Children of Zodiarcs is a story-driven, tactical RPG set in the fantasy realm of Lumus; a world divided by affluence and poverty. The game utilizes a deck-and-dice-based combat system; the player has both a deck of actions they can take as well as modifiable dice, which are rolled after playing an ability card in order to add bonuses such as recovery and extra offence.
The game's story focuses on Nahmi, a member of a group of young professional thieves on the trail of an ancient relic. The group infiltrates the glittering halls of a corrupt noble’s private chambers in pursuit of their target, narrowly escaping the wrath of the city guards at every turn. Desperate to find an escape, they seek refuge in the city’s seamy slums and brave the sunless pits of the underworld. Out to get them are heavily armed city guards, rival gangs and psychotic families of subterranean cannibals. Abandoned by the system and used by selfish criminals, these young companions will be forced to come to terms with their own reality. But be warned - in the world of Children of Zodiarcs, no one escapes unscathed!
This game uses the following Tropes:
- Artifact Domination: It's implied that using the Zodiarcs impacts the emotional stability of the people who wield them - inflaming their passions to a dangerous level.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: In the finale, Nahmi chooses to spare Zirchhoff, because he taught her everything he knows.
- Bittersweet Ending: Nahmi and Xero escape the city, and the illustrations in the credits show they eventually make it to the coast. But nearly everyone else dies.
- Crapsack World: Lumus is a terrible place to live in by most standards. Even if you're one of the richest, most powerful people in the city, you're liable to be robbed or even killed by murderous gangs coming out of the sewers. Everyone else has it much, much worse.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Towards the end, Nahmi and Brice have an argument over whether or not to sell Xero in order to fund their escape from Lumus. This leads directly to Brice's death at Nahmi's hands, to stop Brice from selling them out.
- Gory Discretion Shot: When Lord Zulta meets his end at Zirchoff's hands, the screen goes white instead of showing the killing blow.
- Psychoactive Powers: The Zodiarcs are said to be powered by the emotions of their wielders.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Brice does not think highly of Xero, to the point that Nahmi NOT wanting to sell him to cultists to afford a way out of Lumus is considered a betrayal worth selling her out for.
- Would Hurt a Child: Pretty much everyone. Part of the horror of Lumus is that nobody (except Xero) worries about the well-being of children.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Right after the battle in which you kill him, you unlock a side mission from Pester's perspective that shows he was seconds away from being escorted out of the city before that fight.
