This is not a full review of Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga, because I only played around 1.5–2 hours and reached Chapter 4. But I do think that is enough time to say whether a game starts pulling me in or pushes me away. In this case, it pushed me away pretty hard. The strangest thing about Symphony of War is that it sounds much more interesting when I describe it than when I actually play it. On paper, there is a lot here: squad management, recruiting units, formations, experience, CP, class upgrades, resources, relics, traits, elements, ranged units, cavalry, healers, mages, tanks, dragons and a shared development tree. It sounds like a promising mix of tactical RPG, auto-battler, old-school strategy and jRPG structure. In practice, at least during the early chapters on Captain difficulty, I mostly felt like I was skipping story scenes, moving units forward, waiting for enemies to walk into bad positions, and watching automatic battles resolve themselves. The story might be good, but I cannot judge it fairly, because the presentation itself pushed me away. It is mostly static art, written dialogue and a lot of clicking through text boxes. It reminded me of old Pokémon or older Final Fantasy-style dialogue delivery, where you either accept that rhythm or bounce off it hard. I bounced off it hard. The lack of Polish localization also hurts more in a game built so heavily around written story and text-based systems. The army management is probably the strongest part. I like the idea of building squads around specific roles: archers and crossbowmen for ranged pressure, tanks on the front line, healers in support, cavalry for mobility, stronger or rarer units for better stats, relics for bonuses and traits for passive advantages. There is a system here. I can see that. The problem is that, during my time with the game, these systems looked deeper in menus than they felt in actual missions. Captain difficulty made the opening feel too easy, too passive and too dull. Enemy behavior felt simple. You could often wait them out, place a tankier squad in front, let enemies walk into bad situations, then clean up. Or you could simply push forward. Maybe that changes later. Maybe on Warlord or Ludicrous the game starts showing its real teeth. I am not ruling that out. But the beginning is still the beginning, and if the early game is supposed to hook me with story, tactical decisions and army development, it simply failed. Visually, I understand the retro jRPG / tactical RPG style, with pixel art, anime-style portraits and simple menus. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it just looks cheap. I know this is an indie game, so I understand budget limitations, but the interface and general presentation often felt more basic than charming. The sound is also fine in a very simple way, but the music did not really grab me. I do not want to compare it directly to Heroes of Might and Magic, because these are not the same games. But if I talk only about the pleasure of army management, map control and strategic momentum, Heroes still gives me much more. Symphony of War has systems, but in the first chapters they did not create the same tension, curiosity or satisfaction for me. I can see the audience for this game. If you love retro tactical RPGs, long written story sections, squad optimization, class upgrades and old-school presentation, this might click with you much harder than it clicked with me. For me, it was another example of a well-liked game that I simply bounced off. Not broken. Not worthless. Not a disaster. Just slow, dry and deeply not for me. My score after the first chapters: 4/10.

Symphony of War deserves the praise. It’s a fantastic indie strategy RPG clearly inspired by classics like Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics. The real hook for me was the deep squad-building—experimenting with different class combos, formations, and artifacts was incredibly satisfying. I often spent more time planning than fighting, but watching my carefully crafted squads in action made it all worth it. One of the best features is how generic units can grow, split off, and form their own squads, adding a sense of continuity and emergent storytelling. The game’s indie roots show—dialogue and cutscenes can feel rough—but the core gameplay more than makes up for it.Combat feels tactical and dynamic, with terrain, elevation, and stances (like Cautious or Aggressive) adding extra depth. Outside battle, managing resources and squad capacity keeps things engaging. Even compared to bigger titles like Fire Emblem, this game stands **** you’re into SRPGs and love tinkering with unit composition and battlefield strategy, this is absolutely worth your time.

Still one of the greatest indie startegy rpgs I have ever played, perhaps the best. This is a much better game than Unicorn Overlord. This has all the tender love and care that you get from a true indie dev that has a passion for this type of game. It's the closest you will ever get to a modern Ogre Battle game.