The latest entry in Falcom's long-running Ys RPG series, Ys 10 Nordics, is finally here! I've only been able to scratch the surface of this grand adventure so far. Thus, a full review will come sometime later. However, at this point, I've played enough Ys 10 to answer many of the questions people interested in this game might ask. I've broken these down into general info, guidance for Ys newcomers, and details of interest to Ys veterans.

General Info

What is Ys 10 about?

Like most games in the series, Ys 10 Nordics is an action RPG set in an anime-style version of medieval Europe. In this entry, series protagonist, Adol, finds himself in the Obelia Gulf, the domain of the Vikings. While investigating sightings of demons and undead in the area, Adol inadvertently acquires the power of Mana; this new magical energy grants him the ability to slay the otherwise invincible unholy creatures invading the area.

The downside of Adol's new ability is that it binds him to another Mana user, Karja, a female Viking warrior. With a supernatural tether forcing the pair to stay within a few meters of each other, they must learn to work as a team to put down the demonic threat.

With a mysterious curse literally tying them together, Adol and Karja, teamwork is key.

Which platform do you recommend for this game?

Ys 10 Nordics is available on PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC. While according to Digital Foundry, all 3 console versions are viable choices, PC is still the best option. NIS America and their porting partners clearly put a lot of effort into the PC version of this game. On PC, the game has an extensive set of customization options and even includes a local co-op mode. This co-op mode is a PC-exclusive feature.

In my time with the game, it looks great on my desktop PC despite my somewhat outdated graphics card (AMD RX 580). I also took it for a spin on Steam Deck and it ran very smoothly with the default settings. Something else I tried is playing with the keyboard and mouse (KBM) controls. While I prefer playing Ys games with a controller, playing Ys 10 with KBM still felt surprisingly natural.

Music track info (upper right corner) is another PC-specific feature.

Info for Ys Newcomers

Can I start with this entry? What does the on-ramp look like?

Every game in Ys series is intended to be enjoyable as a stand-alone adventure. Ys 10 Nordics is no different. However, there are some characters and lore that carry over from one Ys game to the next. Conveniently for newcomers, Ys 10 takes place shortly after Ys 2. So if you want to jump right in with Ys 10, you haven't missed much of the overall story. For those who prefer to have more background knowledge, you could get caught up very quickly; Ys 1 & 2 are relatively short by RPG standards (15-20 hours for both games combined).

Note: If you want to know more about the Ys franchise, check out my explainer and starting points guide.

It's not essential information to play Ys 10, but if you want to know how Adol and Dogi met, you can play Ys 1 & 2 first.

How approachable is this game?

With 5 difficulty settings that you can swap between freely, Ys 10 Nordics can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. Additionally, if you get stuck on a boss battle but don't want to change difficulty levels, you can choose to weaken that particular enemy from the Game Over screen. This is a great option if you find yourself feeling frustrated and want to move on quickly. As a stubborn gamer who likes to start off playing on Hard mode, I find this feature especially useful.

There's no shame in switching to Easy mode if just want to find out what happens next in the story.

From a complexity standpoint, Ys 10 is a game with many layers of systems that may seem daunting to new players. Thankfully, the game introduces new mechanics individually spread out over the first several chapters. If a mechanic still seems unclear after it's introduced, there is a pretty thorough in-game instruction manual accessible from the menu screen.

“Weaken Enemies and Retry” is a very useful feature when you get stuck on a boss.

Answers for Ys Veterans

How does Ys 10 Nordics compare to older Ys games?

If you're a long-time Ys player, you'll know that some games in the series are tight action-focused affairs while others spend more time on world-building and character interactions. Ys 10 definitely falls more into that second group, similar to Ys 8 and 9. I like the characters and story so far; I've also been pretty happy with the English dub.

From an action standpoint, Ys 10 has proven to be tougher than 8 and 9. I played through Ys 9 on Hard and only saw the Game Over screen a few times (see my Ys 9 review for more detail). Ys 10‘s early-game bosses have proven to be much tougher in Hard mode; I've found that I really need to learn their patterns to succeed.

There are many factions to keep track of in the world of Ys.

What new stuff does Ys 10 bring to the table?

The most obvious new feature is being able to pilot a sailing ship. That's right, unlike in the previous 9 games, in Ys 10 Nordics Adol can travel by boat and manage not to crash it! Sailing allows the game world to span multiple islands and includes ship-to-ship combat. From what I've played so far, the ship gameplay is fairly simple but still fun.

At its surface, Ys 10‘s land-based combat looks like it would play similarly to the party-based battle systems used in the past several games. I've found that not to be the case. With only two playable characters (Adol and Karja), swapping between characters whenever HP or SP gets low and spamming abilities are not viable strategies. With Karja excelling at breaking enemies' shields and Adol being the quicker attacker, juggling the two characters tactically is crucial. In addition to having character-specific abilities (like Ys 8 and 9) there are also combo moves to consider that both characters execute together.

Overall, Ys 10 follows the general format of other modern Ys games but changes up the formula enough to feel fresher.

Knowing Adol's prior history with boats, Karja is taking a big risk here.

Closing Thoughts

I've been getting a lot of enjoyment out of Ys 10 Nordics so far and am excited to play more. Since there is a lot to explore in this game, my full review is still probably several weeks away. In the meantime, if you're still curious but undecided about Ys 10, be sure to check out the free demo on Steam. It covers the game's first few chapters and progress transfers to the full game.