One of the most popular ways of telling stories through gameplay is the RPG, whether it's the tabletop games that started the genre, or the video games that have been inspired by them. One of the advantages that tabletop RPGs have, though, is their malleability. Those who have played games such as Dungeons & Dragons will invariably be able to tell you about their whacky and chaotic adventures, consistently derailing the planned narrative; presumably, much to the DM's dismay. These experiences are, by their very nature, incredibly unique; the game's path is governed predominantly by the players, so no two campaigns will ever really be the same. Chasing this feeling as a video game developer is, of course, difficult. The game will only do what it's programmed to, so there's really no such thing as a truly unintended outcome-there's no possibility for a real unique-to-each-player experience. So what do you do? Well, if you are Worldwaker Games, you create Wildermyth.
Wildermyth's gameplay is a tactical RPG, but its true calling is to tell stories, and to get as close to that "unique to each player" feeling as it can, it relies on an innovative feature; procedurally-generated storytelling. The game has 5 built-in scenarios (plus 1 tutorial), and each begins with you randomly generating characters, encountering random events all while working towards the campaign's goal. The game's strengths are especially on display throughout the tutorial-it's slightly shorter than the other campaigns, but it introduces all the concepts nicely and sets you up with some legacy characters for further campaigns, which can be recruited later on. It's a thoughtful inclusion, and it makes sense, especially as many players will go through the tutorial meticulously, taking note of every event and developing a bond with their party. Completing the tutorial is experiencing Wildermyth at its freshest, and would no doubt spur players on to try out one of the longer campaigns, excited to see what is in store for them and their new-and old-companions.
Unfortunately, the game never improves on what it displays in its opening few hours. Wildermyth is, for all its variety, a game that is disappointingly shallow in both mechanics and story. There are only 3 classes in this game, and there's a staggeringly low amount of variety for each one. You'll get familiar with each class's abilities pretty swiftly, and with a maximum of 5 characters in combat at once, repetition will set in much sooner than you wish. The overworld gameplay is barely relevant enough to mention-which, admittedly, was probably not the focus-but you'll be doing a lot of combat, and except for a few unique bosses and maps per campaign, you've basically seen everything the actual gameplay has to offer by the time you've finished the first proper campaign. Still, it's threadbare, but it's fine-it would be engaging enough if carried by a well-delivered story.
Wildermyth is all about stories, which is a shame, because it doesn't really have one to tell. The scenarios are extremely light on substance-there's an intro and a conclusion regarding the story at the bookends of each chapter, but they don't impact beyond that. More importantly, though, is that the game is not really able to tell a meaningful and engaging character-driven story, and certainly not more than once. There are random events that happen before and after each combat, and these are the moments where you're intended to really bond with your characters. And while starry-eyed players may buy in during the tutorial, it doesn't take long to see behind the curtain. These events usually have choices which, you'd think, will shape your character over the course of the campaign. And they do; but only cosmetically, or in the stat column. There is rarely any connection between one event and another; each is a self-contained anecdote that is at first charming or endearing, but after enough time, feels more like reading exercises with flowery prose. And when you see an event repeat in a different campaign-and you will-the illusion shatters completely.
Wildermyth is, ironically, a game that gets worse the longer you play it, which seems to be the exact opposite of what the developers were going for. It truly is charming upon first play, but it's interesting how so much of what was supposed to make it an infinitely replayable sandbox ends up doing the opposite. The paper art is aesthetically pleasing, the music is thematic, but they're both used without enough variation. Beyond its average gameplay, Wildermyth disappoints because it relies far too much on the player to fill in the gaps. It doesn't feel like a story, it feels like a series of events, waiting for you to add the ever-so-important context. And while especially imaginative players might relish that chance, the fact that it has to be done at all means that any well-told story that results from Wildermyth is more of an achievement for the player than it is the game.
Wildermyth's gameplay is a tactical RPG, but its true calling is to tell stories, and to get as close to that "unique to each player" feeling as it can, it relies on an innovative feature; procedurally-generated storytelling. The game has 5 built-in scenarios (plus 1 tutorial), and each begins with you randomly generating characters, encountering random events all while working towards the campaign's goal. The game's strengths are especially on display throughout the tutorial-it's slightly shorter than the other campaigns, but it introduces all the concepts nicely and sets you up with some legacy characters for further campaigns, which can be recruited later on. It's a thoughtful inclusion, and it makes sense, especially as many players will go through the tutorial meticulously, taking note of every event and developing a bond with their party. Completing the tutorial is experiencing Wildermyth at its freshest, and would no doubt spur players on to try out one of the longer campaigns, excited to see what is in store for them and their new-and old-companions.
Unfortunately, the game never improves on what it displays in its opening few hours. Wildermyth is, for all its variety, a game that is disappointingly shallow in both mechanics and story. There are only 3 classes in this game, and there's a staggeringly low amount of variety for each one. You'll get familiar with each class's abilities pretty swiftly, and with a maximum of 5 characters in combat at once, repetition will set in much sooner than you wish. The overworld gameplay is barely relevant enough to mention-which, admittedly, was probably not the focus-but you'll be doing a lot of combat, and except for a few unique bosses and maps per campaign, you've basically seen everything the actual gameplay has to offer by the time you've finished the first proper campaign. Still, it's threadbare, but it's fine-it would be engaging enough if carried by a well-delivered story.
Wildermyth is all about stories, which is a shame, because it doesn't really have one to tell. The scenarios are extremely light on substance-there's an intro and a conclusion regarding the story at the bookends of each chapter, but they don't impact beyond that. More importantly, though, is that the game is not really able to tell a meaningful and engaging character-driven story, and certainly not more than once. There are random events that happen before and after each combat, and these are the moments where you're intended to really bond with your characters. And while starry-eyed players may buy in during the tutorial, it doesn't take long to see behind the curtain. These events usually have choices which, you'd think, will shape your character over the course of the campaign. And they do; but only cosmetically, or in the stat column. There is rarely any connection between one event and another; each is a self-contained anecdote that is at first charming or endearing, but after enough time, feels more like reading exercises with flowery prose. And when you see an event repeat in a different campaign-and you will-the illusion shatters completely.
Wildermyth is, ironically, a game that gets worse the longer you play it, which seems to be the exact opposite of what the developers were going for. It truly is charming upon first play, but it's interesting how so much of what was supposed to make it an infinitely replayable sandbox ends up doing the opposite. The paper art is aesthetically pleasing, the music is thematic, but they're both used without enough variation. Beyond its average gameplay, Wildermyth disappoints because it relies far too much on the player to fill in the gaps. It doesn't feel like a story, it feels like a series of events, waiting for you to add the ever-so-important context. And while especially imaginative players might relish that chance, the fact that it has to be done at all means that any well-told story that results from Wildermyth is more of an achievement for the player than it is the game.