Toward Dawn

You say "werewolf" and I am there. You add "werewolf romance" and I am wholly dedicated to enjoying the game. Did I? Well yeah! Even werewolves aside (never), I thought that the game had plenty to offer to keep one interested. Combat is engaging and there are plenty of skills/combos to go around. The weapons/armor give you different skills too and you can change stuff up at any time (outside of battle that is). It's challenging and each enemy has something new to poke and prod you with, making you experiment with different things. Oh and the way the enemy's silhouette looks like? That's hilarious. Love it. There is also no map and I got lost... Once maybe. What I am saying is... You will always find yourself near the next objective or a character will tell you where to go. Story well... The romance wasn't the focus and I get it. It was sweet however and I liked the main characters. I like the little "skits" too and there is even a card game to boot! It was nice, not overly confusing (the story) and overall? It kept me engaged. That is to say... I had fun and that was the important part. Good work. Thank you and woot woot!

A short(ish) RPG created as a (mostly) solo project. I highly recommend it due to a tactical battle system that juggles statuses and action speed, a nice world rooted in Welsh mythology, and retro-styled art reminiscent of the SNES and GBA Fire Emblem games.

TL;DR: A well-crafted novel presented in videogame form, with vibrant characters, intricate worldbuilding, and hard-hitting emotional themes. So that was an insane story to live through! I feel a bit blasted. Amazing worldbuilding, characters, music, feels, combat – The whole thing. I really enjoyed it. This is first and foremost a narrative game, and the story is quite intriguing and entertaining but one of the things that really roped me in was the layers of emotions and how all kinds of fears and trauma impact decisions and personalities, all extremely well portrayed, and very tactfully in terms of the really dark things. There is a lot of space made for nuancing why people do what they do in the story. Even the worst villain has their reasons. Overall, I think the story was really beautifully crafted and I feel like I’ve been part of a visually presented novel at this point. (If, like me, you are not familiar with Welsh as a language/culture/stories I recommend reading the mini encyclopedia ingame. Press esc for the menu, that’s where you can find it. It tells you how to pronounce things and gives extra details on the world as you encounter new things. There’s actually a lot to optionally explore behind the story, and I like that.) All in all, it’s obvious that a *lot* of work has gone into the characters and their world, and I really enjoyed it. *The fact that this game is made by a solo developer blows my mind!*

Excellent effort for a first game by a solo dev. The graphics are serviceable and the close up portraits are nicely detailed. Combat mechanic is addicting, needing synergies and exploiting weaknesses to 'break' armour so that your regular attacks can do more damage. I would argue that the dev has the intended roles of each party member so you can't experiment as much as you're first led to believe but playing them within their roles was still engaging. I don't really have any negatives besides wanting voice acting throughout (I'm sure that's a budget issue), perhaps slightly longer play time (I finished nicely within 8 hours so that's about an hour per chapter), and some skits with plot relevance being easily missable (again, there is a tracker in game that tells you how to get them if you miss them, but you have to replay the game if you passed the chapter or scene so the new game plus update is a bonus). Def looking out for either a sequel or a new game from the dev.

[quote] Love RPG? [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39973073/]Make sure to Follow my Curator Page[/url] for plenty more! [/quote]Toward Dawn is a heartfelt indie JRPG with sharp combat, deep themes, and stunning mythological flavor. It’s short but impactful, with clever mechanics and real emotional weight. ✔️ Unique poise-break battle system ✔️ Beautifully grounded Welsh setting ✔️ Great writing and soundtrack ❌A bit short ❌ Minor polish issues ✔️8/10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqEix3SKcBA [quote] And don't forget to [url=https://www.youtube.com/c/WizardWorm?sub_confirmation=1] Subscribe to my Youtube [/url][/quote] [quote] Join my [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/wizard_rpg] Steam Group [/url] [/quote]

[h1]Toward Dawn – A Hidden Gem You Shouldn't Sleep On[/h1] I genuinely cannot believe more people aren’t talking about this game. [b]Toward Dawn[/b] is officially one of my favorite games now ♡(˃ᴗ˂) If you love retro JRPGs, mythology, emotional storytelling, and beautiful pixel art - please give this one a chance ✧˖° [hr][/hr] [h2]Why I Loved It[/h2] [b]Welsh mythology?![/b] That alone hooked me. You rarely see it in games, and it gives the entire story such a unique atmosphere. [b]The pixel art is gorgeous.[/b] It has that nostalgic retro JRPG vibe that I absolutely love, but it still feels detailed and alive. Every area feels crafted with care. [b]The writing is genuinely strong.[/b] The story flows smoothly and explores heavy themes in a thoughtful, natural way. Nothing feels forced. The emotional moments really land. [b]The music is beautiful.[/b] Some tracks genuinely stayed in my head after I finished playing ♫꒰･◡･๑꒱ [b]The voice acting? Spot on.[/b] It adds so much depth to the characters and elevates important scenes. I looooved it! [b]Optional romance.[/b] I really respect that the developer made romance optional - it gives players freedom in how they want to experience the story. That said… I personally wouldn’t have complained about a few more romantic scenes ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) just saying. [b]Gameplay is solid.[/b] Strategic turn-based combat, ability customization, crafting - everything feels satisfying. It took me around 10 hours to finish, and I enjoyed the entire journey (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ And the fact that this was made by a single developer? Massive respect. Seriously. [hr][/hr] [h2]A Few Small Issues[/h2] Nothing major, just small things I noticed: [list] [*]The text at the beginning of some chapters scrolls a bit too fast (especially in early chapters). I couldn’t fully read it sometimes. Interestingly, this didn’t happen in the last few chapters. [*]In some chapter-ending scenes, the music volume is louder than the voice acting, which makes the dialogue hard to hear. [*]I had a small Steam Cloud issue: I viewed every skit in Chapter 7, but the game didn’t register it. I had to replay the chapter. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h2]Final Thoughts[/h2] Toward Dawn is emotional, beautifully written, visually charming, and clearly made with a lot of heart (╥_╥)♡ It absolutely deserves more visibility. If you’re into retro-style RPGs with strong storytelling and unique mythology influences, please check it out. Support indie developers, especially when they create something this special. Thank you Devi Serene ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ♡

[h1][b]6.5/10[/b][/h1] Charming indie turn based RPG based on Welsh mythology, which makes it rather unique. Has an exploration mode on top of the dialogues and combat. [h2]Pros:[/h2] - Good music & sound design, and decent voice acting - Unique turn based system where action speed and damage can change turn order - Has a decent amount of traits, passives, and skills to keep combat interesting [h2]Mehs:[/h2] - The Welsh thing means most of the proper names and races and such are unpronounceable. Sometimes, the characters say these words, but it takes many tries for the correct pronunciation to stick in my mind as an English speaker [h2]Cons:[/h2] - Too much of the text is a bit difficult to read. It's *very* pixelated so when it's small, so it gets distorted - The characters aren't terribly versatile and were clearly designed with their own specific roles in mind. Skills and passives pretty much only expand on those preexisting roles

超级棒的RPG，天才的战斗系统，10分推荐！

Having already played the demo and now some of the full release, I can already say with confidence this JRPG-style, Welsh-inspired adventure is a great achievement for a solo dev. The combat has a large focus on breaking enemy poise to disable their actions, and avoiding the same being done to you, leading to a sometimes tense back and forth of picking when to attack and what abilities to use. The story is compact and well told, with a cozy, classical fantasy feel and a clearly deep appreciation for Welsh mythology. No clunky exposition dumps here, and many sweet moments between the two main characters. That one of them is an awesome wolfman is a huge bonus too! Best boy deserves all the pats from Carys. The voice actors do a fine job as well. This game paces itself quite skillfully, with good onboarding throughout the first act to get you to grips with the combat system before really opening up in options and difficulty later. Please support this dev's work, this is one of those games that prove solo devs can and do put out quality!

Only an hour in, but so far it's a pretty game, lovely ambiance. If you like JRPGs and Welsh mythology then this will likely hit the spot for you.