As always, short and sweet! (The list, not the write-ups. God no, not the write-ups.)
- Vampire Survivors (iPhone)
- The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Switch)
- Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Switch)
Well, here we are, wrapping up the first third of the year, and I finally have a couple more games to report on. Sadly, neither one is Dragon Quest 8. Fuck cheap SD cards.
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Switch)
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a weird little game. It's one of a small number of games based on a print gamebook. I'm not talking about an RPG like D&D. In this case, I'm talking about Fighting Fantasy, a series of books originating in England. They're solo gamebooks that are like Choose Your Own Adventure books but with dice and characters with different stats and abilities. If you're familiar with the Lone Wolf series they're a bit like those only on steroids. So this is just an RPG or a VN, right? No. Not exactly, anyway.
When you start the game you pick a character from a series of what look like tabletop miniatures. Each character has a few stats: Skill (what you roll for some world interactions and to attack), Stamina (your HP), and Luck (what you roll for other world interactions). Characters also have a preferred weapon type (they may be able to acquire an appropriate upgrade in the game), a starting item, some meals which can be used to restore stamina, and some backstory hooks that play into the adventure. The characters also have a selection of combat moves and a characteristic or two such as being illiterate, lucky, or observant. 4 characters are available from the start and others can be unlocked by spending Souls, which are acquired from defeating enemies and as periodic rewards for other actions in-game.
When exploring Firetop Mountain you do so on a map that pops up underneath you as you move from room to room. Descriptive text (presumably taken straight from the book) appears in parchment scraps in the center of the screen, with the visuals being a representation of the text. The text also offers you your options for how to interact with the various spaces you find yourself in, which may involve a skill or luck roll, something related to a characteristic, or choice of where to go next or whether to engage in battle. Failures on a roll or a bad decision may result in loss of stamina or Skill or Luck drain. Skill or Luck drain sucks a lot as it hurts future rolls against those stats. Character backstory affects options for exploration on the map, for example allowing a character to recognize a key item or gain insights as to a particular path through the dungeons. They also enable unique dialogue options and story events. Periodically, throughout the dungeon, there will be benches. You can save and restore a small amount of health (more by eating provisions) at the benches. And each character has 3 resurrections that allow you to restore your progress at the last bench. If you run out of resurrections it's game over.
Combats play out on a 5x6 battle grid consisting of you, up to 4 enemies, and some permanent and/or destructible obstacles. You can move or attack on your turn. Some attacks are special attacks that have to recharge on a turn timer. Enemies can also move or attack, and usually (but not always) have a little tell (a wobble, for example) to help clue you in as to whether they will attack or move. If you attack an enemy that attacks you there is a clash which must be won. Larger enemies can also push or even crush (for minor damage) smaller enemies (including the player).
I beat the game with the last of the default characters after failing with the other 3. Each character had a very different path through the dungeons, though I was definitely able to learn a lot of useful intel with each attempt and progress further on each try. I was actually surprised when I finally beat the game. A single playthrough doesn't actually take very long at all, but is quite unlikely to occur on your first attempt. And while each attempt does have repeat content, the different characters change how you interact with the options and make certain paths through the game easier or even required. I suspect when I return to the game to try some of the characters I plan to unlock with my accrued souls that my playthroughs will all have enough unique elements to ensure a different experience each time (to a point, at least).
If you like RPGs it's likely you'll enjoy this game. The game is somewhat short but packed with lots of unique experiences. Combats are relatively quick, the story and text are interesting and well-written, and the game inhabits a rather interesting spot between text adventures and VNs and western CRPGs/SRPGs. The game does have some frustrating technical issues, however. In some places the menu options seem to misbehave and fight your selections. At a couple points I had to force quite and restart the game. Performance can also drag in the late game on the map view when there's a lot of map on display. I also encountered a couple crashes. Despite these technical shortcomings, highly recommended.
Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Switch)
If you're at all familiar with the Record of Lodoss War property you know the elf Deedlit. Record of Lodoss War is set in Forcelia, the default setting for earlier releases of the Sword World TTRPG and based off a series of novelized "replays" of D&D RPG sessions. Deedlit is one of the most recognizable characters and a fan favorite from Lodoss War. If you aren't familiar with Record of Lodoss War the plot will feel a lot like it refers to stuff you don't fully understand, but there's enough to recognize there's a story there and the game takes it seriously.
This game is a SotN-alike that really admires SotN and closely apes a lot of the basic movement and melee feel. It introduces aimed bow mechanics and a spirit system that allows you to switch your elemental affinity between Fire and Air. There's some cool unique movement tech as well. The Fire/Air elemental affinity system is a rather Ikaruga-like system where blue attacks won't hurt you when you're Air aligned and orange attacks (and flames and lava) won't hurt you when you're Fire aligned. Enemies may also be immune to one of those elements and that will inform which affinity you must have active when attacking. You also gain spells.
Though the gameplay can feel a bit derivative in places, the art design, animation, and music are fantastic. Weapon options can feel lackluster at times, but the game doesn't fall completely into the same trap SotN did of giving you a ton of weapons which are useless by the time you get them or inadequately indistinguishable in terms of speed, damage, and effect. This is not to say every weapon is demonstrably unique, but even a point difference in weapon damage can have a more measurable impact on in-game damage dealt.
Underlying the game is quite an interesting helping of personal drama and psychology for the main character. Later in the game there's a lot of hints that
When I started this games months ago I burned out quickly. It just felt derivative and also frustrating in the basic Ikaruga elemental dichotomy. Thankfully, putting the game down and coming back to it a few months later was the kick in the pants I needed to finally commit and enjoy the game. To be clear, the game is not a truly unique entry in the frustratingly-named Metroidvania sub-genre. It is fairly derivative in a lot of ways and wears its debt to SotN on its sleeve. But it's also blessed with an interesting story concept, familiar (for me, at least) characters, and a truly fantastic aesthetic. The only flaws are that the action can slow a bit when there's a lot going on, something that shouldn't happen on a modern system like the Switch for a game like this. Recommended unless you're just burned out on Metroidvania-style games (like I was a few months ago).
I really, really liked it, but I’m not sure I’m THAT enthusiastic. What it really needed was some post-game challenges that really encourage you to take the mechanics to the limit. There’s a fair bit going on under the hood with the battle system, but the game’s too easy to require you to learn its intricacies that well.