D_Cide Traumerei Hands-On Preview: Nightmares Hidden in Daily Lives

Sumzap, Drecom, and Bushiroad’s upcoming D_Cide Traumerei mobile RPG has just finished the closed beta test last week. Follow QooApp to take a look at its gameplay before it launches this summer!

▍When Monsters Intrude Your Daily Life…

The game shares the same worldview as the D_Cide Traumerei The Animation, which premiered on July 10, 2021. But the game’s story is told from a totally different perspective, so it is totally fine if you haven’t watched the anime.

The game’s story takes place in Yurajima, a remote island far from the hustle and bustle of the city. “A dream is a real projection and actuality is a projection of a dream,” a quote from Sigmund Freud draws the curtain of the story, explaining the concepts of the D_Cide Traumerei.

The game’s protagonist, Randōu Furukata, is a normal and timid high school student living a simple yet peaceful life in Yurajima. One day, he fights an unknown monster in his dream and ends up losing his arm. He wakes up and is relieved, but strange things happen one after another on this peaceful island. First, three decapitated corpses are found in the forest. Randōu suspects her classmate Eru was somehow involved after finding her covered all over with blood on the street. But little does he knows it was just the beginning of a series of nightmares…

Randōu discovers that the monsters appearing in his dream are attacking the villagers in real life. The monsters were fed by desires and try to invade the real world by possessing humans. In order to protect his family and friends, he awakens as the “Knocker-up,” fighters with special powers that can oppose these monsters.

The world settings and the plot is nothing new or special but the story is well-written under the hands of Tadashi Satomi, who is also known to create the story for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona and The Caligula Effect. The vivid live2D and well-illustrated background is the icing on the cake. The story is fully-voiced, which surprisingly includes the monologue of Randōu, so you can always know what he is thinking from his perspective.

▍Classic Command Turn-Based Battle System

D_Cide Traumerei features a command turn-based battle system, where players build a team of four to battle against monsters. Each character has four skills such as single/ multiple attacks, damage cut, debuff, etc, and choosing the right skills according to the situation is the key to win in battles.

The game system is pretty much the same as any other RPGs, such as the attribute advantages and weaknesses. But it also incorporates a DOWN and Astra Force system to diversify the strategies used in battles.

Every turn, You will accumulate the DOWN gauge of your enemies. When the DOWN gauge reaches its fullest, you can break the enemies’ attack and deal large damage. It is thus necessary to consider the timing to unleash powerful skills and buff your enemies according to the characteristics of your enemies.

On the other hand, Astral Force will transform your characters into an Over Mode state. It is not only a powerful skill but also makes your other skills more powerful in the next turn. Astral Force can be activated when its gauge reaches 100% by unleashing skills. Activating the Astral Force also comes with dynamic animation and the abilities that every character gains from their Astral Force are different. For example, the Astral Force of Randōu helps him deal nearly four times as much damage to a single enemy as a slash.

The two systems showcase their true value in high-level content, such as boss battles and ranking matches, with a range of strategies that can be applied. Boss will unleash powerful skills after a certain turn, so you will have to consider the timing to DOWN your enemies and maximize your damage with Astral Force.

▍Interact with the Characters to Make Them Stronger

There is a gacha for you to get Knocker-up (characters), but they will also join your party as the story progresses so you don’t have to worry too much. There is no rarity for characters, so it is still unsure whether those in the gacha are more powerful or not. But it seems that the skills for the gacha characters are more useful than the ordinary ones.

In addition to leveling up the characters, players can also equip Astral Record and Artifacts to strengthen them. Astral Record and Artifact can not only raise the status of the characters but also give them different abilities and skills. Note that the Astral Record can be obtained from the gacha which shares the same banner with the characters.

One of the key features of the nurturing system is that you can interact with the characters to make them stronger. You will encounter different characters on the island map and their status will raise when the intimacy level goes up. More importantly, interacting with the characters can get you character fragments, which can be used to increase their level cap. You can also unlock more voices and character scenarios when the intimacy level gets higher.

▍Final Thoughts

D_Cide Traumerei has a unique worldview and aesthetics, but I’m not sure whether it can actually stand out. The game system is fair to middling, which may not be enough to satisfy gamers who look for more. The game has its highlight, but it feels more like a deja vu looking the same as other mobile RPGs. Considering the artistic visuals and intriguing stories, it’s still worth a try but I’d suggest you lower your expectation. I haven’t watched the anime, so the whole experience may be different if you are a fan of the project.