This Way Madness Lies

This Way Madness Lies is a turn-based Japanese-style RPG that blends Shakespearean fantasy with magical girl comedy. Players join the Stratford-Upon-Avon High Drama Society, a group of students who transform into magical warriors to battle nightmares invading the worlds of Shakespeare’s plays. The game features a humorous narrative, retro-inspired visuals, and strategic combat as players journey through Europe-inspired fantasy settings to save both the real world and the Bard’s literary creations.

This Way Madness Lies: Review

Introduction

In the vast, often self-serious pantheon of Japanese-style RPGs, a singularly bizarre and brilliant question emerges: what if the works of William Shakespeare were invaded by nightmare creatures, and the only thing standing between them and oblivion was a troupe of magical-girl-obsessed theater students? This is the delightful, high-concept premise of This Way Madness Lies, the 2022 turn-based RPG from indie stalwarts Zeboyd Games. A title that defies conventional genre boundaries with a confident, comedic swagger, it asks players to embrace a world where iambic pentameter and pre-battle transformation sequences coexist. While it may not aspire to the epic hundred-hour runtimes of its genre brethren, This Way Madness Lies carves out its own unique legacy as a tightly paced, lovingly crafted homage to two wildly disparate cultural touchstones, proving that the most potent magic often comes in the smallest packages.

Development History & Context

Zeboyd Games, the husband-and-wife development team of Robert and Billie Boyd, has built a formidable reputation over the years by mastering the art of the “bite-sized” RPG. From the retro-comedy of Cthulhu Saves the World to the sci-fi splendour of Cosmic Star Heroine, their philosophy has remained consistent: create rich, engaging RPG experiences that respect the player’s time, stripping away the bloat and filler endemic to larger productions. This Way Madness Lies is the culmination of this ethos.

Developed using the Unity engine and released for Windows on November 10, 2022, with subsequent ports to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 in 2023, the game was a product of a specific creative vision. The Boyds, operating as Zeboyd Digital Entertainment LLC, acted as both developer and publisher, maintaining full creative control. This allowed them to fully commit to their absurdist premise without corporate dilution.

The gaming landscape at the time of its release was dominated by sprawling, open-world epics and live-service monoliths. This Way Madness Lies stood in stark opposition to these trends. It was designed explicitly as a “weekend RPG,” a compact 5-10 hour experience intended as a palate cleanser between larger titles. This was a deliberate callback to an era of shorter, more focused games, but with modern design sensibilities. The technological constraints were largely self-imposed; the charming pixel art aesthetic and 2D battle systems were not a limitation of budget but a conscious stylistic choice, hearkening back to the SNES and PS1 eras while incorporating clever, modern twists on turn-based combat.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The narrative centers on the Stratford-Upon-Avon High Drama Society, a group of seven schoolgirls in Verona, Italy, who are passionate about staging Shakespearean plays. Unbeknownst to their classmates, they are also magical girls, tasked with defending the “Shakespearean metaverse”—alternate dimensions based on the Bard’s plays—from incursions by eldritch Nightmare creatures.

The protagonist, Imogen (named for the heroine of Cymbeline), leads a team whose members are all Meaningfully Named after Shakespearean characters: the loyal Paulina (The Winter’s Tale), cross-dressing Viola (Twelfth Night), witty Rosalind (As You Like It), innocent Miranda (The Tempest), sharp-tongued Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), and the late-joining Kate (The Taming of the Shrew). The game’s genius lies not just in this premise, but in its execution. The dialogue is consistently hilarious, brimming with witty banter, fourth-wall-breaking observations (the girls refer to the player as “the Thespian”), and a deep, evident love for the source material.

The plot is structured episodically, with the Drama Society jumping into worlds based on plays like The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth. However, Zeboyd doesn’t treat these works with untouchable reverence. The characters frequently—and accurately—critique the more problematic or nonsensical elements of the plots. When the victory condition in the Twelfth Night world is for a ship to sink by “natural causes,” Beatrice perfectly lampshades the absurdity: “We jump into other worlds. Those worlds are based on Shakespeare plays that are being attacked by nightmare monsters. And then we transform into magical girls and save the day. When you stop and think about it, most of what we do doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Beneath the comedy lies a surprisingly earnest theme of friendship and camaraderie. Kate’s initial motivation for joining the villains is a heartbreakingly simple “I Just Want to Have Friends,” and her subsequent integration into the group forms an emotional core. The game successfully blends its satirical edge with a genuine affection for its characters and their bonds, creating a narrative that is both clever and heartfelt.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

This Way Madness Lies is a masterclass in efficient, intelligent RPG design. The core gameplay loop is a satisfying mix of light exploration in the girls’ hometown and school, story-driven interludes, and dungeon crawling in the Shakespearean worlds. Enemy encounters are visible on the map, and players can also trigger battles at will from the menu, a superb Anti-Frustration Feature that eliminates aimless grinding.

The combat system is where Zeboyd’s expertise truly shines. It’s a turn-based system heavily inspired by the mid-battle cutscenes of Sega’s Shining Force series, but with deep strategic layers. Each of the seven characters has a unique set of abilities assignable to seven battle slots. Abilities are typically limited to one use before a character must “Rest” (defend) to recharge them, creating a compelling rhythm of resource management. This system encourages constant tactical evaluation rather than mindless button-mashing.

Further depth is added by Unite abilities—powerful, once-per-battle team attacks—and a focus on status effects that are actually effective, even against bosses (though they require more applications to land). Character progression is handled through a shared experience pool (Leaked Experience), ensuring the entire party levels up together and eliminating the need to grind individual members. Notably, the game does away with traditional equipment; progression is solely through new skills and Traits that modify abilities.

The UI is clean and intuitive, and the game is packed with player-friendly options. The difficulty can be changed at any time without penalty, described non-judgmentally (Easy is “For those who love story”). Perhaps the most iconic feature is the option to skip the lengthy Magical Girl transformation sequences, with the game cheekily guilting the player for doing so: the options are “Keep watching.” or “Skip. Also, I kick puppies”.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The game’s world-building is a charming fusion of the mundane and the fantastical. The contrast between the girls’ ordinary school lives—dealing with perpetually absent teachers and studying for Shakespeare quizzes—and their extraordinary secret lives forms the backbone of the setting. This Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World structure is played for both comedy and a relatable sense of wonder.

Visually, the game employs a gorgeous pixel art aesthetic that evokes the 16-bit and 32-bit eras without feeling slavishly retro. The character sprites are detailed and expressive, and the magical girl designs, complete with Rainbow Motif color-coded outfits and longer hair upon transformation (Power Makes Your Hair Grow), are perfectly executed. The battle animations are crisp and impactful, and the game runs flawlessly on even modest hardware.

The sound design is arguably one of its strongest assets. Composed by Joshua Queen with vocals by Sarah Queen, the soundtrack is a revelation. The opening menu theme is a “truly rocking symphonic metal banger,” and the rest of the score follows suit, blending energetic battle themes with atmospheric dungeon music. Critics noted its quality evoked nostalgia for the Persona series, a high compliment indeed. The voice acting, while limited, is well-performed, particularly Miranda’s appropriately “shrill” and energetic battle cries.

Reception & Legacy

Upon release, This Way Madness Lies was met with widespread critical acclaim. It holds a “Very Positive” rating on Steam (89% from 139 reviews) and a Metacritic score of 84/100, signifying “generally favorable” reviews. Critics universally praised its unique concept, witty writing, tight pacing, and refreshing combat system.

RPGFan (90%) called it “an excellent snack-sized title for fans of Shakespeare, magical girls, or JRPGs in general,” designating it an Editor’s Choice. PC Gamer (87%) applauded its “beautiful graphics and a bouncy pace,” noting that “Zeboyd just knows in its bones how to make an interesting RPG.” Digitally Downloaded (90%) declared the Shakespeare-meets-magical-girls concept “a resounding success.” Common points of criticism were its relatively short length (though many argued it was the perfect length for its content) and a desire for more character background and accessibility options.

Its legacy is one of a cult classic. It didn’t set the sales charts ablaze, but it perfectly fulfilled its intended purpose: to be a beloved, high-quality niche title. It stands as a testament to Zeboyd’s unique design philosophy and has influenced a perception that shorter, focused RPGs have a valuable place in the modern market. It proved that deep mechanics and compelling stories need not be married to endless playtimes, inspiring other indie developers to pursue bold, concise visions.

Conclusion

This Way Madness Lies is a gem. It is a brilliantly conceived, expertly executed labor of love that seamlessly blends highbrow literary reference with lowbrow anime tropes, all wrapped in a combat system of surprising depth and intelligence. It is the video game equivalent of a perfectly staged play: every element, from its narrative and mechanics to its art and sound, serves a purpose, with not a moment of filler in sight. While it may not have the narrative heft of a Final Fantasy or the scale of a Persona, it possesses a confident identity and a cohesive vision that many larger games lack. It is a heartfelt, hilarious, and immensely satisfying experience that earns its place in video game history as one of the most uniquely charming and intelligently designed RPGs of its era. For fans of turn-based combat, sharp writing, or anyone who ever wondered what Sailor Moon would look like if written by the Bard, this way lies not madness, but delight.