Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG
I used to love this game. but the latest update has ruined it for me. everything is still good until you touch the relic in the Nashville cave. I have now been stuck in the maelstrom for over an hour, there is no goal, no point to head for, you simply run inside the maelstrom going nowhere, and its pretty much game over. Once you have encountered the 2 groups in the mist, you should be returned to the cave no more than a minute later. Until this is fixed the game is dead as far as i am concerned, and i am actively advising my friends that have played encased to not return to the game.
– Real player with 341.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Isometric RPG Games.
extremely good game concept, first 20ish hours were some of the best RPG ive played so far this decade then after act 1 it just falls flat. pure lack of content from there on. never in my life have i played an RPG with so few quests. Of the 5 major factions they each get 1 settlement and a single chain of 3 main quests. sometimes side quests have you go to a different faction settlement to complete it, but thats about it.
the worst aspect is the loot. from the lazy items themselves to the loot chances to horrible merchant mechanics it had me tearing my hair the whole time. here is the defining story of my one single run of this game.
– Real player with 258.4 hrs in game
Sabre Team
I figured this would like a cool little X-com: UFO Defense type of game, but I was mistaken. The UI is somehow even less user friendly and the entire objective of the game seems to be in finding ways to piss me off.
I expected better, honestly.
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Isometric Military Games.
ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game
After spending over 150 hours and an almost complete playthrough on this gem of a title, I thought it needed to be known what future enthusiasts may encounter when purchasing ATOM RPG. The game itself plays like a hardcore, top-down, turn-based, open-world RPG, with a degree of emphasis on survival elements (namely an in-game arbitrary hunger attribute). For some, this already may feel like a turn off due to added complexity, but for those who enjoy a challenge, then this is the game for you.
! Be warned though, this game is hard, especially in the early stages.
– Real player with 165.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Isometric RPG Games.
I have recieved this game as a gift from my friend, as I bought him the game first. As much as I played this game since May this year, I don’t feel like this game is truly polished after 1.0 release. I’ll keep updating this review as I’ll keep re-exploring the game, as well as the game patches will be coming out.
BALANCING
Welp. There’s none.
But to be serious - if you haven’t played this game before - prepare to get your ass kicked. A lot. Permadeath mechanic is okay in games that are balanced, but ATOM RPG isn’t one of them. You’re the most agile and the strongest character in the post-apo Russia? Well, too bad. Everybody has been training kung fu since age of three, and you’ll get kicked and punched to death pretty easily. Somehow, common civillians and elderly are stronger than actual bandits or cultists (which it would make you think they’re ones who should be stronger but that’s not the case. NPCs are also magicians that enchant their bullets and blades, making them seemingly deal more damage than you’d be capable of (even if you met the requirements!), resulting in a scenario where you’re one who is in a leather suit armed with hunting rifle but dying to a bandit with nothing but his underpants and a zip gun.
– Real player with 155.7 hrs in game
Geneforge 1
Geneforge 1 is pure, simple perfection, and a large part of my emergence as a gamer. For those liking more story-focused RPG games, it may very well be a hidden gem.
G1 is a testament to how a well-written story will outlast graphical advancements any day, because while graphics become more outdated with time, a good story will last forever. G1 hits you with a curious but well-executed medieval Sci-Fi story, that’s simultaneously thoughtful, memorable, and well before it’s time. There are no real low points to it either; from start to finish, it remains strong and consistent. You are also very much the master of your own destiny in the game; unlike the future games, which place you into a specific sect as soon as you start the game, G1 has zero hand holding. Beyond the vague reputation of your kind, you’re free to do whatever you want, and you can very easily play without allying yourself with the numerous factions presented to you. There’s also the option to go completely mad with power, which I personally have a big preference for, and very much appreciate and recommend.
– Real player with 188.6 hrs in game
tl;dr: If this review is too long for you, you probably aren’t going to enjoy this text-heavy game. But you can skip to the summary at the end.
REVIEW
Go back to the very early stages of this millenium (when this game was released), and you might remember two things: (1) fascination with emerging medical technologies surrounding genetic modification and (2) the Infinity Engine at its zenith. Both of these influences can be found in Geneforge, which takes genetic modification as its theme, and uses a Baldur’s Gate-like mechanic for its gameplay (although shorn of D&D rules and a conventional fantasy setting).
– Real player with 100.5 hrs in game
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story™
(Review after 3 hours)
This game is an interesting mix of a lot of different types of games.
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Turn-based combat: Think Banner Saga, Slay the Spire, Darkest Dungeon or Into the Breach. Into the Breach is probably the closest comparison as the combat mechanics involve quite a few different buffs/debuffs/combo potential. Slay the Spire is pretty close but without the roguelite element of constructing/tuning your deck.
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RPG: There are main quests, optional side quests, a sandbox-like open world where you can loot random chests for a few gold and crafting materials. The gear/equipment system is deeper than expected. You can improve your characters' gear through fight rewards, purchasing it from vendors or upgrading what you have. Upgrading comes in two flavors, the typical upgrade all the stats as well as an “enchantment” system allowing you to augment gear with specific stats.
– Real player with 118.0 hrs in game
Game info : All done, achievements/etc.. highest difficulty.
Added more pros & cons & info :
++ Lore
++ Characters
- Art direction
++ Content ! more than enough if you are like me and rly want to go through everything.
- Well done turn based gameplay & combat system !
++ If you play on high difficulty, you may want to use your brain & your eyes to inspect ennemies tactic and adapt compared to other similar game
++ Multiple RPG component that sometimes lack on those kind of games (Enhancement, gear, rune, skill point) that allow different build
– Real player with 92.3 hrs in game
ATOM RPG Trudograd
Edit #2
After completing what i believe to be most of the new content and testing the balance changes that came with the latest update, I can gladly say this game is in a pretty good place now. I’ll address the problems I had in the previous patch below and how they were fixed below.
Fist off as always is combat. Enemies now more consistently take damage, so long as you are fully invested in what ever type you choose. There’s really not a lot of room for using multiple forms of combat, if you’re gonna go for automatics or rifles, you have to go in. You’re not gonna have enough points left over for other weapon skills to still have enough points for other skills unless you’re importing a character from the first game that’s some ungodly high level. One final thing to note about combat is that melee enemies still seem to do crazy amounts of damage. This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if they didn’t stun and crit you as often as they do. I swear i must have been crit more times in one hour of this game that the entire campaign of the previous one. Not that it’s too much of an issue, I found that as long as you have enough AP you can run away and shoot every other turn. Just make sure you avoid anyone with armor and a knuckleduster.
– Real player with 135.0 hrs in game
Quick and dirty review
Pros:
-Updated interface
-Perk system
-Weapon mods
-No need to buy the first game if you want to experience the atom world
-The world is still a fucked up hellscape with random and various strokes of gray as most choices just like the first don’t have a good ending just people surviving
cons:
-its not fully released yet AND I NEED MY GOOD RPG GAME FIX NOW!
Full review of what i so far think of the game:
So far i’m once again enjoying the atom world this definitely an expansion and for the full experience you should play the first game so you can import your character over and gain a better understanding of both the world and whats going on in this story, but you don’t have to as this can be played alone and with out context from the previous story if you just want a taste before possibly deciding to buy the previous game. While this isn’t as harsh as the previous game you can up the difficulty if needed as people that import there character may find this to be a bit too easy or too hard depending on your builds as you wont be able to fill in gaps using companions right away so for more for those importing characters you may want to even start a new one from scratch, but that’s just my own view you should always give a chance to your current build and see how it turns out. As for the overall story and not revealing spoilers you are thrown into searching for a solution to a very large and imminent threat the world still retains its bleak outset with many citizens within Trudograd suffering within the great city and some having grown soft inside its walls making certain decisions and quests just like the previous game not having the desired effect you want or a happy ending if there even is one. I would simply say this is the Atom team giving us a wonderful expansion and if you cant wait and need a taste give it a try or wait for the full release and get the full product as if you don’t want to wait for updates.
– Real player with 71.0 hrs in game
Geneforge 2
The world to explore is huge, non linear for the most part. Expect to die many times, the game is challenging and I like it this way. Expect to read too, and I mean read a lot. Geneforge is a well-written story heavy RPG where your choices will matter, with diplomatic situations filled with gray areas (it’s not at all your classic good vs evil scenario), tactical turn-based combat, several different ways to play the game (I choosed a solo Agent, but you might as well play a Shaper with an army of creations), I think there are 5 different ways to “win” the game and complete the story.
– Real player with 109.0 hrs in game
The best game in an already amazing Saga. Sad that the series went downhill from here.
Starts off a bit slow, story-wise, but once you get into the flow, it’s fantastic.
If you want to play a Guardian, this is the game to do it in, with the introduction of the Parry skill, they can become incredibly tanky. It got nerfed pretty hard in subsequent games though.
This game is also notable for having the best xp system in the series, with the scaling being very sharp in the first sections (to reward and incentivize players to keep moving forward, and actually following it’s own mantra of “you don’t have to clear every area in the game”), but as you get farther in, it becomes significantly more relaxed, so that you never have a situation where endgame enemies are giving you 1 xp and you become stuck.
– Real player with 81.0 hrs in game
Geneforge 3
Note – My playtime is roughly 30 hours extended due to time I had the game idle. In truth the game took me approximately 40-50 hours to complete.
This is a fun little RPG that I think doesn’t hit quite the same highs as the first two games.
Geneforge 1 is one of the best RPGs in terms of player choice and exploration. You really DO feel like you are choosing whatever path you want, and the world is open to you completely. Geneforge 2 strikes a wonderful balance between the exploration of the first and the strong guiding story elements of other cRPGs. This game cuts a lot of the exploration from the first two games out.
– Real player with 76.7 hrs in game
previous Geneforge 2 review
Geneforge 3
Graphics: Simple and functional. There is improvement in lighting and shadowing effects.
Control: Nice and clear tutorial (a bit longer than the 2 previous games for added dramatic effect), fixed key binding.
Replayability: Medium
Surprise! Another cliche opening: Your school got attacked and you a Loyal Shaper are determinated to get revenge on the culprit… are you not? In the practice is up to the player to get revenge or to become a traitorous, despicable turncoat Rebel. (This review may be somehow a little biased)
– Real player with 60.5 hrs in game
Geneforge 4: Rebellion
previous Geneforge 3 review
Geneforge 4
Graphics: Almost the same as previous games.
Control: Nice and clear tutorial, fixed key binding.
Replayability: Almost none to me
And now we are playing for the Rebels! See the other team perspective cliche. No. Just no. I NEVER wanted to be a Rebel. So this game pointed a sword at me and tried its best to made a turncoat out of me. It failed. I ended becoming a turncoat Rebel. A sworn enemy of the Rebellion.
I feel this game is linear, that is not necessarily wrong. We are back at the continent but the free roaming options are painfully limited and to gain access to other areas you have to check plot points. In order. What I love in Geneforge 1&2 is the freedom to go almost everywhere when you feel like getting there. Climbing the mountains to chat with Trajkov, crossing the desert to chat with Barzahl and random Drakons, looting everything not nailed down. Those were the days.
– Real player with 45.0 hrs in game
The first Geneforge game I played, and still by far my most favourite. This is an excellent game, and one of the best top down, turn based RPGs I have ever played. If you like games like the original Fallout games, or Baldurs Gate, then you have to play this.
I have recently reviewed the entire Geneforge original series in far more depth here, if you wish to read more: https://gameknightly.com/reviews/review-geneforge-original-series/
– Real player with 40.6 hrs in game
Geneforge 5: Overthrow
Awesome game with a fair bit of challenges and stuff.Plus that it has good graphics and awesome creations
Creations:
Fyora:Basic Creature with both melee and missle abilities,but not that much health
Thahd:Creature with powerful melee attacks and very high health but a very high chance to get confused or charmed in battle
Artila:Very low health and low melee damage,but very good acid damage.Suitable on large forces to defeat some weak bosses
Cryoa:Improved version of the Fyora shooting Ice Bolts.Still doesn’t have a lot of health
– Real player with 385.8 hrs in game
This appears to be the largest of the series in terms of choices and lore.
As always try to find your games on sale. While I personally feel all of the Geneforge games deserve to be bought for full price…money is money and people need it for other things like eating or having a home
I copied and pasted from my own review… I’m lazy…
This game is a turn based game Fantasy RPG just like the previous games You will need to read for context during the game. If you don’t like reading you won’t like the game. You generally get short scenes from the story where you and your companion will speak and you will receive details about them depending on your skills. You choose how to respond and the scene continues. Making choices with words and actions will shape your story and eventual ending.
– Real player with 75.4 hrs in game