One of the most surprising announcements from E3 and Nintendo’s Direct was The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, which is based on the upcoming Netflix TV prequel series.

Being developer by BonusXP in partnership with Netflix and the Jim Henson Company, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics (AORT) will take you somewhat through the story of the upcoming Netflix series but with the ability to bring in characters differently then what appears in that particular moment in the show. So it’s your typical movie/tv adaptation in that department.

What’s most interesting about AORT, even if you’re not a fan of The Dark Crystal, is that it’s an old-school tactics game, and by old-school I mean like Final Fantasy Tactics old-school.

During Nintendo’s E3 Treehouse Live event we got a better look at the game and as a big fan of Final Fantasy Tactics, I’m super excited with what was shown. It was pointed out several times that the game is still in development as elements weren’t finished like levels opening cutscenes, UI roughness, a slight AI bug and the developers are still discussing if the final product will feature more detailed lightbox backgrounds — which is apparently a huge debate within the studio at the moment. But the gameplay is here, and that’s what is most interesting.

It’s turn-based tactical combat like FF: Tactics or Tactics Ogre and there will be several different characters and classes you can play with upon release. The gameplay only shows off three of these, but shows one of the characters is able to switch between two different classes. Switching your class up before a level begins will be a heavy part of the combat too as it opens up new abilities. The exampled used in the gameplay video was getting the ability to fly on a level that has you beginning at a vantage point over the enemies already.

Although not a finished produced I was really enjoying the animation on the characters and the level design that we see in the levels shown. There are multiple different ways to go about a level with different paths and sections, with ranged and close-combat characters also changing how you’ll have to be strategic in your actions.

It’d be rude not to mention the music, which was great. I’m not sure if it’s from the movie, the upcoming show, or made for the game — or even representative of the final product — but it was good.

The gameplay shown was special levels made for the demo as to not spoil the upcoming story in the Netflix series, so it’s 100% safe for fans to watch. Check it out below.