Nexon officially pulled back the curtain on Project RX at the Tokyo Game Show this week, revealing the game's real name: Fareidolia. The title, developed by RX Studio (the team behind Blue Archive), made its playable debut at the show, and the demo drew long queues from curious attendees.
Fareidolia doesn't have a release date yet, but the TGS demo gave a solid first look at what RX Studio has been building. The game runs on Unreal Engine 5 and blends life-simulation content with combat sequences that feel genuinely different from most RPGs on the market right now.
Use code TRYHARD33 at checkout to redeem this offer before code expires again.
Get 33% Off GAMES+ Subscription
A combat system that doesn't fit the usual mold
The demo dropped players into a warped, twisting library environment, fighting ghostly enemies through a series of escalating encounters. The final stretch pitted players against mirrored versions of their own characters, which is a clever way to stress-test how well you've actually learned the mechanics.
Here's the thing: Fareidolia's combat isn't straightforwardly real-time, and it isn't turn-based either. It sits somewhere between the two. Enemies and your Mates move around the arena dynamically, but you still have deliberate choices to make on each turn: direct attacks, area targeting for groups, support abilities to buff allies, or healing skills to keep your team standing. The result feels more active than a traditional JRPG but more considered than an action game.
The visuals during combat land well. Ability effects are sharp and readable without turning into visual noise, which is a problem plenty of games in this genre struggle with.
The Mates: who you're actually playing with
Fareidolia centers on four characters called Mates, each with their own personality, abilities, and fighting style. Three have been detailed so far:
- Minie: An explorer driven by the pursuit of adventure.
- Ohana: A self-proclaimed genius who positions herself as an all-rounder.
- Shami: A cat-eared girl perpetually short on cash.
All three inhabit the Twilight Mansion, and the game's story follows them as they discover and develop their special powers together. The TGS booth even had an interactive element where attendees could challenge Shami to a game of rock, paper, scissors, which is a low-key charming way to introduce a character before the game is even out.
The humor and narrative tone came through even without understanding the dialogue. There's clearly a personality to this game that goes beyond the combat.
What Fareidolia needs to prove before launch
RX Studio has a strong pedigree with Blue Archive, and Fareidolia looks like a serious attempt to build something new rather than iterate on what already worked. The combat system is the most interesting piece here: if RX Studio can keep that hybrid real-time and turn-based structure feeling fresh across a full game rather than just a polished demo, Fareidolia could stand out in a crowded field of anime-adjacent RPGs.
No release date has been confirmed, and platform details remain sparse. What's clear is that Nexon is treating this as a major release, not a side project. The TGS presence and the hour-plus queues suggest there's genuine appetite for it.
For more on Planet X and other upcoming titles worth tracking, keep an eye on the latest coverage here. If you want to get ahead on strategy before launch, the Planet X guides are a good place to start building your knowledge base, and the broader gaming guides hub covers everything else you might need across the rest of your library.
