Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle

Finished both character stories in about 16 hours but it still feels like there are some of hidden secrets left to discover. There are a few monsters, NPC's and areas that I was not able to find/clear yet. The length of Witch of the Dark Castle depends by how curious you are and how deep you want to explore it. You can rush it and just go straight for the main objective or you can play it by trying to explore every location, finding every secret, character backstory and side quests in the game. This is a love letter to classic gamebook RPG adventures. Having page numbers tied to your actions, along with the whole paper-and-pen aesthetics really makes me feel playing an actual gamebook. The artwork is entirely all handcrafted and it feels lovely. The variation is also incredible. In special loved the terrific monster designs, the cute animal NPC's and the delicious food illustrations. There are hundreds of detailed illustrations for items, maps, rooms, characters, enemies, and more. Everything is presented in full color with a soothing soundtrack, which makes this world incredibly immersive. Immersion was something I always struggled when reading gamebooks, so I really appreciate it here. I'd love to play more stories like this. I also enjoyed the plot, although I can see younger players/people not used to classic gamebooks needing to be a bit more open-minded to fully appreciate it. Gamebooks tend to focus more on exploration, narration, and the "what if?" scenarios rather than a strictly linear plot. Even so, I really liked the characters and the lore, and I was always excited to uncover more of the game's mysteries. Veritas Tales constantly made me eager to load a save and try another option, just to see what would happen if I had chosen another action. For me, that is the essence of what a gamebook should be, so I consider it to be a success. You can tell this game was made with a lot of care and passion. I highly recommend it if you appreciate beautiful artwork, fantasy worlds or want to experience what playing a gamebook feels like.

Please support this wonderful solo developer (Though a veteran of the industry) who made everything including the art himself. there is NO GENERATIVE AI in this project whatsoever, since there are people who apparently think otherwise.

I bought a copy for myself, then after about twenty minutes I bought copies for two of my friends as well. From the outset you can really feel the passion the developers have for CYOA games and Fighting Fantasy-type gamebooks, and it's got that lovely Vanillaware feel too. Highly, highly recommended.

한글패치 만들었습니다: [url=https://github.com/killterm/Localization-VeritasTalesWitchOfTheDarkCastle]https://github.com/killterm/Localization-VeritasTalesWitchOfTheDarkCastle[/url] 실물 게임북을 디지털로 거의 그대로 옮겨놓은 듯한 판타지 RPG. 덕분에 실물 게임북의 장점과 단점 역시 고스란히 따라왔다는 인상이 크다. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3763361660 흔히 텍스트 RPG로 많이 언급되는 <로드워든>, <브란테 경의 삶과 고난>, <소서리!>와 달리 이 게임은 기본적으로 한 페이지에 포함되는 글이 짧고, 고유명사에 마우스를 올리면 용어 설명이 나타나기 때문에 글을 읽기 편하다. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4508570/view/657105177931678362]개발자 칼럼[/url]을 보면, 독서와 친하지 않은 사람도 즐길 수 있는 게임북을 만드는 것이 목표였음을 알 수 있다. 스토리의 소재 자체는 평범하고 깊이도 얕은 편이지만, 그걸 풀어내는 내러티브가 좋다. 실물 게임북에 비하면 성우 연기와 배경음악, 효과음까지 더해져 꽤 몰입감 있게 플레이할 수 있다. 복잡하고 거대한 세계관을 파고드는 작품이라기보다는, 짧고 읽기 쉬운 판타지 모험담을 읽는 느낌. 게임 설명에는 대략 15만 단어(한국어 패치는 9만 6천 단어 정도)에 20시간의 분량이라고 적혀 있지만, 1회차 엔딩까지 8시간 정도가 걸렸다. 다회차 요소라고 해봐야 두 캐릭터 중 하나를 더 플레이하는 정도인데, <바이오하자드 2>로 유명한 두 캐릭터의 선택이 서로에게 영향을 미치는 재핑(zapping) 시스템이 있다. 근데 이게 실제로 플레이해보면 그다지 흥미롭게 활용되지는 않았다. 첫 번째 캐릭터로 획득한 특정 장비나 아이템이 두 번째 플레이에서는 사라지는 정도의 변화가 있다고 하고(더 있는지 모르겠음), 두 캐릭터의 개별 서사도 존재하지만 중심 서사는 동일하다. 그래서 한 캐릭터로 엔딩만 보고 끝내는 사람도 많아 보인다. 전투가 정말 단순하다. 스킬과 아이템의 종류는 적고 기본 공격에 비해 성능이 매우 강력하지만, 마치 실물 게임북을 하는 것처럼 주사위 굴림 판정은 별도의 행운 보정 없이 운의 영향(운빨)을 상당히 크게 받는다. (주사위 눈 1만 3번 나오면 SP를 다 쓰고도 죽음...) 그래도 실물 게임북과 달리 페이지마다 세이브 포인트를 만들 수 있기 때문에 페이지를 이동할 때마다 저장해두면 전투에서 지더라도 그냥 해당 페이지를 다시 진행하면 된다. (사실 실물 게임북도 페이지를 다시 펼치면 되긴 하다) 이 게임은 캡콤과 바닐라웨어에서 약 30년 동안 배경 아트를 담당했던 니시무라 요시오(Yoshio Nishimura)가 6년에 걸쳐 혼자 제작했다. 게임의 기본 틀은 <드래곤즈 크라운> 일본판에만 들어 있던 게임북 DLC 악마섬의 보물(Treasure of Demon Island)에서 그대로 가져왔다. 음악 역시 드래곤즈 크라운에 참여했던 사키모토 히토시(Hitoshi Sakimoto)가 맡았다. 절차적으로 생성되는 맵이나 매번 달라지는 랜덤 이벤트 같은 반복 플레이 요소는 없다. 그래서 로그라이크나 CRPG, TRPG처럼 시스템을 파고들며 장시간 반복해서 즐길 게임을 기대한다면 아쉬울 수 있다. 반대로 짧은 시간 동안 몰입감 있는 판타지 게임북을 경험해 보고 싶은 사람들에게는 적극 추천한다. 디지털 게임의 편의성을 일부 더하면서도, 실물 게임북을 읽고 주사위를 굴리던 감각을 충실히 재현한 느낌이라 다른 게임에서는 쉽게 접하기 어려운 독특한 경험을 할 수 있는 게임이다.

Blurb on the store page says 'handcrafted over six years by a 30-year veteran from Vanillaware.' It's very true because this jank ass game design is straight from 1996. Screenshots implied Hex/Grid crawl mechanics and resource management, but this seems full Choose Your Own Adventure book. Unfortunately this game manages to implement the absolute worst 'feature' of choose your own adventure books, you'll be given multiple options, no context, none of the options seems better than any other, and all but one will lead to death - I'm not talking about difficult encounters - I'm talking literal scripted death and reload. I don't really have any patience for games that waste the player's time with dead end options, and even with limited playtime there were multiple instances where once you finally find the right option the game explains exactly why the option was right. Whoever wrote this nonsense couldn't have figured out how to give the needed context before the decision and/or cut out the dead end options completely? Interface is also 1996 bootleg H-game era. No volume controls, no resolution options, nada. Game blasted out my eardrums right out the gate.

A wonderful little game that really does sell the old pen & paper RPG experience with both presentation and actual gameplay. There are also several heartwarming references to things stretching from Sword & Sorcery all the way to Dragon Quest (Walking Corpse zombie, my beloved). The visuals are gorgeous and you can see where the 7 YEARS HAND DRAWN marketing blurb comes from --- things like the character portraits being animated wasn't needed but it adds all the more to the game's atmosphere. The game's sound design and music are top notch as well, and do well to invoke whatever feeling the developer is trying to instill at that time. The translation is bit utilitarian at times and could've probably used a bit more polish/flourish in areas, but given the state of modern JP > ENG translations in recent years it is miles beyond what other releases are doing. Gameplay is a bit trial and error at times and combat can be a complete crapshoot of good and bad RNG but the game is generous and autosaves often so if you ever die you can easily retry the failed segment. This also leads into the fact that the game is sometimes really linear and you're sort of railroaded into some decisions at times. I had no problems with this but I can see it being a turn off for some people. Just something to keep in mind. The game's story is also a lot better than it needed to be considering the scope of the project. While it does (intentionally) lean into some generic fantasy storybeats and tropes, it also carves out its own interesting and unique setting that will unfortunately not be expanded on unless the developer hires help for his next project and this game becomes a runaway success. TL;DR: Good game. Give it a shot if you have the money to spare. Worth the asking price.

Inventory management is simple but the game requires many plot items. Half my inventory felt like plot items that should not be discarded, yet I kept finding more, this limited combat options, as all of those are also inventory slots. Combat is not great, probably the least interesting piece of the game. Everything else is good from the game though. Up to you if you want to play a game with boring combat but an appealing artwork/story.

This is very much a 1:1 remake of that one summer you were so so bored and had one of these books and nails it. It has a big nostalgia hit for me, but the interface is just so painfully clunky. Eventually I grew tired of navigating the instant-death maze of options over and over again and accepted the "End your adventure here...?" button into my heart. And the Evil Witch in the Dark Castle lived happily ever after...

【ゲームブックの「美味しいところ」だけを凝縮した、テンポ抜群の極上ファンタジー冒険譚！】 昔ながらのゲームブックの魅力を現代のシステムで快適に、そして最高に遊びやすく進化させた素晴らしいファンタジー作品です。ゲームブック未経験の方にこそ、ぜひ手にとってほしい一本。 個人的に特に素晴らしいと感じたポイントを紹介します。 ◎ 煩わしさを一切排除した、抜群のテンポの良さ RPGによくある「キャラクターを操作してマップを移動する」といった手間がありません。さらに、紙のゲームブック特有の「何度もページをめくる」「ステータスを鉛筆と消しゴムで書き直す」「挿絵が少なくて想像しにくい」といった欠点が見事に解消されています。まさに、美味しいところだけをテンポよく味わえます。 ◎ マウス一本で、のんびり極楽の冒険体験 本作はマウスのみで操作可能。右手だけでポチポチとのんびりクリックしているだけで、驚くほど楽に、そしてどっぷりと壮大な冒険に没頭できます。この快適さこそデジタルの強み。 ◎「読まされている感」のない、絶妙なテキスト量 海外のファンタジー小説にありがちなくどい情景描写はなく、文章は適度なボリュームで非常にスッキリしています。テンポの良いテキストと、豊富なイラスト、そして程よい脳内補完が合わさることで、まるで本当にファンタジー世界を冒険しているかのような没入感が味わえます。 ◎「死に戻り」機能で、理不尽な突然死もストレスフリー 選択肢を間違えるとあっけなく即死する「ゲームブックならではの洗礼」もしっかり健在。ですが、本作は死んでも直前からすぐにやり直せる仕様になっているため、理不尽な死に様すらもストレスなく楽しむことができます。 【総評】 複雑なRPGのシステムや攻略を楽しむというよりは、「ファンタジー世界の冒険そのものを純粋にワクワクしながら体験したい」という方に心からおすすめしたい名作です。

This is a great little digital gamebook! It has an incredibly charming presentation with the way that it emulates playing a pen and paper RPG. I was immediately drawn in by the beautiful artwork and soundtrack. Hitoshi Sakimoto's music is full of energy as usual, and it goes far beyond what I expected from a reading-focused game. The story and combat are fairly basic, but I think it's acceptable for this style of game, and the variety of scenarios keeps it interesting throughout. My only complaints are that the game is lacking basic settings (resolution, fullscreen toggle, text speed, volume sliders), and the UI has a few quirks that are clunky to navigate.