Eldritch Lands: The Witch Queen's Eternal War

The gameplay for this is simple and fairly enjoyable. The difficulty is largely reasonable, though it could probably do with harder difficulties. The main reason for this is the game gets easier as you unlock and upgrade different units. Some portions of the game are too easy as well though, considering you're supposed to start from the easy campaign and work your way up as you upgrade. Another gripe I have is that grinding is required to fully upgrade everything. It's just tedious. Would've been better if you could unlock them (or at least the conversations) naturally. That said, the gameplay overall is enjoyable, but lacks enough complexity. Would've loved to see extra things like usable "god" abilities, reserve units (maybe a limited number of them instead of being infinitely summonable like front line units) or something. But that's not where Eldritch Lands shines. It truly shines in it's world building. Conversing with your units and reading lore entries is the big highlight of the game. I know I haven't written much on it, but it's been a while since I played it (and tbh there really isn't that much to say. It's just a really interesting world that seems to exist). But yeah, this game is worth playing. Also the graphics might not be the best technically, but they still have a certain charm to them.

It is a great game with a simple style but calming in a undertale style with lovely eye for detail.

Okay, so here's the deal. The gameplay here is super simple, even for lane defense. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I never really found myself excited to play any particular level. I mean...you could dig into various builds and unit types if you want to...the game actually encourages this by giving each unit a backstory that is unlocked as you level it. And this is the sort of detail where the game really shines...and a reason it's accessibility isn't really a drawback. There is a lot of development here, especially centered around the characters themselves. They have enough personality and depth to make you want to come back for more. The MS Paint art style is adorable, although sometimes I found myself having trouble telling certain units apart (although maybe it is just my aging eyes). The keyboard-only controls may be a dealbreaker for some, but personally I found that I could navigate the game and menus just as quickly (or perhaps even quicker) with the keyboard than I could've with a mouse. I ended up putting the game down probably about half way through. Although I enjoy the world and development, I just didn't find myself enjoying the actual game play enough to want to continue. However, I don't regret my time with the game and would love to see this developed into a an RPG than can more fully delve into this world. I saw the developer state that this is meant as a sort of prequel and introduction to the Witch Queen, who will play a minor role in a future game, as well as the world itself. I'm very excited to see what comes next.

You wouldn't think it from just glancing at the graphics, but a tremendous amount of work and attention to detail went into this, and it has more depth and heart than most games that get pumped out lately.

Score: 3/5 It isn't bad, but also not good enough to recommend. I hope the dev(s) continue to improve and make more games, as there is clearly effort and talent at play here. Strategies are simple, and require grinding very repetitive content. Not much room for creative expression or exploration/novelty, key reasons I play these kinds of games. There are a moderate amount of choices for units in combat, but most of them feel very similar and all of them require grinding to keep up with the difficulty, so experimentation will be an uphill battle. The activities between combat encounters feel unpolished/unnecessarily time-intensive. They are necessary for mechanical progression, but are pretty mind-numbing without much strategy/consequence for different choices. Artwork/style is okay. Animations are lacking. Audio/SFX are good. Writing is good, but the overall storyline and story beats are sparse. It's not enough to keep me engaged through the repetition.

This was a very fun game, while the game play loop did get a little stale after a while the game is to short for that to become an issue.This game's strong point isn't really the game play loop but instead the dialogue between its characters which is witty and fun. While some may look alike their personalities are distinct and recognizable. What kept me playing was the chance to interact with each of these characters more learning about their past and them coping with the world they were born into. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to play a short game with a fun premise, story, and characters

[h1] One of the BEST free games I have played [/h1] Pretty Easy but the effort and thought put into the game kept me playing, you can stick with one strategy though mixing up is fun once you get into the later stages. The pixel art matches the story that they're trying to tell from the lore imo and is a fun play even if you don't want to read through it (Not even that much lore but really makes the world more cohesive)! PS: Could use some buttons that make the game less monotonous like: 'plant all' 'harvest all' 'auto summon'. Maybe unlockable or something. Also maybe an endless mode where you start out as nothing and try to live for longer and more difficult periods of times, getting upgrades periodically

Extremely impressive for a solo developer. here are what I believe are the pro's and con's of the game, beginning with the pro's: 1. Amazingly complex and thought provoking lore with interesting philosophical themes and ideas combined with an engaging story with intriguing, complicated original characters, all set in a unique universe. And each character has their own small arc, some of them being somewhat bland but nonetheless adding to the lore and story. This is where the game shines. 2. Unique lane defense combat where there's a myriad of different strategies to choose from! 3. Art is well done and adds to the aesthetic of the story well. And now the cons: 1. Terrible pacing, there's a small difficulty rise at level medium 15 and a massive difficulty rise at level medium 19, then, at roughly hard 8, you have too much access to "eldritch essence," allowing you to easily, heavily upgrade all the units pertaining to your strategies and wipe through the rest of the game. 2. typos, not a big deal. And that's about it, overall a good game. I'd give it a 6/10, and a 8/10 for a solo dev.