Roadwarden

Shortly after beating Disco Elysium and being properly enthralled by it, a friend suggested I try Roadwarden. Looking at the trailer, I was very skeptical -- how could a game that looks so simple match the grandiosity and genius of Disco? But is in this simplicity of systems and focus on a small-yet-very-dense world filled with interconnected events and great writing, Roadwarden took me and never really let me go. Many people have already mentioned the typos that happen maybe a bit too frequently throughout the game, and I'll admit it bothered me, but not enough to write the game down. If it might seem the game lack polish, I am still willing to let it pass since this is mostly an one-man job. Graphically, Roadwarden gives you enough to suggest what the world looks like, but never enough to rob you of imagining your version of it. Musically, it's simple yet evocative, again, letting your mind wander and fill the gaps. But is in the game's writing and plot that it transcends most other RPGs. I mean, the name implies it, but most RPGs are quite limited in the amount they let you effectively roleplay, but in Roadwarden, this is the whole game. The open-endedness of the tasks you're given and the tools to achieve them is shocking. I struggled to remember another game in recent memory that felt so ... pen-and-paper like this one. My game ended mostly as I wanted, being an honorable fighter that spared more beasts than I killed, that respected most opinions even though they were different from mine, but that didn't shy away from tough confrontations with bandits or tyrant village lords. I was not able to achieve all my objectives, effectively antagonizing one tribe I was seeking the favors of and failing my personal goal, but it never felt like a proper failure, just as a life well lived where you do your best and sometimes fail to come through. The journey was harsh at first, easy later on, and entirely satisfying. If you're looking for pure roleplay, there are very few games that match Roadwarden charm, ambition, scope and freedom. It might not be the prettiest boy in town, but it's certainly one of the smartest and most entertaining. It's harsh at first like life on the road, but it gets easier once you have friends in the wilderness and knowledge of the beaten path. A must for any pen-and-paper RPG fan.

Super interesting game. Never thought I'd start a second run right after finishing my first 15h run. A perfect little gem. It's a wonder that this was built in Ren'Py

I liked the concept. And from the start the world feels real and foreign from the one you and I reside in. If worldbuilding is your favorite part of fiction, this may be right for you. However, it is a story-driven game, and the story and writing I ultimately decided (after 5 hours) are lacking. Another reviewer put my thoughts into words: "In a game with no traditional gameplay loop, every paragraph needs to earn its place, and too often it didn’t, and much of it felt like filler."

This game enthralled me. I got lost in it for hours. Easy recommendation. If you enjoyed Disco Elysium, you will surely like this. Though just in case it's not clear yet: this is closer to a book than a video game. The Good: The writing is excellent, and ultimately that's what makes the game. The music... Wow. 10/10. I can't believe that a text-based combat encounter can get this exciting. Again, the writing is excellent. I felt like a child. I caught myself replicating the encounter with the corpse eater in my kitchen. I'm a grown man. I dont even do this for action-packed games. What a blast. I *felt* like I had agency and my choices mattered. I don't know if it's true, but I'm not sure that matters. The difficulty is on-point. It gives meaning and weight to your choices, while still allowing you to play how you want. Things are nuanced. I was making varied choices, changing my mind, making wrong assumptions, etc. This is not the "Pick the good option or the evil option" system from Mass Effect. Understanding the world is useful in the various encounters. There are good and bad ways to do things, and you can figure it out if you understand what's going on. The Bad: The game asks you to make a big decision that you can't really understand. You're meant to decide whether to convince the villages to join the city of Hovlovan (your employer) or not, but you (the player) don't know what this entails. There are bribes of information here and there, but it's not enough, and you're already down a path by the time you get them. And this choice matters a lot to how things turn out in the end credits. This is compounded by the fact that your character is not amnesiac or anything. You should know these things. To be honest, this whole aspect of the game felt a bit too ideological to me. Also, at the very very end, on the last screen, the game tells you what the future of your character is. Not a fan. I've been playing this dude, making the choices. I had a picture in my mind of his motivations, and his plans for the future. It felt weird at the end to have agency taken away from me, and have judgement issued from above. You could've just taken out that last screen.

Да. Отличный лор, запоминающиеся персонажи, хороший текст, приятная музыка. Мир меняется от твоих действий, ты волен делать что хочешь с судьбой что всего полуострова, что отдельных деревушек, жители которых с удовольствием будут отмечать твои заслуги. Богатый бестиарий, который гарантирует уникальные, хоть и немногочисленные, встречи с монстрами на протяжении ~30 часов, к каждому из которых нужен свой подход. Вот что должны показывать по России 1, короче говоря. Разрабы молодцы. Советую проходить на средней сложности, чтоб не было поблажек, а 40 дней вполне хватит для того, чтобы сделать практически всё что можно. 30-ти бы мне вот не хватило, Астериона нашёл как раз на 40-й день. Из минусов отмечу лишь скудный визуал, хотелось бы видеть больше артов, например, с персонажами и монстрами, а не только общие планы деревень, полей и лесов. Нейроперевод неплохой, но косяки есть, в мелочах в основном. Жаль править никто не будет :(

The Steam summer sale has gifted me with this gem and i highly recommend!!! If you like lore, dealing with other people's relationships, and getting to choose whether to be a nice person or a complete asshat, or if you're bored and depressed this summer, this is the game for you. I lay in bed last night thinking and strategizing about what I was going to do next in this. Other highlights: - you get to name your horse - some casual lgbtq+ rep! - sick art and great writing

我从未在如此平静的结局中这样热泪盈眶过这游戏好吗这游戏太好了，这样的游戏能不能再给我来一百个，玩得好满足好开心，我多年后也一定会反反复复地想起这个游戏。感谢民间汉化组的付出，文本量这么大没有中文我肯定没法流畅地打完这个游戏。 本作世界观和角色都非常鲜活，因为极富生命力而吸引人。叙事厚重真实，人们的合作与分歧，友善与隐瞒，这些事就像实际发生过一样让我觉得这个世界仿佛真的在那里。本作没有任何噱头地讲好了一个故事（也可以说是数个故事）。主角并非是拯救人们的英雄，而是在自己的轨迹从他人的故事中经过时尽可能地带来那么一点好的影响的普通人，这点真的很符合我口味。 本身可玩性也很强，略带生存要素的玩法在本作优秀的文本下表现极好，虽然地图不算大，但不同进度下同个地点会触发不同对话和事件，整个流程都能保持新鲜感。 游戏的视听体验也可谓绝佳。bgm很好听，丰富的环境音极大程度地提升了代入感，因为我还是像素爱好者所以可以说是看爽了听爽了玩爽了。 游戏感受是我像亲自踏上旅途历经种种最终结束了一段征程。 而最后我也得偿所愿。

A truly wonderful game, changes the standard that can be expected of text based RPGs and shatters it. Absolutely cannot wait to see what Moral anxiety studio does next.

My head is spinning from reading, but I freaking love the game. Reccomended if you like tabletop and don't mind reading a lot.

I paid $2.75 for this game, and somehow I still feel like I got the short end of the stick. Roadwarden is basically a choose-your-own-adventure RPG where the biggest adventure is trying to guess what the developer was thinking. My experience went something like this: "There are roots blocking your path." I have an axe. "That's cute, kid.. No." I have fire. "Also no. We didn't script that." I have hands. Can I move the roots? Please? "Stop asking logical questions." "You inspect the roots. Type a phrase." Burn the roots. "I'm sorry, I don't understand that command." Use axe on roots. "Invalid input." Cry. "Accepted. You were eaten by a grue." Actually, I think I just described a text adventure from 1978. How far we've come! The actual gameplay is wandering around a map that looks like it lost a fight with MS Paint, endlessly making laps until you accidentally stumble into the one conversation where you happened to click the one dialogue option that unlocks the next conversation, which unlocks the next conversation, which eventually unlocks the privilege of continuing to play. There's also an incredibly immersive day/night cycle where you'll occasionally get trapped inside a town because it's too late to leave... but somehow too early to sleep. So your heroic fantasy adventure briefly becomes Waiting for Bedtime Simulator. I'm sure I could pull up a quest guide, but at that point I'm just reading the game instead of playing it—which, come to think of it, is almost exactly what I've been doing anyway. After two hours I wasn't trying to save the world, find my missing collogue or get past the roots. I was just looking for the quickest possible way to get my character killed so at least one of us could escape.