Heads Will Roll: Reforged lets the player to take a role of an ordinary medieval soldier who finds himself in the middle of the legendary Hundred Years War between the kings of England and France. You start your way as a simple footman, whose sole ambition is to survive, but with proper skill...
Heads Will Roll: Reforged lets the player to take a role of an ordinary medieval soldier who finds himself in the middle of the legendary Hundred Years War between the kings of England and France. You start your way as a simple footman, whose sole ambition is to survive, but with proper skill and cunning or through blood and preservation, you might soon see yourself becoming one of the most famous knights of your time.
This game is a unique type of RPG with survival mechanics and turn-based combat that requires player to make careful decision both inside and outside the fight. The sophisticated combat system utilizes many different parameters including characters’ stats and attributes, familiarity and proficiency with certain weapons, weapon length, fatigue level, various traumas and injuries, as well as hundreds of different items and consumables.
The game offers more than 200 different lootable items varying from all kinds of medieval weaponry and armor to trinkets with unique effects, several types of poisons, medical supplies and many crafting items.
All of the actions that your character takes will have in-game consequences. The NPCs will change their opinions of you depending on how you treat them and how you behave both inside and outside of battle. This in turn will enable or disable various future interactions with them and sometimes trigger special events.
Make good use of any loot or supplies that you got your hands on. A lot of them can be combined in order to craft medical and utility items, as well as many types of crossbow ammunition.
Heads Will Roll utilizes many random generation elements that will turn two separate playthroughs into two completely unique experiences. Start with different items and stats, face different enemies, make different choices and live through different events each time you play.
The game has dozens of weapons ranging from swords, axes, maces and spears to throwing knives and crossbows. All of them have varying movesets that rely on and make use of different stats & skills (strength, agility etc.), while also having distinct features and countering each other in some way.
Fight not only for wealth and honor but also for the hearts of several stunning beauties with unique personalities, views on life and tastes in men. Conquering some of them might prove to be just as tricky as surviving the war.
Choose from a wide array of authentic medieval defensive equipment: from all kinds of helmets and armor to gorgets, bracers, greaves and chainmail stockings. All with varying qualities and characteristics.
Game features a complete Roguelike mode where player can level his profile with each death, unlocking new starting items and improving character's base characteristics allowing to progress further and take on even harder challenges.
There is a special story mode for those who are after the thrills and twists of the story rather than hardcore survival. It offers just enough of a challenge to keep you engaged as well as quick save and quick load options that can be accessed at any time.
It follows a legionary´s life combat and training system, but adds a lot more with the branching story and characters. A simple, hard to master engaging game!
Not particularly dynamic. Don't expect an action packed experience. If your're looking for a chilled, slow game where you can think and plan at your leisure then this could be the game for you. It progresses slowly but has some nice touches and some difficult moral questions. Don't expect adrenaline to flow but if you want to relax with a slow burner then get this.
- Character creation does NOT mean "roll random stats and gear until you're kinda OK with it".
- Lots of complex skills for no good reason that make leveling fragmented and you can only level specific stuff at specific locations or times. E.g. you can practice fighting at the war camp, but the game never tells you how long you'll actually be there for long term - there's a meter, but given how easily the character will tire, it's useless.
And why split combat skills into strength, agility, coordination and about 2 or 3 other attributes for a turn based game with 0 flashy combat?
- The combat feels random, luck based and is as interesting as waiting for a stationary rock to move: you select what you'll do from a list, there are 2 dice symbols and no idea which is meant for you or the enemy's retaliation (or at least I think that's what it was) and you do the move, the enemy does his move (it's "realistic" with having only men fight) all in floating text above them, no animation whatsoever.
Hell, if this is what you go for, make it text only game. Why a visual novel if you can't properly, VISUALLY convey good, exciting combat?
- I hate the art style and how everything in the game looks.
- The writing is decent - I suspect the game was initially written in Russian and translated into English and I see no grammatical errors or strange phrases; not the standard usually -, but dry as a bone left in the middle of the desert.
Again, why make a visual novel with poor visual and dry writing? You have poor results in exactly what the genre is known and beloved for.
In short, I hate this game with a passion and can recommend a pure text game that has better combat, writing and mechanics and is cheaper on top of all that: The Great Tournament on Steam (the only PC platform they sell on as far as I know, mobile versions of their games also exist).
For less than 6€ you get far more than what HWR:R tries to do and still has the gull to ask for over 12€.
This game should not be purchased on the GOG platform. The game version is stuck at 1.09fl. I have contacted the developer and after months of waiting there have been zero updates to this game. Please do not waste your money like i did.