Seriously, if you haven’t played Quartet yet, now is the perfect time to dive in! The year 2025 has truly spoiled turn-based combat enthusiasts with an impressive lineup of both classic and groundbreaking JRPGs. We’ve seen exciting new titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Digimon Story Time Stranger, and the fantastic Sea of Stars DLC, Throes of the Watchmaker. Beloved classics have also made a grand return, including Final Fantasy Tactics, Dragon Quest 3 (with DQ1+2 on the horizon), and Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. Amidst this incredible landscape, Quartet deserves your attention, and its recent update provides an excellent reason to celebrate it.
Reflecting on Sea of Stars, my admiration for it only grows, particularly with its superb free expansion released earlier this year. While I’m still exploring all that Quartet has to offer, I’m already captivated by the profound passion for the JRPG genre woven into every single pixel. Developer Something Classic has truly mastered the art of creating compelling turn-based RPGs since their first hit, Shadows of Adam, and Quartet stands as their most impressive achievement to date, excelling in gameplay mechanics, visual artistry, and storytelling.
Quartet proudly displays its influences from legendary classics like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, yet it brilliantly incorporates the flexible narrative style of Octopath Traveler. The adventure kicks off with four distinct storylines, allowing players to choose their own order of progression. As these individual journeys intertwine, you’ll assemble a formidable party of eight, and this is where Quartet’s innovative combat system truly comes alive.
In battle, you deploy four characters simultaneously, but your reserve members are far from inactive. You can seamlessly swap them into the fray for an immediate attack, a strategy highly encouraged as benched characters recover their action points more quickly. The game features a dynamic turn queue reminiscent of Final Fantasy X, a welcome return for fans of strategic combat, alongside a rich system of elemental weaknesses waiting to be discovered and exploited.
Beyond its engaging combat, exploration in Quartet is a treat for the eyes, with breathtaking environments that hide countless secrets and treasures for diligent adventurers. The character and enemy designs beautifully blend classic ’90s aesthetics with a refined modern touch, while the captivating music perfectly sets the emotional landscape. The main story offers a substantial 20-30 hours of gameplay, and even before reaching its climax, I find myself completely engrossed, eagerly anticipating its conclusion.
The recently launched Quartet update 1.2 brings exciting new content, including two major features and several quality-of-life additions. Players can look forward to a whimsical new sheep-stacking minigame in chapter 11, alongside a challenging bonus optional dungeon. This new area, “The Cave of the Mighty Javelin,” becomes accessible after completing Agata’s unique side quest. Prepare for a race against time and formidable foes within its depths, as powerful gear awaits those brave enough to conquer its trials.
Further enhancing the gameplay experience, this update adds a convenient auto-save feature, activating whenever you utilize a heal point or enter a new map region. Players can now enable ‘battle cursor memory’ to recall their last chosen action and ‘battle party memory’ to automatically reset to their preferred team setup after each engagement. For card game enthusiasts, opponents are now more intelligent, offering an additional reward upon defeating all challenges. Additionally, a previously missable item in Jerome’s side quest can now be retrieved by simply revisiting its original location.
Quartet update 1.2 is available now! You can find the full game on Steam for $19.99 / £15.99. Even better, a free demo is available for download, so there’s absolutely no reason not to give this fantastic JRPG a try.
Optimized for portable play, Quartet is also Steam Deck verified. If you enjoy a trip down memory lane, explore some of the best classic PC games that are still incredibly fun to play today.
Are you currently immersed in Quartet, or do you have another hidden gem you’re eager to recommend? We’d love to hear about it!