Review Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny HD (1.3) reviewed at RPGWatch

[Zed]

Tags: Crafty Studios; Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny (Remake)

The folks at RPGWatch have posted a review of the HD remake of Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny. Known for its disastrous and bug-riddled state at launch, one may wonder how much they have improved on the game. Is it worth giving it a go, now? RPGWatch seems to think so:

So, the ultimate question is, did I enjoy my time spent with Realms Of Arkania: Blade Of Destiny? Absolutely! Minor bug annoyances aside, the game feels like a real adventure and has a load of potential. I missed some of the features that haven't been implemented to this point, yet the game still delivered a good level of immersion and a memorable journey that you create yourself. If you're looking to spend some time with a throwback RPG and immerse yourself in an open-world fantasy land with adventure, interesting RPG mechanics and a challenging and unforgiving game world, you really can't go wrong with Realms Of Arkania. The game doesn't hold your hand and it expects you to learn it's inner workings in order to survive, which is a breath of fresh air, really. There are still a few kinks in the mix, though. You will have to be able to look past some bugs in order to fully enjoy yourself, but if you really dig to the core, you may be pleasantly surprised at what you uncover.​

This being an RPGWatch review, it comes with a rating (in case they would get listed on metacritic or something) and a pros/cons box (for the serious hard-working consumer who wants to stay informed, but not "read a review"-informed).

I'm giving it a solid 3 out of 5 rating, however, when it's fully patched and all the features are in and functioning properly, it's an easy 4. As of right now, it's still playable and fun, so give it a shot.​

Pros
The survival elements make the game unique
Interesting item and inventory system
Deep character stats, talents and spells

Cons
A little rough getting started, especially for newbies to th[e game?]
Many character models are reused
Still not a finished product

Read the full review here.

 

[Bubbles]

Very fair and balanced review. +1

 

[Explorerbc]

I was under the impression that this game is a completely broken mess.

 

[Infinitron]

Wait for the Codex review.

 

[Cosmo]

Personally I think this review missed out on a crucial aspect in that it didn't make a side-by-side comparison of the old game and its remake...

 

[oldmanpaco]

Still not a finished product

Its hard to wrap up remakes of 20 year old games in a few short years.

 

[Darth Roxor]

This review is the final piece of evidence that RPGWatch is a cesspool with no standards.


Also,

Personally I think this review missed out on a crucial aspect in that it didn't make a side-by-side comparison of the old game and its remake...

Wait for the Codex review.

 

[Zeriel]

I like when 20 year old games are visually more attractive than ones released this year.

 

[crawlkill]

I like when 20 year old games are visually more attractive than ones released this year.

one of my favorite art assets in any game ever is the streetlights on the dock in the first level of Deus Ex. they've got this 2D halo glow around their bulbs. I'm sure that shit's constant in that era of 3D, but for some reason that's the only place I've ever really noticed it. I stood there staring at it for almost a minute, just thinking, "that is in no way what a light looks like. lights do not have little patches of visible brightness in the air around them. but at the same time, it's exactly what a streetlight looks like, and it's doing tone things to me. tone things."

technology replaces style. weird and artistic solutions to display problems are solved with the "good enough" of off-the-shelf 3D. yeah. it's sad.

 

[kaizoku]

Wait for the Codex review.

 

[DefJam101]

 

[thesheeep]

I bet the game will be ... playable ... at patch 1.52. I guess that's when I will play it.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I bet the game will be ... playable ... at patch 1.52. I guess that's when I will play it.

It's got more than just bugs that need ironing out, just fyi. It also has a whole truckload of new (horribru) "rebalancing" (tm) deals and "redesigns", and I sincerely doubt those are gonna get changed.

 

[Bubbles]

Have faith. Press release on the Gold Edition is announced for Monday.

 

[Luzur]

old game run fine out of package, this new remake need some 30 patches?

 

[Bubbles]

The original game is currently at version 3.02, BoD HoD is at 1.31. At least let the version numbers catch up before you start making comparisons.

 

[Crooked Bee]

I actually made the mistake of buying this game, and to be honest if I wasn't so lazy and cared more about my money I'd ask for a refund already.

I don't really care that the "gold", bug-free version is "just around the corner". I do care, however, that they even released the game in such a buggy and broken state!

Furthermore, they even thought it a good idea to send out review keys before patching up the game to a fully playable state. They should get what they deserve, imo.

 

[Roguey]

Addendum #1 - Since writing this review I have experienced a bug of a more serious nature. About 25 hours in, an NPC I was supposed to meet in a town failed to appear, and a part of the main quest has been broken because of it. This has been made known to the developers, and they will fix it, but in the meantime, my play-through has come to a bit of a standstill. So, while the game has been mostly playable, you may want to wait a little bit longer for a few more of these issues to be addressed before diving in.

Addendum #2 (Oct. 31, 2013) - Patch 1.31 has released and the game-breaking bug is no more! Also, the game looks much improved graphically, and overall, there is a huge list of improvements made. I think now is as good a time as any to finally give this game a go if you've been patiently waiting to jump in. Kudos to the hard work put in by the gang at Crafty Studios.

How appropriate that the reviewer of this unfinished game didn't actually finish it before submitting a review.

 

[Duraframe300]

Addendum #1 - Since writing this review I have experienced a bug of a more serious nature. About 25 hours in, an NPC I was supposed to meet in a town failed to appear, and a part of the main quest has been broken because of it. This has been made known to the developers, and they will fix it, but in the meantime, my play-through has come to a bit of a standstill. So, while the game has been mostly playable, you may want to wait a little bit longer for a few more of these issues to be addressed before diving in.

Addendum #2 (Oct. 31, 2013) - Patch 1.31 has released and the game-breaking bug is no more! Also, the game looks much improved graphically, and overall, there is a huge list of improvements made. I think now is as good a time as any to finally give this game a go if you've been patiently waiting to jump in. Kudos to the hard work put in by the gang at Crafty Studios.

How appropriate that the reviewer of this unfinished game didn't actually finish it before submitting a review.

I see that MMO-Style release philosophy is catching on

 

[fastjack]

I bet the game will be ... playable ... at patch 1.52. I guess that's when I will play it.

It's got more than just bugs that need ironing out, just fyi. It also has a whole truckload of new (horribru) "rebalancing" (tm) deals and "redesigns", and I sincerely doubt those are gonna get changed.

Would you mind elaborating on these other problems a little bit? I ask because I have put off playing the original BoD because going back from some of the improvements in Star Trail (only being able to target in straight lines) and SoR was pretty painful the first time I tried. I was really hoping that at least when this game was fully patched it would be a nice way to play Blade of Destiny with some UI improvements.

 

[Crooked Bee]

How appropriate that the reviewer of this unfinished game didn't actually finish it before submitting a review.

I don't think that's something you can criticize him for, though, given the state of the game.

From my own experience of trying to play the game, I'd say you don't have to finish it to be able to write up a fair review. It's just terrible that way.

 

[Zeriel]

On the other hand, him being okay with a game that is literally unfinishable as released, and even going on to encourage people to buy and support the studio releasing such garbage, is something you can absolutely criticize him for.

"Welp, the product doesn't work whatsoever, 10 out of 10".

 

[Crooked Bee]

On the other hand, him being okay with a game that is literally unfinishable as released, and even going on to encourage people to buy and support the studio releasing such garbage, is something you can absolutely criticize him for.

I do agree with that.

That review is crap, imo.

 

[Infinitron]

I found it amusing how RPGWatch only agreed to quote the Codex's first newspost about this game via a third party: http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21358

 

[Grunker]

Jesus christ, they gave this the green light? Is this a joke?