"Silver Palace" looks great – but the gacha mechanics will probably keep me away anyway
Victorian metropolis meets anime action and fast-paced real-time combat: "Silver Palace" has me curious. At Gamescom, I got to play it myself for 30 minutes – and came away both thrilled and unsettled.
The first trailer for "Silver Palace" immediately piqued my curiosity. A massive, Victorian-inspired city paired with an anime aesthetic, fantasy, detective work, and fast-paced combat. Pretty much everything I like, all thrown together. Silver Studio is developing the title using Unreal Engine 5, with Elementa on board as publisher.
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The genre that "Silver Palace" occupies is quite saturated by now. "Genshin Impact", "Zenless Zone Zero", and "Wuthering Waves" are long established, and with "Ananta", another competitor is waiting in the wings. Elementa is already reporting over ten million pre-registrations for "Silver Palace", but a release date is still missing. The title is expected to launch next year. It is planned for mobile devices, PC, and PS5.
At Gamescom, I get about 30 minutes with the game. And I have to say: the visuals and presentation of "Silver Palace" easily keep up with the competition.
Plenty of action
The intro alone puts a grin on my face. Everything sparkles and reflects. Maximum kitsch, but it works here. The Queen presents me with an award. Shortly after, all hell breaks loose. One, no, two statues come to life and attack the Queen. Naturally, I draw my weapons and help.
Source: Elementa
Anyone familiar with "Zenless Zone Zero" will immediately feel at home with the combat. I assemble a team and switch between characters during battle – always at the right moment to dodge or counter. If the timing works, it already feels really good in this short demo. "Silver Palace" stages these fights magnificently: animations, ultimates, finishers – you can tell that set pieces play a major role here.
I get to try out four characters, all with their own weapon type and playstyle. And this is exactly where the game's gacha DNA becomes obvious: the characters are clearly designed as a central collection and progression element. I don't know what the monetization will look like in the end – but the direction is easy to guess.
Silvernia: a city to fall in love with
After the boss fight, we head into Silvernia – gas lamps, carriages, clock towers, winding alleys, plus the magical technology called "Silverium" that runs like a common thread through the world. As a bonus, I get to fly through the city on a Pegasus, which makes exploring noticeably more pleasant. Horse racing is also planned for later. Currently, the world still feels a bit empty. Hopefully, the streets of Silvernia will become more lively.
What convinces me most: the aesthetic doesn't feel forced, but well thought out. Dynamic weather and a day-night cycle round off the picture, and technically, Unreal Engine 5 is also used well. Even the music, a mix of classical and electronic sounds, fits surprisingly well with this time-travel fantasy twist.
After a short exploration passage, we head into a second boss fight. This one is probably earlier in the game, because I only have the main character, the detective, at my disposal. I fight against one of the characters I played as myself during the statue fight. She attacks me from a carriage – so there should be plenty of variety in the bosses.
Besides the combat, there is also a detective role to play. Investigations and the secrets of Silvernia are supposed to make up a larger part of the game in the future. In my demo, I only saw a glimpse of this in the intro.
Source: Elementa
My big concern: just another gacha game among many
Purely in terms of gameplay and visuals, I am positively surprised after my hands-on session. But the longer I think about it, the more an uneasy feeling spreads: will "Silver Palace" end up being another interchangeable representative of a long-saturated genre?
The ingredients for that are all there. Four playable characters in a 30-minute demo and a banner-suspicious collection system – I know that from countless other titles, and it usually boils down to the same thing in the end: if you want to experience the most interesting characters and thus the full combat depth, you either have to spend money or grind forever. The world-building and the presentation that thrilled me so much in Silvernia quickly become secondary. In addition, the pressure to make purchases will likely be intensified by the multiplayer mode called "House of Greed".
Source: Elementa
I would have loved a game like "Silver Palace" without in-app purchases. A full-price title where I get all characters from the start or at least unlock them through normal game progression, without random pulls. With a world and a presentation that already reach console-format levels, that would be hugely appealing to me. Silvernia has the potential to be a city I just want to explore without constantly wondering whether a banner is worth it or not.
"Silver Palace" is currently in development; a release date has not yet been set. The game is scheduled to be released for mobile devices, PC, and PlayStation 5.
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