Astrae Oratio's combat offers real-time turn-based action in sneak peek of its TGS demo

• Astrae Oratio's combat is one aspect of the game we got a sneak peek of
• Ahead of the debut of the game at Tokyo Game Show, we've gotten more details on gameplay
• Real-time, turn-based combat is in play here, with an interesting rock-paper-scissors response system

With Tokyo Game Show now underway, we'll be seeing exciting news trickle out of the event. But we've already gotten a sneak peek at some new stuff folks at the show will be seeing for the first time, including a fresh look at combat in the upcoming magical-girl RPG Astrae Oratio!

Originally revealed earlier this summer, Astrae Oratio sees you stepping back in time to a fictionalised version of 1989 Tokyo, as a Shunin, a public official working for the Special District Office. Set in a world where magic and mundanity co-exist, you'll encounter various magicians going about their lives and dealing with various strange, supernatural incidents.

Wants at dawn

Astrae Oratio's playable build at Tokyo Game Show will introduce its real-time turn-based system, where you'll be able to see what action an enemy is about to take and then respond accordingly. It's a relatively simple rock-paper-scissors format that'll require you to either pick a response or tag out a character.

Not only that, but certain enemies can launch unstoppable attacks, so rather than focusing on winning a clash of skills with the right response, you'll need to work to minimise the impact. You can also chain together the tagging of different characters to chain their attacks together, and build your Dominion Gauge to launch a powerful Declaration of Dominion against the enemy.

The TGS demo will be the first time players are able to publicly get hands-on with Astrae Oratio. And while it's easy for us to describe the gameplay, I'll be far more curious to see how it all works in practice. So we'll be keeping our eyes open for what initial reactions are like.

In the meantime, if you want to stay Ahead of the Game on upcoming releases, then there's no better place to do so than Catherine's feature of the same name. This time around, Catherine is digging into the upcoming Purrfect Three Kingdoms!