Overall most helpful review

Posted on: February 6, 2020

OldOldGamer

Games: 1734 Reviews: 79

Another promising game, killed by RNG

I've bought this game as soon as I've seen it here on GOG. Being an history geek and reenactor while also being a Roman history nerd I could not resist the temptation. The game touches an aspect never explored before, nor in such an accurate and entertaining way. The life of of legionary comes to life with various events that unfold and are very well narrated and fun to play trough. There is a lot to learn about the Punic wars too and is very nice how the whole atmosphere is captured in many small details. Even the equipment is very varied, contrary to what you could expect, and surely demonstrate the developers did a lot of historical research. You are walked trough a number of major battles and engagements that unfold, in text format. In each engagement you can take some decisions on some specific happenings. These will bring some advantages along risks. Knowing your limits and what you can or cannot pull off is paramount as, as a your recruit, it is easy to overstep your abilities and end up dead. In between major battles, you are presented with a screen where you can develop your character trough a number of actions: training, playing dice, working out on your stats that, as a reward, will make you character more proficient in battles. So far, so go... until you actually meet the RNG. As many games these days, the RNG feels way off. I cannot say if is just pure impression of if something is actually broken but failing 6 skill rolls in a row, with a declared 70% chance, is not going to make me feel in charge. Aside the pure failing rate, the game punishes you if you fail an action. Your subsequent action, for reasons I actually don't fully grasps, seems to be reduced in chances of success. This going on until you actually succeed in an action at which point, your chances start to go up. At this point your success chances are so low that most probably you fail the next roll, in a never ending spiral. A promising game that boils down in "hoping" to succeed.

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Posted on: February 9, 2020

Flori24

Verified owner

Games: 492 Reviews: 7

Very impressive historical RPG

This is what I love about A Legionary's Life: - The writing really makes you think and feel the way a Roman legionary might have at the time of the Second Punic War. For anyone interested in Roman history or well-written RPGs, this is a gem. - The gameplay is great. It consists of camp sections, fights and random events. Very often you have to make choices which may have an impact on your reputation, give you certain rewards or put you into dangerous situations. During the camp sections you can train up your legionary's skills and stats, boost your morale or improve your reputation with certain activities, or you can buy better equipment. The turn-based combat is very well designed and rewards a tactical approach. If you fight cautiously, you will be able to hold the line even against superior forces. If you fight recklessly, you will die very quickly. The choices and random events give the game a lot of replay value. There is also a cool foraging minigame. - The game offers a true RPG experience. Your legionary simply won't be good at everything. Depending on his stats and skills, certain actions will be very likely to fail. There is also a morality system which allows you to roleplay either a ruthless or a virtuous legionary. This adds even more replay value. These are the things you may not like about the game (none of which bother me): - Due to the combat rolls, stat checks and random events there is a lot of RNG in the game. To me, this is a plus, but if you dislike RNG in video games, it may turn you off. - A lot of the game is entirely text-based and there is no voice acting. If you hate reading long texts (even if they are well-written), this may bother you. - Permadeath makes the game very intense, but each time you die, you will have to start over. - It's a small budget indie game. If you expect cinematic graphics or a huge variety of music, you will be disappointed. There is a free demo available online. Play it first if you are still unsure.

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Posted on: December 22, 2020

RodLightning

Verified owner

Games: 135 Reviews: 2

Reminds me of a certain book...

I've read an 80s fantasy series ten years ago called "The deed of Paksenarrion" which follows a young sheepfamer's daughter (Paksenarrion Dorthandotter) who runs away from home and joins a mercenary company. That first book reminds me so much about this game: The life of an ordinary soldier/mercenary/legionair. Train as a rookie, go on campaigns, spend your hard earned cash and grow as an individual and as a fighter. This game's text based and turned based gameplay is something I really like. Reminds me of King Of Dragon Pass too. You can also tell the theme and history is well researched. The music is also very good. Kudos to the single developer! To the people that complain about RNG: Yes it's there but it's your job to navigate around this...The game tells you from the start you're supposed to take this seriously so don't take unnecesary risks! When you die you get points for your deeds (accomplishments in the game) and you can start over and spend some of these points to create a stronger/richer/better equipped character. So there's quite a bit of replayability here. Although the story/campaign is the same the random events/flavour test events do differ. I'd love to see this game further developed or even a sequel being made: more/better mini games and events, more choices like in KODP...And hopefully a game which features the world of Paksenarrion! GG

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Posted on: February 9, 2020

Saievo

Verified owner

Games: 41 Reviews: 5

RNG Hell

Pros: Music is really great Interesting Premise Well researched historical story Cons: RNG nightmare, even after several replays with superior stats This is a TEXT-BASED choose your own adventure style game $7.00 is WAAAAAY overpriced for how little you get You will start out weak and die often. However, even with SUPERIOR stats from several playthroughs, you will STILL die often due to RNG. I've had it happen multiple times where I get over a dozen bad rolls in a row. Also, the description of this game lies, specifically: "Replay value. You will only see a fraction of the game in each run." Bold faced LIE. While there are "random encounters" there only seems to be about a dozen total and they happen over and over throughout your playthroughs. Lastly, there is a foraging game that starts to happen regularly once you increase your rank for the first time. It's annoying and really adds little to the game BUT is the ONLY way to increase your mental stats...though RNG often has you failing to receive a stat increase. Overall, a forgettable game that can be beaten in one day and has very limited playthrough. Unless you like games that torture your soul so you can eek out the perfect game...stay away.

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Posted on: February 9, 2020

Melkisedeck

Verified owner

Games: 158 Reviews: 7

A good game and a fair deal

The game promises you to live the punic/macedonian wars through th POV of a pre-marian legionary.... and it does just that! I really liked the writing, empathetic and suttle, which make you care about your character and your manipule, while not falling into clichés. The developper clearly knows his history and there are tons of details that make history geeks like me happy :-) The story is engaging, even (more?) if you know the end. The replay value is also OK - it took me 6 tries to finish the game. My first 3 tries felt unique, and the last 3, while feeling a bit more repetitive, still had many unseen encounters/events that kept my interest up. Overall, the game is transparent and honest when it comes to its mechanics, i.e. I did not feel cheated by the RNG. Yeah, I did not like to fail 80% chance attack/recover. However, when I was dying, it was usually because I -knowingly- took a risky fight. Sad, but fair enough. The game is far for perfect: There are also many small things which can be improved (graphics are uninspiring, the soundtrack is repetitive, a more detailed "death screen" would be cool. Also, some functions - like the soft spot- remain a mystery to me...). I n terms of game mechanics there is nothing revolutionary. My main criticism would be that the second part of the game (macedonian war) is not as tense as the punic war. I ended up with 4,000 denari, and nothing to do with them, and never felt threathened in the battles by the phallanges. A bit anti-climatic. Still, I gladly give 5 stars because the game fullfils its contract. It's fun from beginning to end, clean (I never met a bug) and has put me in the caligula of a legionary for 10 hours. And honestly, it's great to have a game that takes the risk of going for such POV and historical setting. I commend the Virtus of the developper, and would be on board if he'd made a "Civil War" extension pack :-) May we all go to war under Caesar/Pompey's banner next time!

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