Etheria: Restart – A Turn-Based Gacha That’s Easy to Love

Etheria: Restart is a turn-based Gacha RPG where you build a team of characters and battle enemies using strategy, skills, and timing. It’s not an open-world game, but it offers short missions filled with cool visuals and cinematic, solid combat, and rewarding exploration.

Both casual gamers and Gacha veteran should be able to pick up and enjoy Etheria. It gets your attention fast, and it’s hard to put down! Here is our review of Etheria: Restart, without any spoilers of the story, but with all the information you need, so you can make your own opinion and decide if the game is for you or not.

Smooth Turn-Based Combat That Feels Great

The combat is one of Etheria’s strongest points. You always know when characters will act, thanks to a clear turn order. The system also shows if your attacks will be strong or weak against enemies before you even use them. That makes planning a lot easier. You can also:

• Pick your team right before each battle (great for adapting to enemy types)
• Speed up fights (up to 3x speed) or let the game fight for you on auto
• Clearly see buffs and debuffs over each character’s life bar and enemies
• Run repeated battles automatically in the background for grinding

There’s even an ambush system to skip battles, though it’s a bit inconsistent and not well explained. You are supposed to be able to “Ambush” enemies by hiding behind objects or walls, and jump at them at the right moment, however it is a bit random and doesn’t always trigger.

If you Ambush properly, the enemy will be instantly dead, and you do not have to fight.

Exploration Is Fast and Clean

Maps are small but you can still find some goodies. You’ll often find chests, clues, or enemies just off the main path. Each map tells you how many items and enemies are left, so it’s easy to fully clear a zone. The game also includes:

• A scanning system to reveal hidden things
• A progress tracker for every zone
• Clean climbing and smooth movement
• No filler. Maps are short and don’t waste your time!

It’s a great setup for players who don’t want to spend hours lost in an open world, or don’t have much time to play. It’s just something quick, fun, yet still interesting and challenging at times!

A Story That Doesn’t Drag On

Etheria’s story is actually intriguing: mysterious and engaging without too much fluff. There are some small choices in dialogue, but nothing too deep. You can:

• Skip story scenes if you’re in a hurry
• Auto-play or manually listen to voice lines
• Enjoy short, focused conversations without endless cutscenes

If you play other Gacha games, you may have PTSD from 12h endless yapping of the same character without anything captivating happening, or even a single intriguing information given.

Etheria goes straight to the important stuff, it’s comprehensive, and you can follow easily. While we didn’t manage to play through the entire story content while we tested the game, we made it through quite a few chapters, and what we saw so far was really worth it.

Great Visuals and Intuitive UI

From flashy ultimate animations to cool sci-fi settings, Etheria: Restart looks fantastic. The UI is also very clear, with everything grouped in an easy-to-navigate menu. You can access things like:

• Your room (which gives access to story, outfits, and more)
• A quest tracker
• Tutorials that are short and helpful (not overly invasive)
• Smooth controller and keyboard support (though you can’t rebind WASD yet, which can be tricky if you use another type of keyboard)
• Your Robot’s own little menu

The menu is very clear. It does look similar to Gacha menus we already know, so if you are familiar with those, you will not have any issue. And if it’s the first time, it’s really easy to know where to look, what to do, and where you need to go.

A Gacha System That’s Surprisingly Friendly

The game uses a classic Gacha system for summoning characters. But there’s no 50/50 mechanic, meaning you don’t have to lose a coin flip to get the character you want:

• SSR character guaranteed every 80 pulls
• Bonus chance for a targeted SSR after 40 pulls on one specific banner, and only for one time
• No pressure to pull duplicates, there is no “constellation” system
• No weapon banner, so you can focus on your characters

The only down point would be that the Splash art can be misleading, some characters look very different once pulled than they do on the actual Splash Art. However, it is a detail. The banners are also a bit confusing at first. it’s hard to know where you should pull or what the difference between the banners really are.

There’s also a good amount of free rewards, including free SSR characters and regular login bonuses. Achievements, events, and more, also seem to reward enough to allow you to get the characters you want without necessarily having to put money.

We did not test PvP, so the question remains is: will characters be rapidly power creeped for PvP or not.

Progression Feels Rewarding

Progressing in Etheria is satisfying, thanks to regular rewards and simple upgrade systems. The game also gives useful tips, like recommended partners, modules, and shells for each character.

However, the module system could use better explanations for new players. If you’ve never played a Gacha before with a similar “relic” system, you might feel a little lost at first.

Unions Add a Fun Social Touch

Etheria lets you join or create a Union (basically a guild). This unlocks a special hub with:

• Weekly Union quests
• A Union boss for co-op fights
• A Union shop with extra rewards
• Casual interaction with other players

It’s a fun addition that adds more things to do, even if you’re a solo player. There is also some kind of PvP content between unions, which can add some more challenge, if it’s not too P2W.

Tons of Challenges and Side Content

Even outside the main story, there’s a lot to do:

• Difficulty-based challenges
• Hidden clue-based investigations
• Events that reward you just for logging in or completing basic tasks

That said, some content is locked behind Stability (the game’s version of daily energy), which might limit how much you can play in one sitting. But at least you won’t be tempted to play the whole day!

Pros & Cons

Final Verdict: Worth Your Time

Etheria: Restart is a chill and fun Gacha game that strikes a great balance between fast action, smart progression, and pretty visuals. It’s perfect for players who enjoy turn-based RPG combat and cool characters, without needing to invest hours at a time.

While there are a few small issues (especially for first-time Gacha players), most of them are easy to overlook.

If you’re looking for more information about the game, specific guides, tier lists, and more, our friends at hellhades.com are all-in on Etheria: Restart with 2 of the team already qualifying for the global arena championships by ranking in the top 16 players in the world. They have been working hard to create guides and tier lists based on information that they gathered during the beta to help players get the best possible start, so don’t hesitate to take a look!