Masquerada trailer shows its pausable real-time RPG combat

I've always had a soft-spot for pausable real-time combat, thanks largely to an early obsession with the Infinity Engine. So it's good to see a game that isn't expressly an Infinity Engine successor—I'm talking about you, Pillars of Eternity—adopt the style over the more widely accepted turn-based brawling.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is an isometric-RPG set in the Venetian-inspired city of Ombre. "Masks unearthed from the ancient world give destructive magical powers to an elite few," explains the press release. "As civil war rages between the elitist Masquerada and the working-class Contadani, fey creatures start to spread mysteriously throughout the city, paving the way to a darker conspiracy."

The above trailer lets you see how destructive those magical powers can be. Masquerada is due out spring 2016, and will be available to try on the PAX Prime show floor on the weekend of August 28.

Note: Masquerada is published by Ysbyrd Games. Their 'business cat', Cassandra Khaw, occasionally writes for PC Gamer. She knows a good Thai place in Cologne.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.