Entropy Is The Callback To PS1 JRPGs That I have Missed

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Entropy was provided by DreadXP for review. Thank you!

I love classic games, especially ones that remind me of the good ol' days. On top of that, I love the older JRPGs, and that's why I was hooked on Entropy. Coming from the developer behind Dread Delusion, Lovely Hellplace, this is a retro take on JRPGs, bringing us backwards to the original games. Not only is it great so far, but it shows potential, and I can't wait to see how it will develop.

This is a game clearly made for fans of traditional JRPGs from the PS1 era, and the nostalgia is strong. Everything from the pixelated world to the turn-based combat feels like it just came right out of the older generation. It’s slow, a little clunky, and filled with charm in a world that looks like it came out of a dream. However, it’s all intentional and adds to the nostalgic feeling that never left me the entire time I was playing.

However, I was a bit surprised by Entropy's gameplay. I expected the slower, turn-based battles, but I didn’t expect some of the aspects of them. The one that I love the most is being able to target specific parts of enemies. It has another layer of strategy, allowing us to affect them to make the battle easier. For example, instead of just attacking, we can aim for the head and possibly gouge their eyes. Doing this makes it much harder for them to land a hit, and it makes the battle significantly easier. It may have a lower chance of doing so, but it does help. It reminded me a little of the Fallout VATS system.

There’s also a little bit of Fire Emblem spread in there, with allies that could die permanently if they fall in battle. It adds more strategic urgency to each fight, especially if you want to keep all of your allies alive. We can find more just by talking to random people throughout the map, and I just love how it all comes together.

The game is in early access, so there’s still a lot that needs to be done until it gets to 1.0. However, for what it has already, I love it. As long as they add more content and expand the world, I will be wonderfully happy with the end result. However, I was a bit surprised by how I was running on this Steam Deck so far.

Entropy already has the Verified badge, so I expected it to run decently. Coupled with the retro aesthetic, it would’ve been surprising if it wasn’t playable. But my surprise, the game is pretty heavy.

Without any limits, the game drains a lot of battery just to barely hit over 60 FPS. They can get to 20W, and there will still be some drops below 60. It seems as though CPU usage is extremely high, which is what’s causing a lot of the spikes in battery drain and performance drops. Honestly, I expected this to hit 90 FPS, so I was a little disappointed that I could barely hit over 60 and still had drops. There aren’t really any things we can change to help either, other than dropping the resolution down.

There is one solution that seems to completely solve this and bring battery drain down for the most part: limiting FPS. If we set the FPS limit to 45, the battery drain stabilizes and goes down. The game will also stick to the framerate wonderfully, and I only noticed one or two spots where the battery drain would spike up to 19W. Still, it’s significantly better than the entire game sitting at high framerates.

The good thing is that at 45 FPS, Entropy still feels extremely smooth. It fits well, considering the type of game it is, so I’m not complaining. It reduces battery drain, sometimes dropping below 10W, and just feels fantastic. With that change, it becomes a fantastic experience on the go. I am sure it will get better as time goes on, but for now, I am very pleased with how it feels.

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