Middle-earth™: Shadow of Mordor™
I just……. can’t really Overappreciate the masterpiece that is Shadow of Mordor- a perfectly balanced blend between visual artwork, story, combat/stealth gameplay- and the whole newly- introduced with the series Nemesis system- Yes, I KNOW it’s glitchy sometimes - but it does Not mean it’s not worthy of any gamer’s attention due to lack of attention to detail from the Devs- since, they got occupied with the sequel….
A great ARPG, with tons of Possible builds for the main character, as well as even more possible boss -encounters…… And YES the Bosses are almost unique to each player - as well as their story with those bosses….
– Real player with 716.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fantasy Stealth Games.
The general consensus regarding this game is absolutely spot on.
That is to say - It’s a fun action game. It looks good. It plays good. Everything about it is decent or at least acceptable enough to give a pass mark to.
But then the games unique selling point, the ‘Nemesis’ system single-handedly raises it from good to great. Worth playing just to experience the total craziness that occurs with that genius game design.
7/10
– Real player with 45.2 hrs in game
Divinity II: Developer’s Cut
Divinity II Ego Draconis and Divinity II Flames of Vengeance comprise Divinity II: Developer’s Cut. The former the original and the latter the expansion. Depending on how you play the length of the entire production can easily extend past 100 hours.
To start, customization was a disappointment. Selection is limited to a male and female model with appropriate sound samples from which to pick. Want to sound like a noble or a soldier then Larian has made that happen. What Larian did not make happen was allow me to choose an avatar in my chosen image. The hair and beard and color of both can be chosen but only female or male and human at that. The game has goblins, why can’t the player be a goblin?
– Real player with 149.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fantasy Action RPG Games.
Firstly please be aware that the naming of the various Divinity Games from Larian studios is confusing to say the least.
WHAT THIS IS: This is Divinity II: Developers Cut (Ego Draconis & Flames of Vengeance) (from 2012).
WHAT THIS IS NOT: This is not Divinity II: Original Sin (from 2019).
SHORT REVIEW
This is one of these good games that has been be slightly overlooked in my opinion. A good RPG and definitely worth picking up. It is an older game now so the graphics aren’t cutting edge but they are still quite adequate and with the exception of one glitch that can occasionally hang the game on a loading screen between areas the game is pretty solid.
– Real player with 99.6 hrs in game
Ethos 2: Fall Of Empires
Carve Your Own Path
Ethos 2: Fall Of Empires is a Historical RPG where every single decision you make affects your journey. Abilities, upgrades, weapons, interactions, quests, the atmosphere, and much more, are all affected by the actions and moral decisions you make within the game.
Become a tyrant, a hero, a lone wolf, or many other archetypes, the choice is yours!
The Story
The game takes place in the year 1453. You play as Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Your once great city of Constantinople has fallen into the hands of the Ottomans and your goal is to take it back.
You can do this by gathering troops/equipment/allies from leaders of other nearby nations in Egypt, the Balkans, The Middle East, and more! OR you can also choose to overthrow the leaders of other nations, and take their nations by force!
You may also attempt to take back Constantinople by making yourself an extremely powerful one-man-army, and attempt to take the city by yourself whenever you are ready. This can be through many means such as assassination of Mehmed the Conqueror, or by facing the entire Ottoman army by yourself.
Style
The game is very non-linear. Meaning that you can technically attempt to finish the final quest very early on in the game. Its an open-world game that doesn’t place a limit on exploration.
Consequences
Want to murder a main character that you need to complete a quest? Go for it. But expect there to be consequences. Want to become a pacifist and try to not harm anyone ever? Go for it. But expect there to be consequences.
Why This Game Is Being Made
As a massive RPG-fan, I was very tired of many AAA games giving you the illusion of ‘your decisions matter’. Because at the end of the day, choices in many AAA games pretty much only affected how much of a discount you could get at a merchants shop, or how some NPC’s react to you when you walk by.
I really want choices to matter in games. And that’s why this game is being made.
Saying that, this is a passion project for myself, and no one should expect this to be a AAA title. But hopefully it could be a really fun indie game that people can replay and have fun with :)
Read More: Best Fantasy Immersive Sim Games.
Fable Anniversary
This review is biased due to childhood nostalgia. That being said this is an excellent game. If it is on sale and you like rpg’s even a tiny bit, I would definitely recommend this.
– Real player with 41.1 hrs in game
I love to sell 4000 wedding rings/apples to just buy and sell them back again for a a large profit.
Perfectly balanced economy.
– Real player with 34.1 hrs in game
Gothic® 3
Gothic 3, in its current form, is the definition of a mixed bag. While the release version was pushed out long before it was ready, the community managed to finish the job, in what I would call an unprecendented effort. The end result is great in some aspects and painfully lacking in others. Overall a decent package, but not for everyone.
First off: any of the following statements are based on the community-patched build, which is not included in Steam by default. In order to enjoy this game, I strongly recommend downloading the Community Patch 1.75 and the Humanforce Quest Pack 4. Without these, you will have a significantly worse time.
– Real player with 332.8 hrs in game
“Gothic 3 scored only 8/10 because producer JoWood ‘rushed out’ production…” that’s a funny complaint because an 8/10 from any major critic is a heavenly blessing upon a game like Gothic 3. Nobody who plays any of the Gothic or Risen games is ever on the fence about them; you either love them or wish that you could set the developer on fire.
Allow me to explain:
I love Gothic 3. I come back to it over and over even though by now the graphics are seriously dated (I had originally reviewed the game many years ago and called it beautiful) and I have discovered pretty much everything in the world that there is to discover. There are hours upon hours of quests and content in the game to keep you busy and most of them are pretty easy to figure out. Rarely do you have to trek across an entire continent (like in some other open world RPG’s out there) in order to pick up item x and then walk all the way back to drop it off. It happens… but it’s rare.
– Real player with 167.9 hrs in game
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning™
I can’t recommend this game any higher than any other game. Please don’t miss out on this; I will literally proselytize this game to the world. This game is incredible! I hate when people say it’s generic and bland… they echo each other’s complaints to the letter and it’s very obvious that people hear something about a game and repeat it without having a real reason why. Sure, everyone can have their opinion, but this game is a masterpiece! They put work into it- real work. For an original IP, it’s ambitious! For a combat/class style like this, it’s innovative! There is so much in this game and the developers really care about it. Go ahead and play Skyrim. It’s like the missionary style of RPGs- it’s great and classic, sure, but the real pioneer, adventurer freaks play this game.
– Real player with 580.1 hrs in game
Oh boy, this game.
Well, it’s fun, the combat is very fast paced and fun, you can do a lot of moves with your skills and magic and abilities, you can combine them or charge them for a more powerful attack.
This game is HUGE, the map is VERY HUGE, there are a lot of dungeons and there is like 300 or 400 side quests to be done, but it is very unlikely that you will want to do every single one, you see, most of them, most of the quests are like the generic MMO quests (grab question with NPC kill x things collect x things go back to NPC), but there is a lot of side quests very well done and with a nice story.
– Real player with 161.3 hrs in game
Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™
Alright so I have not done a review for a game before however I will try to be fair in my review of this game.
I will try to keep a specific format and there will be a tldr at the bottom.
Middle Earth Shadow of War has been one of my favorite releases of this year. Being a fan of mature and realistic fantasy, especially Lord of the Rings, this game holds a lot of both fun and appreciation for the effort that went into it. I will seperate this review into six categories, in chronological order; Game design/gameplay, world design/exploration/progression, story(spoiler free), art, music/vibe, and economy. For each of these I will list off the pros and cons that go with them;
– Real player with 461.8 hrs in game
❝ Lovely fortress you have here. Correction: lovely fortress I have here. ❝
-A random orc
💻 Description:
Shadow of War nowadays is considered a must have game for the diehard fans of the L.O.T.R. franchise. Even though, it does not follow the story by the book, it describes an amazing adventure that can please even the most demanding players.
As its predecessor, Shadow of Mordor, the game is an epic story driven action RPG game, where you utilize the power of the ring at its full potential. You fight and recruit armies of orcs that sometimes lead to epic battles, alliances and even betrayals. I really enjoy the game in its highest difficulty, since it adapts to the needs and the playstyle of the player.
– Real player with 102.2 hrs in game
Secret of Sardinia
Secret of Sardinia is an open-world adventure game full of mystery and mythology. Swim, translate, explore, and discover!
Ancient Mythology
Locate magical bottles that contain the voices of departed souls. Collect stone fragments to rebuild the Tablets of Ages – ancient writings which tell the forgotten lore of Sardinia. Examine the Tablets’ cryptic markings and identify hieroglyphics to translate its legends.
Fish-Fantasy
Control Sam the Sardine using a carefully-crafted swimming mechanic that lets you move with 360 degrees of freedom. Test your skills with trials scattered throughout the ocean to attain union with the sea herself and unlock new abilities. Master these techniques to avoid the gaze of the unliving, lest you decay.
Open Seas
The Sacred Basin. The Giants’ Grave. The Cursed Cavern. The Undercurrent.
Swim through four connected realms to find the answers you seek – and then travel beyond. Unlock entrances to hidden caverns revealed by the Tablets of Ages.
Features
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Fluid and customizable swim controls
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Four haunting realms to explore
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Hand-drawn, fully translatable hieroglyphic language
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Hundreds of collectible bottles and fragments
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Original mythology communicated through immersive voice acting
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Beautiful, original soundtrack
Copyright attribution for “Secret of Sardinia” can be found here .
Secrets of Moon Island
A desperate measure has been taken to inform you of a strange and mysterious island’s whereabouts.
Will you answer to the call and journey to Moon Island?
Was it really your long lost ancestor trying to reach out to you in a last ditch effort, or could this be a trap? After all your family’s wealth has been considerable for generations.
In this indie(solo dev) swashbuckling adventure RPG you control two protagonists, and any allies you can craft or recruit, to explore the dangerous island.
But…. also… some things are just weird, and don’t completely add up, can you figure out what is really going on here?
Key Features
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Experience Non Target Based Combat.
The game features its own combat system, the “Fencer Mode”.
If your sword connects with an enemies body with suffiecient speed, or even if they just run into your sword, they will take damage.
To avoid getting hit and taking damage of your own, simply either move out of the way of the enemies hit or move your weapon in the path you think the opponents weapon will take
In most cases enemies do what is known as telegraphing, they pull their weapon back in the direction they are going to try to hit you from. Use this to parry their weapon. If you have successfully parried an enemy, you wil have a small timeframe to get in a hit of your own.
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Zen Mode In Zen Mode you become one with your weapon and forget about everything else, which allows you to fully focus on combat without parts of your body getting into your line of sight.
gif: Fencer Mode combat whilst in Zen Mode
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Gather help for your main heroes by making friends with some creatures or by crafting others. (You can craft little “helpers” to help you right off the bat).
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Search for legendary weapons and armor to help you in your quest. Some of these weapons are imbued with powerful effects that can unleash their wrath upon your enemy after you perform a successful parry in fencer mode!
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Fight your enemies either top down or in direct control of your main hero.
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Direct control combat comes in two variations, one more traditional with pressing buttons for performing attacks or blocking, whereas the other one gives you a more “direct” control of your sword. Note: because the Fencer Mode form of combat and movement is somewhat uncommon, a more standardized combat system is in place as well. In order to enter this more standardized way of controlling your character simply press the [Ctrl] key.
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Experience and a very simple level up system. You don’t need to spend hours learning tech trees, you literally just increase some attributes.
All creatures you control can gain experience and level up, not only the main heroes!
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Explore the small island without hand holding mechanics such as quest tracking lines, by orienting yourself solely on landmarks and your map.
Note: There is a per default disabled option in settings that allows you to get a “your position” marker on the map.
Stormrite
Stormrite is an upcoming open-world Action-RPG set in the dark, fantasy-medieval kingdom of Redreach. You will play the role of a young squire, exploring a world full of chaos and conflict. Become an expert assassin, learn the arts of dark magic, or lead your armies into large-scale war. With multiple endings to all questlines and a rich character tree to decide how you interact with the environment and its inhabitants, you have the power to decide your role in the world of Stormrite.
THE STORY
UNRAVEL THE TWISTED HISTORY OF A VAST KINGDOM
Across the land, there were drawings and scratchings on the walls that hinted at the existence of some greater being. A being that could control time, the earth, the underworld, and anything else the human mind could perceive. There were drawings of it creating tornadoes, raising demons from the earth, and stopping time altogether. This being was feared across the land, and also worshipped by those who were too afraid to be afraid of it. They called it ‘Rek-Tu-Hiem’, ‘Requiem’ in modern terms.
PREPARE FOR REQUIEM’S RETURN
The kingdom of Redreach lived in a state of constant fear, subject to an endless cycle of suffering by this all-powerful being until, one day, it seemingly vanished without a trace. For years, Redreach’s strongest minds attempted to gain some insight into where this being’s immense power came from, and how it somehow disappeared off the face of the Earth. These studies led to the discovery of the Stormrites, a series of powerful scrolls that, in the wrong hands, could lead to the end of all life as we know it. You will learn about the Stormrites while navigating the mysterious kingdom of Redreach, meeting friends and foes along the way, creating your own story in a quest that can ultimately end in one of two ways. You being a hero of the people, or becoming just as powerful and feared as Requiem itself. The choice is yours…
HARNESS THE POWER OF THE FOCUS CRYSTALS
Human characters in Stormrite do not have any magical powers, and all powers are granted by focus crystals. To cast spells, players have to charge their focus via a crystal equipped to their character, with different crystals providing varying buffs and abilities to the player. Certain crystals in the endgame will give players immense power, and the more powerful crystals must be hunted for by the player. This system provides a contrast from the usual “regenerating mana bar” style of magic combat used in other games.
TRAVEL THE LAND AND DISCOVER THE SECRETS THAT LIE WITHIN
Explore a vast open-world filled with interesting landmarks and civilisations, learning skills and trades along the way from the people you meet in your journey across Redreach. You will begin in the small mining village of Silverhorn, a quiet settlement that is being terrorised by bandit travellers attempting to take control of the nearby silver mines. Whilst helping defend your neighbors from these thugs, you will discover dark secrets about the village and its residents, and its ties to the legendary tales of the Stormrites.
Along your journey, your character will become increasingly entangled with the storyline of the Stormrites, potentially finding yourself in a position where you must save the kingdom from the terrors that could be unleashed by these powerful scrolls.
From the intense droughts of the Southern deserts to the unforgiving winters of the North, Redreach has plenty of regions for you to explore, each with their own stories and legends.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
With Stormrite’s branching skill trees you are given the ability to mould your character into the fighter you want to be. With a wide range of spells, weapons, and equipment to choose from, you can tailor your loadout every time to deal with each encounter that is thrown at you. Each tier of the skill tree increases the amount of specialisation available to your character, while the choices you made earlier into account to decide which paths you choose from next.
GAMEPLAY FEATURES
Stormrite is a fully single-player third-person experience. Your time will be spent going on enthralling quests, exploring the kingdom of Redreach and using various weapons and fighting techniques to dispose of your enemies. The three main styles of fighting are melee, ranged and magic. However, within each of these three categories there are several choices of weapon/combat style for you to choose. For example, ranged players can choose to go for a traditional bow and arrow loadout, can choose to go for a more clunky but powerful crossbow style, or even a hybrid melee-ranged loadout utilising agility, daggers, and throwing knifes.
Magic users can choose to cast spells that directly affect their enemies, summon companions to fight, or manipulate the very fabric of the world around them. You are also able to shoot spells into each other, resulting in some very interesting interactions that can be used to increase your options in combat.
Melee users also have plenty of choices, with 5 fighting styles (and counting) to choose from, and abilities to aid with your battles.
Stormrite will also have a companion system where you can bring allies on your travels to fight alongside you, either supporting you from behind or soaking up all the attention while you deal the damage from behind. This opens up many different ways to approach situations, with no two encounters being the same.
There are also plenty of other interesting gameplay mechanics that we have added/plan to add, such as mounts, feats, and many more!