Depending on the day, if you asked me what my favorite game of all time is, I would tell you it's The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. One of the greatest Zelda games and arguably the one that best nailed the classic formula, it holds a special place in my heart. Parts of it feel timeless, and I think for me, they always will. But if I'm honest, other parts are certainly products of their time and have not aged as gracefully. Combat in those early Zelda games was a means to an end, not the focus. So it's satisfying to find a game like Alabaster Dawn, which spiritually carries the inventive fantasy spirit and colorful characters and puzzle aspects that I love so much about Zelda--but also makes combat feel really, really good.
This isn't the first time that developer Radical Fish Games has impressed. Its 2018 release CrossCode was similarly a retro-styled action-RPG, and it has enjoyed a reputation as a standout indie game. Alabaster Dawn is an iterative step, but it feels like it takes lessons learned from that earlier experience to craft something that still feels fresh in 2026. This is a developer confidently hitting its stride in its sophomore effort, and even in early access, it looks and feels great.
With CrossCode, Radical Fish showed a knack for creating fantasy worlds that feel fully fleshed out and lived in, with lots of little details and sharp writing that lets you learn about the setting naturally, without overexplaining it. But where CrossCode was a sci-fi story set in the distant future, Alabaster Dawn is high fantasy, introducing its own spin on the genre's tropes.
This world is protected by a group of warriors, the Chosen, imbued by the gods with divine weapons to protect them from the encroaching darkness. But as seen in an evocative prologue, the Chosen were seemingly abandoned by the gods mid-battle, making their weaponry evaporate in their hands at the worst possible time. You play as Juno, the Outcast Chosen, who went through all the same training as her comrades, but who was cut off from the rest of the warriors for reasons that are not clear at the start. For Juno this is a shameful secret, forcing her to be guarded and coy about how she survived when all the others fell.
What wowed me most right from the start was the quality of the animation, with gorgeous and detailed pixel art that moves with a smoothness that I could have only dreamed of in the Super NES days. An isometric game like this usually has just eight frames of animation for various directions--CrossCode did, as an example--but Alabaster Dawn doubles that number. It's a simple solution that makes a massive difference in how the game looks and feels, making all of your movement and attacks feel that much more precise and flowing.
The fluidity of the movement is accented by animations that pulse with personality. For example, you can hold down a button to dash, which is standard in an action-RPG. But in the context of Alabaster Dawn's lore, this is a special Chosen technique, so rather than merely speed up your run animation, it turns into great leaping strides. You skim across the surface of the land rather than simply run. Tiny touches like that help sell the idea that you're a super-powered being residing among mortals.
Combat is frenetic and multifaceted, taking place in small arenas that force careful positioning and prioritizing your attacks. You quickly get a ranged weapon in addition to your melee, and so you'll need to analyze threats on the fly. At least early in the game, the Nyx largely take the form of sentient, corrupted plants, so there will often be dark flowers on a hillside where your melee can't reach, sprouting bombs at you while plant-beasts stalk you below. There's a lot of darting around the battlefield and planning your timing. Once you gain access to powered-up abilities, there's skill involved in timing your bow shot just right for a critical hit while also avoiding the beasts. It's a lot to juggle, and as your arsenal expands, you get access to a quick loadout switch that lets you feel fully in control of your options at all times.
Alabaster Dawn
Beyond that, the mechanics feel expansive in ways I haven't fully explored. There is a detailed cooking system that grants temporary buffs, a crafting system for making gems that slot into your weapons, and divine arts that further augment your weapons with special abilities. It feels like I've barely scratched the surface of everything that Alabaster Dawn has to offer, even in this early-access state.
Speaking of which, the early-access status does show through in a few places. I've seen a couple of items with placeholder text. Once, a character called attention to it in the middle of a dialogue sequence by saying, "Well, this dialogue is unfinished" in an unusual red font. I laughed at the self-awareness of putting it into a character's mouth complete with a folksy mannerism.
But other than a few wrinkles of unfinished text, it feels very complete already. The combat, exploration, and puzzle solving are on par or exceed many finished games, including some aspects of CrossCode. Alabaster Dawn is shaping up to be a strong follow-up and further evidence that Radical Fish is a top-tier developer in its own right.
Source
This isn't the first time that developer Radical Fish Games has impressed. Its 2018 release CrossCode was similarly a retro-styled action-RPG, and it has enjoyed a reputation as a standout indie game. Alabaster Dawn is an iterative step, but it feels like it takes lessons learned from that earlier experience to craft something that still feels fresh in 2026. This is a developer confidently hitting its stride in its sophomore effort, and even in early access, it looks and feels great.
With CrossCode, Radical Fish showed a knack for creating fantasy worlds that feel fully fleshed out and lived in, with lots of little details and sharp writing that lets you learn about the setting naturally, without overexplaining it. But where CrossCode was a sci-fi story set in the distant future, Alabaster Dawn is high fantasy, introducing its own spin on the genre's tropes.
This world is protected by a group of warriors, the Chosen, imbued by the gods with divine weapons to protect them from the encroaching darkness. But as seen in an evocative prologue, the Chosen were seemingly abandoned by the gods mid-battle, making their weaponry evaporate in their hands at the worst possible time. You play as Juno, the Outcast Chosen, who went through all the same training as her comrades, but who was cut off from the rest of the warriors for reasons that are not clear at the start. For Juno this is a shameful secret, forcing her to be guarded and coy about how she survived when all the others fell.
What wowed me most right from the start was the quality of the animation, with gorgeous and detailed pixel art that moves with a smoothness that I could have only dreamed of in the Super NES days. An isometric game like this usually has just eight frames of animation for various directions--CrossCode did, as an example--but Alabaster Dawn doubles that number. It's a simple solution that makes a massive difference in how the game looks and feels, making all of your movement and attacks feel that much more precise and flowing.
The fluidity of the movement is accented by animations that pulse with personality. For example, you can hold down a button to dash, which is standard in an action-RPG. But in the context of Alabaster Dawn's lore, this is a special Chosen technique, so rather than merely speed up your run animation, it turns into great leaping strides. You skim across the surface of the land rather than simply run. Tiny touches like that help sell the idea that you're a super-powered being residing among mortals.
Combat is frenetic and multifaceted, taking place in small arenas that force careful positioning and prioritizing your attacks. You quickly get a ranged weapon in addition to your melee, and so you'll need to analyze threats on the fly. At least early in the game, the Nyx largely take the form of sentient, corrupted plants, so there will often be dark flowers on a hillside where your melee can't reach, sprouting bombs at you while plant-beasts stalk you below. There's a lot of darting around the battlefield and planning your timing. Once you gain access to powered-up abilities, there's skill involved in timing your bow shot just right for a critical hit while also avoiding the beasts. It's a lot to juggle, and as your arsenal expands, you get access to a quick loadout switch that lets you feel fully in control of your options at all times.
Alabaster Dawn
Beyond that, the mechanics feel expansive in ways I haven't fully explored. There is a detailed cooking system that grants temporary buffs, a crafting system for making gems that slot into your weapons, and divine arts that further augment your weapons with special abilities. It feels like I've barely scratched the surface of everything that Alabaster Dawn has to offer, even in this early-access state.
Speaking of which, the early-access status does show through in a few places. I've seen a couple of items with placeholder text. Once, a character called attention to it in the middle of a dialogue sequence by saying, "Well, this dialogue is unfinished" in an unusual red font. I laughed at the self-awareness of putting it into a character's mouth complete with a folksy mannerism.
But other than a few wrinkles of unfinished text, it feels very complete already. The combat, exploration, and puzzle solving are on par or exceed many finished games, including some aspects of CrossCode. Alabaster Dawn is shaping up to be a strong follow-up and further evidence that Radical Fish is a top-tier developer in its own right.
Source