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Preview: Silver Palace Is a Gorgeous Gothic PS5 RPG, But So Far I’ve Played It Before
Push Square's editor has previewed Silver Palace, an upcoming free-to-play gacha RPG set in a Victorian-inspired gothic fantasy world, following a hands-on demo at Gamescom and its announcement for PS5 during Sony's Opening Night Live. While praising its striking Reverse 1999-esque art direction and atmospheric open world, the writer felt the core gameplay was overly familiar, mirroring genre staples such as Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves rather than offering something distinctive.
The game is published by Japan-based Happy Elements and developed by its Singapore-headquartered subsidiary Elementa, making it an international rather than purely Chinese production as previously assumed. During a 30-minute PC demo, the writer tried squad-based combat with swappable units and fought a visually impressive boss, but found the mechanics samey and was unable to see a teased Resident Evil-style multiplayer mode, about which developers offered little detail. Exploration features such as horseback and flying traversal and unexplained ground puzzles were also noted, with hope that the final release will better explain its systems and reveal more distinguishing content.
In short
- Silver Palace is a gothic-fantasy free-to-play RPG announced for PS5.
- Previewer found visuals striking but combat familiar, gacha-genre gameplay.
- Teased Resident Evil-style multiplayer mode remains largely unexplained.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Silver Palace’s familiar combat may be a sensible foundation for a free-to-play RPG, letting players draw on established squad and character-switching systems while the game distinguishes itself through its gothic setting, striking art and varied traversal. A short demo may not show the depth of its progression or later content, and the teased multiplayer mode and unexplained puzzles suggest there could be more to discover.
The case against
For players choosing among a crowded field of live-service RPGs, familiar combat risks leaving Silver Palace without a clear reason to invest time or money, however attractive its world may be. The demo offered little evidence of distinctive mechanics, while the multiplayer feature remained unseen and poorly explained, making it reasonable to question whether the final game will offer enough beyond its visual style.
Explained simply
Silver Palace is a free-to-play role-playing game in which players build a team of characters and fight enemies in a fantasy world. It uses a gothic setting inspired by Victorian-era design, with an open world to explore and characters that can be swapped during combat.
The game is being made by Elementa, a Singapore-based studio owned by Japanese publisher Happy Elements. It belongs to a popular style of role-playing game that combines exploration, action and collecting characters, so players may recognise elements from other games in the genre.
What distinguishes Silver Palace will matter to players deciding whether to follow or spend time on another such game. Its setting and visual style have drawn attention, while its multiplayer mode and some exploration features have yet to be clearly explained.
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