With FH completed, this is the final VidyGames I’ve played according to the developer’s steam page. It’s an odd game considering how it’s different compared to his other works even though it uses the same lore briefly. This one is more of a roguelike that has you take steps through fixed tiles in a turn based nature. What makes the gameplay unique here is that you’re only allowed to take a step forward while side steps are very limited depending on the class. There are 6 classes with completely different skills, passives and items dropped. Whenever you beat a boss, you can select skills/passives and you can upgrade them randomly. There are 3 different levels, 2 difficulty modes and a special mode with a unique level to end the story. You can save your progress in casual mode and continue later if you have to leave. That’s the mode I decided to go with.
The reason for that is because I’m usually allergic to roguelikes/lites with random elements coupled with high challenge that give an unfair impression. Now I don’t know if casual mode is easier or the only difference is being allowed to save mid-run, that’s the only description this mode has in-game. Anyway, I’m happy with casual modes’ balance for the most part. It can be challenging and sometimes unfair due to the random nature of where the items, traps and monsters are distributed and the order of the bosses you’ll encounter, but it’s really not bad generally speaking. It doesn’t happen often, especially after you understand the game a bit and you gain some permanent levels that affect your stats slightly. Sometimes you can even feel incredibly powerful, this also ties to how much fun each class is and yet they’re so different! It’s really impressive, it keeps the game fresh despite there not being a lot of content maybe. The gameplay loop can get very addictive, there are times I thought about the game and wanting to continue soon on the same day. The graphics, while unimpressive, are pretty charming, clear at communicating what everything does and they get the job done. The music is pretty catchy but the amount is limited. I appreciate the UI showing descriptions of every skill, passive and what status ailments do when you hover your mouse over the names. In terms of the game’s length, this too is dependant on whether you’re planning to get all the achievements and whether you want to experiment with the different classes/modes. It took me around 13 hours to get all the achievements on casual mode and the special mode. The achievements mostly focus on completing the levels with different classes or having certain stats/skills/passives etc. The achievements were pretty doable and fun to get.
When it comes to flaws, there are 3 that are pretty minor on the grand scheme of things. So, the game’s English translation is not the best. There are some grammar mistakes or missing words. It’s a shame but the intend is still clear, so it’s not the worst example of its kind. I’ve encountered one bug where my rogue run did not count on the first level even though I beat the boss. This also didn’t grant me the achievement that was attached to it called ‘Dead Lands Fabled Trio’. It’s possible that this bug happens in specific cases because almost 5% of the players got it according to steam’s achievement tracking. I sadly had to use the achievement unlocking app for this. Now let’s talk about the biggest flaw in my opinion, the design decision to have the final boss be hard to beat on your first run. The idea is to slowly take the health away of the boss on multiple runs until he’s dead. Usually it takes 2 runs and there are some classes that can beat the boss the first time depending on their skills etc. Personally I find this inclusion pointless and tedious in terms of forcing you to complete the game multiple times if you want to get certain achievements. The characters who damaged the boss don’t count as having defeated the boss but only the class who does the killing blow. If there weren’t achievement that specify the classes you need to complete it in, then it wouldn’t have been a problem. With the way it is now, it feels like a bit of unnecessary padding/grinding for a few achievements. The game didn’t need that.
The game’s length, even if you don’t go for the achievements, is fine considering the normal price of €4. Honestly, it’s a wonderful game worth the price. This game shows the developer’s creativity, how many of his ideas work and how much range he has in terms of genres. It’s one of my favourite game from him next to Plastomorphosis. I highly recommend the game if you’re looking to have a game to play in between that is relaxing because it’s turn based but still keeps you active in terms of thinking without going overboard.
