Arelite Core
Arelite Core. My review!
Story: Traditional RPG with terrifyingly powerful supervillain who wants to bring about utter destruction of the world. You play a blacksmith who has made up his mind to journey across the world seeking out all other Master Blacksmiths to learn from - you want to become the greatest Blacksmith who ever lived. Oh, and it just so happens the most powerful sword in history is needed to kill the supervillain and guess what Blacksmiths do? CREATE SWORDS! Along the way cities are razed, friends die, levels are gained, and fun is had.
– Real player with 62.0 hrs in game
Arelite Core is the story of a humble blacksmith named Karden, who over the course of a journey to learn more becomes a hero. Very much like Die Hard, Karden does not set out to be a hero but takes up the mantle when no one else will. The story is very robust with many twists and turns.
The gameplay harkens back to jrpg’s of yore while fixing some of the old mistakes. There are generous skills to invest points in and weapons to forge. The relics you find can set off an eureka moments and totally change how you configure your party and their approach to battle.
– Real player with 29.3 hrs in game
Entodrive
Entodrive is a Pokemon-like adventure that I’ve grown fond of over my 3+ hours of playing. The one person development team is very active, with weekly updates indicating what was added/changed, as well as what is in store for the next update. As the community is relatively small, any feedback you have will be read and considered as part of future development, it’s a fun experience!
The game is still in an alpha state and is enjoyable as-is. It’s well worth the price if you are prepared going in that there are unfinished aspects to the game, and crashes will happen from time to time. Thankfully the game has a robust save system and is very quick to boot up and resume your progress. I also enjoy the music a lot.
– Real player with 21.2 hrs in game
Cool creature collector game
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
Mini Healer
Most of the early and middle of this game plays out like a puzzle game with grinding combined with an ARPG skill tree.
You’ll probably enjoy this enough for the price if you like the idea of a Diablo II skill tree and item style combined with bosses that each have unique mechanics.
I have seen a few streamers pick it up and hate it immediately because there are at least 2-3 hours of grinding before you actually get access to the interesting content of the game, and that’s if you recognize which builds are way better than the others and make fast progress. Even after that, there are a couple mostly-required grind walls.
– Real player with 112.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Party-Based RPG Loot Games.
Amazing. Better than you think.
So much better than it has any right to be. One of my favorite games in recent memory, and I still can’t quite believe it. I’m not much of an indie game / single dev game person. I like AAA titles and graphics. I don’t love MMOs, which are the obvious inspiration, here. I definitely wouldn’t have picked it up but for the reviews and the price tag.
Seriously, though, you should buy it. Even if you don’t like playing a healer in MMOs, it has the addictive theory-crafting and building of ARPGs like Grim Dawn or Path of Exile, but without any of the headaches of those or the MMOs. No quests, no fetching, and no penalties for build-testing. You can even save multiple builds and swap between them at will. It’s just boss after boss at your leisure. You can farm whatever boss you want and even have a different build and party setup for each boss.
– Real player with 73.0 hrs in game
Pixelot
My son is having a blast!
The story is simple and doesn’t get in the way of the light exploration and puzzles coupled with a static turn-based combat system emphasising combo skills and elemental attacks.
Add in cute 8bit visuals and an engaging soundtrack for a great casual RPG.
Gear management and crafting are both easy to understand and use.
Only negatives are (being picky here):
-“Save and exit” option, right now the game auto-saves and you have to alt+tab to shut the game down.
- Full keyboard control and/or full mouse control would be handy for azerty users and anyone suffering accessibility issues.
– Real player with 33.0 hrs in game
The Premise
This review contains no spoilers.
Pixelot is a top-down, turn-based RPG set in a fantasy world. Players impersonate a mysterious hero, awakened from a timeless slumber, and tasked with stopping the resurrection of evil which looms all over the land. Initially alone, but soon surrounded by valiant companions from all paths of life, players will have to overcome armies, dungeons and enigmas in order to find the six Crystals of legend.
Quick Sum-Up
– Real player with 25.2 hrs in game
SKALD: Against the Black Priory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1609100/Skald_Against_the_Black_Priory__the_Prologue
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1712620/SKALD_Against_the_Black_Priory_Original_Soundtrack_Vol_I/
You drag yourself from the black tides, across the corpses of drowned men, and onto the unwelcoming, craggy shoreline. Gulls cry overhead and the stink of seaweed fills your nose. By some miracle you have made it to Idra. It will take all your skill to survive and unravel the eldritch mysteries of the Black Priory. Pray your sanity holds.
About the Game
‘Skald: Against the Black Priory’ is an old-school roleplaying game that combines modern design and a fully realised narrative with authentic 8-bit looks and charms.
Delve into a dark fantasy world, full of tragic heroes, violent deaths and Lovecraftian, cosmic horror. Explore an engaging, branching story mixed with rich exploration and crunchy, tactical, turn-based combat that will seem familiar yet innovative to RPG fans, old and new.
Do you have what it takes to lead a company of broken heroes from the tainted shores of Idra to the gates of the Black Priory - and beyond?
Features
Lovingly crafted retro-style art:
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Experience a richly illustrated world of authentic pixel art using thousands of hand-drawn tiles and images
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A palette inspired by the legendary Commodore 64 computer.
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Optional CRT filter for that authentic old-school experience.
Deep character creation:
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Build your main character and recruit a party from among a dozen diverse characters, each with their own skill-set, agenda and personality.
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Choose from a dozen classes and backgrounds as well as heaps of feats, spells and equipment as you take your party from level 1 to 20.
Crunchy tactical combat:
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Engage in challenging, fast-paced, turn- and grid-based combat.
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Play it your way, with fully customizable difficulty and feedback settings. Or hit ‘auto-resolve’, lean back, and (hopefully) watch your party cleave a bloody path through their foes.
A richly detailed, living world:
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Explore the vast expanse of Freymark and the Outer Isles and watch your actions spell doom or salvation for the region.
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Focus on the rich, branching narrative… Or live the life of a mercenary and explore varied sidequests and encounters - the plot will wait for you.
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Manage your party as you make camp, recruit hirelings, travel by land and sea, and interact with powerful factions and their visions for the world.
Become part of a fantastic community:
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Skald was made possible by crowdfunding and already has a large, passionate and welcoming community that can’t wait to meet you.
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By joining Skald’s Early Access you’ll have a direct line to the developer, get sneak peaks and give feedback on forthcoming plans and help shape the game into a modern classic.
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We will publish the powerful tools used to create the game in an effort to support and encourage modding and content creation once the game has fully launched.
The Story of Skald: A Dream Come True
Skald is the dream-project of a lone Norwegian developer, AL.
AL missed the thrill of delving into grand, immersive games such as ‘Ultima’, ‘Magic Candle’, ‘Wasteland’ and the Gold Box series. When he noticed the lack of newer roleplaying games that combined the classic (early 90s) charm with more modern game design he decided to take matters into his own hands.
AL set to work crafting the game of his dreams.
A highly successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaign with 700 backers, and a fast-growing community of passionate fans proves he made the right call.
Collaborators
Despite being a one-man company, Scape-IT has been able to collaborate with some amazingly talented people in creating SKALD:
Danny Salfield Wadeson is a UK-based writer & narrative designer who has worked on BAFTA and TGA nominated narrative games such as Roki, Backbone and Duelyst
Twitter: @MadQuills
John Henderson is an experienced fine artist and illustrator and is also a teacher of Art. Whether using dip pen, oil paint or pixels, John’s work is easily recognizable as being highly atmospheric as well as lovingly created. Having worked on many publications and indie gaming projects he is also currently busy with his own project, Wild Wood for the C64.
Twitter: @JohnHen65953721
Scott Hartill UK based artist and game designer. More interested in pixels than anything else. Currently busy developing a PS1 style survival horror in his spare time.
Twitter : @cluly
Torgeir Fjereide is a Norwegian artist and illustrator. He loves painting mythological and medieval scenes and he’ll take any excuse to paint a bearded man.
Twitter: @TheBrushOfThor
Post Horn Public Relations is a pro-bono initiative created to support talented developers.
Twitter: @horn_pr
Rachael A Edwards hails from England and spends most of her days writing fantasy novels about morally grey characters in worlds filled with mythology, corruption and magic. An avid gamer, Rachael’s love for storytelling began at a young age. She is currently working on a YA fantasy novel and is represented by Rena Rossner of The Deborah Harris Agency.
Twitter: @RachaelAWrites
MementoMoree (formerly known as Paolo Pomes) has been creating art since his late teenage years. Proficient in most types of art, from pencil & paper to highly detailed 4k textures, he’s found solace and pleasure in the retro pixel art!
Twitter: @MementoMoree
Marco Pedrana is a digital and traditional art vagrant. He started as draftsman in advertising and comics, went on in illustration, then painting, then conceptual art. He doubled back on videogame design with Aeon of Sands, creating its graphic, story, and sfx. Lately he freelances as a 3D generalist for indie game and cinema productions.
He focuses on narrative art, regardless of the medium or scope.
Twitter: @marcopedrana
Romanus Surt is the main guy at Graverobber Foundation, the developer behind Das Geisterschiff and Der Geisterturm. He does music for SKALD.
Twitter: @surt_r
Edwin Montgomery is a composer and sound designer for games, films and performance. A long-time RPG obsessive, he wrote the soundtrack for inXile’s remastered 30th anniversary version of “Wasteland”. He has created music and sounds for a variety of fantasy game worlds, including Warhammer 40,000, Game of Thrones and Neverwinter. Edwin does sound design for SKALD.
Twitter: @edwinmyshkin
Unsung Kingdom
It’s a very classic JRPG story that I always love. Graphic and character art are nice. For a free game, the gameplay is smooth and doesn’t have any bugs (Some believe that free things mostly have bad quality but this game is an exception). U can feel that this game is really made with love. If this game got localized to English, I think more people will enjoy this story even though it’s a short one. My only feedback to the dev is the counter window opportunity that last only like 1-2 seconds. Way too fast. Seems it was set for mobile phone (tap action) rather than for PC (mouse and keyboard). I try to hit the counter but most of them time, I always miss it even when I already dragged my mouse as fast as I could.
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
I waited for the english translation but I forgot about it being released so I started playing today :/
So after maybe 3 hours I completed the game. The only sad thing is that I had Sound Bugs during battles.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Legacy of Vane
If you like this type of rpg then better get this game.
Music- always fit the situation, haunting, beautiful, etc.
Story- interesting and well thought out. with a great ending and room for a sequel.
Dialogue- good but could have been wittier.
Options- I love options and here are more than usual. Battles can be real time or turn based.
Customization of character- Yes to some extent and many images to choose from.
Price- Developer is practically giving it away. Certainly worth much more than being asked.
– Real player with 61.5 hrs in game
Legacy of Vane is an addictve, well designed, challenging, and fun rpg. Graphics are terrific, story fantastic, game play top-notch, with so many innovative features such as jewels (which any character can equip which adds various powerful magic and powerups), and each character has a special ability which is used and needed throughout the game. There is a wide variety of monsters, battles are quick, with a good number of towns, castles, caves, etc. Most weapons/armor/rings give additional skills. And the best of all is a developer(Landy) who is super quick to answer questions and give immediate help (including adding fixes and updates). This is a highly recommended and enjoyable rpg as Landy has once again produced a must play rpg.
– Real player with 18.2 hrs in game
She Dreams Elsewhere
SHE DREAMS ELSEWHERE is a surreal adventure RPG about dreams and the extent to which they mirror reality. You play as Thalia, an anxiety-ridden, comatose woman on a journey to confront the nightmares preventing her from awakening, while also finding out how exactly this mess happened in the first place.
But some nightmares are harder to confront than others…
FEATURES:
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A deeply personal narrative with a thematic focus on emotions, mental health and self-identity
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A surreal, visually-striking world brimming with mystery that begs you to explore its every detail
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An easy to learn, yet difficult to master turn-based battle system that pits you against a variety of nightmarish beings
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Customize your characters with the “Charm” system, allowing for a wealth of different playstyles and battle strategies
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Connect and bond with a charming cast of characters with their own intimate narratives via the “Connection” system
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A breathtaking, ethereal soundtrack composed by Mimi Page, supplemented with tracks by up-and-coming indie artists
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Optional “New Game Plus” and “Developer Commentary” modes
FAUN AIR -フォーンアイル-
A 2D type adventure RPG. [/]
I created a program of about 460,000 lines by myself from a blank sheet with VC ++. [/]
Original graphics and music. [/]
The purpose of the adventure is to defeat the Demon King and regain peace with your friends. [/]
Travel around the world on ships, rafts, balloons, and even big dragons for adventure. [/]
One of the highlights is the variety of battle scenes. [/]
It’s a royal RPG, but there are many unusual events, so I think you can enjoy it without getting bored. [/]
Several types of mini games are also available. [/]
I think you can clear it in about 12 hours. [/]
Compatible with Windows7 and windows10 [/]
English version is also available. [/]
Well then, thank you. [/]
FINAL FANTASY
This is where it all began and where it might have just ended. The word “Final” in “Final Fantasy” really meant a Final stretch for Square at the time. This title was either going to be a success or the nearly bankrupt company would be no more. Well we all know how that ended. Final Fantasy is a flagship for Square Enix for decades and this title started it all.
To be clear, you’re not really getting the original experience with this release. The old pixel art Final Fantasy games have been re-released and re-made so many times by now on various platforms, each making some changes to how the game works, a lot of people have different favorite and are ultimately going to be disappointed when another release does something differently. The original FFI came out on NES and GBA and if you want a real authentic experience, you’d turn to those. The game on NES was significantly harder and it’s what any purist really wants to play. My very first experience with FF I was actually on a Java phone back in 2007 or 2008 if you can believe that exists. The pixel remaster series we have here are far from the original feel. So what do we have on our hands anyway?
– Real player with 36.5 hrs in game
I’ve never played FF1 before now. It was an enjoyable experience, overall… There were times the next step in game-play was unclear, & I traveled the entire map, so it became a real grind battling the same monsters over & over again, & I still didn’t find any clue as to where I needed to go next. I ended up needing to refer to online forums to eventually figure it out, & I needed to do that many times after that, so I took the fun out of discovery, (but it was either that or continue grinding seemingly endlessly). There is a feature that allows you to battle automatically, but it isn’t without its flaws; it follows the last choices you made were, which may or may not be ideal for the monsters you’re battling. It became boring toward the end, but I eventually made it to the final mega-boss. By then I had become lazy & died the first try, but soon discovered the final boss was a real challenge, which once again made the game interesting. Of course I wouldn’t want every fight to be as challenging as that, perhaps it would have been better if there weren’t as many monsters while wandering dungeons, or perhaps the fight dynamics could have been more unique to make it more interesting. I also like to be able to complete all challenges, but for as thorough as I thought I was, somehow I missed some treasure chests & some beasts, that was disappointing, because I really don’t want to play this game from the beginning again.
– Real player with 33.8 hrs in game