Silver Palace Is A New Action RPG That Blends Detective Work, Victorian Steampunk, And Werewolves

When is the last time you’ve played a purple-hat detective in a Victorian steampunk town where you go about sleuthing and interrogating suspects, and then suddenly get waylaid by werewolves and crazy demon women in a horse-and-carriage set on fire? And the only way to defend yourself is with your magic sword and pistol, tagging in a female ice knight and a warrior doctor who has a hatchet similar to the one in Bloodborne (but a little clean)?

You haven’t. Which is why publisher Elementa and developer Silver Studio are jumping in headfirst with that idea and concept in mind with a new title called Silver Palace. Silver Palace is a fantasy adventure open-world action RPG using the Unreal Engine 5, which is why the trailer and 11-minute gameplay showcase below looks absolutely gorgeous. The aesthetics combine anime artstyle with a huge emphasis on realistic shading and lighting so it looks more contrast and stand out from other anime-style games in the current market.

But that’s not all: the game’s combat feels like a combination of a character action game and a Soulsborne title, though with none of the punishing elements of the latter. Your detective and her party have a ton of fancy attacks to deal with the aforementioned lupine forces and other mysterious foes, yet you have to play defense half the time and all actions feel very weighty and impactful.

There are even quick time events in special boss fights. A major fight with a psycho bitch named Cinderella (the foe with the flaming carriage) has you getting out of her pindown as she attempts to curb-stomp you with her heels. She also has a slew of projectiles and flamethrower-esque attacks to keep you at bay as you parry, dodge, and then counterattack your way to victory. All the while, a remix of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons plays while you’re parrying and fighting for your life. Now that’s style!

And yes, you actually have to do a bit of sleuthing, interrogating and coercing suspects in your quests, and sneaking around to get ahead unnoticed. You even have to chat with your leads, witnesses, and even your tipsters (like the dancer at the top) at bars; make sure you can hold your liquor so you can get a lot out of your conversation.

It’s a lovely mix of gameplay and open-world exploration; did I forget to mention that you can summon a spirit horse to ride around town? And it also flies? Sign me up!

While there’s no release date for Silver Palace, the game’s website is up and is taking pre-registration. Silver Palace will be out for PC, iOS, and Android. One thing is for sure: Elementa and Silver Studio sure made a great first impression.