An arid wasteland. A city in perpetual darkness. The first two regions you come across in Tales Of Arise – Calaglia and Cyslodia respectively – aren’t the sort you’d put in a brochure to attract visitors. As the first entry in the Tales series to be developed using Unreal Engine 4, you might have expected a bolder splash in the visual department from the off, especially as a cross-gen release. But there’s a very good reason why this particular tale should begin in such oppressive environments: Bandai Namco Studios isn’t simply out to reinvigorate the series for a wider audience, but to tell one of its boldest stories to date.