In an era full of fantasy RPGs costing you an arm, a leg, and a severed head, a free alternative with major Sekiro vibes has emerged in the wildest place you could think of.
If you’re a fantasy RPG fan, you are feasting in 2026.
In fact, just this week we kicked off a string of huge releases in the genre with Onimusha: Way of the Sword (scoring a huge 8/10 in our review) and TheBlood of the Dawnwalker (which scored even more brilliantly with a 9/10 rating on our other page of words).
The latter of those, made by Rebel Wolves, is straight-up The Witcher 3 vibes thanks to a team full of former developers of the 2015 blockbuster title – speaking of which, an entire remaster and a free DLC are due in the coming months as Songs of the Pasttees up The Witcher 4. Fantasy, more fantasy, and even more fantasy.
And that’s all beforeThe Elder Scrolls 6…
Yet, aside from The Witcher being free for existing players who logged in over the last decade, these games are setting the bar around the £60 mark, which is a hefty fee considering how many options there are.
So, how about a free alternative?
Well, that’s where Aetheriacomes in.
Aetheria is a free fantasy RPG built in the strangest place
Most RPGs are hand-crafted in specialist engines. The Blood of the Dawnwalker has proven that Unreal Engine 5 is here for the long run, and Aetheriaconfirms it.
Only this title is made in Unreal Editor for Fortnite, the creative mode expansion where custom editors have long been making their own games using Epic Games’ tools.
While many UEFN players opted to build FPS game modes, others went much further and crafted their own fantasy realms, flush with custom combat mechanics, weapons, and quests. Originally called Anime RPG Tycoon, the game was developed by a team of two for three years, and continues to expand with a bigger team crafting new regions and characters.
“Aetheria is a custom open-world anime role-playing map, formerly titled Anime RPG Tycoon, that sees players complete quests, farm creatures for experience, unlock new biomes, and battle creatures with a custom melee combat system,” developer ‘CooliSushi’ said.
While originally the Fortniteinfluence was apparent, the team’s latest update and biome showcased a wild Sekiro-esque clip that was as far from Tomato Town as you could imagine.
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The project was even given the seal of approval from Epic Games co-founder Mark Rein, who quoted the tweet with the simple endorsement of “impressive!!”
Others continued the praise. One fan said, “I was already impressed with Aetheria – now you do this!”
A second added, “Woah. I’ve played your map before but this is a HUGE update.”
So far, Aetheriahas welcomed tens of thousands of players and continues to attract fresh faces.
In a time when developers are demanding £60 every week or so, this is a great change of pace.
You can find Aetheria for free in UEFN by searching this code: 1314-6986-8879.
Featured Image Credit: CooliSushi
