Italian developer R-Games has revealed Astral Dive, a story-driven fantasy RPG that combines JRPG-style turn-based combat with deck-building. The game is targeting an early 2027 release on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.
Players take on the role of Atlas, a young mage looking into mysterious events that shook his magic academy many years ago. To find the truth, he travels through astral portals into new dimensions, meeting allies along the way who each have their own backstory and special abilities to bring to the party.
There are seven locations to visit through the portals, each with its own characters, mysteries and pieces of lore. Every new area helps explain what happened at the academy and will affect Atlas’s future. The game is presented in hand-drawn pixel art, from character animations to spell effects, and is designed as a tribute to the classic 2D RPGs of the past while bringing in more modern mechanics for exploration and combat.
Combat mixes the tactical planning of classic JRPGs with Stellar Tiles, a system of magical cards. Players collect new spells during the journey to customise their deck, then use the Stellar Tiles to manipulate the battlefield and combine elements for magical combos against strange creatures and large bosses. Each battle calls for careful, strategic decisions.
