Lie of Caelum: Spirit recently bagged more than $100,000 in extra Kickstarter funds on the back of stellar art and music, and the promise of a “PSX-style sci-fi mecha JRPG” that was “inspired by Xenogears and Phantasy Star.” This all sounds well and good, but my gast wasn’t truly flabbered until I learned that this 3D mech game was made in RPG Maker.
I don’t know if you’ve ever played an RPG Maker game, but they don’t normally look like this:
Already listed on Steam, Lie of Caelum: Spirit was made with RPG Maker MZ, the 2020 version of the storied game maker. Exactly how it was made, I couldn’t tell you. I’m right alongside this Twitter user reacting to the news: “3D mech combat in RPG maker????? God’s strongest programmer.”
“I want to see your face when I tell you this was made in RPG Maker MZ,” Lie of Caelium: Spirit developer Classi5ed says in an older tweet showing off 3D open-world exploration both in and out of a mech suit, with seamless transitioning between those two forms. A video on Kickstarter shows off even faster mech movement in a racing minigame. There’s also a card game and fishing minigame, making this a true JRPG.
RPG Maker MZ games tend to be flatter, simpler, and more static than this. “Making an RPG is as easy as putting in the stats for your heroes and villains, drawing up some maps, and using a simple eventing system to drive the story to its finale!” the engine’s Steam page reads. And that’s pretty accurate. For most users, the appeal of RPG Maker is the ability to dive in and start making a real, playable game without needing the sort of technical skill normally associated with game dev. Lie of Caelum: Spirit is showing us what it can do if you also have that technical skill.
This detail is barely touched on in the Kickstarter campaign for the game, which asked for $34,000 and drew over $147,000. “60+ hours of main campaign. 20+ hours of meaningful side content. Multiple arcs that get deeper into the main cast’s identities, philosophy, and conspiracies surrounding Caelum,” it promises.
All of this is actually an evolved version of Lie of Caelum, a smaller, free game released on Steam by Classi5ed in 2022. It’s primitive in comparison, but you can see the early seeds of what Lie of Caelum: Spirit would become: an extremely promising RPG that grabbed me in under a minute.
Lie of Caelum: Spirit is currently only listed on Steam, but it smashed a Kickstarter stretch goal for Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox ports. It’s also apparently coming to GOG.