Ember

I bought this game due to positive reviews, but found it to be a mediocre mobile game. The mechanics and character development are bare-bones and mostly revolve around items. The plot is generic, the music forgettable, and the exploration a resounding "meh". It was inexpensive enough to where I don't miss the money, but I do miss the time I spent hoping it would get better.

A very nice nod to the old school isometric RPGs like Baulders Gate, though not as sophisticated or deep. No character interactions to speak of. No in-depth designing of one's own character. Tactical aspects of combat are there and quite fun but only lightly challenging. However, the world-building story line is well written and engaging, the music is nice and the graphics are good for this style of game. A quite workable crafting system, too. All in all a fun game. A great intro for a first-time or casual RPG player. It offers 30 to 40 hours or more if you are a completist. Replay value may be there if you want to experience how tactics differ between the different classes. I played a warrior and found crafting was only partly useful - mostly for potions. Loot drops were much more useful. I may replay as a mage to see how the gameplay changes... I definitely enjoyed the game. Well worth the discounted price I paid. Even at full price it's a lot of fun for ten bucks. And another thing: it is essentially bug-free and runs on older hardware quite nicely.

Simplistic but exactly what I like. So if you like to get a set group and stick with them to level and grow, this game is for you. The story is interesting and keeps you going. Not super long of a game and it doesn't throw 20 side quests at you each city you go to. Graphics are pretty nice. Beautiful outdoor scenes and the cities are all unique. Upgrading weapons with drops is enjoyable but can get to be a slog with all the loot you find. Wish they had a "mark as junk" button. Maybe there is and I missed it somewhere. But when each skeleton is dropping a helm, chest piece, and weapon, it gets a bit much when you can only hold 99 items including all your crafting materials. but other than that gripe, I am definitely enjoying it. It is paused based combat. and your skills are based off your armor and weapons. So when you level up, you just put points in stats. love the simplicity, but that may just be me.

I only played it for about an hour or so, but I can't really say I enjoyed it at all. Combat was not fun, HUD looked a bit too...clumsy in some way. It felt like a typical "I also want to make an RPG game with "X of Y" items. What made me not continue playing was lack of feeling in the combat. You hit a dog for example and there was no "is hit" animation or nice sounds that makes if fun to fight. I appreciate the effort, but it was too generic for me. Maybe I should have tried a couple of more hours to give it a fair review since I did not really get into the story part.

Those of you who read some of my, other reviews on this site may remember that I have three determinants that decide whether I consider a game RPG or just something that uses the term within their genre. In my opinion, for a game to be RIGHTFULLY called RPG, each of the following requirements must be met: I must have the option to shape my own character... not necessary through character creation, but at least by choices made within the game; Speaking of choices, I do expect an RPG to allow me those – I want to have different ways to handle various obstacles and I would want them to provide ACTUAL consequences, rather than just cosmetics; From an RPG I also demand AT LEAST decent writing, both story and NPC-wise. These three requirements allowed me to easily determine if a game I was playing was an actual RPG or just something that aspired to be one. To that end I never considered so-called JRPGies and hack&slash titles as RPG, because they (majority of times) are linear and give no, real freedom in shaping your character and while not necessary bad games, I commonly enjoy them considerably less than actual RPGies. Thus, using those three determinants, was helpful whenever I approached a new title... until I played Ember. See, I can't claim “Ember” to be an actual RPG by my own definition, but it is also much more than a mindless hack&slash or over-simplified JRPG (understand that these descriptions does not apply to all games within these genres). But lets start at the beginning... and in the beginning there was the game's main menu... Once in main menu, you choose “new game” and, surprisingly, the game begins :D And it is than that the first “disappointment” appears: there's no character creation. You are given a default portrait of your character, the ability to change his name from “Lightbringer” (a pointless exercise as your name isn't used ONCE within the game – you are always referred to as “Lightbringer”) and choose the game's difficulty... and that's it. I was not about to get discouraged by this fact though; many cRPGies make character creation scarce or non-existent even, yet turn out strong (“Planescape: Torment” or “The Witcher” comes to mind, but also “Mass Effect” set many limits to character creation). So I get through this part and I'm welcomed with the story's intro. I gotta say the opening movie is AMAZING! Composed of still-shots, it shows the graphics and artistic style that will accompany you throughout the game. Visually it looks truly incredible with sharp details, further enhanced by bright elements – it is something of “Ember” staple. The intro itself provides you a little background to the world and story that's about to unfold and I must admit that it certainly kept me interested after an initial dismal. Once the game officially starts, you see a scene where a less than adequate mage performs a ritual that, apparently, brings you back to life... my mind immediately went to “Planescape: Torment” and “Revenant” at this (particularly the latter is of consequence to this review). The mage, Coren, quickly gives you some information, but he's unwilling to depart any details, insisting that you speak with his master, Syrma instead. This earned my reserve – here I am “recruited” to help save the world, yet they expect me to travel a fair distance just to learn what is expected of me? Felt that this is going to be one of those games where I am to do something just because the creators want it that way, rather than it making actual sense. Luckily, Coren's reluctance actually HAS an explanation, revealed a bit further in the game... whether you find it acceptable or not is your call, but I was relieved there was a reason behind this approach. So anyway you find yourself in the Burrows and first order of business is to get out. Sadly, the crypts are currently overrun by thieves and spiders and so Coren purposed to provide you with a weapon, the choice of which also determines your “class”. These “classes” correspond to the most simplified and wide-spread classes with any game claiming to be an RPG: you can pick a sword for a melee warrior, a bow for a ranged fighter or wand for a mage. Know, however, that these “classes” aren't set and work more similarly to how “Dungeon Siege” approach the matter; see, each character has 4 statistics that determine your play style – Strength decided how hard you hit in melee and also your durability against physical attacks. This is important for team tanks who will fight in close quarters. Dexterity provides more damage in ranged, physical combat as well as enhances your chance of a critical hit. Intellect decides magical damage you inflict and your resistance to it and finally there's Vitality, that extends your health. You may start out as a mage, but nothing stands in your way to switch into a warrior later, only be aware that your stats will leave you struggling for a time. Aside from those four there's also health (basically your hit points) and energy (an equivalent for “mana”, only in “Ember” it relates to ALL special abilities that are granted through equipment). Being a guy who commonly prefers “up close and personal” approach, I chose sword and began my journey. Coren joined my party as the first companion (he is a fighter btw, so you can feel free to pick whichever “class” you want as Coren will do decently as the necessary tank for the squad) and very soon I found the game's next “issue” and that it general looting and movement. See, while the graphics within the game as stunning (and music is, equally, very well selected to each area, invoking just the right feel), there's NOTHING that indicates with what of its elements you can actually interact with, unless you're REALLY close to them. To that end you can't really tell which crypts in the Burrows you can actually loot and which you cannot. This also makes gathering spoils after battle tedious as well. In the game options you can, supposedly, arrange the game to help with this but either I did not understand it fully or it simply doesn't work. Regardless, this part of the gameplay is somewhat annoying. Further party management fairs little better, mostly on account of equally annoying pathfinding, which can be a real horror during battle. See, combat is done in real time, but with an option to pause the game. This SHOULD allow for a tactical approach, but honestly there is little point of trying to do that: even if you get close to an archer you don't actually stop them from firing arrows or hinder the damage they deal in any way (at least I haven't noticed something like this) nor can you stop a mage from casting a spell by hitting them. Add to it that your party members have an infuriating habit of taking a “scenic route” to the currently targeted enemy and even with an active pause the battlefield is pretty chaotic and you're better off just allowing your team to switch between opponents automatically while you concentrate on special abilities and healing. This might also be a good time to write more about the last two: see, there is dodging and parrying in the game, but since you need to concentrate on Strength and Vitality for your melee fighters, they don't do much of either... because of this, your hand-to-hand warriors will ALWAYS end up receiving some damage in a skirmish... this is particularly annoying at the beginning of the game, where you go through health-restoring items like crazy, just to avoid resting after each battle. And, aside from potions, neither item can be used in battle, so unless you stock-up on health potions, you're quite likely to camp out often until reaching higher levels (than it gets better). Special abilities fair no better: now these abilities are granted via equipment (there are 6 types: headgear, armor, weapon, shield, rings and amulets). All abilities have a primary statistic that determines its effectiveness, but they are commonly related to the gear you currently have equipped, so if you stick with items that are related to your “class”, chances are you'll have this stat at a decent level. Area of effect abilities are not an issue, but whenever an ability requires a specific target (like healing a single character) the problems start – in a battle with many enemies, even with an active pause actually pinpointing the character you wish to “hit” with the ability can be annoying... if you consider that, in certain battles, constant healing is unavoidable, it makes up for a rather discouraging combo. Further still the usage of all special abilities is determined by your energy, but here's the kicker: you energy level is CONSTANT! Yes, you can extend it slightly with some gear, but as a rule it is set on the value 100 and equipment rarely provide more than 10 extra. Even worse is that items meant to renew your energy do so by RIDICULOUSLY small amount (my melee warriors, after drinking a POTION specifically meant to regain energy, retrieved 5 and mages don't seem to fair better... granted it was a 'lesser energy potion', but still... ale and wine renewed even less, making carrying them around literally POINTLESS). With that, colorful bit of gameplay out of the way, let us continue our journey; once I've managed to exit the Burrows, I was pleasantly surprised that, despite having a relatively clear destination, the game does allow free-roaming for the most part. Note that enemies aren't scaled to your current level so entering an area with difficult adversaries would require you to either avoid combat or retreat, but you do have the option to go where you like, which is a plus in my book. The first area after Burrows also shows that, aside from the main story, you have optional quests spread throughout the game. Most of them have the complexity of “fetch quests” were just grabbing an item or speaking to someone moves the task forward, but “Ember” did provide gamers with a relative variety of these: sometimes you need to exterminate something, deliver a message, activate an artifact, find item... nothing REALLY complex, but you won't get bored either. Sadly the main questline looks a bit less appealing; don't misunderstand it does provide greater variety than just “go there and kill”, but essentially you may feel otherwise as more often than not you're not given REAL choice in handling the tasks; more often than not the game provides you with the option to either deal with the obstacle “the right way” or outright slaughtering all who oppose you, but the latter isn't always true; for example there is a part in the main quest where you need to obtain a certain artifact from a prominent figure. Now in order to convince that person to give you the item you can either help them resolve a certain matter or decide to kill them, but the second option doesn't seem possible at your current level (I actually tried it for curiosity and 10 seconds into the fight my two melee fighters were already heavily wounded, while I've done relatively little damage to my main adversary). Perhaps it can be done, but at this point I highly doubt it. The lack of choice is strengthen by the fact that about 90% (if not more) conversations you initiate come down to just two responses from your avatar: you can either pick the option that moves the dialogue forward or the one that is equivalent to Commander Shepard's “I should go”. There's no reputation in the game, the NPCs approach to you don't seem to be in any way affected by your actions, so these instances are more like cutscenes rather than actual “forks in the road”. Occasionally you can complete a quest (main or otherwise) in one of two ways, but again this makes no, actual difference to the plot – you'll always get from point A to B with the exact same status... by default the only difference is that sometimes characters who wouldn't play any part in the story later on will be dead. And, since I've gotten to the plot, it's worth to sacrifice a little space to it; the main story is a relatively straightforward one: the world is in peril and you're the only one who can save it. The general concept has been so drastically overused in RPGies in any form, that I'm no longer surprised even. But how the story evolves fairs a bit better – yes, you commonly just go from one place to another, doing whatever needs to be done AT THAT TIME to push you forward and you're given little information regarding the point of your current task in the greater scheme of things, but details of the plot and your characters do set it apart from the basic “Diablo-like” tales. This is the level I would wish “Revenant” story kept throughout its entire game and while it is NOT on the level of “Planescape: Torment” or even any of the “Baldur's Gate” entries, I did find it engrossing. A separate paragraph goes to the game's setting; say what you will, but “Ember” gives you a VERY well-crafted world. Domus (as this world is called) has rich history, geography, rules and denizens that rival virtually ANY in-game universe that paid attention to details I've come across... heck, I'm willing to claim that even “Mass Effect” or “Tyranny” have nothing on “Ember” in that regard! The “Three Races”, despite being inspired by the most cliché species in fantasy (humans, elves and dwarves) have their unique spin that differs them from how they're commonly presented in fiction (elves in particular)... an there are more fantasy tribes roaming Domus, each with their distinct culture, rituals and history. The world's history is crafted in detail, providing several key events that helped shape Domus into the land it is today – every race has its past... every major place its story... every connection between species its reason! Studying all of it is an adventure on its own. Some of these details you learn from conversations, but if you want a full scope of the setting you'll need to read books that are scattered across the game and again I feel the need to point out that those are REALLY worth the read. Now, “Tyranny” was dry with presenting its lore... “Mass Effect” did a good job with its codex entries to allow gamers to get familiar with the universe... but “Ember” really shines (heh, pun :D) in comparison – the many tomes you find within the game are history books, articles by famous writers or short novels that are merely set in the world of Domus. ALL of these were a surprisingly interesting read for me... now, if you bothered to read books in “Baldur's Gate” series, let me tell you that “Ember” is LEAGUES above: books always provide you with a fictional writer here and each of the names have their own, unique style which can be felt in the text; a rather elitist, elvish writer is easily distinguishable from Bombus, a dwarven historian. I can't tell you how anxious I was to find the next volume of “Gabriel and Mara” story, once I was done reading the first, two entries! Truly I spent many hours of my game time simple sucking in “Ember's” literature and if you're the type that enjoys getting familiar with the universe's lore, I highly urge you read books in the game too. Back to the gameplay itself there is one, last things to mention; as you probably know “Ember” is a party-based RPG... at any time your team can consist of up to three people – yourself (the Lightbringer) and two NPC. Your new companions are often far in between of being introduced, so it will take a pretty decent while before you'll manage to “collect” representatives of all, three “classes” within the game. These NPCs have their own personalities, but sadly they're presented in a fashion similar to the first “Baldur's Gate”: aside from their battle cries and occasional dialogue at SET moments in the main story, they are your average follows with no mind of their own... and it is a shame. I recall how disappointed I was that ever-pessimistic Xan, flirtatious Safana, adventurous Coran or mad Xzar didn't make it to “Baldur's Gate 2” as companions so that we could learn more about them. “Ember”, sadly, gives little about its NPCs too... you can't converse with them outside planned moments and they do seem like an interesting bunch. Considering how well N-Fusion managed the game setting, I would expect more details regarding these character would be a hoot too. What I thought of the game? Now that is a hard question... as a hardcore RPG fan, I commonly find it insulting that games which DON'T meet all my, three requirements claim to be a role-playing experience. “Ember” falls short on AT LEAST two of these... its gameplay mechanics has issues, some of which are pretty frustrating or require much getting used to. The relative linearity of the plot and the fact your avatar is, basically, a pre-programmed robot... quite a bit of flaws indeed. And yet, despite all of the above, I've found myself enjoying the game. Maybe the writer in my is just impressed with the attention to detail in crafting the setting... maybe it's stunning visuals that catch my eye... maybe the sheer simplicity that is a change from the usually complex RPGies that I play... I cannot say, but I do know that so far I'm happy with the journey. Granted I haven't completed the game yet (I imagine I'm about “halfway there” as of this writing), but if nothing else “Ember” is consistent with its quality and I'm anxious to thoroughly explore areas which I haven't visited yet. Should you buy it? Well, “Ember” walks the line between your usual RPG and hack&slash. The game's system is decisively that of a “Diablo” clone and elements of “actual RPG” are IMMESIVELY simplified, but if you're a hack&slash fan who wants something more than mindless killing (think the first half of “Revenant”), you might wanna give “Ember” a try. If you're a hardcore RPG fan, than “Ember” simplicity may be somewhat off-putting, but I think it's an enjoyable ride non-the-less... in worst-case scenario, it's a “breather” between heavy RPG titles and its universum is second-to-none in terms of detail, so there's always that ;)