Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Arc System Works Announces RPG Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow

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Jun 262026
 

Arc System Works had a showcase on Wednesday, and while I didn’t tune in to watch the whole thing, one announcement really stood out to me.

Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is a “tactical counter-timeline RPG” for the Switch, PS5, and PC, set in a world where reality is crumbling and “Aberrations” roam the streets.

It stars dual protagonists on a mission to uncover the truth behind what’s happening.

Combat is described as having a “timeline-driven gauge” that lets you plan out your attacks. It sounds like it’s more action than turn-based, but not a traditional sort of action system, either. Slowing down time and pausing seems to be a big part of it.

While the trailer doesn’t show the combat, the full showcase included an explanation of combat and some gameplay footage at around 13:06 (timestamped below).

I’m still not sure I have a good grasp on the combat system, but it seems interesting.

Now, it’s being developed by UnitePlus, which wasn’t a name that was familiar to me, but after looking around a little, I found out UnitePlus was the result of a merger between Aquria (The Caligula Effect, among others) and APlus (some of the Kunio-kun/River City games). It’s funny, when I read the timeline thing, the first thing I thought of was The Caligula Effect, which had you project future attacks and then let them play out in real time, so this feels like it has some similar ideas.

Overall, I’m really intrigued by this game. And not only does it look great, but it’s not too far away! It will be out on… September 24. Because of course it will.

What do you think about Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow?

Muv-Luv: Tactics Will Be Out in 2027, But…

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Jun 242026
 

There’s good news and bad news.

The good news: Muv-Luv Tactics, which had an early access release for its crowdfunding campaign backers last year, now has a window for its full release.

Muv-Luv Tactics – Kalidasa at Nightmare will be out on PC in 2027, with English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese language options.

It’s a tactical RPG that tells a new story of humanity’s fight against the BETA, with no prior series knowledge needed. As an RPG fan and a Muv-Luv fan, I was pretty excited for it!

The bad news: after seeing its trailer and screenshots, some fans began to asks if certain pieces of art were AI generated, and it’s unfortunately looking like the answer is yes.

Now, the Steam page doesn’t have any AI disclosure on it, at least not yet, but people confirmed the early access version used AI generated art for minor pilot characters.

And on top of that, someone linked to the Campfire page for the crowdfunding campaign, where it says openly that the supporter characters based on backers would use a combination of hand-drawn art and AI image generation for their portraits.

So there we have it. I was so excited when I saw the announcement, and then my hopes plummeted. I should have been keeping a closer eye on stuff about Tactics so I’d have known about this beforehand.

Well, for once my slow progression through my backlog worked in my favor. I still have to play Total Eclipse, after all. That will give me some Muv-Luv to occupy myself with while I recover from the disappointment of no longer being nearly as interested in Muv-Luv Tactics.

How Did I Miss News of a Death Mark Reboot?

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Jun 222026
 

That’s it, that’s the big question. Death Mark got a reboot announced, and I somehow remained oblivious to it for over a year.

I absolutely loved Death Mark, the ghost-hunting adventure game that kicked off the Spirit Hunter series.

Two years after beating it, I played and reviewed the second game in the series, NG, and two years after that, I played and reviewed the third game, Death Mark II (one of my favorites for confusing names).

The other day I happened to look it up after someone asked about games with creepy doll characters, and what did I see but news about a Death Mark reboot from last year.

It seems that in May 2025, a reboot of the first game was announced in a live stream. A few months later, in August, the developers ran a successful crowdfunding campaign via Campfire. I’m not sure how I missed both of these events, but the news completely passed me by.

Now, I have mixed feelings about a Death Mark reboot. On one hand, it’s exciting that they’re still working on the series, even if it’s not an all-new game, and I’d like to see what a revamped Death Mark will be like. On the other hand, the first game is by far my favorite of the three, with each sequel toning down the scares even more, so I’m afraid a reboot might be more in line with those and lose some of what made the original so great.

But I’ll still probably play it if it comes out here, so we’ll see.

What are your thoughts on Death Mark getting a reboot?

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