Reverse: 1999

Reverse: 1999^[a] is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Bluepoch.^[1] The game has been available in Mainland China since May 31, 2023^[2] and was released globally on October 26, 2023.

The game takes place in a universe where a form of magic called Arcanum exists, and humans exist alongside arcanists, a race of individuals often discriminated against and perceived as "sub-human", who can use Arcanum. On the last day of the year 1999, concurrently with the millennium crash, a mysterious phenomenon simply known as "the Storm" caused different eras in time to shift backward and forward between the 1900s, and people and objects from the affected era to disappear - this is referred to as being "reversed". In this world, two main factions fight a shadow war over control of the world's history. On one side: the St. Pavlov Foundation, a massive public organization with several branch offices across the globe, which seeks to study and control Arcanists for the benefit of humanity, and to find a way to counteract the effects of the Storm. On the other side: an Arcanist-supremacist group called Manus Vindictae, led by a mysterious woman named Arcana. Manus Vindictae uses their agents to manipulate influential events throughout the world's history to accelerate the coming of the Storm, with a goal of recreating the world in their image where only pure-blooded Arcanists will thrive.

The Storm is able to reverse humans and arcanists. Arcanists have an easier time being sheltered from it than humans, who can only make it through under specific circumstances or in specific "safe" places like the St. Pavlov Foundation.^[3] The Storm is also preceded by a mysterious illness known as the Storm Syndrome approximately 24 hours before its arrival, causing humans to experience severe hallucinations and delusions that are directly tied to themes relevant to the era, such as perceiving money as food, developing a strong desire for war, and so on. As a result, time does not progress beyond the year 1999 and different eras throughout history will disappear, then later reappear in a more unstable state. The speed at which the Storm arrives depends on how much social unrest exists at the time; events such as assassinations of political figures, economic recessions, and wars will increase the speed at which the Storm takes effect and the severity of the Storm Syndrome.

The player controls Vertin the Timekeeper, an arcanist from the St. Pavlov Foundation and the only person known to be naturally immune to the Storm. Vertin also possesses a nixie tube watch that alerts her when the Storm is 24 hours away, as well as a suitcase that, much like the TARDIS in Doctor Who, has much more space on the inside than its external appearance would suggest. As she can thus experience the Storm and its effects unharmed, Vertin and her team work throughout different eras of history to prevent the Manus from exploiting the Storm, and to investigate clues on how to prevent the phenomenon.^[4]

Reverse: 1999 is a strategy role-playing video game with turn-based battles with combat designed around a card shuffling mechanics to cast incantations.^[5] Players will be able to select up to four Arcanists that they own to take into battle with them. The Arcanists each have unique passive skills, two Incantation cards, and one Ultimate card that they will be able to use in battle. In addition, players can equip and build each Arcanist with a "Psychube" for additional benefits, or upgrade their "Resonance" to improve certain statistics.^[6][7]

Once in battle, the player will start with a hand of 7–8 Incantation cards to choose from, and can play as many cards in a turn as there are active friendly Arcanists on the field. Once their turn is done and both sides have played their cards, the player gains extra cards at random from their Arcanists' combined deck. Each card ranges from one to three star-level, and players can upgrade incantations by merging the same cards together, increasing the damage they do, the amount of "Moxie" the respective Arcanist gains from their use, and sometimes unlocking extra effects.^[8][9] When a character gains enough Moxie, they will automatically be granted an opportunity to unleash their Ultimate skill. However, this applies to enemy units as well.

Outside of combat, players have a chance to build their own "Wilderness," an island within Vertin's suitcase made up of hexagonal pieces taken from various sets. Here, players can gain a small amount of free base level-up resources, as well as customize the Wilderness to their liking, limited only by the sets that they have unlocked for placement and a certain maximum number of tiles.

The game's first beta test began on January 7, 2022, and the second began on June 10, 2022.^[10] On March 23, 2023, Reverse: 1999 was granted an ISBN, which means a permission for its official release in mainland China. The game started a third beta test on April 14^[11] before officially released in China on May 31, 2023. The Official Global Reveal Trailer was released on July 21, 2023.^[12] The global version beta test ran from August 4 to 13, 2023, and the game rolled out fully on October 26, 2023.^[13]

On 17 October 2023, Reverse: 1999 surpassed 1 million pre-registrations prior to its global release.^[14][15]

Reverse: 1999 garnered a "strong positive reception", with praise towards its voice acting, character design, artstyle, and story.^[16] Reviewing the game's global version at launch, one critic stated that the game's English localization dampened the experience.^[17] Another critic, reviewing the global beta, wrote that "the way it presents its story is absolutely baffling".^[9]

In the first month after its global launch, Reverse: 1999 earned approximately $4.5 million USD in net revenue.^[18] One year after its global launch, Reverse: 1999 had earned $98.7 million USD in gross mobile revenue.^[19]

• Torres, Josh. "Reverse: 1999 Interview - crafting a mind-bending time traveling tale with eye-catching character designs". www.rpgsite.net. Retrieved January 20, 2026.

• Official website