Notmads

WOW!!! This is the most incredible surprise I’ve had in recent gaming memory. I am blown away. Notmads caught my eye when I was combing through upcoming releases. “The Beast” creature in the game stood out as one of the most wondrous animal designs I’ve ever seen (and he reminds me of our Mister Shaggy, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2021). I started digging into the game’s discussion boards and the dev’s YouTube channel and was so impressed by this solo dev’s ambition and KINDNESS. Genuinely kind and warm and immediately responsive to anyone and everyone who reaches out, regardless of what people said or how they said it. I had a question about how Notmads was holding up on a handheld, and the dev responded right away. He not only provided cautious reassurance that he and his friends have found it to work well on handhelds, but also *thanked me* for starting the discussion on Steam, because he wanted this conversation, and was grateful for feedback (this contrasts with what I often feel is a giant “cringe” from many devs when people ask about handheld performance lol). The early reviews for Notmads were coming in rather rough. But true to fashion, I watched the dev respond with such wholesome kindness and concern for each complaint and idea that came his way. I could see how much he truly wanted and valued every single bit of feedback, and all this caused me to want to take a risk on Notmads, and try it out on my Lenovo Legion Go (SteamOS, Z1 Extreme chip) right away. This is an INCREDIBLY fun game, a MASSIVE world, LOADED with depth. The music is lovely. The skill trees are so expansive and utterly fascinating. The looting is addictive and reminiscent of Skyrim (for me). The dungeon crawling in the first area provided me a great rush, and just the right difficulty balance for me to learn the combat rather quickly. The town I’ve now reached is beautiful, and most buildings are enter-able and also fully decorated. I’ve just saved at the point where I’m searching for a plot of land to purchase, and learning more about the Beast’s lore. I’ve posted lots of screenshots to my Steam profile; feel free to snoop. Speaking of the Beast!!! I am ENAMORED with him. You can pet him, feed him, direct him to fight, and he loyally follows you around like an enormous dog. From the trailers, I have seen that you’re eventually able to customize his appearance, and also build a customizable house to harness and float via magic on his big fluffy back. And speaking of customization, the character builder at the beginning of the game is immensely impressive for a solo dev in early access. I was able to create a female character, with roughly my hair style, color my hair however I like, and fully customize my facial features (except for eye color, unless I missed it … EDIT: I did miss it! Dev helpfully clarified in his response to my review!). You also get a generous five save slots (EDIT: 10!!! Dev also clarified this! 😄). The in-game menus are richly detailed. I often find inventory management to be a total pain in the neck, however I’m actually having FUN with inventory in Notmads, due to the intuitive way you can inspect each item, move into slots, compare stats, etc. The in-game map is really well designed, as is the mini-map optionally on screen at all times. Quests are tracked in a tab, with constant updates on your progress journaled like they are in Skyrim. You can undertake multiple quests at once, and are free to pursue them in any order. NPCs are not voice acted, but they are wonderfully diverse, and the written dialogue is really engaging. Graphics options are also generous, and I’ve been running everything on the highest graphical settings without any problems, aside from the very very rare hitch (which seems to happen when coming upon a vast overlook). So, I have not had any of the performance issues I’ve seen noted in some reviews, despite playing on a handheld. If you’re on Deck, you may need to drop the graphics settings down just a level, simply because my Lenovo Legion Go’s Z1 Extreme chip noticeably outperforms my OLED Deck. I also appreciate the first and third person options! Clicking down the left joystick will swap between the two views. I prefer third person, as I enjoy seeing my character, especially alongside her Beast companion! Controls for Notmads are FANTASTIC and mapped ON SCREEN, so no guessing or blind button-mashing needed. There were only a few times that I had to use my touchscreen to move to a different portion of a menu, such as the character creator. Otherwise, controls worked as expected//hoped 99.9% of the time, making this a fantastic game for handheld, and quite cozy in my book. Okay, combat!! I’ve seen that consistently critiqued as well. I will say that I found the early (melee) combat to be “slippery,” if that makes sense. I died a few times, but the respawn system is nice (just be sure to grab your stuff at the gravestone looking respawn point before you set back off on your journey!). Respawn points are well-placed in my opinion. I had to backtrack through the opening dungeon several times as I learned the combat systems, but didn’t find it punishing or grueling, especially since all//most enemies remain slain, so progressing further is easier and easier. Regarding the slippery combat, EVERYTHING about combat changed for me once I found my first magic staff. I quickly switched to a magic build (you can equip magic tomes to your staff, and some even to your melee weapon!). Being able to cast ranged spells (combined with the quick-use items you can equip to your hot bar; I recommend the health and mana potions go there ASAP) made combat not only manageable (I “got good” pretty fast), but also quite fun. The magic spells are color-coded and look so cool shooting from your staff!! The Beast is well-programmed, with little details such as always softly gazing at you, automatically eating food if he is lacking health or stamina, and figuring out how to follow you around, even if you take shortcuts that he cannot access. He’s got to be THE MOST magnificent creature I’ve ever encountered in a video game. I found myself smiling so much as I saw him bounding after me at a distance, trying to fight for my honor, or just happily munching berries I cut down for him. And coming upon the Beast for the first time in Notmads will rank as one of my most memorable gaming moments. <3 My little wishlist as this progresses through early access: option to auto-collect loot (or “collect all” in an area), tighter melee controls (primarily for newcomers’ first impressions, as I think the magic staffs are where the real fun is at shortly into the game!), and a parry or dodge option (unless I missed this too). With the ranged staffs, I found that a bit of practice made me feel quite comfy with combat. But I’m also carrying a sword in my left hand, and in a pinch, I could use a better way to get out of the corners I sometimes find myself backed into. There are also some camera issues here and there (when in tight spots), but I suspect that will be ironed out during early access! I wish I could give more than just a simple thumbs-up on Notmads. I cannot say enough good things, and am overwhelmed in the best way possible by how polished this game is—once you get your magic staff!!—in early access. I am in AWE of what this solo dev has managed to create in the five years he’s been building his “dream game.” I think he’s happened to have built a game that is also on my shortlist of dream games. Bravo!!! One of my most stunning surprise gems I’ve ever come across in my gaming life. :) I can’t wait for what’s to come!

We ended up playing for 7 hours straight on our very first session because the game constantly pushes you into doing “just one more thing.” Honestly, Notmads has a TON of potential. It starts a bit slow, but once it picks up, it builds momentum naturally and never really feels boring. The gameplay loop is ridiculously addictive. You’re constantly running around harvesting materials with this magical beam tool, leveling up your character, your creature, and upgrading the beam itself. There’s always some kind of progression happening. Combat is also a blast thanks to the magic combos and skill trees, and the gear system actually gives serious Diablo 2 vibes — stats matter, items feel unique, and equipment changes how you play instead of just being “higher level = better.” The building system was another huge surprise. It’s super modular and lets you use rounded shapes, so you can actually make unique builds instead of the usual boring square-box houses you see in every survival game. Yeah, it’s in Early Access, so you’ll notice some bugs and missing assets here and there, but the core game is already incredibly fun and the dev seems super active and passionate about the project. Performance actually shocked me. The game ran super smooth on epic settings with zero crashes, freezes, or major glitches. My only recommendation is to cap your FPS unless you want your PC to achieve orbit. Aside from that, optimization was excellent and the game never felt like it was secretly mining bitcoins in the background. A few random things: * The tutorial is kind of a mess and not very intuitive, but do the quests early anyway because they explain a lot. * The music is surprisingly good and fits the vibe instead of becoming annoying after 20 minutes. * Being able to steal literally everything from NPCs in town is hilarious. Playing with friends is pure chaos, but it definitely works solo too. Absolutely worth the price.

Honestly incredible for a solo dev project. Notmads has a killer concept: you're a spellcaster building a base directly on the back of a giant, cute, fluffy (and killer) creature that walks around with you. It’s in Early Access, so it obviously needs some polish, but the sheer amount of features the solo developer has already packed into this is awesome. The Good stuff: Fun RPG loop: You find a variety of spell tomes that change your playstyle, and they actually level up and get stronger the more you use them. The Diablo-style gear with random stats keeps looting exciting. Great Quality of Life: There is no inventory weight limit. Harvesting resources with your mining beam feels smooth, upgrades quickly, and lets you just vaporize everything in sight without it feeling like a chore. You can also access the creature stash from anywhere, making storing and retrieving an easy task. Forgiving Crime System: Stealing is like Skyrim, but casual. If you get caught, guards actually stop chasing you after a few minutes depending on how much you took. The Dev Listens: This is clearly a dream project, not a cash grab. The developer pushed fixes and added a whole Sandbox Mode just 3 days after release because people asked for a faster pace. The Rough edges: Needs Polish: It's Early Access, so expect bugs and clunkiness here and there. Aiming Spells: Combat feels good, but it needs a crosshair/reticle on the screen to make targeting easier. A Roadmap Would Be Great: The game is super ambitious, so a public roadmap would help us see what the dev has planned next. Final Verdict: It has its rough edges, but the core game is a blast and the creator actually listens to feedback and patches the game fast. Definitely worth supporting and keeping an eye on if you like base building and ARPGs. Thumbs up.

Very fun and entertaining game, with a very eye-catching premise: building your base on top of a creature that you have to take care of and will level up. The game offers a fairly wide amount of freedom, where you can steal and interact with the town NPCs. With the time I've played, I can say I haven't found any major bugs or anything that breaks the game, just a few visual ones that don't affect gameplay at all. Plus, I played it with friends in co-op and it worked great, no stutters or connection issues; the truth is that the optimization is very well done. The building system felt very comfortable and practical. It's also good to remember that this is an indie game developed by a single person, which adds value to how well-achieved the game is for what it offers and delivers. It would be great to polish the combat a bit more, as many have mentioned, but the potential it has is huge. I recommend it to support the project in this Early Access.

El juego en sí es una bestia con mucho potencial. En cuanto terminen de pulirse aspectos como el combate, la progresión y demás, estoy seguro de que se empezará a valorar como es debido. Confío plenamente en el desarrollador; el juego está mejorando muchísimo mes a mes y siempre escucha cualquier tipo de crítica constructiva que se le comenta. Recomiendo que apoyéis su desarrollo y que deis todo el feedback que podáis para que siga mejorando más y más.

Es un buen juego en algunos puntos se nota que sigue en desarrollo y en otros se siente muy completo, tiene un componente RPG fuerte y fomenta mucho el farmeo para conseguir nuevos objetos o mejorar los que ya tienes, la verdad es que es un buen juego, tiene camino por delante con tema de corrección de bugs y algunas IA´s de algunos enemigos pero lo recomiendo ya que así como esta es muy entretenido.

es un juego con una idea muy original, la de crear una casita encima de una criatura, me e pasado la mayoria de horas recolectando recursos XD, 9/10... tiene catalan bamonos

Epico

Mein Kumpel und ich haben uns das Spiel gekauft, weil es heruntergesetzt war. Wir haben Anfangs nicht viel erwartet, aber es ist echt gut und macht sehr viel Spaß. Es kam in letzter Zeit selten vor, dass wir ein Game so gesuchtet haben. Leider kam es erst kürzlich raus (13.5.26), weswegen das Spiel noch nicht komplett ist. Wir hoffen auf eine zeitnahe Fortführung und freuen uns schon, den Rest zu erkunden! Endlich mal wieder ein gutes Spiel !

I honestly didn’t expect to get hooked this quickly, but Notmads ended up being one of the best new games I’ve played in a long time. The game does a really good job teaching you its mechanics without feeling hand-holdy. The combat and the controls are easy to pick up, and the challenges stay fun instead of becoming frustrating. Every time we figured something out or finally beat a difficult section, it felt genuinely rewarding. I also played it with friends, and that made the experience even better. We all had a blast playing together, trying different approaches, and laughing through the chaos. It’s one of those games that’s just hard to put down once you get into it. Definitely recommend it if you enjoy challenging co-op games with satisfying gameplay.