Elium - Prison Escape

[h1] Escape From Repetition. Stay In Your Cell. [/h1] [b] Who Will Like It [/b]: Those who enjoy medieval combat, stealth, and/or random level generation. [b] Who Won't Like It [/b]:Those who enjoy medieval combat, stealth, and/or random level generation. Everything about Elium pointed toward a gameplay experience that I would absolutely love. After watching a couple videos, I thought I'd be jumping into the prodigal son of Chivalry and KIngs Field: A game with a medieval theme, putting you in the shoes of a nobody who would slowly and methodically grow stronger as the game progressed. When I realized that this wasn't the case, I attempted to enjoy the game for what it actually was, and still left feeling very dissapointed. You see, Elium feels very empty, as if it were an Early Access title that lost it's funding. The idea of being this prisoner who has to stealthily make his way to freedom is fantastic, but the execution is so poor, that I checked out before reaching the final stages. Speaking of stages, let us talk about level design.... Randomly generated room presets. You've seen this before and I can assure you, you've seen it better. My issue is not with random generation, but with how boring these presets are. Every room aesthetically looks the same, and nothing ever changes. Along the way, you have the option to free prisoners, and every one has the same voice and face. Every guard you encounter also sounds and looks the same (give or take a different color on his armor). There are no traps, clever puzzles, or mix-it-up gameplay surprises along the way. Once you've seen the first level, you've seen the entire game. This wouldn't be a problem if.... The combat had more variety. I definitely enjoyed the more realistic block/parry/attack combat and loved that 1 or 2 well placed hits meant the end if I wasn't careful. The addition of a kick ability is a welcome throwback to the Dark Messiah days and I won't deny chuckling watching the guards bodies ragdoll off the edge of a cliff. Aside from this, your options are either stealth, 1 on 1 combat (with a small handful of melee weapons), or to basically break the game by amassing an army of freed prisoners and outfitting them with the best gear. The latter option is completely broken, with AI going berserk and enemies being swarmed in a giant orgy of bouncy kicks and punches. It makes me wonder why there weren't more options. Where are the bows? How about throwable daggers? How about triggering traps to take out enemies as a bystander? What about a basic hand to hand stealth knockout ability? Not here. In the end, the experience just feels dry. After the first level or two, you'll realize that you've seen everything, with nothing new to collect or no interesting landmarks to explore. There is no story segments to unravel, no new abilities to acquire, and no variation in enemies to amp up the challenge. Had this been Early Access, I would have stuck around to see where the developer took it, but in a recent forum post, he clearly states that all future updates will be bug fixes unless significant community interest garners additions. At $15, you're getting a shell of a game. Not bad, but could have been so much more.

The only experience I had with sword fighting games was Chivalry. I love that game. But the chaos of multiplayer made it very difficult for me to get into. Elium solves that problem. Combat system is innovative and intuitive. It rewards timing and observation. There is a way to be stealthy, but I'll admit I'm not very good at it. I always end up having to fight. This is also a difficult game. Once you learn the ropes (around level 3) it's easy to deal with one guard. But then you'll have to fight more than one guard at a time, and that's when things get rough. I read one guy saying that his powerful computer couldn't get high FPS with this game. I don't know what he's talking about. I run an i5-6500 with a Radeon 460. Game runs at around 50 FPS no problem. And my friend who has a GTX 1060 runs it perfectly. The other thing that is important, at least if you care about this sort of thing, is the indie aspect of it. Every now and then we get to enjoy the rare indie gems. Games that defy big developers due to excellence in game design and pure customer service. This is a game developed by one guy. And it's excellent. It's the kind of videogame that you want to support simply because of the principle of it. And if on top of that it's a good game, well, Elium checks all the right boxes. This is not a perfect game. But it's a fun game.

Combat has a steep learning curve. It's brutal and unforgiving, which fits the art style. It's also the most realistic sword combat I have ever seen. You will get one/two shotted. But if you stick with it, there is nothing more satisfying than decapitating a guard. You can also play more stealth or assemble an army to fight for you (Equip them!). Safe points are well placed. Far enough away to keep the tension and be a beacon of relief, but not too far to be unfair and frustrating. There is also a lot of replay value between random dungeons, unlocks, achievements and the global leader-boards, which should keep a dedicated fan-base trying for new records for years to come.

Quite challenging but rewarding game. The premise is simple - escape from prison by killing (or sneaking around) guards. No unneccessary embellishments just straightforward, solid gameplay. The combat takes a bit of getting used to (at start it felt quite clunky but that was only because I moved my mouse FAR too much, once I realized I only need to do quick flicks it felt really smooth), but once you do get used to it, it is a lot of fun. A big positive surprise for me was the stealth. While I usually dislike sneaky gameplay and always take the brute force route when possible, I took every opportunity to backstab people here. The combination of the challenging combat and the fact that every bit of health you lose stays lost until the end of the level made every opponent a potentially lethal danger. Getting rid of some of them without having to fight felt incedibly rewarding. The whole atmosphere of the game is well done and really draws you in. If you enjoy difficult but fair combat in a dark atmosphere you should definitely give Elium a try.

Pros: *Good combat. Choose between timed blocking or directional blocking. If you're like me, it might feel clunky using a mouse, but flicking the right stick on a controller just before pressing RT or R1(Attack) and LT or L1(Block) fixes the problem. *Stealth is best in the later levels, since you've got to look out for other guards when attempting a stealth kill. Stay crouched in the shadows and attack from behind, and they'll never know what stabbed them. *Good art stlye. Massive stone structures adorned with torches that you can put out, makes for a great environment for a medieval prison escape experience.The simple designs of armor and weapons is a breath of fresh air compared to overly elaborate fantasy armor and frilly "Chistmas tree swords." *The music is good and really sets the tone. Cons/Suggestions: *The ability to hide bodies would be a welcome addition. *The option to start with a rusty sword in horde mode would be nice. I really enjoy this game and would love to someday see a sequel with a bigger world and fleshed out story.

Pretty cool a bit of a chilvary/thief vibe could use some additional work but it is nice to see something a bit different. You chould check it out if you are into this kind of interesting melee combat.

Elium is a challenging stealth/swordfighting game with randomly generated levels. + Nice atmosphere + There are multiple options how to progress through the levels + Nice Menus (skyrim like but done right) + Combat is based on timing/reaction + Good tutorial - Levels feel a bit long - Controls feel sometimes a bit clunky/indirect All in all i'm enjoying it for now

Elium has a good gameplay that makes the combat fun and complex it is really good at enterteining. It also provides a fun tutorial simple but well done.

Elium: Prison escape is a dungeon crawler with rpg's assets. Set in a low fantasy medieval atmosphere, we play as a disgraced swordmaster trapped in the War Prison of Rakath, who is determined to make his escape. As a stealth action/adventure, Elium is a roguelite with more than one roguelike elements, like having no respawn, the complexities of the armed combat and the procedurally generated prison, making every escape unique, and every death the making of a new challenge. Elium also gives us the option to battle our way to freedom, you can even release other prisoners and arm them with the spoils of war: the loot you take from other guards or crawl your way out through the shadows of the dungeon. What is amazing abut this game is that it was made by just one guy. For those who love indie games, and the hardcore rogue genre, this is a must.

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