Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Black Geyser

[Darth Roxor]

Tags: Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness; GrapeOcean Technologies

Time flies, people change, ice caps melt, but you can always bet on the release of another Baldur's Gate clone every now and again, and that some poor sod is going to be duped into playing it. This time around, we're happy to present our review of Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness, as written by community member Lady Error.

Surprisingly enough, this strong contender for the weirdest title ever plastered on an RPG made by a bunch of nobodies actually turned out enjoyable. As with any other game, it has its ups and downs, but some things it manages to do fairly well. As Lady Error puts it:

The writing is concise and to the point, which already makes it much better than in Pillars of Eternity. There are also no gods that you have to deal with all the time, except indirectly on rare occasions. And while many quests are nothing special, quite a few do stand out with creativity.

For example, there is a time travel-themed quest in an underground area where the party needs to retrieve an antidote from a hostile group of cultists in the past and find a way to bring it to the present to save some allies. The difficulty is that all small magical items get destroyed by the time travel device, including the antidote.

The main quest focuses heavily on royal diplomacy in different kingdoms, which is a relatively new theme compared to the Infinity Engine titles. The majority of the quests can also be resolved in more than one way – often there is a pacifist solution available. There are even a few quests with heavy choices and consequences. Without spoiling too much, one of them really surprised me: when helping someone in need resulted in wiping out an entire peaceful settlement. And all the unresolved quests from that settlement were lost, though I did get a very powerful item as a "thank you."

Overall, this game is not too short, with a similar amount of content as the original Baldur's Gate. Black Geyser does not overstay its welcome.​

But there is more to like and dislike about it, all neatly arranged in a tidy list of what's right and wrong. Read the full article: RPG Codex Review: Black Geyser

 

[smaug]

I’m not gonna read it because Infinitron didn’t make the news post.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Translady Error likes everything, she'll gob it all. Not reading, zero trust.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

This could have been a bullet-point list.

 

[Lady Error]

The TL;DR version:

Atmosphere and Exploration
Black Geyser nails the atmosphere and charm of Baldur's Gate and feels pretty much like a classic Infinity Engine title. That is its biggest strength, even though the game world itself is rather generic. But then again, wasn't the world in the first Baldur's Gate rather generic too? That doesn't mean that it cannot be enjoyable. And there are in fact some good ideas in Black Geyser that surprised me pleasantly, especially a few of the quests.

No wokeness and (almost) no romances
Considering that many find it offensive how many of the new RPGs include woke themes or extensive romances, there is none of that in this game. The romance option is limited to two dialogues you can have with a companion. It can be easily overlooked and you may not even notice its presence. There is also a bald black NPC you can recruit who only cares about killing as much as possible – a straightforward thing that you'd probably be hard-pressed to find in a game that would care about being woke.

Conclusion
For those who were disappointed with Pillars of Eternity (or are now disappointed with Baldur's Gate 3) as far as delivering a traditional "Baldur's Gate"-like experience is concerned, this game comes closer to it than any other RPG in the last 10-15 years. It does not stand out as great in my view, but still delivers a fun and enjoyable experience – once you get past the first few hours.

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

It wasn't good tho.

 

[Late Bloomer]

Good review. It covered all the topics needed to decide if it is worth consideration. I had written this game off a time ago. I'll put it back on my wishlist and wait for a sale.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Thanks for the review Lady Error, nice work. Gave me a good idea of what the game is like. Not something that really interests me, but like you say it's pretty cool that a game named Black Geyser actually turned out decent.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

But then again, wasn't the world in the first Baldur's Gate rather generic too?

No.

Also the first dialogue of the game between the nobles reeks of 80 IQ and also tests yours for 80 ('are you capable of delivering the 5 drinks to the right person? here's what they prefer'). No surprise you liked it.

 

[Lady Error]

It wasn't good tho.

The biggest problem is that it is too easy for experienced players. Everything else is at least okay and a few things are actually quite good. It nails the atmosphere of the Infinity Engine games, which both PoE and BG3 could not really deliver.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

the atmosphere of the Infinity Engine games

Elaborate, what is that exactly?
All IE games have vastly different atmospheres. And are of varying quality. BG2 is a D&D orgy masterpiece stuffed with content like a thanksgiving turkey, BG1 a low key experience, IWDs are just mind numbingly boring dungeon crawlers. What's this IE atmosphere?

 

[Lady Error]

Also the first dialogue of the game between the nobles reeks of 80 IQ and also tests yours for 80 ('are you capable of delivering the 5 drinks to the right person? here's what they prefer'). No surprise you liked it.

“It does not stand out as great in my view, but still delivers a fun and enjoyable experience – once you get past the first few hours.“

Elaborate, what is that exactly?
All IE games have vastly different atmospheres. And are of varying quality. BG2 is a D&D orgy masterpiece stuffed with content like a thanksgiving turkey, BG1 a low key experience, IWDs are just mind numbingly boring dungeon crawlers. What's this IE atmosphere?

It is most similar to the first Baldur's Gate, though there are a few quests that are more "out there".

 

[std::namespace]

Wait, this game was not a vaporware joke?

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

What happens after the first few hours? Learned helplessness?

 

[Arthandas]

Even on the highest difficulty (out of four), there aren't many challenging fights once you have your party of five together

Roguey would play on normal, then write the game offers a decent challenge in the review...

 

[Roguey]

@Roguey would play on normal, then write the game offers a decent challenge in the review...

https://www.neoseeker.com/black-geyser-couriers-of-darkness/guide/Difficulty_Setting I would definitely play on normal, yes.

 

[Crispy]

Not reading, zero trust.

Yet here you are asking her opinion of the game anyway.

 

[MerchantKing]

Should I go sailing and seize this game on the high seas or skip it?

 

[jaekl]

The TL;DR version:

No wokeness and (almost) no romances
Considering that many find it offensive how many of the new RPGs include woke themes or extensive romances, there is none of that in this game. The romance option is limited to two dialogues you can have with a companion. It can be easily overlooked and you may not even notice its presence. There is also a bald black NPC you can recruit who only cares about killing as much as possible – a straightforward thing that you'd probably be hard-pressed to find in a game that would care about being woke.

That sounds amazing, hopefully they port it to console one day.

 

[Late Bloomer]

That sounds amazing, hopefully they port it to console one day.

You don't have a gaming pc?

 

[Lady Error]

Should I go sailing and seize this game on the high seas or skip it?

It's 50% off right now on GOG, just $5.

 

[jaekl]

That sounds amazing, hopefully they port it to console one day.

You don't have a gaming pc?

You will never catch me slouching in front of a desk like a gaming ghoul. I game in style and comfort - lounging on a couch, either on the ps5, switch or the $300 laptop I bought on amazon 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[Late Bloomer]

You will never catch me slouching in front of a desk like a gaming ghoul. I game in style and comfort - lounging on a couch, either on the ps5, switch or the $300 laptop I bought on amazon 3 or 4 years ago.

A lot of PC games allow you to use controllers if you like. Hooking up a PC to a TV is possible as well. Also, as a setup idea, if you have the space and the money, a sofa can be used as long as to your right is a cushion, to set the mousepad on. From there, you can use a wireless mouse and keyboard.

 

[jaekl]

You will never catch me slouching in front of a desk like a gaming ghoul. I game in style and comfort - lounging on a couch, either on the ps5, switch or the $300 laptop I bought on amazon 3 or 4 years ago.

A lot of PC games allow you to use controllers if you like. Hooking up a PC to a TV is possible as well. Also, as a setup idea, if you have the space and the money, a sofa can be used as long as to your right is a cushion, to set the mousepad on. From there, you can use a wireless mouse and keyboard.

The days of fucking around with electronics are behind me, I like everything to be prepackaged, work immediately and require no extra wires or peripherals. Whenever this laptop craps out, I'm going to order another $300 Thinkpad, it'll probably run pc games from like 5 years ago well enough

 

[Kev Inkline]

You have to go back.