Posted on: June 9, 2015

stsherma

Games: 504 Reviews: 2

A very classic RPG with a great story

This game is almost perfect, but don't listen to the person above me. However, I do agree that about 5-6 days ago the game was in a pretty bad state. So much so that I questioned what the beta testers were doing! It was appalling, but I don't attribute that to the main developers as it's just Joe and Hannah working on a game that's about 20-30 hours. But, again, don't listen to the person above me as the game is thankfully in a near perfect state as I'm typing this review. Onto the review: this game is absolutely stunning. But don't expect the game to hold your hand. I'd attribute the style of the game to something like Blood Omen for dos (Transylvania-type game as well). The style is spot on. I think that the game shares a lot of comparisons to Baldur's Gate more than Darklands. The reason for this is because you play Necholai, the moon god of the game. While I can see comparisons to Darklands, there's not enough spirit fiction in the game or (types) random encounters when traveling on the world map to warrant too much of a comparison. There really is only like two types of random encounter boxes that pop up, usually just misguided directions from someone. It also would have been interesting to see a greater emphasis on these random encounters alongside the woodwise skill. For example, why are there no options in these events like Darklands? Instead these events serve more like a final fantasy style random encounter. However, the combat is incredibly similar to Darklands. But more so, it takes the combat of Darklands and mixes it with a Baldur's gate-esque type combat. The combat can be extremely fluid at times. But it's sad the game didn't get more backing because the game really could have been spectacular with a spirit realm addition. I think to me that would have sealed the comparison to Darklands and Serpent in the Staglands for me. The game is excellent and almost perfect for me. PLEASE support the developers! They deserve it.

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Posted on: January 11, 2016

Apopas

Verified owner

Games: 137 Reviews: 1

The positives great-The negatives minor!

I hadn't played RPG for a long time but during these holidays I had free time and was craving for a good game. After reading the reviews I decided that game would be Serpent in the Staglands. Things I liked: a) First of all the maturity I found. A maturity you see to the dialogs, to the interesting puzzles, to the nice atmosphere, to the way that this game pushes you to think your next action, to the small details that push you to read the manual before the beggining... Things you don't meet often anymore since most the current RPGs seem to target the largest audience of teenagers. b) The graphics. Yes the graphics! I'm not so much for the extra shinny 3D that make your one year old PC look ancient, but I prefer the immersion that only beautiful 2D art can give me. And the art of this game is beautiful and original and that was a surprise because I remember a few months back when I had tried the demo, everything looked very pixelated and the fonts hard to the eyes. I don't know if they fixed something in the meantime but this is not the case anynore. c) This game is big enough. I found the way to the end after many hours of gaming and now, while looking at screenshots of others and reading spoilers, I consider that there are a lot of things I didn't see or do. Things I didn't like: a) The companions were not very interesting since there were not conversations with them. b) The use of magic, which is a totally subjective thing because I don't like in any RPG. At least in this game you could survive with very limited use of it and in general casters aren't that powerful, thing I find ultra positive. On top of it, the use of aptitudes gave a different tone that I liked. c) The opponents during the end were ultra easy and gave insane amounts of XP, as if they were there just to make you level up. d) At the end I found my character to admit things he didn't ever see or did. e) The cliche to find treasures in the town in the barels... Looking forward for the expansion!

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Posted on: July 20, 2022

ratkd

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 19

great crpg

some people in here did a great job hating on this game for no legitimate reasons. i mean, people should always try to be more indulgent towards indie games, at least to a certain extent of course. i understand that being an indie game isn't always an excuse, that's why i understand why people got mad over Mechajammer for example. Serpent In The Staglands is pretty far from being a bad crpg. yes, the game is hard to handle at first and looks a bit tedious in almost every way but you'll get used to it. it personally took me like an hour to appreciate the game for what it was. fights are not THAT hard. people complaining about getting killed by foxes during the begining of the game severely lack gaming skills. because unless you're rushing into a whole pack of foxes whithout turning your brain on, you'll never get killed by low level enemies. althought fights can be a bit rough in the beginning, they'll never be as hard as people say. don't get fooled by casuals. besides, the game becomes way easier as you play along. i've heard people complaining about lags. well, it might have been laggy and filled with bugs when the game came out back in 2015, but the game is now running very smoothly. i have indeed encountered some bugs here and there but it always was insignificant. but in the end, this game does an awesome job at not holding your hand, it treats you as an intelligent individual. the game also feels like a real PnP campaign. wonderful. graphics are endearing, soundtrack is very atmospheric and does the job pretty well, and dialogues are well written and sound very mature. i was kinda disappointed with arcane spells tho, most of the time they felt somewhat useless as they don't do much damage. but you won't need arcane spells to beat the game anyway. Great game.

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Posted on: September 17, 2019

TheWiz1975

Verified owner

Games: 136 Reviews: 1

Dangerous & Fascinating World To Explore

I am no skilled video game critic, but this game had me feeling the need to say a few words. First off, this game is made entirely by a husband and wife with a passion for in depth worlds and that passion shines through. It blows my mind that two people alone can make a world as unique and as rich as the world which holds The Staglands. With heavy inspiration from Transylvanian culture, Serpent in the Staglands brings you a fresh fantasy world that you have never seen before and will not see anywhere else. It is a vast, living, breathing world filled with danger behind every corner. Every step could be your last. This world they created came from a module/campaign they created for a tabletop RPG and that feel definitely shines through. This game brings the video game RPG genre back to its roots in pen, paper, and die rolls. If you are a fan of tabletop roleplaying games and are looking for a new world to explore on your own, then look no further. The gameplay is akin to games like Baldur's Gate and Darklands and if you are familiar and fond of those titles, then you should be able to sink your teeth into this game, but much like those games you have to save often and be ready to die often. This world will not hold your hand, it will cut it off and feed it to the Crop Goblins.

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Posted on: May 21, 2016

PutCashIn

Games: 28 Reviews: 11

10 Hours of Hell

I played this for 10 hours, unfortunately the game is horrible. You may have heard about the fact a single Fox can rip through your party, well it's not actually until the 3rd or 4th map area at the idiocy really ramps up. Useless spells, useless abilities, constant running into over powered enemies, desperately trying to find another fox to take you .007 of the way to your next level, so you can march back 5 maps (I kid you not) to finally take on the 3 bandits in the hut on the 3rd map. (Out of 105+ maps) Considering Baldur's Gate was released in 1998, 17 years before this game, I honestly don't see how this game can cost $20. Ultimately, it suffers the issues a lot of other cult cRPGs do - such as Arcanum, Underrail, Drakensang - poor combat, silly character building and a story, whilst good, gets lost in an overly large game world that somehow fails to yield enough XP for any relevant player progression. 2/5 and not worth $20.

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