Farsiders

Farsiders is an isometric action RPG set in a unique cyberpunk world infused with Arthurian legend. Players engage in fast-paced hack-and-slash combat, utilizing a collectible card system to unlock active and passive skills. The game features elemental-based talent trees that allow for deep build customization and a variety of playstyles, encouraging players to mix and match skills from different elements. Set across multiple worlds, the experience focuses on a well-written story and combat, with less emphasis on environmental interaction.

Farsiders: A Flawed Portal to a Promising Universe

In the vast and ever-expanding cosmos of indie gaming, few titles arrive with a premise as audaciously captivating as Gambit Ghost Studio’s Farsiders. A top-down hack-and-slash RPG that dares to fuse cyberpunk neon with Arthurian legend, it is a game born from a clearly passionate vision but shackled by the immense challenges of first-time development. It is a title that inspires both admiration for its ambition and frustration at its unrealized potential, a fascinating case study in the chasm between concept and execution.

Development History & Context

The Gambit of a Thai Indie Studio

Farsiders is the debut project of Bangkok-based Gambit Ghost Studio, founded in 2020. In an industry dominated by Western and Japanese studios, the emergence of a dedicated team from Thailand is a noteworthy event. Led by Tanakom Viphavaphanich, the studio explicitly aimed to produce “high quality, story driven video games” with a significant investment in “high-end graphics and animation.”

The game’s journey began with a remarkably successful Kickstarter campaign in April 2023, which surpassed its funding goal in under 24 hours—a clear indicator of the market’s appetite for its unique premise. This initial surge of support funded the development through to its release on Steam for Windows on July 19, 2023, with planned ports for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch slated for later.

A Vision Against the AAA Tide

Viphavaphanich’s interviews reveal a development philosophy born from a specific, modern grievance: the overwhelming time commitment demanded by many AAA open-world titles. Farsiders was conceived as a deliberate counterpoint to behemoths like Elden Ring—a focused, linear experience that could deliver a “cool story” and satisfying combat in a compact 8-10 hour package, designed for players who can only game in short bursts. This was a noble goal, aiming to capture the narrative pacing of God of War or Uncharted within an isometric action framework.

Built in the Unity engine, the team sought to innovate within the often-formulaic isometric action genre, citing Darksiders Genesis as an example of a game they felt played it too safe. Their ambition was to create a system with more depth, freedom, and build variety, primarily through its novel card-based skill system.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

A Plot of Two Worlds

The story follows Cassandra “Cassie” Ingrid, a native of the cyberpunk metropolis of Ostahl. After winning her place in the elite, Spectek-powered crime-fighting unit Spectra through a televised tournament called “The Search,” she is immediately thrust into a mission against the terrorist Soul Syndicate on Black Steel Island. The mission goes awry when the Syndicate’s leader, S.A.D.E., opens a portal to the mythical realm of Tellune, pulling Cassie along with him.

This is where the core premise ignites: Cassie becomes a “Farsider,” a being of legend in Tellune, a world where magic (Anima) is real and the myths of Camelot are history. S.A.D.E.’s goal is to harness the power of legendary “Soul Weapons” to conquer both worlds, and Cassie must ally with figures like Lancelot to find the shards of the Moonstone and the sword Excalibur to stop him.

Thematic Ambition and Execution

The potential here is immense. The clash of technological rationality (Ostahl) with mythical belief (Tellune) is a classic sci-fi trope ripe for exploration. The concept of time travel allowing a cynical future citizen to interact with, and perhaps become, the very legends her world has forgotten is powerful.

However, the execution, particularly in localization, is described by critics as the game’s most glaring weakness. The dialogue is reportedly full of “errors, mixed tenses, terrible, half understood cliches,” pulling the player out of the experience and rendering much of the intended emotional weight inert. While the overarching plot structure—chasing a villain through a portal to save two worlds—is sound, the moment-to-moment storytelling fails to land with the impact the premise deserves.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

The Core Combat Loop

At its heart, Farsiders is a real-time hack-and-slash game. Players control Cassie from a fixed, diagonal-down perspective, engaging waves of over 30 enemy types using a combination of melee attacks with her sword and ranged shots with her pistol. A parry and dodge mechanic form the basis of defense.

The central criticism of the core loop is its feeling of being “undercooked” and “unfinished.” The combat is often described as repetitive, with a limited combo system that grows stale quickly. Enemy AI is rudimentary, with melee foes charging directly and ranged attackers possessing uncanny accuracy. Furthermore, the game lacks fundamental rewards for standard combat; defeating common enemies yields no loot, currency, or health pick-ups, making non-boss encounters feel like pointless obstacles rather than engaging challenges.

The Card-Based Innovation

The game’s most innovative feature is its gacha-style collectible card system. As players progress, they unlock randomized spell cards that can be equipped to modify Cassie’s abilities. These cards, tied to elemental affinities (Fire, Water, etc.), can grant new active skills or powerful passive buffs, like health regeneration on hit.

This system is complemented by an elemental skill tree (Aether) that allows players to amplify the effects of these cards and create synergies between them. The intent, as Viphavaphanich stated, was to encourage “mix and match” builds and provide a roguelike-like sense of discovery and variety, inspired by Hades. In theory, this could lead to exciting build-crafting, such as a “One Shot Build” that freezes enemies with Water magic before shattering them with a massive amplified attack.

In practice, however, this system feels layered atop a shaky foundation. The lack of a meaningful loot or economy system means the cards exist in a vacuum, and the underwhelming core combat lessens the impact of even the most clever build.

Other Systems and Shortcomings

The game features other systems that feel underdeveloped:
* World Interaction: Nearly non-existent. There are no NPCs to talk to, no side quests, and no merchants.
* Exploration: Hindered by a missing mini-map or traditional map system, relying instead on an “activable pathfinder.”
* Progression: Leveling up via “Blood Stones” from bosses grants stat points, but the progression feels linear and lacks depth.
* Camera: The fixed, un-rotatable camera can lead to environmental obstructions and frustrating moments.

World-Building, Art & Sound

A Tale of Two Aesthetics

If there is one area where Farsiders consistently earns praise, it is in its core aesthetic vision. The game successfully creates two distinct, visually compelling worlds:

1. Ostahl: A cyberpunk cityscape drenched in perpetual night, neon signs, and holographic advertisements. It evokes a classic, Blade Runner-esque vibe, complemented by a synth-heavy, robotic soundtrack.
2. Tellune: A bright and vibrant fantasy realm where magical energy crackles through ancient forests and futuristic technology sits incongruously alongside medieval architecture. The music shifts to a more fantastical and orchestral score.

The art direction is stylized and cohesive, creating a strong sense of atmosphere in both locales. This stark visual contrast is the most successful element of the game’s world-building, powerfully selling the premise of two colliding realities.

Sound Design’s Hit and Miss

The audio experience is mixed. The original score by Laryssa Okada (a Halo audio producer) is frequently highlighted as a highlight, effectively setting the tone for each environment. However, the sound design in combat and the quality of voice acting are cited as inconsistent, with one critic noting a “demonic voice dropping F-bombs” in an opening cutscene as an example of its tonal unevenness.

Reception & Legacy

A Muted Launch

Farsiders launched to a quiet and mixed reception. It holds a “Moby Score” of 60% based on a single critic review at the time of writing, though other outlets have since weighed in with similar scores in the 4-6/10 range.

The critique is unified in its diagnosis: a game with a great concept hamstrung by unfinished mechanics, poor localization, and a lack of polish. MKAU Gaming’s review (6/10) captured the consensus, praising the story premise and world design but lamenting the repetitive combat and lack of interaction. Harsher reviews called it “incredibly boring” and “mediocre.”

Commercially, it remains an obscure title, struggling with the very marketing challenges Viphavaphanich identified as the project’s greatest hurdle.

Potential Legacy: A Cautionary Tale

The legacy of Farsiders is likely not one of direct influence but of valuable lessons. It stands as a testament to the immense difficulty of indie development, particularly for studios outside traditional game development hubs. It highlights the critical importance of:
* Thorough Localization: A compelling narrative is worthless if poorly translated.
* Polishing Core Loops: Innovative systems cannot save gameplay that isn’t fun at a fundamental level.
* Managing Scope: A focused vision is good, but every system within that focus must be fully realized.

Its potential legacy is that of a cautionary tale and, perhaps, a foundation. Should Gambit Ghost Studio learn from this experience, their next project could truly deliver on the promise Farsiders so vividly displayed in its concept art and Kickstarter campaign.

Conclusion

Farsiders is a game of brilliant ideas trapped in a flawed execution. Its captivating premise—a cyberpunk knight errant clashing with Arthurian legend—is let down by repetitive combat, a lack of rewarding gameplay loops, and a disastrously poor localization that undermines its narrative ambitions. The card-based skill system and beautiful art direction show glimpses of the great game it aspired to be, but they are ultimately islands of innovation in a sea of underdevelopment.

For players seeking a deep, satisfying action-RPG, Farsiders in its current state cannot be recommended. However, for game historians and developers, it serves as a fascinating, earnest, and ultimately heartbreaking case study. It is the story of a talented team from an emerging market punching far above its weight, demonstrating visionary ambition while falling victim to the myriad practical challenges of bringing a complex game to life. Its place in history is secured not by its quality, but by its embodiment of the indie dream’s perilous tightrope walk between visionary concept and deliverable product.