Nearly ten years after its release, the line between “feels Mother-inspired” and “feels Undertale-inspired” is getting blurrier by the day. And nowhere is that fuzzy line harder to find than in the demo I played at PAX East for Tales of Tuscany. Developed by Nico Papalia (Athenian Rhapsody) and published by Top Hat Studios (Labyrinth Of The Demon King, Crypt Custodian), Tales of Tuscany has you playing as a cute little lamb called Lambypoo.
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After some quick tutorials by the somehow equal-parts-cute-and-threatening, globulous guide called Thunder Goober, you’re left to explore the strange world you find yourself in, and to fight the equally strange enemies within it.
If the game’s Steam page is indicative of anything, it’s that the demo really undersells just how wild the environments you’re going to see in this game are. As you might have already gathered, the look of the game — nay, its sense of humor and entire vibe — is aggressively reminiscent of Undertale, and by extension of that, the Mother trilogy. From its visual aesthetic to its quirky humor, everything about Tales of Tuscany just screams kooky.
It’s definitely not shy about saying that it’s here for the players who don’t mind a hefty helping of whimsy, or are otherwise in the mood for something on the more wacky and unserious side of things. And while some may see this as a feature, I could see others seeing it as a bug. The game’s style is so loud and overwhelming, screaming in every pixel, that I could see some prospective players feeling like the game is trying way too hard and thereby avoiding it entirely. Still, I think it gave the game plenty of flavor, so I didn’t mind it.
The combat itself, however, definitely feels like it could use some tightening up. The battles are turn-based, and between turns, you can often see some funny (if a bit repetitive) pieces of dialogue. In any case, attacks in the demo have you aiming at an enemy and then hitting them. All of this happens in a matter of seconds by way of two timed button pushes. The aim and timing just aren’t as precise as I’d like them to be, at least right now. It takes some getting used to, and even by the time I was done with the demo, I never felt like I fully got into a groove.
The full game isn’t scheduled for release until 2026, so I’m hoping that this is among the things that will be polished in time for the release. Similarly, I hope that there’s going to be more to the gameplay than aim and shoot. While I don’t mind JRPGs with timed button presses not too dissimilar from, say, Shadow Hearts (a game which, on the contrary, I love!), it’s going to need some manner of variety, or some other way to bring in some freshness, if it wants to avoid growing stale after a few hours. Though to be fair, there are other options in battle (React, Status, Items, Burst) that didn’t get much use in the demo, which could potentially add the zest I very much want to see in the full game.
Still, this demo had a lot of charm and left me curious to see what other manner of silly shenanigans Papalia has in store with this goofy little game. I know the idea of a game feeling inspired by Mother — or arguably another heavily Mother-inspired game — isn’t quite the novelty it used to be. Nonetheless, this game oozes personality, and especially for fans of the cartoonish and offbeat, it’s definitely one worth keeping an eye on.
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Tales of Tuscany is currently scheduled to release in 2026 on Steam