[b] Target Audience: [/b] Slay the Spire, RPG fans who like choice [I] [/i] [b] Summary: [/b] Please note, I've played about 100+ hours on Steam when it released, and received a review code for it. Gordian Quest is filled with content that will make any sort of more tabletop/traditional RPG fan water at the mouth: but doing enough to stand out from its competitors. To say you have a lot of choices and mechanics might be one of the biggest understatements of the century here, but I what I truly appreciate is the delicate balance that the developers were able to achieve (even if it has some flaws). The fact is, when you add more mechanics, classes, and options, the harder it is to get something that isn't exploitable, and Gordian Quest is somehow able to do it. I love the different classes and how you can shape them in a lot of ways, and the addition of the SP points on top of AP adds another layer of intrigue that kept me thinking through each battle. Weapons and armor felt great to get a new ones of at every corner, and really I don't want to be typing this review but would rather be playing the game. Does it have some flaws? Many of them minor, having to do with the story and music not really standing out in any sort of way, and the game at times has so many mechanics that even a veteran of the genre can get overwhelmed, or even forget that it even exists. Granted, you have so many options to deal with that mistake that you can easily recover, and the different difficulties do a fantastic job of giving layers to experiment and challenge with. It's a game that I warn you to buy however. It will eat up your free time. [b]Review Video: [/b] https://youtu.be/V4RsiowuMlg
[u] Summary: [/u] A point and click adventure game with heart, Anna's Quest does something that I haven't seen the genre do for a while: tug directly on the heartstrings in terms of empathy. While it's gameplay is what you'd want out of the genre and does a great job in really being in that sweet spot of not being too easy, but not being too painfully frustrating, it's the story telling and characters that carry it in a way that hasn't been done in the genre for a while. There's not a lot of humor and the visuals lack compared to some of their prior work in Deponia, but its clear that they wanted to make a heart-warming story more then anything else, and great voice acting and writing makes you want to see what happens next. It's a game that I'll be completing for the story alone, and that's what you need out of a game in this genre. Definitely worth a pick up for narrative focused fans or Point and Click lovers. [b] Gameplay Footage and Video First Impressions: http://youtu.be/CNSkY5ITB7s[/b] [u] Lists: [/u] [b]+:[/b] [list] [*] Perfect balance of gameplay in terms of difficulty. Not too easy, but not with old PnC adventure game logic that makes you want to pull your hair out. [*] The story is superb and in particular, the empathy aspect of the game really shines through. Be prepared to have your heartstrings tugged on. [*] Voice acting is great. In particular, Anna is played perfectly and the characters in question come to life thanks to their voice actors. Not over the top, but just right. [*] Enough red herrings added in terms of gameplay without it being annoying for exploration. [*] Have I mentioned the charm? [*] Pacing is handled rather well. [/list] [b]-:[/b] [list] [*] The visuals seem like a step back from Deponia. [*] Could have added some puzzles/minigames to add a little of variety to gameplay. [/list]
