Cris Tales, a brand new JRPG, was announced with a reveal trailer at E3 2019. The game will be launching on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch in 2020. A debut demo is already available on Steam until June 24.

Cris Tales is developed by Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK, and is published by Modus Games. Cris Tales is the first game listed on Steam for both studios. The game uses an original mechanic where the screen is constantly divided, each part showing the past, the present, and the future. Players act in the present and their actions will affect the other eras.

Cris Tales also features an interesting character design, looking like a mix of certain iconic design styles of the nineties, from both America and Japan. Battles are turn-based, and the past present future mechanics can be used to affect enemies as well. You can check it out with the trailer below.

For Cris Tales, Modus Games cites inspirations such as Chrono Trigger and Valkyrie Profile, along with more recent games like Persona 5 and Bravely Default. I'm extremely skeptical about games advertising themselves as "love letters" or "inspired" from older RPGs. And I personally wouldn't put Bravely Default in the same masterpiece labeled basket as the other three so I'm even more skeptical. I'll be trying out Cris Tales' demo soon and will be looking forward to its release.