Another day, another Codex review of another game you may have never heard about. Or may at least know nothing about. I know I did before reading this in-depth analysis of Soulash by community member Lukaszek.
I'm not exactly an aficionado of roguelikes, so I don't even know what to put here. Instead, I'll just let the text speak for itself.
Eventually you learn the ropes and start exploring. The world is handmade and general directions stay the same during each playthrough. Based on your seed, some settlements might look a bit different or enemies in a given area will change slightly. The same settlement might be a farmer village in one run, while in another you’ll only find burned down houses and orcs there. The next time, you find the buildings intact, but all the villagers have turned into zombies.
While this can make planning a bit harder, it’s nothing truly major. You might find some weak troglodytes with decent spears in one of the caves. You return there in the next life, hoping to loot their weapons, only to find bugs instead. It will hamper your early game if you were set on using spears, but you’ll obtain decent weapons soon enough.
There is one random factor that can easily kill you if you don’t pay attention. Every piece of equipment, be it crafted or generated in the world (on enemies), can be upgraded into an artifact. That scythe-swinging peasant can poke quite a hole in your body when he spawns with a unique spear.
There is no mechanic that will make you stronger on subsequent runs. There are no unlockables, secret powers or anything of that sort. The only difference is that during character creation, the game will show the talents that a given class can learn at the appropriate levels, provided you’ve reached that level first yourself. If anything, I found that obfuscation annoying, although it can be easily fixed if you navigate to your data files. In general, the configs aren’t hidden and the game seems easy to mod.
With the world being same-ish with each run, you become stronger only by not repeating the same mistakes. Though it can be annoying if your mistake was being ambushed by an enemy with some nasty artifact. In general, you’ll learn to run into more newbie-friendly areas. There you’ll establish a base with food, water and a bed, and then proceed to clear out nearby enemies so that your beauty sleep won’t be interrupted. Those sleeping in the woods usually get ambushed.
Artifact-wielding yokels are definitely a part of my definition of 'fun'. The article also examines the game's crafting system, world-building, general gameplay paradigms and the ecological repercussions of devouring gods responsible for certain aspects of the natural order. Read on here: RPG Codex Review: Soulash
For a curated and constantly updated list of the best SA online casinos, look no further than HEX Casino South Africa. If you're an Aussie looking for the best Down Under online casino sites, Australian Online Casino HEX has you covered.
RPG in a Box has been released on Steam. Basically, this isn't a game, persay, it's a kit that allows you to make your very own CRPG and release it to the unsuspecting masses. It features tactical turn based, menu driven turn based, and real time combat. It allows you to make top down, isometric, orthagonal, and even first person perspectives. It includes visual scripting for events and dialogue. There's even several tutorials and examples via the RPG in a Box channel on YouTube. There's no sale on this, and it's currently $29.99. Honestly, not too bad a price considering what you get. Anyway, here's some info:
RPG in a Box lets you easily turn your stories and ideas into games and other interactive experiences! As its name suggests, it contains everything necessary for doing so, all packaged together "in a box". The software is designed with a fun, beginner-friendly approach in mind as to not require any programming or modelling knowledge, while still providing a wide range of customization and openness. You can export your game to a standalone format for Windows, Linux, and MacOS, allowing others to play it without needing to own RPG in a Box!
Looks like the only huge limit to this thing, after watching a bunch of the videos, is that you're limited to voxel graphics(which they include an editor for you). They have examples of blobbers, a roguelike mode, and several other subgenres. You can even export your game to Windows, Linux, or MacOS. Pretty crazy.
Turn Based Lovers has an interview with Chris Wingard and Nik Mueller of The Iron Oath, which is a strategy/tactical style CRPG for those who have never heard of it. There's also a trailer if you're interested. Anyway, the discussion is arond their Kickstarter, how cool Humble is, the influences of the game, and so much more. Here's 1/10th of the full enchilada:
As for inspirations from other games, I thought a lot about Darkest Dungeon when playing Iron Oath. Would you say that is a correct inspiration for your game or there would be something else?
For sure! We loved the tense dungeon crawls of Darkest Dungeon, where your characters were always a few tactical missteps away from death. Another big inspiration for us was D&D, especially with our narrative design – we wanted it to feel like a dungeon master was narrating the events to you. There are definitely a few others, such as XCOM, Battle Brothers, and classic CRPGs like Baldur’s Gate.
Those are some interesting influences. I kind of would love to know what about those things were the influences as opposed to the laundry list of games.
Anyway, if you're interested in it after reading the interview, GOG link and Steam link.
Finding the best online casino is not easy. South Africa has a lot casinos to offer and only a few of them are the best. Start your casino journey from a portal and make the right choice.
Turn Based Lovers has a retrospective about the venerable Starflight, a game from 1986 which pushed the envelope in terms of a sci-fi, exploration space CRPG. Believe it or not, that was a decent little sub-genre at one point, before studios decided fantasy was really the only setting to make the money.
Starflight starts with the main characters in a circular spaceship – ready to set off towards the stars. First, however, the player gather a team of different specialists – classic RPG style. These brave explorers are to discover what’s happening in the universe. The journey won’t be peaceful. Soon, it’ll be clear that their ultimate task is preventing a powerful foe from destroying all planets. Despite this, the adventure is entirely non-linear: it is up to the player where to go and what to do. The gameplay consists of exploring space; docking on planets; extracting precious minerals – vital for fuelling the ship; and interacting with the aliens. It is possible to fight anyone, but this isn’t the best strategy. Good communication is an essential skill here.
This was developed back before Electronic Arts turned evil. I remember being a kid and actually looking for their logo when I was game shopping because I knew they made and published fairly quality stuff. I put them on par with SSI, Bullfrog Productions and so on.
If you're thinking, "Hey, those were great! I'd love to play those games again!", it and the sequel are available on Good Old Games.
Narfox Studios have released their casual rogue-lite, WeeRPG on Steam. It features a classless and skill based character system, random dungeon generation, equiped items showing on your character, lots of monsters and loot, up to four player coop, full controller support, and so on. It's currently on a 35% off release sale price of $6.49.
Hack and slash your way through this loot-rich ARPG with up to four local friends. Outfit your classless character to look and play the way you want. As you venture deeper, monsters get tougher and more numerous but the loot gets more epic! Tactical gear combinations and combat skill will determine how deep you can go. Return to your home base to upgrade or buy new gear, outfit your character, and then venture back into the deep.
Interestingly enough, these are the same developers that did Masteroid, Steam link, which is a procedurally generated top down spacer trader which I liked pretty well. It kind of reminded me of Escape Velocity, which is a classic. It's worth a look if you're hankering for that type of game.
While clearly not a hardcore roguelike, it might make for a fun time with friends. Some of the stuff in the trailer made me chuckle like the trainer dialog.
Planeshift Interactive has released their turn based CRPG Yaengard on Steam. The game features 20 or so classes, turn based combat, metagaming, choices affecting gameplay, and several other things. The game is currently on a release sale price of $22.49US, which is 10% off the typical price. So, here's a trailer and some sum up:
Yaengard is a turn-based party RPG, inspired by classic TTRPG's such as Dungeons & Dragons. In Yaengard, the personalities of your adventurers change everything -- from their powers to the choices they can make. Design your builds and combos with the endless rare items you find, the classes you’ll embody, and the personalities you gain!
From peasants to heroes
Shape their personalities through the choices you make
Find and use hundreds and hundreds of rare powers & items
Design complex combos & the ultimate builds
Strategic & complex combats - without hassle
Explore the narrative; world, lore, & storytelling
Roguelike-inspired gameplay - unique builds each time!
If you're looking for a little more info, there's this video from SplatterCatGaming which shows the first half an hour of the gameplay.
I will say that the tactical combat looks very nice. I like all the feedback the user interface gives you. I also noticed a choice/consequence system in the trailer, which is nice to have. That said, it kind of reminds me of Final Fantasy Tactics with a heap more role playing in it.
Scopri le slot con RTP più alto su NuoviCasinoItalia e gioca alle slot online che pagano di più. Find the top-rated newest online slots in the UK on NewCasinoUK.com and start playing the best new slot games available for UK players.
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters, the Gray Knights tactical RPG from Canadian studio Complex Games and publishing label Frontier Foundry, was released today. Daemonhunters has continued to be heavily promoted with feature showcases, developer diaries, previews and livestreams over the past few months. Despite or maybe because of this, the game has been the subject of much skepticism on our forums. The mainstream press sure seems to love it, though. But before we get into that, here's the launch trailer:
As stated, reviews of Daemonhunters have been very positive, praising the game for its breadth of its mechanics and presentation, with only a slight touch of repetition and jank. Here's the usual round-up:
I dare say that between this game and King Arthur: Knight's Tale, we might be in the midst of an unexpected golden month for tactical RPGs. If you'd like to find out for yourself, Daemonhunters is available on Steam now for $45.
Turn Based Lovers has an Upcoming Turn Based Games for May list for those wondering if there's anything that's both turn based and coming out this month. While there are a few strategy games on the list, many of them are CRPGs. There's a brief paragraph or three for each of these titles, which include Citizen Sleeper, RPG in a Box, Twilight Wars: Declassified, and several others. Here's a snippet from the opening:
First, I think a great game, whether indie or AAA, should have a reasonably “high price”. Everyone, as a consumer, usually – sometimes unconsciously – thinks a cheap game can’t be that good (though there are, of course, some amazing exception). So, if a game is excellent, why would you then set a low price?
The second reason why KotC 2 price can be justified has something to do with what I said at the beginning: the time spent developing the game. You might know that Knight of the Chalice was released over thirteen years ago, and that the development of the new chapter started at least ten years ago. Took a while, don’t you agree? Now, if we consider the effort put into this project and the time-currency spent on it by the developer – can the price tag of €39.99 still be considered “high”?
I don’t think so.
I don't normally mind the initial price. That's not where I get annoyed. I may decide to pass and wait for a sale to come along and line up with my mood at the time if I think it's too high. What does annoy me are games like Monster Hunter: World, which is currently on sale for $14.99US on Steam but look at the list of DLC for that thing. Most of the DLC are costumes and other totally optional goofy things, but even though most of it is 40% off right now, if you bought all of it, you just spent $413 - on sale!
A few days late on this, but Trigon Space Story has been released on Steam. It looks like an expanded, more fleshed out FTL, which was a pretty damned good game in and of itself. There's no sale price on this, and it's currently sitting at $19.99US with some mixed reviews. The main criticisms seem to be that there's some bugs and that it's similar to FTL(which I'm guessing is why people bought it, so why bitch?). Anyway, here's some of the official info:
But it’s on you to make the right tactical decisions and capitalize on your crew’s skills—because death is permanent! Only by experimenting with various strategies will you be able to master the challenging combat situations you must face as captain.
The crew remains the heart of your ship; skilfully deployed, they will give you the edge you need to win battles. Assign your crew important tasks and always keep their strengths and weaknesses in mind, so that everything runs like clockwork in your next encounter. Don’t hesitate over moral decisions—space doesn’t forgive mistakes!
I'm not sure too many people are old enough to remember it, but I'd love it if some of these developers would take a look at SSI's starship CRPG, Star Command from 1988. Some of it's features would make a nice addition to the mechanics people are borrowing from FTL.
Also, there's some gameplay footage of it on ObsidianAnt's channel. He specializes in sci-fi, space games if that's your cup of tea.
In some Holy Balls news via this thread, the source code to one of the best indie CRPGs of the early 2000s has been released on an unsuspecting world. Prelude to Darkness featured a branching story arc, a very interesting take on magic, multiple character classes, and so on.
[/b]
Now, we'll see what people can do with this. Godspeed, coders!
Find out more about playing at the best online casinos, slots, and betting sites at inkedin and how players can play safely and securely on these sites.
Kirby Brashier has releasedCrusader: Dungeon Series on Steam for the low price of $4.99US. It's a real time slashy slash game which has gem drops that you can use to level your character as opposed to an experience system. Anyway, here's some stuff:
This game is my first deep dive into game development. I am a solo developer that has dreamt of creating games since I was 12. So I wanted to pay tribute to the very first game I owned as a child, but also creating something of my own. The first game I owned as a child was for the Tandy Color Computer 2 called Dungeons of Daggorath. It was a very basic dungeon crawler with simple line graphics. Crusader: Dungeon Series - Dungeon of Dagginor is the first in a series of add-ons.
Dear lord, that's some long combat there. Very long trailer as well. Not a bad looking first attempt at a game, though there are some problems visible. Looks like a pretty good effort for a first try. Fairly useful minimap, lots of screen feedback for the player, and a few other things that a lot of people don't put in their games.
Dungeon Reels Tactics is now available on Steam. What is it? Well, holy snap, it's a turn based, party centric dungeon crawler with perma-death and some fairly interesting mechanics for things a lot of people just gloss over. It also goes for that 8bit graphics thing in 3D. It's currently on sale for $13.49 through May 8th. Anyway, here's the trailer and some summation:
Dungeon Reels Tactics is a party-based, roguelike, with slot machines and puppet shows! Collect new party members with their own pre-built slot machine reels and embark on an adventure to ATTEMPT to defeat The "Great Evil".... Traverse a map filled with enemy encounters, fate cards to resolve, treacherous bosses, and more!
Each run of Dungeon Reels Tactics will include a pool of 12 different characters you can recruit throughout the adventure. To gain new recruits you will need to collect soul shards from fallen foes, resolve fate cards, or purchase recruit tickets in the shop. If a party member falls in battle they will die and you will need to recruit a party member for the adventure.
I can't say I've ever used a slot machine style representation for the random number feedback display. I can definitely see pros and cons to this. It's turn based, so you have time to pay attention to it and it would build more suspense than just displaying a number. The downside being it does take time and could slow down the game. But hey, it's something I hadn't seen before and that's fine with me.
Holomento has entered Early Access on Steam and also GOG. Dubbing itself an action RPG, which the trailer confirms, it appears to have a few interesting mechanics like world rebuilding. I'm guessing there's 7 classes to choose from judging by a painting on a wall. It's currently on sale for $16.99, which is 15% off. Anyway, stuff:
Holomento is an Indie Permadeath Action-RPG focusing on the dangerous quest of passing through the mysterious Eventide Hollow – and rebuilding it step by step. A horrible curse was laid upon the land and Eventide Hollow fell into despair. The source of the curse was also its only protection from it… the Holomento.
The Holomento traps the souls of all who possess it, the mysterious book affixes itself to those who seek passage through the Hollow. If the Traveler dies, their soul is also added to the Holomento before it returns to its resting place awaiting the next Traveler.
Seems like a neat idea for a game, though I'm not entirely sure I'd care much for the combat. I'm especially not sure I'd care for that combat and perma-death at the same time.
The dark fantasy tactical RPG King Arthur: Knight's Tale by Neocore Games is now officially out.
I'm pretty sure that the release is somewhat off the mark compared to the original plans, as the game spent much more time in early access than it was supposed to, but perhaps at least once someone got the bright idea that maybe kicking something out the door when it doesn't work is not an entirely wise move.
You are Sir Mordred, the nemesis of King Arthur, the former black knight of the grim tales. You killed King Arthur, but with his dying breath, he struck you down. You both died – and yet, you both live.
The Lady of the Lake, the ruler of the mystical island of Avalon brought you back to end a true nightmare. She wants you to go on a knightly quest. She wants you to finish what you have begun. Kill King Arthur – or whatever he has become after she took his dying vessel to Avalon.
Experience a unique hybrid between turn-based tactical games and traditional, character-centric RPGs! This dark fantasy version of the Arthurian mythology invites you to manage a team of heroes on the dangerous battlefield, while also engaging in moral choices, hero management, and the rebuilding of Camelot.
Knight's Tale can be acquired on Steam for the bargain price of 161 Polish zloty. Grab it this week for a 10% discount if you just can't resist day 1 purchases.
You'd be forgiven for not remembering Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates, Coin Operated Games' steampunk ("Neo-Victorian") isometric RPG set in alternate history flooded New York City. Empyre seemed vaguely promising when it was announced in 2017, but it soon became apparent that it was just an unusually well-publicized piece of shovelware. Somehow, the developer didn't appear to care or even notice when the game completely flopped after launching later that year. In fact, he immediately began talking about making a sequel. Well, that sequel was revealed this week with the title of Empyre: Dukes of the Far Frontier. This time the game is set in the Arizona desert circa 1925, in a mysterious city in the sky built by steam-powered automatons. Here's its announcement trailer and description:
Rising out of the desert in Monument Valley is a city unlike any other ever made. Perched atop massive pillars too impossible to be designed by human hands but built by strange robots called Mekanikals.
It is a refuge from the disasters plaguing the rest of the country. The coasts are flooded, and the land is overrun by devilish plant-like monstrosities. Life for humankind is nearly impossible and nature has taken complete control. Only the desert remains free from threat.
Sitting on a train to this city of wonders, you have a first class ticket to the easy life. But this utopian city holds dark secrets and getting inside in one piece will not be as easy as it seems.
Once you enter, riding high on the winds of change, will the city ever be the same again? Will you drag its mysteries into the light? What will become of the city if the truth is unleashed? Your journey to the far frontier will decide the fate of the last traces of humanity; are you prepared to change the world?
Features:
Cowboys, Robots and … Retro-Futuristic City: Explore a city unlike any other Robot Battles: See robots duke it out for the top prize New Character Creation System: Make your own character with selected skills and perks Customizable Professions: Create your own custom professions for your character Expanded character options: More solutions to solve challenges Evolved combat system: Controlling the battle is now more fluid Improved Arsenal: New special weapons added Party Inventory system: Easily share equipment between party members
Okay then! As mentioned in the trailer and on its Steam page, Dukes of the Far Frontier is scheduled for release on June 3rd. So it won't be too long before we find out if it's an improvement over its predecessor in any way or if this is just a bizarre money laundering operation.
Dungeoneer has entered Early Access on Steam. It's a top down actiony CRPG with 6 classes, 4 player coop, and of course, has dungeons. There's no sale, and it's $9.99US currently. There's not a whole lot of info in the description, no website, but there is short trailer. And, here it is:
Dungeoneer is a top-down action RPG with auto-attack style combat where you progress by exploring and completing dungeons.
Choose from up to 6 classes and 6 skills to create your custom hero.
Complete optional quests for additional rewards and lore, encouraging exploration. Loot is randomly generated along with semi-random boss loot. Beware, traps and hazards which could crush or impale you lie around every corner!
The one thing that looks fairly interesting in this title are the use of traps and the variety of traps. The log trap on the stairs was pretty funny. For some reason, I find traps more endearing than monsters these days. Perhaps it's that monsters are always used and decent traps rarely are. Exploding barrels don't count. The one thing I didn't see in the features, but maybe I missed it, would be random dungeon generation.
Steam has also put up versions of the older Elder Scrolls games. For example, Elder Scrolls: Arena and Daggerfall are now available for free, at least right now. You'll probably want to snag these just in case. They're tiny. You'll also probably want Daggerfall Unity, which fixes a lot of bugs and runs on modern PCs without too much muster. For those who don't know anything about these games, here's a super long video by Jwlar. It's over three hours long, and explains the game, why he likes it, and the unity version of the game.
So, there you boys go. Now there's no excuse not to try the original games, back when Bethesda gave a shit about deep CRPG mechanics and throwing in everything they possibly could rather than stripping features to make them more accessible with each version.
Oh yeah, there's also Battlespire, but it's $5.99US. You can also get it DRM free for the same price on GOG.
For those who have Fantasy Grounds, which is a client to play tabletop RPGs over the internet with all your internet chums, they have just released the pen and paper version of Fallout RPG for their client. It's $44.95US, and can also be purchased on Steam for the same price.
Adapted from the 438-page hardbound rulebook features a gorgeous cover design evoking the iconic Vault-Tec jumpsuit. Inside, you will find rules and lore for roleplaying in the Fallout world, as well as concept art from the Fallout videogames. Utilizing Modiphius' celebrated 2d20 cinematic role-playing system, the Fallout RPG will take players on an exciting journey into the post-apocalypse!
Create your own survivors, super mutants, ghouls, and even Mister Handy robots. Immerse yourselves in the iconic post-nuclear apocalyptic world of Fallout, while gamemasters guide their group through unique stories and encounters. The 2d20 edition of Fallout is as close to the bottlecap bartering, wasteland wandering, Brotherhood battling excitement as you can get.
So, if you were thinking there wasn't a Hell of a lot of "RPG" in Fallout 4 or Fallout 76, and you still have a scratch to itch, and you have friends that are also itchy, there's your outlet. I honestly don't know anything about the ruleset for the tabletop adaptation, but the manual is over 400 pages. There has to be something there.
PC Gamer has some info about the prospects of Diablo Immortal, that mobile game that pissed everyone off, coming to the PC platform. Apparently the target date is June 2nd. Here's a snippet:
The action RPG will be making its way to PC in open beta on June 2, the same day as its full release on iOS and Android. There'll also be cross-play and cross-progression between both platforms, so you can play on the go and then pick up where you left off on your desktop. It's a surprise move considering Blizzard had focused so heavily on perfecting the game for mobile. The game's initial announcement irked an awful lot of Diablo fans, which came at a time when many were expecting news on the much-anticipated Diablo 4. The reveal faced hefty backlash with fans accusing Blizzard of forgetting its roots, calling it a "slap in the face" and claiming that Blizzard had "spit in the faces" of the community.
I still have yet to get Diablo III or Diablo II: Resurrected. I played the Hell out of the first and second one when they came out, and I still enjoy a bit of Torchlight 2, but the offerings from Blizzard haven't really appealed to me much.
Caverns of Xaskazien II has been updated to 1.02.87 if you're looking for a new rogue-like to play. Some of the features of this one are all NPCs can get murdered by mobs, gobs of traps to kill you, lots of loot and spells, it's graphical, 38 classes, 13 races, and so much more. The update per this thread has some of the following changes:
MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS:
Reinstated Classes: Warrior, Purifier.
New Perks: Battle Cry, Precision Strike, Look for an Opening, Frenzy, Tank, Duck Blow, Hands on Learner, Sense Impurities, Am What I Am, The Best Cleanser, Decontaminate, Exotic Blood, Protective Coating, Reverse Mutation.
New findable map types: Water Stained Map, Tattered Map.
Changed old Gnomish Explosives to Goblin Explosives.
For those looking to see what the game is like, here's a mostly current Let's Play from RogueLove:
You know, it's almost like roguelikes are proof that features are inversely proportional to graphics. Roguelikes throw a gazillion features at you and you have to imagine what a lot of things look like. With a lot of the AAA games with the fancy 3D graphics, you have to imagine there's more to them.
There are 8 comments on RPG Codex Review: Soulash
