Forsaken Realms: Vahrin's Call

I judge every game I play by how much fun I have. I am greatly enjoying my playthrough! I will warn this game is not without its issues, but they are not game breaking for me, but they could be for some. - I pay a lot of attention to detail, so the environmental storytelling is really good to me. Pay attention to letters you read then look around, you won't be disappointed. - I respect the voice acting, I didn't mute it. - I think the parry timers are off. I enjoy a good parry system, that is my go to gameplay but these are some of the worst t I've tried. They do not always register, and when they do....you get a micro stun that does no damage....and I haven't been able to get the counter attack to work yet. Sill issue? <gasp> not today! I am using a controller so maybe that could be an issue...not sure but thought I would mention it. - Look everywhere. You may miss a hole in the ground that will have an upgrade or item that will come in handy. (hint hint) - You won't be finding unique weapons with insane ashes of war (yeah, I said it) so you will have to work for your upgrades. Loot everything, then check to see if you can break it down at the blacksmith to get components to upgrade with! It goes for spells too. -Do the side quest!! Do you need gear or a good creep out session?......do them! - The healing potions are awful, but the healing spell is OP and worth finding and leveling up! - Wanna be Legolas? You can, pull out that bow and use it! Arrows are infinite and head shot or weak point aiming matters! - If you find a spell or weapon skill book, you have to actively use the spell or weapon in order to EARN the upgrade. It's not rocket science....use the weapons and spells you want to. If you find you don't like it, switch! You need to use in order to gain! (I sound like my mom) - Don't over dodge, the stamina for that is crap....just walk backwards sometimes! It can work! hahaha! -You cannot get lost, you can turn on QUEST LOCATIONS in the menu if you need to. - There is a freaking map and waypoints to fast travel to! <gasp again> -Last but not least, if the game is too difficult, there are difficulty settings. You can change them at any time. I ONLY PLAY SUICIDE THOUGH! (lmao) But in all honesty have a great time. Look around and pay attention to everything. I hope the devs fix some things that need it but....even as is...this game is worth your time....and obviously my 21 hours and counting.....just sayin.

The combat is bland and progression is terrible. You have skills which level up with use, which on paper sounds good, until you realize the only think skill levels do is allow you to buy a long list of boring perks. You know the kind that add a bit more mana or allow you to upgrade your spells by one tier. There is almost nothing interesting in the perks. But then the really bad part of progression is that you find out that only the first few levels of perks are unlocked where you can spend skill points on. The rest are "unknown" and you need to find skill books in the world. For example I had level 16 fire magic, but effectively I only had level 8 skill levels unlocked. I had like 10 perk points, but I could not spend them because I needed to find the skill books in the world. You can not buy them, but find them. They are hidden in special spots and not just RNG. As a result, why does the rest of the progression system even exist? The real limit is the skill books, not xp or gold. Also the whole world is nothing more then a giant "Find all the hidden stuff" puzzle. Not as an option, but the core progression demands it. Also for combat being bland, the same techniques worked for every single monster I ever found. I never had to change up anything. It is clear from a game mechanics and world design point of view, the developers had no imagination. It is all ultra generic. At least the artists had some fun with the level design which, while not really original, is not all that bad.

I'd say maybe wait a bit before getting this game. I remember when i first started seeing videos on TikTok from the devs years ago and they were marketing this game as a fable like rpg game. I don't get any fable vibes from this besides the art style, but it did just release. Combat is just spam magic and and light attack because it stun locks enemies. like i said it just came out so combat will most likely get improved on and more.

Last time that I take a leap of faith for an indie dev

Its like the first Fable with the colour palate of Spacers Choice (the outer worlds) This game is fresh, fun and looks great, I actally enjoy the simplfed game play, its refreshing, lots of quests, good solid and intresting storyline/characters and voice acting also good. Large map areas and plenty to expolore, the game rewards you for this. People complain about the item menu, i actally really like it for what it is, crafting is also present This is the type of game the industry needs, not the overflowing garbage from AAA devs, we need more games that return to thier roots, made with actaul passion and that are fun and enjoyable to play Watch out for the garden Nombs I do get a little bit of frame drop and im hoping the devs will sort this out (i think its something to do with area lighting) Im getting most;y 60fps on a 2080TI, with some frame drop to 45 in some areas. For all wondering, this game launhers on Linux with no issues and also run very will on the MSI Claw 7 handheld without the frame drop? The MSI also required no imput from me and changed from keyboard to a fully fuctioning controller by itself. I think once there is abit more optimization for this game it will be a bannger, but currently still playable.

I knew I was going to have a great time the moment I heard a particular cackle, and then ran into the genomy side quest. Fantastic Fable vibes while being it's own thing. I appreciate that you included Harmless mode for those of us who find dying to be immersion breaking and just plain not fun. The first time a boss should have killed me, but didn't, was amazing. I found the levels to be beautifully built, and fun to explore. I particularly enjoyed Narum's Temple, the snow sounds, the music, all of it (except the jester ninjas) made me want to live in a wintered in mountain fortress. Then I remembered I'm a modern human who enjoys having a nose not lost to frostbite. I enjoyed the brightness of the flowers and greenery, the hash-and-slash tactics (at Harmless difficulty anyways) that I grew up with, the over-the -top English accents, the continual reminders that I was playing a Mercenary who was only doing it for money and that's why we're ignoring the obvious political chicanery going on by a certain someone who straight up laughs about never wanting to fight you and who I was very intensely certain was going to star in a twist ending... *side-eyes the devs* I looked behind the waterfalls, all of them. I had a great time! And considering I'd have spent $20 on this in the early 2000's, I'm not mad about the price, at all. I found it very reasonable twenty years later. 10/10 would pay full price (I bought it a few dollars cheaper during release week, but it was close to full price).

I just beat Chapter three so I figured I'd give my opinion. I went into this very blind, it popped up on my recommended list a while back so I wishlisted it. I got it the day it came out. Honestly this feels like the game that everyone will bash now but in a few years will go back and say "You know..this game is actually pretty underrated". I'm enjoying it a lot so far. Graphics: 7/10 The actual art direction is nice, super inspired by the like of Fable and some Kingdoms of Amalur. It has that early Xbox 360 high-fantasy vibe. The armor is well done but the character faces are rough. I love character customization and this is the only time I actually prefer wearing helmets. Story: 6/10 Pretty standard fantasy RPG story. I saw people complaining about the lack of choices but the website for the game flat out says it's not that kind of game. However, there are some excellent side-quests, that have some real good small stories. Gameplay (Non- Combat): 9/10 This isn't an open-world game, not everything needs to be. However, the areas are full of gnomes to destroy, chests, lootable objects, side-quests, shortcuts etc. It's really fun to just explore. There is jumping but it is highly scripted. There is also only one major hub area, I wish there were one or two more. Gameplay (Combat): 8/10 The game has some souls elements, bonfire like checkpoints, respawning enemies, pattern based bosses. But you don't lose anything upon death. There is some jank in the combat, weird attack animations, some occassional delay but overall it's fun. The classless system leaves a lot of room for experimenting. Music: 6/10 Decent, not as memorable as other games but it serves its purpose. Verdict: 7/10- Good It's way better than people are giving it credit for. It may honestly be the price tag, $35. However, I've played plenty of games that are now $60 to $70 and are bad or just underwhelming. It's from a small studio, that clearly made this as a passion project so I don't mind the price. It took em about 9 hours to get to chapter four with a good amount of exploration, so I think most people must be speeding through to make the two hour refund. I'd recommend this overall.