Ahead of the Game - Etheria: Restart's badass Anima will have you rolling the gacha all too willingly

• Save what's left of the human race with loyal Animus
• Collect ultra-cool characters with ultra-cool powers
• Sneak past foes because you're stealthy like that

Hello and welcome to Ahead of the Game, a series where we tell you all about an upcoming game that, despite not being out yet, is available for you to play at the time of publishing. Through this series, you can grab a chance to play games well ahead of their release date, be that through Soft Launch, Open Beta, Demos, or more.

There's no shortage of post-apocalyptic adventures in JRPGs, and Etheria: Restart is no different. You take on a position of power of some sort, where it's your job to lead a team of loyal warriors to save what's left of the human race.

I initially thought XD's upcoming offering would be another run-of-the-mill anime-style gacha grab, but after clearing the first two chapters, I realised it's anything but.

For one thing, the animations are simply superb here, with cinematic cutscenes (powered by Unreal Engine!) and fully voiced dialogue that mirror triple-A counterparts in the same genre. For another, the characters are gorgeously designed and all too appealing to collect, which means you might just have to kiss your budgetary restraints goodbye upon the official launch.

Yes, the characters are anime-esque and yes, it's not the first one to incorporate Stands ala-JoJo's Bizarre Adventure into their hero lineup. But my goodness, the designs - the roster looks so badass, and finally, finally, there are ultra-cool husbandos in this one right from the get-go.

HUSBANDOS! That's a pretty rare thing when it comes to gacha RPGs on mobile, so when you top that off with Anima powers that manifest in gigantic phoenixes and menacing grim reapers, how can I resist the literal pull of the gacha?

Now, before you think that it's all about the aesthetics here, the gameplay is also pretty interesting - it's not an open-world adventure, but it gives you the freedom to move around across different chapters and levels, with a quirky mechanic of sneaking past enemies. You can hide behind corners, run up to unsuspecting corrupted creatures, and ambush them should you so wish. 

Combat is a turn-based affair (there's no escaping the auto-fights here, I'm afraid), with strategic skills you can use to turn the tide of battle in your favour.

It very much reminds me of Honkai: Star Rail (at least, what I played of it when it first launched) in many ways, and given how that HoYoverse franchise has reached exponential heights, I think it's safe to say that things are looking up for the virtual world of Etheria.

So, how do you play Etheria: Restart?

Etheria: Restart has soft-launched in select regions on Android, but if you don't find it on your app store, fret not - its global Closed Beta Test is currently underway until January 20th. This means it might not be too long before we can witness an official global launch, but until then, you pre-register on the official website to join the fight.