Arc System Works is giving players a closer look at Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow, and its latest gameplay trailer makes one thing clear: this isn’t your typical tactical RPG. The upcoming title is built around a distinctive Timeline combat system that asks players to read enemy attacks, react with perfectly timed counters, and turn those defensive moves into opportunities for devastating offence.
Scheduled to launch September 24, 2026, Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow takes players into a nightmarish version of Tokyo following an event known as the World Collapse. Reality is beginning to unravel, grotesque creatures called Anomalies are running rampant, and something much darker appears to be spreading through the city’s population.
The story follows Soma Hoshigami, a young man working as a part-time courier whose life takes a horrifying turn when he is attacked by an Anomaly. The encounter leaves him in a “Half-turned” state, caught between human and monster. He is subsequently taken into custody as “Lost Property” by Rena Hizuki, an investigator with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Safety Bureau.
What begins with Soma’s transformation soon leads the pair into a much larger mystery. A dangerous drug known as Tiny True is flooding the streets, strange markings called Stigmas are appearing on young people and causing their flesh to deteriorate, and a mysterious cult is working from the shadows. Rena and Soma will have to follow the clues while fighting the Anomalies threatening what remains of their world.
The game’s combat is where things get particularly interesting. Despite appearances, Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow isn’t an action RPG. Instead, it uses command-based mechanics built around a constantly moving Timeline that displays both player and enemy actions.
That Timeline sits in the centre of the screen, with actions moving toward the middle to indicate when they will activate. Enemy attacks and player abilities can appear in multiple layers, forcing players to watch the battlefield closely and determine which actions need to be answered and when.
The main defensive tool is the Counter Skill. These abilities are divided into three colours: red, blue and yellow. When an enemy attack appears on the Timeline, players can match it with a Counter Skill of the same colour to trigger a counter.
At lower difficulty levels, this system should be relatively straightforward, allowing players to focus on matching counters and enjoying the satisfaction of knocking enemies around. Things become considerably more complicated at higher difficulties, however, as enemies begin combining attacks in ways that cannot simply be answered with a single counter.
That’s where Rena and Soma come into play.
Players can switch between the two protagonists during battle and make use of a variety of support skills alongside their offensive abilities. These include effects that can increase attack speed, restore resources and otherwise alter the flow of combat. More skills are unlocked as the story progresses through the Relationship Chart, allowing players to create combinations tailored to their preferred playstyle.
Cooldown management also becomes an important part of the system. Counter Skills are more effective when their cooldowns have fully recovered, while using an ability before it is ready results in reduced damage and a smaller counter window. That means simply throwing out the correct colour won’t always be enough. Players will need to think about their skill rotation and decide when the best opportunity to counter is actually going to appear.
Some enemy attacks take the system even further by requiring both protagonists to counter them. These Buddy Counters can have additional requirements, including the need for fully recovered attack skills. Certain combinations can also produce special effects when Rena and Soma perform their counters in succession, adding another reason to pay attention to which character is being used at any given moment.
Successfully countering weaker enemies can also send them flying, opening the door to aerial follow-up attacks. Either protagonist can perform these attacks once the enemy comes back down, allowing players to switch between Rena and Soma to keep the pressure on.
Then there are the enemies with Down Gauges.
Landing successful counters gradually drains this gauge, and once an enemy is downed, every attack against it becomes a critical hit. This creates a brief window where players can unload as much damage as possible before the enemy gets back on its feet.
Players who build their characters around critical damage can make these moments even more powerful through passive abilities and support skills. Once the enemy is close to recovering, the sequence can be capped off with a Secret Art, a powerful special attack designed to deliver a massive finishing blow.
Rena has access to a Secret Art from the beginning, while Soma will eventually unlock his own as the story progresses. Developing both characters and learning how to combine their abilities will therefore be an important part of mastering the game’s more demanding encounters.
Combat isn’t the only system getting some attention in the latest details. Story progression is tied to a map of Tokyo, with players selecting different locations to investigate. What happens can change depending on both the destination and the time, meaning players will need to consider where they go as they attempt to uncover the truth behind the Anomalies.
The entire story will also be fully voiced, helping sell the game’s bleak vision of a city where reality itself is coming apart.
There is even a little mystery hunting built into the game’s progression through Mystic Passes. Certain skills are locked behind passwords that can be obtained through the game’s in-world social media system or discovered randomly after battles. These passwords are deliberately difficult to uncover, encouraging players to share their discoveries and work together to find them.
Alongside the new gameplay information, Arc System Works has confirmed additional content for players who pick up the game early. Physical pre-orders and early digital purchases will include the “Voidfall” extra battle, three additional skins for each character, and 16 high-difficulty battles available from launch.
With its bizarre setting, investigation-driven story and combat system built around reading a Timeline rather than simply hammering attack commands, Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is carving out a distinctive identity. The combination of colour-coded counters, cooldown management, character switching and perfectly timed attacks could make battles increasingly strategic as players move deeper into Tokyo’s collapsing reality.
Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow launches September 24, 2026, giving players a chance to step into a corrupted Tokyo and discover exactly what is behind the world’s transformation.