Caltrops - Reviews - Blackguards 1

Forum Overview :: Reviews

by Mischief Maker 01/27/2015, 6:14am PST

Too lazy to find the original thread, part 2 just came out.

I'd say Blackguards falls into the same category as Strike Suit Zero. It's the kind of game I want to play, the kind of game that's rarely made anymore, but it isn't made that great. A solid 6.75/10.

Besides the bugs the character development is super duper unsatisfying. You can, and should, max out your weapon skill before the end of the first chapter, then just concentrate on boosting minimum attributes to unlock boring moves (less damage, greater chance to hit, or greater chance to hit, less damage? Exciting!) and passive skills.

Here's a big problem I have with SRPG design in general. If the fights are randomly generated, I guess it's alright to let the RNG factor in heavily, but if the fights are carefully scripted puzzles, leave the RNG to a minimum!!! Blackguards has heavily scripted puzzle fights, and seriously leans on the RNG. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to win a fight you already know how to win over and over and over again, but victory depends on your character winning his saving throw against knockdown twice in a row. This doesn't happen every fight, mind you, but when it does it sours the goodwill generated by the fun fights.

The plot makes The Witcher look like Shakespeare. It's a dark fantasy game, so it starts out with a princess being messily disembowled by a wolf, followed by a torture scene, and the rest of the game follows suit with horrible situations stacked one on top of another.

That said, the spanish-sounding music and real world armor is a nice change of pace.