Review Frayed Knights Reviews

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Frayed Knights

<p><strong>Frayed Knights</strong> is freshly released and Voila! RPGWatch are offering not one, but two reviews of the game.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=180&amp;ref=0&amp;id=323" target="_blank">The first one:</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>In conclusion. This is a game I&rsquo;ve really wanted to like for a long time. However, I don&rsquo;t, I&nbsp;<em>love</em> it! It was a breath of fresh air poured into a genre, which sadly has become almost stale in its approach. Sure, it&rsquo;s not going to win any prizes for graphics; it&rsquo;s an Indie game using the Torque engine, which while adequate isn&rsquo;t in the same universe graphically as games like <em>Skyrim</em>, but unless graphics mean far more to you than gameplay, engaging characters, and sheer enjoyment, then you owe it to yourself to buy <em>Frayed Knights</em>. I&rsquo;ve started about 8 new games in the past few months, but I&rsquo;ve only managed to finish one. You can guess by the number of reviews I haven&rsquo;t written, which one it was.And from the second one:</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=180&amp;page=2" target="_blank">And from the second one:</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I loved this game. It's what I've been waiting for since <em>Wizardry 8</em> or even the end of the <em>Quest for Glory</em> series. It's a turn-based "blob" RPG set in a quirky setting where adventuring is a lifestyle choice. Even if you don't like games that aren't serious in nature there is still a wonderful "blob" combat RPG here. On my second playthrough, I skipped past all of the dialogues because I knew them all and I still enjoyed the combat portion of the game immensely. I'm now on my third playthrough and still skipping past the dialogues and still enjoying the heck out it.</p>
</blockquote>

 

[Satan]

Satan gave it a try and he did not enjoy the demo. The game is just plainly bad in nearly every aspect - only the combat is okay, but then you can play wizardry or other games with similar combat to enjoy it and probably other aspects of the game. Frayed Knights is not worth anything, it's an example of very mediocre (or even below mediocre) indie rpg game. It's far away from the level of, for example, Eschalon.

 

[DwarvenFood]

sup, Konjad. Your opinion does not count.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Satan gave it a try and he did not enjoy the demo. The game is just plainly bad in nearly every aspect - only the combat is okay, but then you can play wizardry or other games with similar combat to enjoy it and probably other aspects of the game. Frayed Knights is not worth anything, it's an example of very mediocre (or even below mediocre) indie rpg game. It's far away from the level of, for example, Eschalon.

Your post contains zero information. Are you expecting people to take your word for it, Konjad?

 

[Satan]

Music is terrible.

Graphic is okay, I mean everything looks fine. It does have low resolution textures, but they are good enough to not bother. The art direction is however rather bad. Everything looks like a cartoon, even dungeons which I'd rather see as a dark corridors with some sinister details instead of bright WoW-like walls. Characters look just terrible.

The combat is okay, I mean you probably have played many games like this, so let's just say it's similar.

Level design is rather mediocre. You know where to go, however it's a bit too predictable.

Dialogues are full of boring and unfunny jokes. Apart from that they are bland and uninteresting, I never skip them in games, even in Bethesda ones, but here I had an urge to do so.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

tell me more about DA2

 

[Angthoron]

Tried the demo and liked it. Jokes are somewhat so-so, but aside from that, the game looks fairly solid. Graphics are serviceable, combat seems like it could pose a challenge later on, level design shows promise, though I hope that it'll take advantage of the Search button in the future dungeons.

UI is kinda poor though, and the FOV could be better.

 

[Satori (original)]

Well the dev said the jokes are meant to be like the jokes fellow PnPers would make and strived for the PnP feel.

 

[Serious_Business]

Music terrible.

Graphic is okay, I mean everything look fine. It does have low resolution texture, but they are good enough to not bother. Art direction is however rather bad. Everything look like cartoon, even dungeon which I'd rather see as dark corridor with some sinister detail instead of bright WoW-like walls. Character look just terrible.

The combat okay, I mean you probably have played many game, so let's just say it's similar.

Level design rather mediocre. You know where to go, however bit too predictable.

Dialogues full of boring and unfunny joke. Apart from that they are bland and uninteresting, I never skip them in game, even in Bethesda, but here had an urge to do so.

: x

 

[DwarvenFood]

Too many threads about this game. What did the creator work on in the past ? I think he was decent..

 

[villain of the story]

My review of DA2:

Music is terrible.

Graphic is okay, I mean everything looks fine. It does have low resolution textures, but they are good enough to not bother. The art direction is however rather bad. Everything looks like a cartoon, even dungeons which I'd rather see as a dark corridors with some sinister details instead of bright WoW-like walls. Characters look just terrible.

The combat is okay, I mean you probably have played many games like this, so let's just say it's similar.

Level design is rather mediocre. You know where to go, however it's a bit too predictable.

Dialogues are full of boring and unfunny jokes. Apart from that they are bland and uninteresting, I never skip them in games, even in Bethesda ones, but here I had an urge to do so.

 

[sea]

Playing the full version right now. It's good, but not great. Level design does get more complex, there are a lot of optional quests and locations (though not tons), and the game becomes quite challenging later on. One of the few recent RPGs I've played where leveling up feels like it's earned, and where you have tons of very valid options to choose from but only a couple you can actually pick. Massive amount of feats, spells, and so on, plus passive bonuses and the like, and it's more quest-driven than loot-driven unlike some modern RPGs. Some of the game systems, like its approach to endurance and the way you can spend more to boost your spells, are also pretty cool and useful for more difficult fights. In other words, it's got its heart in the right place, as well as all the right basic ingredients for a good turn-based RPG, and that counts for something in my opinion.

That said, it's also old-school in some of the wrong places. For one, the UI is terrible and awkward to use (though comfortable, if you've played Might & Magic, Betray at Krondor, etc.), not to mention extremely ugly. Although searching for traps and secrets could be useful, it takes way too long, is extremely imprecise, and frequently opens you to random battles which, in this game, can be quite deadly (to the point where just to find some cache of a few trinkets, you'll end up wasting 10 minutes heading back to town for healing afterwards). Also, it's worth noting that the game is very, very combat heavy. Aside from random encounters, it's rare to enter a room and not be bum-rushed by enemies. There's no real puzzles to speak of save for obvious things, the game is basically linear (optional secondary dungeons), and while there's no quest compasses or anything like that, the quests themselves aren't really anything special (though considering the combat focus, that's not a big deal).

And while maybe I'm just unlucky, I swear the game operates on Pokemon Math - as in, I miss so often with these supposed "85%" chances that it's goddamn infuriating, and I frequently lose fights due to getting screwed by the RNG even though in all probability it shouldn't happen (i.e. missing 10 spells in a row). Feels like behind the scenes, 90% = 50% and 50% = 0%, though I have no idea if it's lying about them or if it's just me.

Basically, if you want some old first-person dungeon crawling and don't mind/can overlook the sub-Morrowind 3D graphics and the cartoony art style/humour, it's good for what it is. Just don't expect the complexity or detail of the games that inspired it, since that really just isn't possible from a one-man project. We don't get many games like this anymore, so it's nice that it's actually pretty decent.

 

[hoverdog]

Satan gave it a try and he did not enjoy the demo. The game is just plainly bad in nearly every aspect - only the combat is okay, but then you can play wizardry or other games with similar combat to enjoy it and probably other aspects of the game. Frayed Knights is not worth anything, it's an example of very mediocre (or even below mediocre) indie rpg game. It's far away from the level of, for example, Eschalon.

Eschalon is shit. Frayed Knights, compared to that piece of crap, is like the second coming of MCA.


also, da2

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

And while maybe I'm just unlucky, I swear the game operates on Pokemon Math - as in, I miss so often with these supposed "85%" chances that it's goddamn infuriating, and I frequently lose fights due to getting screwed by the RNG even though in all probability it shouldn't happen (i.e. missing 10 spells in a row). Feels like behind the scenes, 90% = 50% and 50% = 0%, though I have no idea if it's lying about them or if it's just me.

I noticed that too. Weird.

 

[Crooked Bee]

My guess is, the actual hit chance may depend not only on the spell's (say, 85%), but also on the monster's own dodge or save vs. x stat, so that the two get multiplied or something. But maybe I'm just imagining things, as I've only been playing the game for a few hours. Nor have I read the manual yet.

 

[sea]

The combat log doesn't make any mention of it, if that is the case. I can say that it is definitely consistent about 10 hours into the game. Would have to ask the game's developer about it I guess.

Oh, also, protip: play this game windowed if you do a lot of Alt+Tabbing. It can get kind of choppy due to the shitty engine, but I noticed if you Alt+Tab more than once or twice, the lighting will get all screwed up and the textures go corrupt shortly after.

 

[made]

Yay, finally an RPG that doesn't take itself too seriously. How refeshing.

 

[ortucis]

Yay, finally an RPG that doesn't take itself too seriously. How refeshing.

You obviously haven't played Dragon Age 2.

 

[Turjan]

I'm a sucker for bad humor. I might give this one a shot.

 

[villain of the story]

You obviously fail at the concept of not taking itself too seriously.

 

[poetic codex]

Humorous tone or not, I still think those portraits are...unfortunate. Looks like the author didn't listen to the feedback we gave earlier on.

 

[Morkar Left]

Just played some minutes. So far I like it. The artdirection is simple but pretty good for an indy. The dialogs from the partymembers sound like your typical tongue-in-cheek codex LP.

Can't say how good the combat and charsystem is yet but it feels traditional and enjoyable so far.

Mild criticism for improvement so far: why not show how much enemies you have to fight before you start the fight? And for convenience it would be nice if you could move forward by pressing the right and left mousebuttons together. It would keep one hand free for whatever you want to do with a free hand.

 

[ortucis]

Humorous tone or not, I still think those portraits are...unfortunate. Looks like the author didn't listen to the feedback we gave earlier on.

Unless the developer is making the portraits himself, I doubt it getting them redone just cause few people have issues with them would be worth it (in other words, art isn't free).

 

[Metro]

art isn't free

Neither is the game. Of course, I don't really have a problem with the portraits -- just an observation.

 

[Excidium]

Demo was p. fun. Is it possible to open that magic door near the final encounter?

Things I didn't like much:

- Respawning patrols.

- Not knowing how many enemies will be in an encounter beforehand. You only see one guy in the screen, but after you engage it could be as much as 3, sometimes of different types...it's a bit annoying.

My guess is, the actual hit chance may depend not only on the spell's (say, 85%), but also on the monster's own dodge or save vs. x stat, so that the two get multiplied or something. But maybe I'm just imagining things, as I've only been playing the game for a few hours. Nor have I read the manual yet.

I guessed that too. Hidden modifiers make me rage.

By the way, don't go sleep in the INN if you still have things to do, because it ends the demo.