Enter a new world in this strange RPG

ILLUSION is a surrealistic role-playing video game that allows you to journey through a strange world that will make you question what’s real and what’s not. Developed by LunaRolexLer, ILLUSION is deeply steeped in breaking the fourth wall with you and heavy with classic RPG elements that are pretty common in pixelated RPG maker-like games. This game contains some vibrant lights and sensitive material that can be offensive to some people, so be careful if you still want to play it yourself.

Not for everyone

ILLUSION starts out laying on the various warnings on you pretty thickly. The developer wants you to know about the game’s mature themes and the type of flashy art style that they used for ILLUSION. There’s even some advice to take if you happen to have gotten your copy of the game from somewhere other than Steam. Expect this tone to continue to the actual game. 

Not even a few seconds into the start and the characters are already directly addressing you. The main character, Nawara, is a teenage girl living with her adoptive magician father, Monder. She quickly talks you to and generously explains the peculiar nature of the world they’re in called “The Unknown World”—where anything can be possible but that they could also be fake. 

Not your usual RPG

From the start, you can easily tell what the theme of ILLUSION is. Nawara sounds like your typical edgy teen who loves to pepper her sentences with swear words—to the exasperation of her mild-mannered dad. After the introduction, you can control Nawara and can start exploring with the typical RPG mechanics you can expect. You can talk to people, ask questions, save your progress, check out items and places. Nawara is aware of your presence and sometimes even argues with you about the actions you take. 

After a while, the two of you end up falling into a hole, and Nawara quickly wants a way to get out. This is the real start of your adventure, as you have to go through several characters with puzzles and turn-based combat. ILLUSION makes use of a really bright pixelated art that can tire out your eyes real quick if you’re not careful. If you’re photosensitive, this game is not recommended because these bright colors can be found in almost every environment Nawara goes through.

Has the shock factor down-pat

ILLUSION is not your typical RPG. It’s chock full of vulgar language and weird humor that can be offensive or exhausting to others. The art style is also really vibrant for an RPG and uses what looks to be hand-drawn cartoonish anime character designs. Funnily enough, it’s very self-aware—from the boatload of warnings prior to starting the game to the constant meta dialogue you have with the main character. It’s not too long of a game so if you want to try something with the genre, this is a nice enough recommendation if you can handle bright lights and weird plotlines.