Age of Decadence Reviews

[Lurker King]

Elhoim, you need do a interview with Matt on behalf of Iron Tower. Honor demands it.

And also why not Vault Dweller ?

Because he doesn't like to appear in public.

 

[Vault Dweller]

http://www.cubed3.com/review/2611/1/the-age-of-decadence--pc.html

3/10

The primary issue with The Age of Decadence is that it feels as if all its problems could be fixed with one simple patch, but weren't. Giving a bit more detail in the quest journal? Would help a lot but not available. Mini-map? Nope. A bit more colour along with some more definition? Sorry. Clothes that don't restrict AP so that streaking wouldn't be the requirement for high-AP combat? Not an option. In its current state it's unpolished at best, but has some potential; potential that, sadly, seems like it has been denied. It shouldn't be avoided, however, as it would be average and, potentially, even enjoyable with these issues ironed out - but it currently feels more of a bore to play, with little to keep interest from tediously running back and forth because it couldn't be bothered to mention where an NPC might be.

 

[Infinitron]

Oh god that review deserves to be posted in its entirety:

The Age of Decadence (PC) Review

RPG's properly set in Roman time-frames are a rare oddity to be certain, with the Feudal, Sengoku, and even the Bronze Age eras usually getting more time in the limelight than it, at least when it comes to RPGs. The Age of Decadence tries to slip into this little niche and expand upon it through challenging gameplay, and an age where debauchery and corruption are the order of the day.

People seem to be under the heavy misunderstanding that 'difficult' or even 'challenging' is inherently related to being good. While it is true that part of a good game is how it can engage the gamers to try and do better, this can only go so far, and, without much effort to at least maintain the other aspects of a title, it comes apart at the seams. Thankfully, The Age of Decadence does not fall into this trap but it comes far too close for comfort, and all for the most ridiculous of reasons possible.

Taking place in a Roman time-setting it starts off with one of several backgrounds and the like. To its credit, the game does actually make this a bit interesting and involved. Picking the mercenary background, for example, begins with being the guardian for a merchant who ends up being attacked by assassins while opting to pick the assassin background places the player on the exact opposite side, who must now try to assassinate a merchant guarded by a mercenary.

To further this along, there are a whole series of things interrelated to personal choices made throughout. If a character asks the retrieval a powerful lance, for example, it's possible to keep it or turn it over. Getting a potentially strong lance, however, will get the player considered 'dishonest' via a reduction of the Word of Honour stat, something that may shut off paths that would have otherwise been open to them.

This also tries to be difficult, and this is where the problems start to crop up. Firstly, it tries doing so by creating situations where careful diplomacy is the word of the day and not pitched combat. This sounds great on paper, but, in reality, greatly falters. Many of the various checks are a bit too each to pass or, conversely, too obvious or obtuse for a proper response without said stats - not to mention that they tend to be a bit schizophrenic in their response. Seeing a tough and grizzled mercenary suddenly providing insightful tips on soil acidity and farming techniques can be quite jarring, though not implausible.

The real issue with the "difficulty" however is not the various social interactions which, while they can be a bit strange at times, tend to at least try and follow a flow of logic, if seemingly a bizarre one at times. The real issue is here is how the combat can be hard. Namely, it never is. The thing about making it challenging is that there are several ways to do it. One method is to present a situation in which triumphing over a foe is not a matter of brute strength but of fight mechanics. An MMO raid boss, for example, will almost always out-muscle the raiders trying to down it, yet, through experience, learning, and paying attention to the fight mechanics, even low-geared players can end up being more helpful than apathetic high-geared ones.

The Age of Decadence does not do that. Instead, it follows a method of simply making the fights statistically harder, but otherwise lacking in depth. Fighting a single bandit in the early game follows a very similar pattern to fighting endgame monstrosities, in that hitting him until he dies is pretty much the best course of action. Sure, there are some other options available, but, at the end of the day, a sword to the gut is simply the go-to tool for passing any fight, easy or not. As a result, the fights are "challenging" but only because the game will either gladly offer overwhelming numbers or very statistically strong foes, instead of some sort of mechanical depth.

This is further amplified by some truly strange design choices. For example this runs on a fairly forward system of AP. In order to perform an action, such as movement or stabbing a foe, it takes AP. However, for certain sets of armour, there is a limit on how much can be used. This wouldn't normally be a problem as it makes sense… until it becomes clear that opting to wear pants limits this AP pool as well. The result? Streaking through combat wearing no protection at all because it will reduce the AP pool, and that only because clothes have an AP cap on them. While one could argue that this would make sense for gladiators and the like, it should be argued that the choice to put a limit on basic clothing, but not helmets or cloaks, is, likewise, strange.

As a whole, this ends up being uninteresting. The music is weak at best and more likely to be non-existent, the visuals are muddy, and everything simply feels like the developer missed just one minor detail that robbed the game of its potential power. The combat could have been more engaging if there was even room for tactics, the graphics could have been passable with just a bit more definition, and so-forth.

Cubed3 Rating
3/10

BAD
About this score
The primary issue with The Age of Decadence is that it feels as if all its problems could be fixed with one simple patch, but weren't. Giving a bit more detail in the quest journal? Would help a lot but not available. Mini-map? Nope. A bit more colour along with some more definition? Sorry. Clothes that don't restrict AP so that streaking wouldn't be the requirement for high-AP combat? Not an option. In its current state it's unpolished at best, but has some potential; potential that, sadly, seems like it has been denied. It shouldn't be avoided, however, as it would be average and, potentially, even enjoyable with these issues ironed out - but it currently feels more of a bore to play, with little to keep interest from tediously running back and forth because it couldn't be bothered to mention where an NPC might be.

How did he even make it that far into the game when he's flummoxed by such superficial things?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Especially since clothes don't limit AP as he claims.

 

[Aenra]

Casual can be anyone without insane amounts of time at their disposal/sane enough to rate other, more productive hobbies higher than RPG playing
That there is not a casual. That is a fucking RETARD.

Again, /support your local eugenics institution

 

[Lemming42]

Weak review. No wonder he found the combat difficult if his entire strategy was "hit them until they die", discarding all the other attack styles. No real mention of the writing in that review either, other than the opening vignettes.

 

[MediantSamuel]

Is this reviewer fucking serious?
3/10 because it doesn't have a frigging minimap of all things. Did this stupid fuck ever try pressing "M" in a city? Might've helped with his "running back and forth problem."

"Combat's hard, but it isn't." Good explanation. Goes off a tangent about WoW raiding, for no reason.

Spoiler

"Taking place in a Roman time-setting it starts off with one of several backgrounds and the like. To its credit, the game does actually make this a bit interesting and involved."

I rate your grammar 3/10, you degenerate retard.

I was worried about writing an Underrail review but shit, if I'm competing against actual "journalists" like this chump.

 

[hivemind]

the Bronze Age eras usually getting more time in the limelight than it, at least when it comes to RPGs

Is this even true?

 

[Lurker King]

Someone here knows how to read dumbfuck? I can't read dumbfuck. I will use google to translate this.

People seem to be under the heavy misunderstanding that 'difficult' or even 'challenging' is inherently related to being good.

Games are by definition the attempt to surpass an unnecessary challenge. If they are too easy or too simplistic, they are no good. cRPGs are games, so..

An MMO raid boss, for example, will almost always out-muscle the raiders trying to down it, yet, through experience, learning, and paying attention to the fight mechanics, even low-geared players can end up being more helpful than apathetic high-geared ones. The Age of Decadence does not do that. Instead, it follows a method of simply making the fights statistically harder, but otherwise lacking in depth.

In other words, the combat in AoD is bad because is not MMO grinding mongoloid shit. That is great, man. Just great.

The music is weak at best and more likely to be non-existent.

I don’t even.

The primary issue with The Age of Decadence is that it feels as if all its problems could be fixed with one simple patch, but weren't. Giving a bit more detail in the quest journal? Would help a lot but not available. Mini-map? Nope. A bit more colour along with some more definition? Sorry. Clothes that don't restrict AP so that streaking wouldn't be the requirement for high-AP combat? Not an option. In its current state it's unpolished at best.

Now, pay attention. That is not the first time some reviewer accused the game of being “unpolished”. We need to read carefully this comment in order to have a better understanding of the popamole mind. If the game doesn’t have triple-A graphics, doesn’t hold the player’s hand and it is difficult in combat, then it is obvious that is an unpolished game, because any developer would want to do these things in his game. If ITS didn’t implement these obvious things, is because they are lazy or didn’t care, because no cRPG is supposed to be this way.

 

[Eyestabber]

How did he even make it that far into the game when he's flummoxed by such superficial things?

He didn't.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/230070

The screenshots in the review are from AoD store page. Lazy loser couldn't be bothered to learn the game. Couldn't be bothered to take his own screenshots either. Gaming journalism at its finest, gentlemen.

 

[MediantSamuel]

Music being non-existent is such a cop-out.

The Ganezzar music haunts my dreams.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

About the reviewer:

As of now Ian is a fan of the JRPG genre and enjoys being able to simply sit down and lose himself in a game. Though a bit of a perfectionist who tries to hunt down every secret if possible, he never lets that get in the way of his enjoyment. However, he has developed a guilty pleasure for intentionally playing BAD games simply for the chance to rip into them in a review.

 

[Vault Dweller]

More BAD GAEM! reviews from the same guy:

Thief - 5/10
http://www.cubed3.com/review/1951/1/thief-pc.html

Thief is simply not a good game. Rather, it should be a good game, but it ruins itself multiple times over with an outright unlikable character, poor gameplay, multiple bugs, and repetitive designs. The result is a game that is uninteresting and forgettable. Ironically, had this game been an actual thief, this would be a great disguise for hiding out in the Steam library, while quietly pick-pocketing the wallets of other games. Cubed3 reviews the Nixxes Software-developed PC version.

http://www.cubed3.com/staffreviews/Snowtwo/all/&page=1

 

[Irenaeus III]

the Bronze Age eras usually getting more time in the limelight than it, at least when it comes to RPGs

Is this even true?

Not that I know of, I can't name a single Bronze Age cRPG.

 

[MediantSamuel]

More BAD GAEM! reviews from the same guy:

Thief - 5/10
http://www.cubed3.com/review/1951/1/thief-pc.html

Thief is simply not a good game. Rather, it should be a good game, but it ruins itself multiple times over with an outright unlikable character, poor gameplay, multiple bugs, and repetitive designs. The result is a game that is uninteresting and forgettable. Ironically, had this game been an actual thief, this would be a great disguise for hiding out in the Steam library, while quietly pick-pocketing the wallets of other games. Cubed3 reviews the Nixxes Software-developed PC version.

http://www.cubed3.com/staffreviews/Snowtwo/all/&page=1

Well, he gave The Witcher 3 9/10. Clearly you should be including a mini map, VD.

Most of his reviews are of weeabo garbage anyway.

 

[Eyestabber]

Music being non-existent is such a cop-out.

The Ganezzar music haunts my dreams.

Yeah. I love the final boss theme. It gives you a perfect "kill him before he kills and tentacle rapes you" vibe, which is exactly what that fight is about.

 

[Elhoim]

Now, pay attention. That is not the first time some reviewer accused the game of being “unpolished”. We need to read carefully this comment in order to have a better understanding of the popamole mind. If the game doesn’t have triple-A graphics, doesn’t hold the player’s hand and it is difficult in combat, then it is obvious that is an unpolished game, because any developer would want to do these things in his game. If ITS didn’t implement these obvious things, is because they are lazy or didn’t care, because no cRPG is supposed to be this way.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Infinitron]

More BAD GAEM! reviews from the same guy:

Thief - 5/10
http://www.cubed3.com/review/1951/1/thief-pc.html

Thief is simply not a good game. Rather, it should be a good game, but it ruins itself multiple times over with an outright unlikable character, poor gameplay, multiple bugs, and repetitive designs. The result is a game that is uninteresting and forgettable. Ironically, had this game been an actual thief, this would be a great disguise for hiding out in the Steam library, while quietly pick-pocketing the wallets of other games. Cubed3 reviews the Nixxes Software-developed PC version.

http://www.cubed3.com/staffreviews/Snowtwo/all/&page=1

This is NuThief so he might be right here

 

[Vault Dweller]

My bad.

 

[Goral]

Shitty review indeed but what can you expect from a jRPG-phile? I bet he rated Undertale highly.

Vault Dweller
Did you send him a free copy?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Nope. If I have to guess, he played the demo.

 

[kwanzabot]

Maybe he just doesn't like AOD?


Ttaste is not universal

 

[Whisper]

Especially since clothes don't limit AP as he claims.

I am using auxiliarry (sp?) armor, it also does not limit. Despite being metal armor.

Also light leather armor do not limit at all.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Maybe he just doesn't like AOD?


Ttaste is not universal

The issue is not that he doesn't like it but that his review is more of a forum rant that doesn't really tell you anything about the game except for the fact that non-existing pants reduce your AP and the poster is very upset about it.

 

[kwanzabot]

Maybe he just doesn't like AOD?


Ttaste is not universal

The issue is not that he doesn't like it but that his review is more of a forum rant that doesn't really tell you anything about the game except for the fact that non-existing pants reduce your AP and the poster is very upset about it.

IDK i didn't read the review

but i liked the game