Runerock Arena

One of the Finnish gaming OGs is back, and it's marvelous. Runs flawlessly with Proton on Linux. And remember, kids: never anger the Board with your excuses.

It's been a long while since I received the freeware version of Areena 4 alongside a lot of other freeware and demo games in a disc alongside the Pelit magazine when I was a kid. I did put copious amount of hours into Areenas 4 and 5 (also at least trying out every Areena release since Areena 2). My first impressions of Runerock Arena are overwhelmingly positive. The game looks a lot more polished and modern than the OG titles while maintaining the core gameplay that makes it a relaxing and nostalgic experience for me. Having double the starting income of the OG games certainly makes early game a lot simpler. At least on easy difficulty which I chose for the first game in Runerock Arena. It has a lot of the feel of Areena 4 with the race/class diversity of Areena 5 making it a very lovely Areena experience. There are some features the older titles had I'm missing, such as the specialized arrows of Areena 3, being able to hold P (for pikakierros or quick round) until the enemy team dissipates into crimson mist and unlimited trainings per month to mention a few. I do hope to see some of these features in a future update. ^^ My main suggestion for improvements based is adding customizable keybindings. I'm fairly certain that should be possible within the game engine. One of the few downsides are the achievements. Locking a few behind specific difficulty settings is like saying: "Here, have achievements but we don't want any casual gamer to actually be able to achieve them all." If you wanna ramp up the difficulty, maybe put winning championship or cup with a specific number of gladiators (both can be even done with just the one, at least on lower difficulties). Or add more race/class specific achievements like that one with the rabbit to give us incentive to break our typical teamups and try new ones. Just please don't difficulty lock them like that. Considering the price tag, pretty much anyone can afford to grab the title and enjoy the game, whether for nostalgia or love of gladiator management games. I can highly recommend the game!

I've been playing and I have been a fan of the Arena series for years. This Runerock Arena carries the torch for the series magnificently. The game has been improved in almost every way (although, reindeer would have been nice to see ;))

It feels like I have Regained piece of childhood. As long I have owned computer there has always been Arena game installed. Big red hit markers still tickle my brain such unique way. Easily worth tenner.

For years I have been wishing for am updated English-language version of Gladiator Manager, a completely addictive shareware game from 20+ years ago... Well here it is! The gameplay loop is nearly identical, keeping everything that made the original games so much fun. No flashy graphics or cutscenes needed, this is rock-solid game mechanics honed over the years.

Best gladiator simulator ever...

I have spent countless hours on older versions of Areena. It is a timeless classic and you should give it a go if you like tactical fantasy games. You manage a team of gladiators and you start your career at the bottom of the league. You try to get promoted while hiring new grladiators and upgrade their weapons and armors. For maximum fun play with friends!

https://youtu.be/BIjJ_YUwfm0

This game has a long history beginning from the 1990's. It's a very straightforward turn-based arena combat game with a management layer for hiring and equipping etc. There's a lot of different races and a good variety of equipment and spells. Skills, including spellcasting skills, improve with use. So you can either hire young cheap gladiators and see them improve (and guide them in a direction you want), or if you have the money, hire superstars (but they age and retire at some point). In Finland, it's a cult classic both because it's a good game and also because of hilarious tongue-in-cheek descriptions for everything. I switched the language to English for a moment, and it's the same descriptions, only slightly less unique and flashy writing style.