likeable, the pixel art animation is superb and there’s a nice blend of drama and comedy. It’s the environmental design and worldbuilding that really stands out though – the city and surrounding areas feel alive and they’re packed full of fun little incidental things to discover. Highly recommended.
Check Out an Artis Gameplay Video Here
Download The Artis Beta Demo Here (Steam)