It’s hard not to be skeptical when another free-to-play anime RPG shows up. Most of them know how to make an immediate impression through flashy trailers, attractive characters, and large explorable worlds, but far fewer stay interesting once the opening hours give way to daily systems and grind. That was the mindset I brought into my hands-on session with Silver Palace at Anime Expo 2026, and while thirty minutes wasn’t nearly enough time to judge something this ambitious, it gave me a much clearer sense of why Elementa’s latest project has been gaining attention.
My time with Silver Palace was brief, so I’m not about to make sweeping claims about the story, progression, or long-term structure. Still, I did get a decent look at the combat, spent some time moving through Silvernia, and came away with an idea of what this team is putting together. There are still major questions surrounding monetization and how much substance sits beneath the presentation, but as always with these kinds of games, I was having fun.
Setting, Character Design, and Combat
Silvernia was the first thing that stood out, as I wasn’t expecting the city to be so open. It combines Victorian architecture, industrial machinery, and Silverium-powered technology in a way that gives the setting a super cool identity. The streets, rooftops, and surrounding structures all support that visual direction, and the more extravagant parts of the game, including the weapons and magic, don’t clash with the design.
I’m admittedly an easy mark for Victorian-inspired character designs, so Silver Palace already had an advantage there. The cast wears long coats, too-tight military-style uniforms, elaborate dresses, and decorative hats that just look really cool. It also doesn’t hurt that the roster includes plenty of attractive characters, though it seems this game is taking a more modest approach with their designs, which is totally fine with me.
The combat introduced a different layer to the experience that I was expecting. If you’ve spent time with Zenless Zone Zero or Wuthering Waves, some of the fundamentals will look familiar, particularly the quick character swapping and the emphasis on staying aggressive. Combos move easily between party members, dodges respond quickly, and the action rarely asks you to pace yourself to deal the most damage.
Silver Palace does feel a bit heavier than Zenless Zone Zero, though, and I mean that in a good way. Attacks feel intentional, but the animation speed keeps encounters exceptionally aggressive. Swapping characters in the middle of a sequence didn’t interrupt the flow, and enemies all had decent telegraphs to parry or react. The on-screen action can get busy once special attacks start filling the arena with particles and bursts of color, but I never completely lost track of the enemy in front of me. That may sound like a small point, yet I always find these games lean hard into spectacle to account for low player skill.
The build I played wasn’t especially difficult, so I can’t say how the combat holds up against more demanding bosses or enemies that punish sloppy play. Still, I caught myself looking for another group of enemies once each encounter ended, which is usually a good sign that an action system is doing something right.
Traversal, Detective Systems, and Final Impressions
I had less time to explore, though what I saw of traversal made a good impression. The grappling mechanic lets you reach rooftops and elevated platforms quickly, and it helps Silvernia feel like a city designed for vertical movement with multiple options to move quickly through the world. It isn’t as freeform as a game built entirely around traversal, but it speeds up movement and keeps the city from feeling restrictive.
The detective angle also deserves more attention than I was able to give it during the session. Silver Palace isn’t presenting itself as an action RPG where combat carries the entire experience. Investigations, side activities, environmental interactions, and smaller city events are supposed to support the larger structure, and those systems may end up being the part that gives the game real staying power.
My demo leaned heavily toward battles, so I only got a limited sense of how investigation works moment to moment. So, as you can probably guess, it’s the biggest thing I still want to see. Fast combat and cute characters can get me through the door, but I wanna see those detective systems.
A short vertical slice of a game is designed to show it at its best, so I’m keeping my expectations under control. The upcoming Dichotomy Beta Test, which runs from July 22 through August 12, should give players a better sense of how combat, investigation, exploration, and progression hold together over a longer session, but we’ll be sure to visit the game closer to its official launch.
I left the booth wishing I had another half hour with Silver Palace. The combat was fast and satisfying, Silvernia was a city I immediately wanted to spend more time in, and the Victorian-inspired cast gave the game more personality than I expected. There’s still plenty left to prove, especially with the free-to-play model hanging over the larger experience, but after Anime Expo, this is one I’m genuinely interested in following. A release date has not been announced at the time of writing.
