Vagrus - The Riven Realms

What you get: A turn based trading/exploration game with a well built world. And it does very well at this. I am about 24hrs of play time in and am enjoying the experience. What to expect: Like any game of this nature, there is a certain amount of repetitiveness in tasks, but the tasks aren't the reason to play, it is the lore and structure of the world which are interesting. There is also a lot to read, and it is not the 'I can skip this, the game will point me in the right direction later' kind. While some of the boiler plate stuff is skippable after you've read it a few times (entering cities, or talking to a shopkeeper you've talked many times before) in general you want to pay attention to what the game is presenting to you. Details can be found in the in-game journal later if your memory gets hazy, but the details are worth reading. Let the words transport you to the world. Some might find the the randomness of the open-world encounters a bit harsh, but unless you really go in for the 'I never load a save' play style, it shouldn't be an issue. What could be better I'd like to see some balance improvements in characters and rewards - there are some pretty obvious better choices in character creation, and some rewards (for example, getting high standing with a faction) are available through much easier routes. Expanded Ambitions/win conditions would be a nice addition as well. I'm really hoping for a DLC or expansion that lets us into some of the areas that are on the map, but not currently accessible. But that is more of an 'I hope they get to do this' instead of a 'this could be improved'.

This game is amazing - the lore draws you in and you are scratching for more around every corner. Once you get a handle on the UI (complicated but not difficult) - it is great. Combat is unforgiving (good) and feels clunky but that is likely because we are playing an alpha or beta version right now. I cannot recommend this enough for people that love deep lore based games with branching decisions.

The Good : - Well built and well written world. If you want a kind of Conan(Bronze Age and Steel Age vibe), Dark Fantasy and Post-Apo setting then this should satisfy you. Im the target audiance it seems because I'm charmed. - Stat checks are hard enough but not too hard, investing in a skill for them is definitly rewarding. - Risks-Reward&Quests : Explore a dangerous old ruin ? Unique dangerous or simple quests ? Good Xp and item rewards. Curious about the world and its folks ? Xp reward for every 10 codex entry gained or for unique events/dialogs. Very very good. - Exploration : Take M&Blades, adds ruins and gloomy bioms with sometimes stranges events(magic or not) on the roads or on nodes + very rewarding dungeons(those that I did were at least). - Factions : Rudimentary but they have well established background and philosophy+custom rewards. A bit tedious to raise reputation but you can do it pacificly or aggresivly. - Fights, character building, quests, tardings. MOST of the mechanics in the game are good. The "bad" : The games need debbugging(to be expected). Music and sound effects are good and yet too few for a game of this size, but its a samll dev' team so its okay I guess, I was listening a custom fantasy playlist instead. The REAL "BAD" : I WASTED precious points AND 20-30 hours maxing the hunting skill. Why ? Most of the hunting bonuses do not work(items and nods), only characters work, it also seems there is an artificial cap to how much your bonuses affect you chances of succes, even on very good nodes. What the hell ? I was not punished with the others skills. WHY WITH THIS ONE ? Worst, my team can track and hunt giant scoprions finger-in-their-butt(100% succes) and cannot hunt properly(60% at best) to feed the camp(basic activity at rest). If it is by design it's garbage and I stopped playing thanks to it¯\_(ツ)_/¯ AVOID the Hunting skill( just a few points for stat check). Rewarding, Hard, Vicious but Good, a true raw Gem worth its price.

Don't know, but with every year more. Nice RPG this. Very attractive world, still developing. This game is as good as Baldurs Gate was 20 years ago which means new standards. Even though it's not strict CRpg, every fan of BG will like it.

Less than 1/4th the advertised world and content accesable on release. Im leaving this review here in hopes that it will help someone. The map that is shown in advertisement as well as in the demo is a lie. Out of the 17 major cities shown on the map only 4 are accessable. The devs claim this is for "immersion and world building" but each one of these cities have travel time estimates in game and story points alluding to their accesability. This is clearly not for immersion but to mislead the potential buyer. The devs have even been confronted by numerous upset buyers on Steam but refuse to simply modify the map to clearly show the out of bounds content. Their solution was to hide a disclaimer on the Steam page and not put one here on GOG. Cities listed on map that are inaccesable along with their surounding regions: Toht Radan Dabaasa Kabur Angred Dargrath Kondarr Lirenia Karkpolis Xeryn City Arvumis Hadrinum Bralkorna Actual cities you can go to: Tor Zags Shelter Deven Larnak Avernum