Tales of Arise

Tales of Arise is a JRPG from Bandai Namco Studios and the newest major entry in the long-running Tales of series, telling the story of the enslaved planet Dahna and its inhabitants, oppressed by rulers from the neighboring world of Rena. The player takes on the roles of two main heroes — a nameless man in a mask and the rebel Shionne — who fight together to free their people. The combat system combines fluid real-time action with switching between characters and their unique abilities called Artes, giving battles fast pacing and tactical depth without burdening the player with the excess of menus and waiting queues typical of earlier entries in the series.

On Xbox Series X and S, where the game launched in 2021, it runs at high resolution and a stable frame rate, letting the new visual style, reminiscent of painted canvases, truly shine — the series has abandoned its traditional anime look in favor of softer, more painterly colors. The orchestral and vocal tracks accompanying key story moments are among the game's strongest elements, heightening the emotional impact of the relationship between the main characters, while exploring the more open areas rewards players with side stories and materials for upgrading their gear. A cooking system that lets characters prepare meals with temporary bonuses adds a pleasantly relaxed dimension even to ordinary travel across the land, as do the bonding conversations at the group's camp, which deepen the ties between the individual heroes.

Tales of Arise received some of the best reviews in the series' history on release and was called by many the best entry since Tales of Vesperia. Critics praised the visual redesign, the well-crafted characters, and the combat, which finally shed the outdated mechanics of previous entries, as well as an emotive story unafraid to tackle themes of oppression and prejudice. On Xbox Series it is an ideal entry point into the series for new players and a reward for longtime fans of the JRPG genre alike.

Why play it: For both newcomers and longtime JRPG fans, Tales of Arise is an ideal entry point thanks to its reworked combat, strong characters, and some of the best reviews in the series' history.