Wasn't a huge fan when it came out, but it has since grown on me enough to subplant HoMM2 from it's 2nd place into 3rd. So now it's HoMM3>HoMM5>HoMM2>The rest. So to those who are familiar with HoMM 1-3 universe, this isn't it, like 4th, they decided to scrap everything and begin anew, although in this case there's no cool lore explanation like we had in 4, so you just have to roll with it. The Lore byitself is less of a mess than originals, but also more cliche. The only bad thing was that it lacked those elaborate novels written in the game - I rather enjoyed them which was a bit of a bummer. Anyway, so gameplay is changed in the regard to speed, because now speed isn't the only thing that decides who goes first because they have also introduced "Initiative". I'm not a huge fan to this day, but it does add an element of complexity that 3rd lacked - but overall it doesn't matter enough since fast units have usually good initiative - with notable exceptions. The AI is retarded and on top of that takes forever with its turns, on top of that you can't "alt-tab" because the game freezes til you come back allowing you witness those extra seconds tick by as the meter fills up. This is a huge issue for me on custom maps, but in campaigh its tolerable since a lot of it is scripted to a point where it seems smart. Campaign by itself is a bit of a hit or miss in terms of story/lore, but it does offer some interesting challenges down the line. Playing this on max difficulty heroic has been a trial which I enjoyed. Hero & Hero skillwheel; so yeah first and foremost you can now attack units with hero. I think it's a bad change personally but yeah, it does grow on you. Skillwheel is more balanced than HoMM3 and 4, and there are more useful abilities. There are also ultimately abilities you can acquire once you unlock specific skills, but I usually skip them since most of them are not worth it - with notable exceptions. Theres a mod that fixes most of the issues btw.
You start off as a heir to a fallen Jarl who left to you a mess of a Jarldom that does not have much of a future. Stuck picking up your father's pieces you're beset by conflicts and problems from your nearest neighbours, who view you as an easy picking in terms of expansion so it falls to you to strengthen your lands. As you progress into story it becomes obvious that things in good old Denmark are pretty much set in stone, and you have no hope at carving out your piece without first sailing towards the greener pastures - namely England. TL:DR: Basic barebones story. So what's new? Character customization: standard stuff, a bit old and barebones for a 2017 game but it's indie. Doesn't really matter what features you pick as you will not get to see the face of your character after the creation screen. The only choices that matter are gender, colors and size (thin, average, bulky). Tedium and feature bloat (crafting/party management/task management): I'm of the opinion that they took it too far this time around. Yes Conquistador was barebones as it gets, but that wasn't bad because more doesn't always equal to better, and frankly if I have scroll 5-7 pages of different abilities to spend my points on you have done gone overboard - on top of that most abilities are useless. Real actual RPG settlements with walking and talking sprites and auto-travel via map: Actual upgrade from the first one since world exploration and travel were its weakest parts. Felt really immersive - great job! Followers with better stories and personalities: though they're all cliche and barebones and nothing to write home about. Outside of that it's the same old, subpar class balance - actually worse this time around, and meh AI, but their credit it actually seemed smarter! Obviously you'll still stomp it once you learn the combat intricasies, but it won't rollover in same fashion as Conquistador did once you learned how to properly use the units strengths and weaknesses.
This is one of those games where the beginning is exceptional, and then it kinda falls flat on its face in the 2nd half - a common theme in the series as it will too happen in the sequel "Viking". The game starts you off as a child of a noble bigshot from Spain, who managed to pull a few strings in order to send his son/daughter to spearhead the glorious conquest for the Spanish Crown. You travel to Hispaniola as a middle stop, unfortunately for you, you get drawn into a civil war of sorts that you have to solve as the standing garrison is unable to supress the rebels. This is the first half. The second half in the game sends you to Yucatan, or Mexico where the ruling power of Aztecs faces internal strife as several powerful tribes seek to distance themselves from the Aztec dominion, and it just so happens that the "children of the gods" hold the right amount of neutrality and military potential to make that happen. Pick your side wisely. Both of these parts of the game can be considered separate, as once you finish Hispaniola, you can acquire an option to always skip it in favor of Mexico. The Combat seems hard in the beginning, but as you get better, you will start to notice that the AI is actually kind of retarded. At a certain point I maxed out my difficulty and was still stomping every fight outside of those few where the odds are so overwhelmingly stacked against you that you actually have to try. The devs have tackled the issue of retarded AI - that will only seem retarded once you acquire tactical mastery and understanding of strengths and weaknesses of all classes, by limiting your follower count whilst the AI is free to break that limitation. What this essentially means is that while you're locked to 6 followers, the AI can get up to 18, and believe me numbers do count at certain points. Storywise: Hispaniola (5/5) > Mexico (3/5) AI: (2/5) is pathetic once you get the intricacies of combat Follower Class Balance: (3/5) could hace been better
Set in the same world as Age of Decadence, though a few years before the events of the mentioned game, Dungeon Rats is essentially what Icewind Dale was to Baldurs Gate - veteran RPG players will get this comparison. If AOD was there for the story, this one is here for the combat, though I will say that this is only partially true, as there is a rather interesting story with a few very juicy hints of a larger worldbuilding. You start this game in a prison for people who managed to piss off the greatest noble houses in this corner of the world, and thus like all civilized people, they decided that execution would be too good for you, so they sent you to one of the worst prisons they had to offer - the idea being that you'll at least provide some value before you die like a rat. Naturally, the first you do is to pick the nearest weapon and start by slowly working out of the complex. Yet as you climb higher and higher, you start to realize that the closer you get to surface, the strongest the enemies become - many of them have rather interesting stories of their own. Luckily you will meet many individuals such as yourself - freedom seeking soldiers of fortune who too share your dislike for not being free. Note of warning, this game will "filter out" what I would call 'new age gamers' quite well. As a diehard RPG fan who was used to getting his arse kicked into the neatherrealm by the unforgiving games of old, I felt right at home in this game - no sychopaths, no storymode, and most importantly no hand-holding. This feeling may not be shared by a typical casual player who mostly plays on the easiest setting in order to get to experience the game. I walked into this game knowing what I would get and I was not disappointed, the same may not apply to you. I strongly suggest to try AOD before you jump into it. If you enjoyed AOD combat, then give this a try - trust me, it'll deliver.
I usually don't write reviews, but this flawed masterpiece has been the only game that has managed me to sink over 500 hours into it. Age of decadence is an isometric RPG that does not hold your hand like majority of other games out there these days. You're not the hero that is destined to save the world, get the girl, get your ego boosted by imaginary sycophants and to enjoy mindless hours of lame stories. You're just a guy trying to survive in a broken world full of people who want to survive just like you - a refreshing setting for a guy who likes to face gaming challenges. Expect to die a lot! A little bit about the story; AOD takes place in a setting of a fallen empire loosely based on Roman Empire. At it's height, they were able to employ steam-tech, a lesser form of magic and finally able to summon gods. This empire ended up facing another faction called Quantari in an epic war were both sides summoned their gods (or did they?) in order to duke it out in a field of battle. The was was devastating to the point that it the Empire's technology, political stability and plethora of other social issues, ended up regressing to a very, very backwards state. The last few lords are fighting for the high-hanging fruit, as the low ones have long ago been plucked by the opportunistic individuals, and everyone else is just trying to survive in an increasingly hostile environment. This world is a world where there is no hope, where there are no good guys, where everyone just wants to survive. Nobody is bad, and nobody is good, everyone is just selfish. If you're worked in high-tier corporate you'd find the ideas behind this setting very similar to the games played behind the scenes. In short - 5 stars, and an admiration to buy any and all Iron Towers Studio games from this point onward, the soul they've put into their games is incredible. I do hope that Vince and his crew do get to make a sequel, I'd pay good money for it personally. With best Regards "AODFreak"
