A good weapon is always necessary, but as someone once said, it can cut both ways. When you’re in that kind of scenario and there’s nothing left to do, it’s time for the the Beast Possession System. This system is only available once the player reaches level 23 but, once that goal has been achieved, it can be a powerful equalizer on the battlefield. The primary ingredients for the Beast Possession System are called ’Pieces of Possession,’ collected from certain monsters, that can be used to select a certain monster to transform into at the end of a very long quest. Unfortunately, if you want more than one monster in your arsenal, or if the one you already have is killed off, you have to repeat the quest chain over again and collect more PoPs.

Finally, there is the DNA System, which acts as Requiem’s character upgrade system and is a colorful splash of science fiction in a game otherwise occupied by the fantasy horror genre. The basic function of this program is to increase character abilities, or to reduce the specific racial or class powers, by filling five DNA slots. This is done by approaching a specific NPC and utilizing certain objects that are specific to certain classes and types. If I have a magic user, for example, I can use the DNA System to lower the amount of MP needed for them to cast spells, increase the effectiveness of healing spells, or many other things dependent on their current level and job class. Also, when all five slots are filled a special Hidden DNA will be made available and will be different things depending on the character. If the player eventually becomes dissatisfied with the current DNA arrangement, it can always be altered but in that instance the player will have to fork over a fee for the privilege.

What is also surprising about the game is the number of races and classes available: specifically, how few of them there are. It is true that some games only feature one playable race (Tabula Rasa, for instance, only allows you to play as a human soldier) but this is usually compensated for by the presence of a wide variety of job types to undertake. Here in Requiem: Bloodymare, there are only three races to choose from and of these three, each has only a two-tiered job tree. If you pick the Kruxena, for instance, you have the option of starting out as a Rogue or Soul Hunter, but after you have made your selection, you only have one other final job you can select for your character: either a Shadow Runner or Assassin for the Rogue class or a Defiler or Domninator for the Soul Hunter class. Upward mobility comes to a halt pretty fast here.