[Kickstarter] Forged of Blood - Isometric Turn-based Tactical Hard Fantasy RPG for PC
Kamigoroshi
Member Posts: 5,870
in Off-Topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V6xe5ru4M8Looks like another interesting campaign hit Kickstarter this fine day. This time, I took a liking on Forged of Blood, an turn-based tactical RPG for PC by Critical Forge.
https://youtu.be/sFRJsamcZj4Judging from its description, this upcoming game does some rather interesting things:
- starting from a complex Spellcrafting system with over 3822 combinations
- to a plethora of Narrative choices without Good or Evil, thus meaning lots of replay value
- the implemention of a Strategic Layer (think of SoZ overworld map)
- as well as the implementation of a Castle Layer (which appears to manage the base of operation)
- and the nice twist where humans do *no* exist in the setting. (clearly my favourite part of the whole game
)
Well, the only downside I saw thus far (if one can even call it that) is that players will play a premade character: namely the brother of the heir to the throne. All in all it kind of reminds me of Tyranny, with combat similar to The Temple of Elemental Evil. It will be interesting to see this game appearing on the market in summer 2018. But before that, it still requires to secure its funding goals of 150,000 Singapore Dollars.
3
Comments
Even BG had a premade character as such, you are Gorian's Ward and were brought up in Candlekeep. That's as much as a premake as Sibling to Heir of the Throne.
Thank you for checking our Kickstarter out.
The idea of premade character is to set the narrative context for the player. How you develop your character from this context is up to you. Our vision for this game is a mixture of tactics game (ToEE, Jagged Alliance, etc) and the more traditional RPGs (such as BG trilogy) that typically comes with great narrative.
In the relatively short Act 1, the narrative freedom of this game will be somewhat constrained due to Act 1 serves as an extended tutorial. We do require a little but of structure for the tutorial to properly serve its intended function. The narrative structure for Act 1 is similar to a Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) type of novel/game. In BG context, it'd be somewhat similar to Candlekeep and the first wilderness.
In Act 2, the game opens up and you start to take an active role in the strategy layer. You choose which territory to conquer, etc. Rather than having a giant CYOA narrative structure, we have a numerous small story arc that responds to player's action or inaction. It's like having many short stories that, when taken as a whole, tells the journey and the development of player's character in the context set in Act 1. This is somewhat similar to an extended BG2's "get 20k gold" quest structure.
This is where our tri-axis Personality Index Plot helps. Rather than the traditional good and evil choice, we observe character through the lens of Wisdom, Emphaty and Hedonism. Modern morality tends to equate hedonism as a certain lifestyle that many frowned upon. However, Wikipedia gives the definition of hedonism as a philosophy that pleasure and happiness are the primary and proper aim of a human's life. Is it so bad that we pursue our own happiness?
To what extent will your character go to archive victory? This is a tale we hope to tell.
Thank you for checking us out
-Joe
Critical Forge
ED: You can find the game on Steam, but right now not in GOG or EG store, for whatever reasons.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/617640/Forged_of_Blood/
I didn´t play much but the start and mechanics of the game had a Fire emblem/FF tactics vibe. I´d say is more a strategy/Tactical game with some RPG functionality. You control the two destitute heirs to the throne and have to regain your kingdom commanding hosts of loyalists and mercenaries at your command.
Do not expect a heavy fantasy setting, you have magic and beasts, but most of the time you are playing politics, a "game of thrones" of sorts, with alliances, favors and most of the time you have battles between Roman Legion-themed human soldiers of different factions and types. I kind of like that.
The character customization and creation is the usual. You´ve got Several skills and spells to choose from: ranged skills, spells, melee stances, etc You´ve got different abilities for different weapons. You also have a vast amount of mercenaries and soldiers you can recruit and customize to your liking. One thing I like is that the abilities do not only give you more damage, but several buffs or apply debuffs to the enemy. Some of them also incur penalties in the characters. That opens up some entertaining tactical variations. I could use more varied enemies but maybe it is because it is the start of the game.
Combat is 3D- TB. The combat is fluid and you have the option to control speed. The environment is rich and varied: forests, snow... The battle zones are seldom flat and have elevations, rocks... I like the fact that you can use the environment. seeking high ground, using cover (the game has cover mechanics) etc.
The world is vast to explore and interesting, with quests and several factions. As in Fire emblem, tactics ogre, etc, you navigate with the map until you are involved in a fight, and the game goes into 3d combat mode. Later on, you have to manage your fortress, mercenaries, etc
The first act seems to be a tutorial of sorts. The pace of the first third of the game is very slow and pretty linear, you do not have access to many features until you regain your stronghold. The story and dialogs are merely functional, they advance the story without many frivolities but unlike Japanese games you actually have options. The most peculiar thing I found was the tri-dimensional personality traits. Wisdom, Empathy and Hedonism
In early reviews, you have the typical BS and critics about the graphics, the music and whatever. Those things never mattered to me, unless the music became truly annoying or the graphics doesn´t allow you to play the game (Serpent in the staglands, I am looking at you). Some minor bugs also in there, none I found game-breaking. The UI is not messy, the music is fine and the graphics do their work to allow you to play. I prefer to focus on strategy and combat mechanics. Those work nicely.
Just started but it seems a solid game for fans Tactical TB games like Fire Emblem, Joan of Arc, Tactics ogre, FF Tactics and the like. Nothing groundshaking, but entertaining.