Operencia: The Stolen Sun

I feel like the other reviewers are a bit unkind to this title, which is a very good game of its kind. This is basically a modern reinterpretation of the old 'Eye of Beholder'/'Lands of Lore' RPGs (you move through a series of grid-based 'dungeons' with a party of characters, fighting enemies and solving puzzles) but with a turn-based combat mode reminiscent of JRPGs. The story is nothing special but is very well told - and the various characters you encounter and that join your party banter in an endearing way as you are progressing through the game. The graphics and music are evocative, as is the setting, which deploys fairly standard fantasy tropes (dragons, witches, etc.) but with pleasant folktale-ish twists. The turn-based combat can be unforgiving (especially on hard) and at times requires picking the right combination of characters (only 4 are active at any one time) and equipping the right abilities for your characters to counter-act your adversaries' strategies. The 'taunt' mechanic that other reviews complain about is a case in point - several of the characters you recruit to your party have skills that 'break' taunt and certain battles are almost impossible without using these. The end battle is indeed quite difficult compared to the rest of the game (as is one of the other 'boss' battles) but otherwise the game presents a good but not insurmountable challenge. I'd say its well-balanced on the whole. All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in turn-based RPGs or even JRPGs - it won't blow your mind but you'll spend 30-odd hours with it very pleasantly.

I have not had so much fun with a game for a long time. The production value is superb. Classic elements of dungeon crawling with a few of well implemented innovation (puzzle-crafting potion, intelligent treasure-seeking shovel, time-light revealing secrets...), it all works very well together. I notice people who complain have selected hard mode for combats. For a first run, this is a mistake. There is no easy mode, and on "normal" everything is perfectly balanced though still challenging. So, don't overestimate the length of your sword, little knight. (An excellent point regarding difficulty: you can select the Normal/Hard level independently for different components of the game). Don't expect to find every little chest and secret without searching a lot! I believe you are not meant to find everything in every level. Despite that, I never want to use a walk-through, not to break the charm. - Yes, there are a few shortcomings, probably due to the modest size of the developers company, but never affecting the quality of the game. They probably had to cut some corners, and did it in the right places. Mainly: not enough liberty in character creation, shortage of characters portraits and no importation of custom portrait, a bit too much linearity, enemies tendency to abuse of the "taunt" ability. But nothing there to spoil your fun playing this excellent and immersive dungeoncrawler! ---- I'd say the game is well designed blend of The Bard's Tale (modern) and Legend of Grimrock. And I'd play Operencia over the two others anytime.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this great game, it really scratched the turn based RPG itch I had! The combat and puzzles are well done but for me what kept me coming back for more was the world building which is pretty unique (Hungarian fairy tale style) and the characters/writing, I really *liked* the characters I had in my group and I enjoyed their little chats and asides. Definitely worth a try!

Being a fan of a classic crawlers, I was first impressed as the game is actualization of something between Dungeon Master and Wizardry experience. For a long time, it kept me with "maybe I will get a bit more far and it gets better", but no, I am quitting after 12 hours, lost endless, but inevitable and somehow frustrating fights. It is quite a pity, it just feels like authors took too big piece in 30 hours game since minor design flaw seize it already not even in half.

I never played this kind of game before. I liked turn based rpgs, but only played the typical japanese ones like Final Fantasy and others. I randomly discovered this game on steam through the demo and then bought it here on GoG. It has a lot to discover, interesting abilities in battle, and the puzzles are also fair but not boring. I also think that the look of the game is good, reminds me of fairy tales, and is just a bit different, from other games like I was used to. Even the going back to visited places, to find new things, is interesting here and it never feels like a chore. Also being able to reskill and use other abilities etc. encourages you to experiment. Overall just a good game for my liking.