Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura… oh, this game…
In spite of my low ownership, I am more than familiar with this bizarre, wonderful masterpiece, a game I sometimes thought was a complete fever dream from the depths of my imagination, among a strange number of other games including an action game involving Skittles and a dark knight. I’m still not sure that one still exists, though.
Arcanum is NOT a fever dream, however, and does in fact exist and is a masterpiece of a forgotten era where computers had the ability to deal with the unique and antiquated graphical features on their own. Because Microsoft doesn’t know how to keep good features from previous operating systems, it is imperative that you look up a tutorial on how to play this game, and while on your way, pick up an unofficial patch and maybe a few mods; one of which being Virgil’s Debug Menu. You won’t regret it.
– Real player with 684.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG Story Rich Games.
In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a Steam review for every game in my library (#450 out of 612)… it’s time for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magicka Obscura.
Arcanum is one of the finest CRPGs ever made, and arguably the most impressive product legendary (if somewhat infamous) developer Troika Games ever built. It’s a massive,, brilliantly open game in the vein of Fallout that offers players an unprecedented degree of freeom with regard to how they build their characters, how they play the game, and how they progress through the world. It’s difficult to overstate just how deeply engaging Arcanum can be—this one is a classic roleplaying game for very good reason.
– Real player with 124.4 hrs in game
EMPYRE: Lords of the Sea Gates
I played a lot with this game because the victorian style steam punk world created in this game is very interesting. The quality of the graphics is not on the same level as the top games but it is well made with a good atmosphere.
The gameplay is the same old rpg feeling, with party, movement, action (fights and dialogs), collecting loot, get stronger. The story is interesting, the setting is exciting.
– Real player with 870.9 hrs in game
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Borderline recommendation. The negative reviewers are not wrong - it is clunky and linear, the combat is unsatisfying, there is a lot hinted at but never realized. It’s not just poorly documented but a lot of the skills you’ll bother developing are never actually used. I suspect they planned a much bigger game and had to dramatically scale back. They aimed for Wasteland 2 and fell a bit short of Shadowrun.
Having said that I wasn’t actually bored and that’s my line for recommending. I finish all games in order to provide a fair and detailed review on my site and in this case I didn’t have to force myself. The story is cliche but well written and brisk, you get new guns and characters throughout and constantly change maps. The combat improves to passable and some of the missions are interesting. It did enough to engage me and with the lovely setting that gets a pass.
– Real player with 19.1 hrs in game
Winds Rhapsody
This is a short game (3h) with a lot of potential. It is nice for beeing free, but so far it is nothing special. Nevertheless I am looking forward for more.
There must be more to discover and more to upgrade. Plus the right motivation. I like to have some freedom, like a discover mode and a fight mode …
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG JRPG Games.
I really enjoy this game and the story lines so far. The only problem I have is having to wait for the bar to refill just to make a choice of attack, special, and so forth. Other than that, it’s great and hope a new update for it comes very soon.
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
Skyborn
With all the big titles around, games like this are way too often overlooked. Sometimes i just feel the need to dwell a bit in the past and search for a classic RPG-Maker game to play. The advantage of these type of games are that they don’t rely on convincing with graphics, but rather on story and gameplay. And this one didn’t disappoint me in the slightest.
What i liked on Skyborn
Story & Characters
Take Claret, a rough-acting but soft-hearted Airship mechanist, on her journey to see the world, reveal the truth of the past and to fight the oppression of the Skyborns (the winged masterrace). The characters that you unlock while advancing are all from different backgrounds and are well appealing and authentic.
– Real player with 36.6 hrs in game
Skyborn is a unique story driven R.P.G. developed by Dancing Dragon Games and published by Degica. The Skyborn are a winged humanoid race that has defeated in war and consequently subjugated humankind. You take on the role of Claret Spencer, the star mechanic of an independent repair shop, who suddenly finds herself pulled into an epic city wide conflict which takes her and her friends on a journey through a tale of magic, metal and mystery as she unravels the secrets of the Skyborn. This is a R.P.G. Maker title which up to this point I had never heard of although I have played many games in the past with this same look and style. For those that don’t know, R.P.G. Maker is a program that allows users to create their very own role playing games. With that said, the gripping story in this title is really well conceived and unfolds over the course of the game in unvoiced dialogue and cutscenes many times alongside gorgeous anime inspired handrawn artwork that is truly a pleasure to the eyes. There’s enough intrigue, action and humor in this wonderful game to keep you consistently playing from start to finish.
– Real player with 33.2 hrs in game
A Study in Steampunk: Choice by Gaslight
This is an amazingly good book. Not just a game, it’s a good book. This is very well written not just as a book but as a game. Every choice you make actually does count. Branching storyline aside, every choice helps you build a character that feels very organic.
It’s also strikingly accurate to the period without boring you to death with the details. The usual choices of sexuality are less prevelent in the more descrtionary aditudes of the Victrian-esque setting. And you can’t be a woman or chose your background, likely because this is a setting where women are bared from a good number of things. Whether your character is okay with such things is up to you. As is whether you try to change them.
– Real player with 99.5 hrs in game
Of all the “Choice of” games I’ve played this one has to be my favorite. While it draws inspiration from classic tales, it succesfully weaves in creative and original storylines that keep you hooked. I usually just do a single playthrough of a game and go back to quickly change my choices and skim through the different outcomes, but I actually felt compelled to take my time and enjoyed replaying Choice by Gaslight. The characters feel real and their personalities and views make them enjoyable to interact with. They’re people and have certain opinions set in stone, but they aren’t as prone to flipping out on you if you do one thing wrong like a lot of the other games seem to do. The author was thoughtful enough to give you a whole list of dialogue options to choose from so you don’t feel as penciled in or as forced into a strong opinion when you mean to be moderate like many other Choice Of games often do. The characters and story as easy to get invested in and fall in love with (i don’t want to admit how many times i’ve replayed this to re-romance one character cough Alexandra cough) and the game gives you many chances to develop your MC. It also, thankfully, has opportunities to save your progress as the end of each act. It’s a shame that they gender-lock your MC and have no character relationship meter like some other Choice Of games have, but I can’t recommend this game enough and only pray that there’s hopefully a sequel for it someday.
– Real player with 52.1 hrs in game
Bret Airborne
I’ve only played the game for a short time, but here’s what I can summarise from the story so far… (NO SPOILERS):
Here I am, the one and only Bing, the king and here we are to sing.
Let me recite the killing of my entire race with brisk pace so please brace and tell, how I proved how I removed Seth’s pursuit of me like a conquering chess move. At first it was Arnold, oh how he marvelled at the sight of Thor’s nipple arsenal; he created blueprints and was convinced it would work. The perk was his Dad invented farms that were tested, and prevented the endless crops from blocking Arnold’s white socks.
– Real player with 21.8 hrs in game
If you like match-3 games, but want a twist to add a game mechanic, and a casual game, then this is pretty good. It isn’t as refined as a game like Puzzle Quest, and looks like a single person project, but well done for that, and enjoyable. I really liked the middle-line barrier that resets to the middle each turn to give your half to work with, match 4 or more to blow it a row to the right and get another turn, and reasons to match items across the line. Buying powers also added to the strategy.
– Real player with 10.2 hrs in game
Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition
Sunless Skies
**I seduced a woman who’s head was a jeweled skull while there was a spider nestled inside my eyeball. It was
! great fun, but sadly it took
! way too fuckin long to get there.**
Who is this game for?
If you like Britishness, the possibility of a decent story, nice environments or you like mildly spooky games AND you’re either willing to cheat or your time isn’t valuable.
Gameplay
Looking for diamonds in the rough.
– Real player with 249.8 hrs in game
My feelings towards this game are many and complicated. For background, Sunless Sea is one of my favourite games ever…and I can also totally understand why some people might absolutely hate it. Sunless Skies is in many ways an improvement over Sea, and yet, for me at least, it hasn’t quite recaptured the magic of Sea, and I’m not entirely sure I can explain why.
For people who haven’t played Sea, both it and Skies are games about exploring a world that is sometimes bizarre, sometimes charming, and sometimes terrifying. Both games have some of the best writing that I’ve seen in video games, with excellent worldbuilding. And both games are very slow-paced. A lot of time in these games is spent travelling from point A to point B, with only the occasional combat or random event to break up the travel. Depending on the person, this can either be a chill and relaxing experience, or an incredibly tedious one.
– Real player with 118.8 hrs in game
Echoes of Aetheria
Before I start, let me give you three fair warnings :
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first, Echoes of Aetheria is an old-school J-RPG in the most traditional way. If you’ve ever played games like Final Fantasy 4-5-6, Breath of Fire 1-2-3, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden 1-2,…and didn’t like those, this game isn’t for you.
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secondly, this game has been made with RPG-Maker, but do not judge it solely on this, because this is the prime exemple of how RPG-maker can be used to make a good professional game. There is a LOT of production value in this, and not some basic use of the default assets that come with RPG-Maker : original, animated sprites, original character portraits, original musics, original battle system…you get it.
– Real player with 169.3 hrs in game
Echoes of Atheria is a great and entertaining old-school 16bit-era JRPG style game. Really, it is!!
Dancing Dragon Games have outdone themselves this time and raised the bar to new heights concerning what can be achieved with RPG Maker. There are indeed moments while playing when you will forget that this game is actually made with RPG Maker VX Ace.
Let’s look at the game in more detail:
The STORY, following the adventures of Lucian, a member of the Veridian Army, starts of with a wedding where just at the end of the ceremony the bride gets abducted. Immediately our hero sets out to follow the abducters and finds himself soon in the midst of political power struggles, intrigues and events that might even bring forth the destruction of the world. While this may not sound new to RPG players, it is the way the story works. It is totally coherent and logical, and only knows one way and that is forward. The pacing is just perfect, there is never a dull moment. Twists, turns and surprises happen regularly enough to keep the player engaged.
– Real player with 81.3 hrs in game
Gataela
A decade ago a civil war tore across the Kingdom of Gataela. Zack, orphaned during the conflict, embarks on a mission to improve the lives of his loved ones. Uncover schemes, investigate mysteries, and debate the citizens and nobles of Gataela! Will Zack succeed… Or will he discover hidden truths that threaten to rip apart the nation all over again?
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Two Battle Systems: Timed turn-based, and Debate battles where you can negotiate, convince, and debate with NPCs
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Speaking to NPCs is important: NPCs can give you the facts you need to back up your arguments in debates
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Skits: Get to know more about the characters and the world
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Skills level up with you: The more you use a skill, the better you’ll get at it
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Point allocation: Distribute points each time you level up and build your party however you want
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Science is on your side: Use gunpowder and science to craft items which can help you get out of a pinch
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Costumes: Changing your outfit will also change your overworld’s appearance, and their appearance in skits
Steamhounds
We’re currently in active development - please consider wishlisting us, and get notified when the game is released!
To become a playtester, chat to the devs, and get access to the prototype right now, just click through our website link (over there on the right - ) and join our Discord!
In Steamhounds, you will take control of a team of steampunk mercenaries, doing the dirty work of the shady factions who vie for control of a once-great industrial city.Assemble a crew and build up their strength by deploying them on missions to infiltrate, steal, and eliminate their targets. Challenge your friends in competitive team-vs-team battles, or attempt to climb the online leaderboards in ranked matches.
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A mash-up of traditional JRPG and tactical / grid-based combat
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With an innovative Stance system, you don’t stand idle between turns - set up powerful combos and chain-reactions, and attempt to dismantle those of your opponent
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Adopt a formation before you fight, and adapt to the changing tides of battle
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Live, competitive online play. Fight for your faction, or for personal glory
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Build up your mercenary crew, take on missions, and uncover dark truths about the city and its inhabitants
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Stylish pixel art characters in a 3D world