[b]lantern forge[/b] is a flawed but fun crafting/survival/exploration/etc. game, suitable for all sorts of playstyles with 3 difficulty settings. development stopped a while after release, leaving certain areas more lacking than others, but it's still more complete and competent than most games in the genre. [b]saving happens regularly and when you quit[/b], none of that 'only at the end of the day' nonsense. wanna quit in the middle of mining way down under? no problem, continue from there next time.
it's isometric, looks and sounds good enough (it's from 2014 anyway), has [b]8 biomes on the surface and 90 levels of underground[/b] to explore. some biomes are a bit samey (e.g the forest is grasslands with darker grass) and the underground is exactly the same everywhere except for dungeons and some mobs.
[b]level-scaling is always horrible and lazy, but here it only applies to the surface[/b], as underground floors have matching enemies (and the ones on top also get bigger and have different attacks and stuff, not just a level 1 rat with 500 hp). [b]everything drops level/progress-appropriate loot[/b], but I didn't mind not having to go to the other side of the world or deep down to find mobs that give decent xp. light up the base so nothing can come near your house/farm/etc. (they're safe from mobs), then go hunting at night and gain a couple levels nearby.
[b]controls are iffy with rebindable hotkeys.[/b] hold the mouse to move, or press 'w' (or whatever) to make the character follow the cursor, no direct control with wasd/arrows. as idiotic as it sounds, it's not bad once you get used to it. the cursor-following thing deals with getting stuck in scenery a bit better, but it still happens a lot.
the hotbar holds 6 items, mousewheel works (could use a direction flip setting), right click to place things, open doors, etc. selecting a weapon and clicking enemies attacks, but [b]there's a separate combat mode for special attacks[/b]. they need to be unlocked and can be put on the hotbar's 7-0 slots, but the mouse wheel doesn't go there, click or press hotkeys, and can't place things while you're in combat mode. normally those slots are for rotating items before placement and switching to surface mode or something to place floors and stuff. could've been done better if I'm honest.
[b]hunger is a thing[/b], which I hate even in survival games (health is more than enough to manage, thank you), but it can be handled in multiple ways. collect or grow apples and such for a quick boost, plant things and once grown turn them into better foodstuff, or kill things for meat. [b]animal taming is also possible[/b], craft some feed and a cage and grab chickens, rabbits, sheep and cows that regularly drop things.
[b]energy is another bar to manage, but it only affects mana regen.[/b] I say manage, but only sleeping or leveling up restores it. under 20 means mana doesn't regenerate but nothing happens when you run out of energy, you can still move, attack, do whatever freely. mana is only used for special attacks for every weapon, no frustrating 'you sprinted for 2 seconds or swung your weapon twice, now wait 2 minutes' idiocy. eventually there are health and mana potions too.
[b]killing and crafting provide xp[/b] as long as they're around your level and level-up points are spent on improving stats and [b]active and passive skills[/b]. there are [b]3 classes (melee, ranged, magic)[/b] with their respectiv stat (strength, dexterity, intelligence), plus vitality for more hp and a separate skill tree for each class and a common one with useful things like faster movement, better visibility, etc. you can mix and match but [b]the level cap is 50[/b], so might as well make your mind up early and not spread yourself thin.
[b]durability affects tools, weapons and armor[/b] and it's another thing I could do without normally, but higher tier stuff lasts longer and as I said, everything drops stuff randomly, so you'll be swimming in backup gear and materials even without spending days underground. and crafting a bow at level 30 makes it level 30, an improvement over the one you made at level 5. just [b]make sure to dig down a floor or two and find some copper asap, then you're set[/b], stone tools can kill low-level enemies until then.
[b]merchants[/b] can be attracted by building a town center and various shops. they sell all sorts of things you might have to work for otherwise. selling extra loot can be enough for a new pick, a piece of armor or some mats to make that new anvil for better gear. their stock changes daily.
[b]traversing the map is the game's biggest problem[/b], partially because [b]there's no map, only coordinates in the corner[/b]. finding your way back home (or wherever you slept last) is easy enough, especially if you leave torches as breadcrumbs (an equipped lantern will always light the place up around you), but [b]covering big distances quickly is only possible with portals[/b]. there are only 3 colors, need the same-colored shard to teleport to them and another one to your town center, so can't really go around all the bioms and their respective underground. also, [b]teleporting can bug the game out but exiting and loading the save again fixes it[/b].
[b]if the devs came back with a quick patch to enable direct travel to any visited underground floor with stairs, or even just every 5th level, it'd be a complete gamechanger[/b]. portals can be left underground, but without them it's only possible to go up or down one floor at a time and there's a loading screen for each (not a long one even on my potato but still). this is why I'm really glad other aspects of the game work as they do. I was never forced to go below floor 10 and could still progress and see almost everything.
there's no story, big boss or any actual goal (bosses and instanced dungeons were among the plans), [b]it's a sandbox experience, can be played for dozens of hours depending on how you approach these kinda games[/b]. I played for 20+ hours, but could still continue farming, exploring, going deeper (only went until floor 50), crafting more stuff, fine-tuning my gear with enchantments and gems, etc. [b]it won't please everyone, but those who like this sort of thing are bound to enjoy lantern forge too.[/b]
