Epic of Serinor: Dawnshadow

I slept with my raptor to spite the god of shadows and monsters. An interesting game that takes parts of Pokemon (you capture dinosaurs to fight for you), FF (your weapons and armor customize your class), and MMO's (you auto-attack and manage MP for critical fights). The game follows an intersting story of an unwilling protagonist trapped in torment by the god of shadows and monsters who is trying to break free but just keeps dying. So don't be afraid to die as the story is told through deaths and repeating the same initial areas but constantly expanding into new territory. The controls are a little confusing but once you get used to them, you keep pushing further and furthing into the world to figure out what is going on, and trying to craft better equipment from recessed dragons that have a personal grudge against you. It's an odd sensation of guilt and curiosity to see how it progresses.

A really fun game with some really cool characters and an enjoyably written story, with a setting I'm having a lot of fun diving into and exploring. The game in general is something akin to a mix of old DOS-RPGs and pokemon, with a complex material crafting system on top, as well as deep and reactive dialogue. All in all, I really do recommend Epic of Serinor: Dawnshadow.

Simultaneously feels nostalgic and very new, merging old-school graphics and play style with an original story concept and open-world format. I found myself lol-ing at the witty dialogue many times and genuinely attached to several of the characters. Already started my second playthrough!

Fun game done in a retro style, which is always a plus. The only downside, is that it has no "turbo" feature to speed up the sluggish battles, and tends to bog down with farming and grinding. Cheat engine speedhack won't even work; not that I've found anyways. Still, interesting game.