Cladun is a series that originated on the PSP that used old-school pixel aesthetics to give a lot of customization to created characters. I will admit I did not know much about the series until we got an announcement for Cladun X3. I was excited to see how this series is from Nippon Ichi Software!
Game Name: Cladun X3
Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch, PC
Developer(s): Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Publisher(s): NIS America
Release Date: September 26th, 2025
Price: $39.99
Your created character is summoned to take part in a death game with the villains of the world. Your character is a villain, supposedly, and must defeat other villains and challenges in the story. You do get to meet some wacky characters in this game. You get to create characters for your party.
The Good
I love the pixel art design of the world and all the characters. I love the colors and aesthetics of the hub. I also love how much personality the text and dialogue show with these villains. Each character you meet has a fun and sometimes hilarious backstory that turned them into villains. There is a lot of charm in Cladun X3, and they implement the pixel art work magnificently.
There is a lot to do in the game. Not only do you have the normal dungeons in the game, but also Ran-geons that add a lot of replayability, and it also helps with grinding. Combat feels good, and you have a lot of control over your character regardless of the class that you choose.
The customization in Cladun X3 is amazing. They give you a pixel-by-pixel editor for all pieces of armor, swords, animations, and characters. I will admit I wasn’t the greatest at deciding what I wanted to make because I think pixel creation is far different than sprite creation. With the system in place in Cladun X3, you could make a lot of variety of characters and armors, and shields. I think it will be amazing to see what creations more talented artists than I will make.
Even if you are not a good artist, there are some presets that are selectable. All of these pixel character choices are solid, and some even have pretty unique armor designs.
The Bad
Cladun X3 throws a lot at you. The editor, the magic circle system, the different dungeon types, the story, and even shops to buy and sell items. Within the first hour, I had access to pretty much everything this game had to offer, and it was a lot. The game throws you 20 pages worth of tutorial on almost all the systems in place, and even with reading everything, I didn’t feel comfortable making changes until after making a few prototype projects I made up myself. There isn’t a good tutorial system in place if you are unsure how everything works.
There are a lot of traps in the later areas of the game, and it feels like you have to be pixel-perfect to not die. This is a tough game and it’s not for the easily frustrated. Luckily, making new characters with new play styles is an option, and I changed from ranger to swordsman pretty early on, but went back to ranger once I understood more about how the game functions, and it still feels tougher than I was expecting.
Cladun X3 has a lot of systems and a big emphasis on community. There are community places to share dungeons, character models, item models, and other customized content. Ordinarily, I would find this just fine, but in my time with the game, it wasn’t live and didn’t have any developer-designed content to give us a feel for how this system would work. It is very reliant on how the community receives this title. It could be bare bones, or it could be a place to thrive. I won’t be able to tell until the servers go live on launch.
The Verdict
Cladun X3, I think, is a creative endeavor that will put pixel creator game fans in a good spot. I do like how it plays, even if the systems are hard to understand and engage with at first. I love pixel art and how retro these models look. If you are interested in a pixel game that will give you a lot to do, then this is one to try out.
Cladun X3 is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Review Disclosure Statement: Cladun X3 was provided to us by NIS America for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.
Affiliate Link Disclosure: One or more of the links above contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission should you click through and purchase the item.
Summary
Cladun X3 is a pixel game that has a lot of charm and creativity. It can feel like it throws a lot at you, but at the end of the day, it is a fun and adventurous time.
Pros
- Controls well
- Lots of creation content
- Lots of content to play and replay
Cons
- Tutorials are not helpful
- Difficult traps in dungeon areas
