Thanks to indie gaming, there’s an influx of forgotten genres in every release cycle. I’ve mentioned the drought of specific genres in many indie game reviews, and I was lucky enough to visit a cross-breed of two fan favourites that would not have existed had it not been for small development. This is where Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action arrives on the scene.
Developed by a small team at Moonana with publishing help from Serenity Forge (responsible for horror smash hit Doki Doki Literature Club), Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action proves indie gaming could be where small genres thrive with their latest turn-based rhythm JRPG title. Keylocker brings an attitude that doesn’t quit with glorious pixel graphics, a pumping soundtrack, and a well-written turn-based adventure that any RPG fan can sink their teeth into.
The journey starts with my favourite hidden device in game development, the disguised tutorial. While introducing the player to the world of Keylocker, Moonana pens a well-thought-out tutorial that shows the player the ropes, but any fan of the Mario & Luigi RPG or Paper Mario series will feel right at home. Although Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action deploys turn-based gameplay, you have to stay vigilant during enemy turns, or your health will deplete quickly.
“Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action proves indie gaming could be where small genres thrive with their latest turn-based rhythm JRPG title.”
Our hero of Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action, musical aficionado Bobo, finds herself in hot water for breaking the law and playing a musical concert. That’s right, in this universe (set on the planet Saturn), music is outlawed due to the ruling class placing a communism-like restriction on the world’s electricity. Music creates electricity here, and Bobo is one of the only beings who can create music. This is smart commentary on the rich eating the poor by choosing who can and cannot have wealth, and it is a nice touch to call players back to the real world—immersion at its finest.
Starting in jail after what I assume was a banger of a concert, it’s disconcerting that there’s no overworld game music. This is another design by the game makers—music only exists when they say it does, and it’s another smart way to deploy the Keylocker’s main mechanics and feeling of ‘someone else is in power.’ Bobo believes the outlaw on music is insane, and she starts with the idea of creating electricity to fuel a rebellion, but in the grand scheme of things (and without spoilers), the adventure becomes a much bigger affair to end the monarchist corruption on Saturn and restore freedom.
Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action battles play more like a strategy RPG similar to the battle system of Chrono Trigger (considering ally placement is important), but the player controls their ally’s placement. On a hexagon-based grid, you can move your characters to attack, defend, play music to increase the EP gauge (electricity points, the magical equivalent in Keylocker) and use big magic attacks to maim the authorities of Saturn.
Keylocker on the hard difficulty is no joke. Fans who figure themselves turn-based experts will struggle here as pin-point precision is required to get through the battle crucible Keylocker throws at you. But while Keylocker demands timing perfection from its player, it delivers a mostly smooth experience in turn. Hitting the action button or an arrow key when necessary is immediately responsive and will make the player feel at fault for missing necessary cues.
While growing pains are apparent, once you finish the tutorial, the combat system becomes second nature. Instead of trying to avoid battles, I ended up searching for them to increase my ‘Skeyll Points’ (Keylocker’s upgrade system). The equipment system is also surprisingly robust, with many different options that spread out across the hexagon GRIDS-based system deployed in Keylocker. Shooting a gun can go through enemies and hit the ones behind them. An axe swing will have a wide berth and assail three enemies up front, and using a lighting electric spell can do some serious damage.
Hitting the right button at the right time can allow the player to go through many battles with no damage taken, and Moonana wants this to happen. It’s almost as if the game is giving you a false sense of security just to rip it away with harder enemies and weird timing cues that threw me in a blender. On my turn, holding an attack button can spend EP to increase damage given (but this increases damage taken) in a risk/reward system that reminded me of Bravely Default, except with an emphasis on timing and not the strategic default for more turns.
Keylocker doesn’t shy away from its obvious and many inspirations; instead, it leans into them. From the very beginning scene of chapter one, fans may notice Bobo slamming into the Scrapyard feels remarkably similar to when Mario flies back to his house after being booted from Bowser’s castle in Super Mario RPG and this familiarity feels purposeful.
“Keylocker doesn’t shy away from its obvious and many inspirations; instead, it leans into them.“
Picking up and doing fetch quests are laced with hilarity and don’t outstay their welcome. There’s even a group of protestors that have a tongue-in-cheek reference to real life, with the guy that’s too cool to hold a sign saying “I’m too cool to hold up a sign”. Every protest has that guy, and Keylocker includes it. There’s even a cool relationship system to get closer to the game’s many colourful characters, but you can avoid this if you want. It’s added for spice and context, so JRPG fans who dislike Persona-adjacent social links can skip it. Keylocker runs smoothly without ever engaging in it.
Keylocker is a great indie title. It throws the player into a new cyberpunk world made believable by relating the world’s state to real life in a way that feels like you’ve lived through it. Characters are genuinely funny (especially Bobo’s apathetic brother), and the way the main quest rolls out feels like a bit of Earthbound mixed with a random quest generator. This is brought together with oddly designed characters that work. However, there are a few issues with frame rate dips and the feeling of ‘why am I doing this?’ during certain quests.
The randomness of each quest works against Keylocker at times. One quest had me retrieve funds for a magic carpet, cross a desert, and battle four walking finger sets — I swear this happens — to open an electronic door and confront a head without a body. Now while it does make sense during gameplay (but not in my head) and the lore of the world, the lack of any kind of map takes away from the game immensely and unless you’re really paying attention you will have no idea what’s going on. Constantly you’re left wondering ‘Where do I go?’ although the in-game quest log tells you. The lack of direction is disconcerting when the storyline is just as jarring.
None of the title’s shortcomings are game-breaking, though. Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action’s narrative is a well-paced story. It’s brought together by an outstanding soundtrack composition — crafted by Elekrobear and voiced by Psamathes — which is an absolute jam. Since receiving the title, I’ve left the title screen on in the background during real-life tasks. This soundtrack rules, and so do indie games.
