A Magical World
Take control of the K, an earthling summoned as a hero to the world of Mirsha by Princess Stella. Developed by Smilegate Megaport, Outerplane is a turn-based Gacha RPG that balances an engaging story with fun gameplay and wraps it with stunning anime graphics and animations.
The Chosen Hero
The first thing players will notice about Outerplane is the emphasis on story and visuals. Players are immediately met with a stunning cutscene that looks like it was pulled straight from an anime. We meet the main character K, a powerful earthling summoned to the magical world of Mirsha. Back on earth, K was betrayed by a close ally and had difficulty trusting people again.
However, after spending time in Mirsha with his newfound companions and friends, he learns to trust people again. However, on his most recent mission, his trust will be put to the test again. Without getting into any spoilers, the story is engaging and filled with memorable characters to keep you invested.
The story of Outerplane is accompanied by beautifully animated cutscenes that look like they were taken straight from a top-notch anime. Outerplane was advertised to have some of the best graphics for a mobile game, and it follows up on that promise. The cutscenes run smoothly and make the story more immersive.
The gameplay is fully rendered in 3D, which complements the traditional 2D anime cutscenes well. The character models feel lively and are well-animated. However, at the beginning of Outerplane, there were some frame rate issues with the 3D-rendered models; the developers can easily fix this in a patch. There are over 50 characters to collect, each with a unique design and personality, which make for a great variety. Each character has unique battle animations and a wonderfully animated special move.
Stunning Battles
The turn-based battle system of Outerplane is relatively simple but fast-paced and fun. Before entering a battle, players must pick a team of four characters. Each character is assigned a class; defender, striker, marksman, mage, and healer. Along with a class, every character has an element, fire, water, earth, light, and dark.
Since there are only four spots when making a team, choosing the suitable classes and elements that support each other is critical to defeating defeat stronger enemies. Characters with the same element that are placed next to each other will be given a boost in their stats. Every element has a strength and weakness against the other elements, so choosing which to put on your team can change the tide of battle.
The player will have a maximum energy capacity of 60 and will have to use that before entering a battle. The battles consist of multiple waves of enemies, with the last wave being a mini-boss for the level. During the battle, each character has a set of three moves; these can be attacks or change stats. The third move is a special one move that requires a recharge after being used. Every special move has its own beautifully rendered animation that excites the battles.
Trust in the Gacha
Outside of battle, you can upgrade your characters in various ways. They can naturally level up during battles, but you can also give special items like sandwiches to let the characters gain extra levels. Several accessories can be equipped to boost their stats. The final way to upgrade characters in Outerplane is to gift them gems to increase their trust; increasing a character’s trust will unlock new accessories, voice lines, and expressions. Expressions are purely cosmetic but add to the personality of the different characters.
To collect every character, you must use Outerplane’s gacha mechanics. Gacha mechanics can be very hit or miss in the mobile game industry. However, in Outerplane, the gacha mechanics are handled well. Players will have to spend Ether that can be collected through the game through rewards or by spending real-world money to collect new characters.
Like many other gacha games, Outerplane has special events where you can unlock special characters through the same gacha mechanics. However, these require special tickets obtained naturally by playing the game or spending real money. Obtaining top-tier characters can be hard but are not impossible. However, every character you can collect can be helpful if optimized correctly and paired with the right team.
Flashy Fun
Outerplane takes all of the best aspects of a mobile gacha game and elevates them to the next level. With its engaging storyline and fantastic visuals, Outerplane stands out. Visually the game looks fantastic, even though there were some framerate issues at the beginning of the game; for the most part, the animations are wonderfully done and make Outerplane pop.
The simple gameplay offers a lot of customization, and the battles take little time, so there is a great flow that never drags. Outerplane also has some of the best gacha mechanics in a mobile game, with any character being viable in a battle. For any RPG, gacha, or anime fan, Outerplane is worth checking out.
