Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga Review

The following is an in-progress review of Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga; the score could change depending on the rest of the playthrough. If the score changes, noted additions will appear at the end of the article.

Playing through ten chapters of Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga leaves you with the impression of a game that embraces the serious tone of war but reminds gamers that even in the worst of times, there will be moments that make you laugh and think of what you have to be thankful for — no matter how minute or underwhelming those gifts may seem when everything is going in a positive direction.

The Kingdom of Veridia was ravaged by a succession war twenty-five years before the events at the start of gameplay, leaving a land with memories of fresh devastation and a generation of orphans who wish to not repeat the horrors which led to their grief. However, darkness has a curious way of showing itself when those with unrelenting ambition and greed find themselves at the doorstep of power.

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Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is a tactical Role Playing Game (RPG) that allows players to spend hours setting up squads to their strategic liking. The importance of the strategy elements depends on the difficulty level chosen at the beginning of the game. Permadeath (which, thus far, doesn’t apply to main story characters) only takes shape in ‘Warlord’ mode. The ‘Captain’ difficulty is a more balanced affair during the tactical phase (where the battles take place), while ‘Cadet’ offers a general walkthrough where players do not have to worry about defeat. This review comes after approximately twenty-one hours played in ‘Warlord’ mode, and seven soldiers forever lost after falling in battle (would have been eight, but a main story character reappeared after the tactical phase was complete. The AI isn’t perfect but does present a challenge that will force gamers to plot courses of action rather than simply moving squads without any real thought.

A fun aspect of the game is every soldier is personalized with a name, however, when playing ‘Warlord,” there isn’t notification of who died during battle — nor a section of ‘remembrance’ for those lost. Nothing major, but it would have an added effect on a nice piece of personalization for the non-main story soldiers.

The on-screen movements during the tactical phase make the difference between life and death, and moving your units with a plan in mind is of most importance. However, for those worried about playing on ‘Warlord,’ there is a way to revive those lost during a battle on several maps, which the game will make you aware of early in the game. The ‘Mission Info’ screen does have a way of spoiling certain events during the tactical phase if gamers view it, which isn’t a major flaw — just something with a different implementation could result in several surprises not being spoiled at the last moment.

The portrait art, music, and battle segments are of high quality. The music score by Phillip Michael Hamilton is especially amazing, setting the tone for battles, cut scenes, and tactical changes between battles. 

While the narrative is great, with multiple layers and characters representing a key pillar of societal symbolism, the dialogue at times can feel a bit too modern and remove the feel from the moment due to several references not feeling appropriate for the setting’s timeframe. 

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is an imaginative fantasy that has engaging tactical elements, a quality narrative, fantastic art, and incredible musical composition. Most gamers should come away from the title with few complaints and numerous reasons for them to want to see more from the franchise and Dancing Dragon Games.

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