Digital Deluxe Edition
You drag yourself from the black tides, across the corpses of drowned men, and onto the unwelcoming, craggy shoreline. Gulls cry overhead and the stink of seaweed fills your nose. By some miracle you have made it to Idra. It will take all your skill to survive and unravel t...
You drag yourself from the black tides, across the corpses of drowned men, and onto the unwelcoming, craggy shoreline. Gulls cry overhead and the stink of seaweed fills your nose. By some miracle you have made it to Idra. It will take all your skill to survive and unravel the eldritch mysteries of the Black Priory
SKALD: Against the Black Priory is inspired by roleplaying games of yesteryear, combining modern design and compelling storytelling with authentic 8-bit looks and charms.
Delve into a dark fantasy world, full of deadly creatures, tragic heroes, and lovecraftian horror for an epic retro-style adventure rich in exploration and tactical, turn-based combat.
Do you have what it takes to lead a company of broken heroes from the tainted shores of Idra to the gates of the Black Priory - and beyond?
Gather your party
Lead a band of broken heroes through challenging turn-based combat scenarios as you cleave, blast or stealth your way through deadly enemies of all definitions. Equip your heroes using a modern inventory system, fulfil objectives through quest logs, read journals to discover hidden secrets. And if the action is still a bit too hot to handle, auto-resolve to bypass conflict entirely.
Prepare thyself
Set yourself up for the journey ahead by crafting and cooking from a slew of distinct recipes Choose your character, select their stats and build out a party from a series of diverse allies, each with their own skill-set, agenda and personality. Decide between a dozen classes and varied backgrounds, levelling up to 20 while customising your spells and equipment to suit your style.
Venture Forth
Set in an unforgiving world with lovecraftian horrors and choice-based dialogue, your story will take many unexpected twists and turns. Living life as a mercenary, you’ll need to roll the dice to determine whether you fall prey to certain peril or escape grave danger.
Celebrate Yesteryear
Uncover the grand schemes of the Gallian Empire and explore the vast expanse of Freymark and the Outer Isles. In SKALD: Against the Black Priory, you’ll experience this richly illustrated world of authentic pixel art, built from thousands of hand-drawn tiles and images using a palette inspired by the legendary Commodore 64 computer. Optional CRT filter for true retro aficionados also included.
Mod Support
Looking for more SKALD content to play? Players now have access to the SKALD Data Editing Tool (SKaDE) to create their own adventures and play all new ones at no extra cost. This custom-made modding tool is powered by Mod.io and gives you access to all of the assets in SKALD: Against The Black Priory. Where will your imagination take you?
If you grew up on rpgs like Ultima, D&D or even console Jrpgs, and you enjoy the vibe of horror/grimdark/lovecraft, get this game. It's not just grinding for levels & loot - the writing is incredible and invokes a lot of emotion, parts are genuinely tense and even frightening. As of this review I'm about 20 hours in, on chapter 2 and am 110% invested in the story. I'm finding myself genuinely *wanting* to help the downtrodden, save innocents and destroy the evil that's infesting the land. Can't recomend enough!
This is a pitch perfect atmospheric RPG that perfectly straddles the line between retro and modern. It really nails the vibe it is going for - artwork, writing, worldbuilding, design, music are all excellent. It's creative and interesting in ways many modern RPGs lack and manages to be a huge breath of fresh air. Highly recommended.
Splendid game, and a very ambitious project for a sole developer: responsible for all writing, designing, and coding. Further, he is also one of the few refreshingly respectable individuals remaining in this landscape which has become known for immense greed and incompetence. Either he lacks hubris and has humility, or is willing to swallow his pride, as evidenced by the price point. Many would be tempted to demand a higher price upon release, simply because having endeavoured they feel deserving of greater remuneration or are overcome by greed.
There were some oversights, typographical mistakes, small technical issues for some, and just general polishing that was required on release day. The developer has been so receptive and diligent in improving the overall experience, many of which would not be noticed by the average consumer and only by the most excessively pedantic individual; even going so far as to recommend refunds until issues are sorted. Considering that patches are being or have been actively worked on with all possible speed, I have no problem heartily recommending it. The expressed attitude of the developer negates any criticisms that I initially had.
With that said, many others have expressed admiration for SKALD's qualities regarding graphics, visuals, and storytelling. Succinctly put, the overall experience is intuitive and enjoyable. The combat benefits from some strategic input, but is forgiving enough that novice or story-driven players can still succeed. Those who are used to the immense difficulty and depth possible in modern, high budget titles such as Owlcat's Pathfinder games may wish to temper their expectations, and simply find some relaxing enjoyment by indulging in the sombre and grisly fantasy setting by beating the game with a solo character. The choices by necessity cannot branch to give endless alternate paths. But still, somehow there are options for the player to consider that alter progression through the honed story.
Delightful!
I funded this game on kickstarter (in 2019, I believe...), and it seemed to take forever until its release. However, it was worth the wait. I am not very far in, but the game systems work very well (talent checks, mini-quests, etc.), the graphics design is retro C64, but works surprisingly well. Hitting SHIFT in combat to see targets more clearly helps a lot to avoid mis-clicking somewhere else. So far, the story seems promising, and I'm eager to find out what's going on...
Though I am not sure why it is called Skald, I love the game. Its old-school sensibilities appeal to me enormously and the inclusion of dice as a visual conceit put a smile on my face. I do not find it too difficult at all; rather, I am able to navigate most combats without problem. Maybe I ought to use a higher difficulty level.
There are some soft-locks regarding quests and some performance issues, as well as a handful of typos in the text. I would otherwise give the game five stars, and I might change this review later to reflect that if those issues should get ironed out. I intend to play through it a second time as a different class; I am sure that there are parts of the game that I have not yet explored.
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