Destiny's Sword

Updated Aug 2023 Review (Original Review at Bottom) [b]TLDR - The concept for this game is unique and intriguing, but the execution is still struggling to live up to its potential and game-breaking bugs will force restarts. This game needs more work still.[/b] This updated review specifically applies to the August 2023 version of the game, the most recent patch. I was originally drawn in from the WIRED article and decided to stay since I wanted to see how the game would evolve if given the chance. The nature of the game can jokingly be called a PTSD-management game because the foundation of the game isn't about the combat it's about the people involved in the war, from making relationships to warning off kids to dealing with medical emergencies. The concept remains intriguing and with underdog spirit fueling it I really, really want to like this game enough to recommend it even in its current state. Unfortunately, in the current state I still cannot recommend it, because while the devs are still putting in the effort to make the game everything they hope for it to be it still needs major work. There are fewer game-breaking bugs now than there were before, but they are still present as you close in on the end of Chapter 1. The greatest offender happens during Mission 5, Shore Leave, with repeating dialogue cycles that never seem to end. At this point saving the game breaks the game, as trying to reload to this point causes an infinite loading screen. I cannot believe this was an intended design choice by the devs to prevent save-scumming. Beyond that point a lot of the commentary I provided in my previous review remains the same: there are still spelling errors, the game plays more like a visual novel on a mobile game than a PC game, the significance of armor choices and weapon choices is not spelled out even when it's significant, and the game still predominantly rewards the "be-sympathetic-to-everyone" approach given the intent of the game and its message. The problem with the purely sympathetic approach is that while sympathy is important being overly soft is not always the best way to get results. Talking is important, but sometimes individuals respond better to directness than kindness, and not everyone should respond well to the "nice" approach. On a tangential note, the SMALL TALK option should probably be removed from the game as it universally results in each squad member trying to duck out of the conversation, with the exact same text between them all. The experience has improved somewhat, but even still it is a flawed experience. Whether the devs intend it or not it is probably best to still approach this like a roleplaying game on a no-save playthrough, because even if you don't care about the story the game may break before you reach the end. My last note is directed to the devs in particular: please keep going. I realize that the game dev cycle is probably rough on your end, and I am eagerly awaiting the day I can recommend this to other people to play. ===== Original Review [b]TLDR - The concept for this game is unique and intriguing, but the execution hasn't lived up to the potential yet and game-breaking bugs prevent progression. I want to recommend this but can't yet.[/b] This review specifically applies to the version of the game as of Nov 15 2022, the most recent patch, and I foremost admit that the WIRED article about this game is what drew my attention to it in the first place. I really want to like this game, because the concept of managing the mental state of a squad in a way that XCOM (or any other video game) never did is intriguing, even if it's easy to jokingly refer to it as a PTSD management game. That's what the game is set out to be, however, teamed up with good artwork and a half-decent premise and held together by the glue of underdog spirit. That made me want to give it a chance. Unfortunately, like soldiers setting out for glory and coming home haunted, this game hit my library with lots of issues and needs to be sent back to the devs to get years of professional help. The biggest elephant in the room is game-breaking bugs: not necessarily uncommon for Early Access games but very jarring for a game this short and shallow. It is incredibly frustrating to nearly be at the end of the game, only to be unable to progress to completion because the "Dismiss" button stops working and then disappears. No less frustrating are the endless dialogue cycles with the crewmates, going back and forth to make sure everyone is squared away only to repeat statements from two missions ago. For those who care about how the game plays, the comparison has been made multiple times and holds accurate: this would be right at home on a mobile platform. Brief playtime, point-and-click interface, visual novel progression of events...you name it, this game has it, down to meaningless armor and weapon choices because no stats are given or consequences for using particular loadouts made visible, let alone clear. Nevermind the typos and spelling errors, either. While the game is billed as a squad management game (which is to say, you send squads out on missions and then manage their well-being when they come back) it fails to feel meaningful. The personality wheels do not appear to correspond to anything other than floating text, so it boils back to visual novel guidelines: make good choice and get good prize. In this case, "good" being "obviously most sympathetic" because it has been noted that the choices seem to be shallow and directed. This isn't to say it's an awful experience, just flawed. If you approach it like a roleplaying game and don't care about winning you might be surprised what kind of impact you have on your squad and the fictional corporation vs government vs revolutionary three-way war. There is a foundation to a beautiful game here, but it needs to let the concrete dry and start putting some walls and a roof before we even discuss the right way to paint and carpet. My earnest hope is that the devs secure some additional funding and manpower to make that happen, because I would love to finish this game one day. It just isn't going to be this day.

[h1] Красиво и починили [/h1] Текстовая игра с отличным оформлением. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2877164911 [h1] СЮЖЕТ [/h1] На некой планете разразились массовые беспорядки. Решено усмирить бунтовщиков военной силой. [h1] ГЕЙМПЛЕЙ [/h1] Игровой процесс представляет собой необычную визуальную новеллу. Под нашу команду попадают эти самые военные силы. Предстоит разными путями успокаивать бунтовщиков. Имеется что-то типа хаба откуда отправляем наших бойцов на задания. С NPC можно обильно вести диалоги, лучше узнавая их и местный мир. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2877165063 Рассмотрим плюсы и минусы игры, подведем итоги. [h1] ПЛЮСЫ: [/h1] + Красивая графика. + Хорошее музыкальное и звуковое сопровождение. + Интересный сюжет. [h1] МИНУСЫ: [/h1] - Нет русского языка текста. Требуемый уровень познаний английского языка - средне-высокий. Текста много и он сложненький. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2877164975 [h1] ВЫВОДЫ [/h1] Хорошая игра, но ей требуется русская локализация, иначе может быть тяжеловато вникнуть. [code] Если понравилось - жмите палец вверх и вступайте в группу [b][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/RunnerStreams]RunnerStreams[/url][/b], у нас здесь обзоры, конкурсы, актуальная информация о скидках на годноту, раздачах и прочее. Подпишитесь также на [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6851324/]куратора[/url][/b]. [/code] Всем хороших игр!

TLDR: This game is like Consortium, a solid concept and base but little more than a demo right now. I had/have high hopes for this game but at the moment I just cannot recommend it in good faith. Starting with the good, the game has a solid game play loop of debriefing your team, equipping them, and sending them on a new mission. The story is good, not at all a "combat" game, more like a choose your own novel. The real decisions are in the handling of your team, not combat tactics. As for the bad, well it just isn't done. I knew it was early access when I bought it but a 2 hour play though that doesn't even seem to get through the tutorial is not even a game yet. It is a demo. I will not be returning the game as I do genuinely think it has promise, but my advise to others is to wish-list/watch this title in hopes the finish.

This is definitely in early access, there's no denying that. There's plenty of bugs and a long way to go on seeing this completed. That said, I've followed this game since it was in it's early Kickstarter days when the game was but a premise still. The developers do care and give semi frequent updates, so I have high hopes this will actually come out of early access one day (which so many games never do, and for good reason). The first series of missions are the only ones currently available, and they are fairly easy to see the correct path through. I only made a mistake twice, and I will argue that one of them was was due to the actions poor word choice rather than me misunderstanding what approach to take. I hope, and expect, that future missions will become more convoluted where making the "good" choice doesn't always end with a "good" ending. The tutorial could also use a bit of a revamp as well since it doesn't tell you that you have a side missions tab to do some easter egg hunting at the command center or what/how the different traits your crew have influence them. For example, I still have no idea what "Surprise" means or what it could even effect. Apart from that I was very happy with how the gameplay was done. I know another review stated that this should be an IOS game, and while it does have some similar qualities the depth the game has for characters along with how big the game is currently planned to be would definitely fall outside a standard IOS title by a fair margin. I'll likely update this as more gets released. It should be noted that even for 15% off, I don't think the game is currently worth that price point because of the lack of currently available content. I would recommend only buying it now if you want to treat this early access game like an investment towards what the final product may be, rather than for it's current play-ability.

I kind of assumed this would have turn-based tactical combat, and it does not. Not at all their fault; I didn't look very closely before picking it up. What it does have is command decision-making, and managing the mental health and readiness of a small squad, which is quite interesting. I think the amount of info provided for each trooper might be excessive - their states have something like 20 to 30 "degrees of freedom" and it's not clear that our management options are granular enough to use all that even if we're able to remember it all. It feels unfinished (duh, it's Early Access) and I'm stopping early so I don't spoil the story for myself, but I think this will be a hoot when it's done and I'm glad they have my $ to help them keep working on it. [Request - if troopers' states are going to update after each mission, could you please throw in a bit of animation to help us see the changes? If you show me thirty sectors and then ten minutes later show me thirty slightly-different sectors, I'm not going to pick up on the differences unless something super drastic happened.]

What I liked about the game: [list] [*]Interesting concept. The story is intriguing and will keep you going. [*]Complex characters. Their personalities are distinct. This is probably my favorite aspect of the game. [*]The variety choices. The gameplay was somehow thought-provoking. I had many conflicting moments while playing, which is a good sign of a well-made game where choices truly matter. [/list] What I didn't like about the game: [list] [*]The grammatical errors and misspellings. For a visual-novel, I feel like this shouldn't be overlooked. (I took some photos of errors that are evident and I'm willing to send them to a dev, if they would [url=https://about.me/titoallenph]contact[/url] me). [*]While the choices are varied, I feel like it doesn't impact the story that much. The game is on its early access stage, but I hope they make multiple endings where significant choices would lead to different results. [*]I love how the characters are well-written and that they are given their individual personalities and identities. However, some dialogues were the exact thing, word-by-word, by different characters. I feel like it ruins their individuality. [/list] I'm willing to play this game again if there's enough content already. I hope some stuff would get fix and improved. I understand that the story and the setting is a bit serious, but I hope they also add more funny, comical, and climactic moments. I streamed the game on my channel and it honestly felt flat the entire time, except on the arrival of a certain animal—that was cute and wholesome. Lastly, I usually don't comment on a game's price and would just leave it to the dev/publisher's decision, but I can't help thinking that there are better games in this price range. Because to be honest, Destiny's Sword plays like a demo for now. [quote=author]I will edit this review if more content gets released and some stuff are fixed. Thank you to Asmo and Bonus Stage Publishing for providing me a review key of the game. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.[/quote]

Great concept, do not buy. This game has been abandoned for 4 or 5 years now. it is an unfinished single mission with about an hours worth of playtime. Really hope the devs decide to pick this one back up because it was a pretty unique idea. Sadly, they failed to execute it.

I really like the depth in the characters, and ability to track their individual emotional states! Their stories are relatable and believable, which is a refreshing change from many other games! I can't wait to find out what happens to the team next!

This is such a fun game! I've got to say, probably one of my all time favourites now! It has action, drama, adventure, fun and animals! I mean what's better than all that? This game had me sucked in to the world, I sat and played the whole way through in one sitting, i couldn't get enough. I need the next episode to come out so I can continue the adventure. These are such great characters with deep stories and personalities. This game has it all, the music, graphics and story line are fabulous and I am definitely obsessed! This is honestly just such a great game!!!

I haven't seen anything in this game that was promised in the trailer or blog post. so far it's a interactive novel. Not a great one. Choices don't seem to influence the story, only the relationship between characters. You can see a mile away what answer they want you to take (spoiler it's the one where you try to deescalate conflict peacefully) if this is suppose to be a MMO we are light years from a finish product.