FIVE: Champions of Canaan

There is so much wrong with Kingdom Games’ loosely Biblical, Action-RPG [i]FIVE: Champions of Canaan[/i], that it is seemingly difficult to know where to begin in assessing it. The game comes on the heels of its predecessor – [i]FIVE: Guardians of David[/i] – but falls completely flat in comparison. [b]Story[/b] King David has become aware that the conquered Ammonites have erected arenas and have been using them to continue their blood sacrifices to their god – Moloch – under the guise of arena combat. You – under the command of Hushai, David’s agent, are meant to fight and make a name for yourself in the arenas to ‘disrupt such blasphemy.’ Most of the backstory is introduced via the opening cinematic. Once thrust into the game, the story continues in the form of quests. The problem is that the game propels the story forward at a tremendously slow pace. You have to unlock new story quests by completing arena combat. But after a while the combat becomes so grindy that you inevitably lose all conviction to propel the story forward. [b]Gameplay[/b] The game does allow you to customize your character, which includes a host of options, such as – gender, Biblical lineage, skin/hair color, name, etc. The gameplay and its mechanics will be familiar to most Action-RPG players. A unique difference to most games within the genre is that you can equip all the different weapon/armor types right from the get go. With each different weapon type equipped, you get a new set of skills to use. You immediately get two basic skills per weapon type but have to invest kills into that weapon type in order to unlock four additional skills. It’s important to note that when you unlock skills, you unlock them permanently. They are not bound to the weapon you’re using but the type of weapon. The mechanics can be enjoyable at times until you look underneath the paint. You’ll experience mobs getting stuck on walls/edges, poor pathfinding, weapons that don’t behave as they should. The bow isn’t able to perform critical strikes as an example despite having a skill that boosts critical chance. [b]Graphics[/b] Dull and uninspiring compared to its predecessor. There are only several arenas in the game and one small main hub area and the texture work is very poor in addition to missing shadows in some areas. [b]Music/Sound[/b] Nothing particularly note-worthy when it comes to the music. However, some of the sounds feel like they are placeholders from earlier in development and break what little immersion the game tries to create. [b]Achievements[/b] As of writing this, I can say with certainty that there are at least three bugged achievements. There are probably more but I haven’t tested more of the ones I suspect of being broken. So for achievement hunters, I do recommend you steer clear for the time being. [b]Conclusion[/b] [i]FIVE: Champions of Canaan[/i] comes across as a game that could’ve worked as a DLC to its predecessor – if scaled down and reworked. Instead, I feel what we’ve gotten is a game that is needlessly bloated, grindy and wholly deserving of the question: ‘what’s the point?’

[h1]Introduction[/h1] FIVE: Champions of Canaan is developed and published by Kingdom Games. This is both their second Steam project and the second game in their FIVE series which is focusing on the ancient history of the Levant. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Instead of addressing the heroic exploits of the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah like in FIVE: Guardians of David, in the apparent spin-off FIVE: Champions of Canaan, you witness an almost gladiatorial-style of arena-based combat. Thus, a more static type of gameplay that revolves around famous or less so, cities from Ancient Canaan and the fighting pits within them. The idea of a sequel that alters the initial gameplay formula is indeed a bold move. But I for one, appreciated this stylistic departure from the pure hack ‘n slash to more disciplined combat that relies heavily on tactics. The confined spaces offered by an arena, serve as a testing ground for both pacience and skill, as the game’s natural difficulty progression is obvious. Foes are increasingly dangerous as one wave precedes the other. Near the end of the rounds, you get to fight a boss-type of enemy that can provide ample challenge and your character’s survival will rely on coordinated attacks and strategic retreats. Mindlessly charging at your targets will result in failure most of the time. Champions of Canaan retains its role playing roots in the form of a well fleshed out inventory system as well as character skill and attribute upgrades. Speaking of that, the creation screen at the very start of the game let’s you choose your lineage, an important aspect in this game and a substitute of more traditional hero classes. Since my historic interest never reached far or in-depth about Levant or in particular Canaan, I cannot say for certain where the historic truth (there’s a fine oxymoron for you) ends and Biblical elements begin. And yet the Ammonite tribe’s penchant for violence translated into arena combat fits the setting quite well. Pushing the Unity Engine close to its limits and the creative adaptation of new assets, really make Champions of Canaan stand out, when compared to other indie 3D RPGs. The soundtrack and voice acting were most fitting as well. In fact I would have found next to no cons to this game, if I wouldn’t have been “reminded” every single time I tried booting the title, that a crash report has been filed. Which would soon be followed by the obvious CTD. On several occasions it took three tries before I would be able to play this game in peace, without fear of random crashes right before I would finish a hard fought battle/round. The culprit of all this senseless commotion? None other than the Steam Overlay I depend upon in all the games I currently play, whether we talk of Uplay, Origin or naturaly, Steam itself. I need to take screenshots and I want them easily linked onto my Steam account. It’s not a lot to ask for by 2016 PC gaming standards, is it? Well this game appears to disagree. With the Overlay enabled, I would get the error and subsequent CTD: “gameoverlayrenderer.dll caused an Access Violation (0xc0000005)”. With the Overlay disabled locally just for FIVE: Champions of Canaan: “gameoverlayrenderer.dll caused a Privileged Instruction (0xc0000096)”. Alas I shall not deduct any points from my rating, since it may be an isolated case and the problems themselves might be solved with a simple update. Hopefully. [h1]Pros[/h1] + Beautiful graphics and sounds + Unique characters and locations for a video game + Complex RPG elements + Steam Achievements & Trading Cards [h1]Cons[/h1] - Steam Overlay causes random crashes - Combat gets repetitive after a while [h1]Result / Final thoughts[/h1] While not as narrative-driven as it’s predecessor, FIVE: Champions of Canaan still emerges as a breath of fresh air to the relatively stale faux-medieval setting that role playing games constantly exibit. Levantine mythology, sprinkled with elements from the Old Testament is not a subject you can tackle often at all in gaming. The developer deserves recognition for this aspect alone were it not for the fact that its games are fully functional, educational and most importantly, fun to play. [b]Rating 85/100[/b] [quote]This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews]Imperial Reviews[/url], through the generous contribution of [url=http://steamcommunity.com/id/danielbink]Daniël - REX ♥ Gaming[/url].[/quote]

If you're looking for an open-world, free-roaming, quest-solving rpg, you'd best look elsewhere. All you do is fight battles in an enclosed arena fighting waves of enemies to summon the champion of each round and slay said champion to win and receive loot by the end of each round. You can then either choose to continue fighting or head back to the market to sell and store your equipment. Equipment has no class restrictions only level requirements, and there is no magic or mythological creatures anywhere in sight. You can also equip anytime but do that during down-times, (the game won't pause as you browse your inventory leaving you open for attack). You unlock skills by using different weapons. Kill combatants with your sword and unlock more powerful skills for all swords, bow skills for bows, etc. Combat is fast and simple once you get the hang of it although it can feel clunky sometimes. I have encountered weird bugs, but nothing gamebreaking. And for the price, it still feels pretty solid. Pros: + Historical accuracy with real weapons and armor + Combat feels solid overall + Low-fantasy RPG without actually having to use magic or kill monsters + No stupid quests (other than the optional story line) + Just pure hack-and-slash RPG Cons: - Some bugs (nothing major, but occasionally when knocking down foes like champions they slide a few meters. More annoying than an issue really) - No real progression - Can get repetitive after a while as there's only arena battles, but it's a decent break from traditional RPG's Verdict: If you're looking for a down-to-earth ARPG without the hassle of slaying thousands of highwaymen, dragons, cheating necromancers or the obnoxious and over-used phrase "you're the chosen", you can't go wrong with this. And at 4€, it's a steal! Highly recommended! P.S. While based upon the bible, there is not much of it. It's more historical than biblical so if you're not a fan of the book, no worries. P.P.S. The story-teller tells you about some events in the book as a comic, but is purely optional.

It suprised me how good and adictive this game is. It's a hack 'n' slash arena game (with resemblance to DIablo) with character growth, rewards and basicly thats it. But it works! :) It's super fun and exiting to slash your opponents in arena. Graphics are very nice, and music also adds to gameplay. Downside is repetative combat. Also for battles, it's better to use controller than mouse/keyboard (expecially for some weapons). Suggestion: There should be more info on your characters records. Like: enemies defeated, score with bosses, favourite weapon, kills with different weapon... stuff like that. If you see it on sale, it is a must BUY

I cannot recommend this game. The game is just a repeat.. Kill some bad guys in the arena, fight the boss that shows up, get your loot, and repeat. You can travel to different cities to battle. The story isnt much in depth but there is a story. Different classes and you can always obtain and buy new weapons.

Battle your way to honor and glory in the bloodthirsty fighting arenas of the ancient lands. Pit your strength and skill against the fiercest of enemies. Conquer your foes while claiming wondrous and powerful armaments as you strive to earn the enemy commander’s trust and avert a disastrous war! 10 из 10

After six hours I just had to give up, and in retrospect, I probably should've given up on this game after an hour or two. I have never seen a game that does as a poor a job as Five Champions of Canaan in explaining how you are supposed to progress in the game. I got my character to level 44 (there is a level 50 cap) and I didn't even get to the second story mission/fight. There isn't even any information online on what you are supposed to do to progress. My best guess is, you are just supposed to fight these practically endless and utterly boring and repetitive enemy waves until a boss appears. When does the boss appear....well...that is anyone's guess. I played for six hours and only the first boss fight appeared. Apparently each arena has a 100 waves, and if the players are lucky, who knows, maybe the boss fights only appear after youve cleared all 100 waves. Repeat that for about a dozen or so arenas and each wave takes about five minutes or more to clear. Oh, and if you quit the arena, you will have to go back to the previous arena and fight there to get a new token to the second arena. Sound like fun?

Bought this game for its VR support, boy was i wrong. buggy ♥♥♥♥ do not buy this! clunky controls and camera movement. when you rotate the camera moves around the whole arena. go get an decent game for VR.

Great little game for the price. Very nice and refreshing setting (no zombies!). I hope the devs are successful and we get to see more games in the biblical setting, because the possibilities for games there are endless. Gameplay- well, the game certainly does not re-invent the wheel. Very straight forward gladiatorial arena combat. I feel the combat is satisfying and the sound effects are good, although the smacking and bone crushing sounds of the mace take the cake in realism. I have not really figured out the different class system yet. As far as I understand, the beginning classes seem to be purely cosmetic (different colours) and you can train up your hero to fight with any weapon later on. Using different weapons gives you different special abilities. The game even encourages you to try out different weapons and styles which I think is needed to keep the gamplay fresh and interesting (because you will be fighting in the same arenas again and again). Loot is collected at the end of each arena round and has so far been interesting. So far, in general, I found the game entertaining and addictive enough that I did not feel bored. At the time of writing this, some minor bugs still exist with achievements and screen resolutions, but the devs are onto it and are putting out patches. If there is one big downside, it is the enemy variety. Yes, they repeat. A lot. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but still. So these are my thoughts. In general, a very entertaining little game for short gameplay sessions. Great to see some singleplayer gladiator combat, that is not very common at all. And it has no zombies. Always a bonus. I assume zombies are not really biblical, except.... can you call Lazarus a zombie? Maybe not.

Great gameplay, and cheap! Easy to get the hang of, and good for free time consumption. Its fun to be able to role play, or just relieve stress. It can also be a challenge once you progress further. Definitely recommend this for the price its at!