Reviewing this game is going to be tricky as some of the design decisions and faults can annoy people a lot while others can really love the game for its strong points and what it’s trying to do. I was very hesitant on getting this so soon based on the mixed reception but I’m glad I went ahead with it after completing Highwater.
So what’s the gameplay basically? The loop is generally using your boat to get to the next destination. The journey is supported by the same radio host from The Cub with some music mixed in between. There are short cutscenes that don’t overstay their welcome. You can also explore (optional) areas to find collectibles, weapons and boosters. Collectibles are magazines or books with a cover and title to set the mood (so no real reading material). Weapons can be character specific and boosters are consumable items used during battles only (heal, better movement, hit harder etc). The fights are your typical strategy RPG like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics. So the game is mostly going from A to B with a lot of focus on fighting and exploring. Exploration is kept light hearted, everything you can interact with is hard to miss. The fights are not as complex as the games I mentioned and there is no progression system like level up or learning new skills. Skills are usually bound by the weapons you have equipped and there are some exclusive character skills.
So what’s so good about this game? The style is strong with this one. Some of the landscapes seen while travelling are so pretty with a great use of color. The game is great at showing you what humans are dealing with, how everyone is coping and how desperate they can become (it’s depressing). The battle system is actually VERY good. Although I didn’t expect anything close to Fire Emblem, it’s still complex enough, satisfying and it made me think a few times due to the objects you can interact with along with some of the achievements. Speaking of the achievements, they’re terrific. Some are clear from the get go. Others make you guess and keep you on your toes but once you encounter the moment you’re supposed to do something, you’ll know when the achievements will trigger. As long as you keep notes of the achievements (read them to remember) and explore all areas, then they’re doable and fun to get. I got them 100% blindly without using a single guide. The game also has a good pacing for the most part and the length (7.8 hours in my case) feels just right. There is chapter select and you can check your collectibles from the menu. The game saves automatically after leaving an area, completing a fight or picking up an item. So you never feel like you’re forced to play longer than you want. The performance, 1440p resolution and loading times are excellent.
I’m going to deal with the negatives a bit differently this time. First I’m going to focus on the negatives that I noticed and then talk about the negatives experienced by others. To me it was the overall lack of polish in terms of UI, bugs and graphics. All of these are not that bad but you do notice them. The UI can be lacking or unclear. For instance, I didn’t find out where I can check enemy movement before attacking. Sometimes it is unclear where you can attack when the color of the tile is mixed with a different tile to indicate something else. When equipping weapons, the grey color to show you who can equip what is so light, that you can easily miss it and wonder why certain characters can’t equip something. The bugs are mostly some rare visual bugs or when your party gets in your way while exploring. They can cause you to get stuck. While the style is good, the graphics could have been better. Some of the environments and objects are too blocky and it felt odd that you couldn’t control the camera while exploring or using your boat. With the graphics, perhaps it’s because of its mobile roots since this was a Netflix exclusive for a while. Others didn’t like the game’s map, the lack of character backstory or strong characters in general. The map is not typical and not really helpful in the grand scheme of things but it’s not needed at all because the game gives you the illusion of exploring ‘islands’ but it’s not really the case. If you go too far to the left or right, the controls are taken away from you temporarily to put you on the main road. The mini radar literally shows you where you can go and how close you are. The map is there to give you a general sense of direction but it’s mostly to make you feel how it’s pointless and there is no real infrastructure due to the story. The story is not really about the characters. It’s more about showing you how this can happen to anyone and how it feels, not the characters being memorable.
This is a game that could have used some more polish but I still loved it. I’ve completed it within 4 straight days and I leave satisfied. €20 feels like a bit too much but the €12 I paid is fine. I could have played the Netflix version for free but I’m glad I got it on PC for the performance etc. Give the game a try if you like the lore of Demagog games and are a fan of strategy RPG while keeping expectations in check in terms of scope.
So what’s the gameplay basically? The loop is generally using your boat to get to the next destination. The journey is supported by the same radio host from The Cub with some music mixed in between. There are short cutscenes that don’t overstay their welcome. You can also explore (optional) areas to find collectibles, weapons and boosters. Collectibles are magazines or books with a cover and title to set the mood (so no real reading material). Weapons can be character specific and boosters are consumable items used during battles only (heal, better movement, hit harder etc). The fights are your typical strategy RPG like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics. So the game is mostly going from A to B with a lot of focus on fighting and exploring. Exploration is kept light hearted, everything you can interact with is hard to miss. The fights are not as complex as the games I mentioned and there is no progression system like level up or learning new skills. Skills are usually bound by the weapons you have equipped and there are some exclusive character skills.
So what’s so good about this game? The style is strong with this one. Some of the landscapes seen while travelling are so pretty with a great use of color. The game is great at showing you what humans are dealing with, how everyone is coping and how desperate they can become (it’s depressing). The battle system is actually VERY good. Although I didn’t expect anything close to Fire Emblem, it’s still complex enough, satisfying and it made me think a few times due to the objects you can interact with along with some of the achievements. Speaking of the achievements, they’re terrific. Some are clear from the get go. Others make you guess and keep you on your toes but once you encounter the moment you’re supposed to do something, you’ll know when the achievements will trigger. As long as you keep notes of the achievements (read them to remember) and explore all areas, then they’re doable and fun to get. I got them 100% blindly without using a single guide. The game also has a good pacing for the most part and the length (7.8 hours in my case) feels just right. There is chapter select and you can check your collectibles from the menu. The game saves automatically after leaving an area, completing a fight or picking up an item. So you never feel like you’re forced to play longer than you want. The performance, 1440p resolution and loading times are excellent.
I’m going to deal with the negatives a bit differently this time. First I’m going to focus on the negatives that I noticed and then talk about the negatives experienced by others. To me it was the overall lack of polish in terms of UI, bugs and graphics. All of these are not that bad but you do notice them. The UI can be lacking or unclear. For instance, I didn’t find out where I can check enemy movement before attacking. Sometimes it is unclear where you can attack when the color of the tile is mixed with a different tile to indicate something else. When equipping weapons, the grey color to show you who can equip what is so light, that you can easily miss it and wonder why certain characters can’t equip something. The bugs are mostly some rare visual bugs or when your party gets in your way while exploring. They can cause you to get stuck. While the style is good, the graphics could have been better. Some of the environments and objects are too blocky and it felt odd that you couldn’t control the camera while exploring or using your boat. With the graphics, perhaps it’s because of its mobile roots since this was a Netflix exclusive for a while. Others didn’t like the game’s map, the lack of character backstory or strong characters in general. The map is not typical and not really helpful in the grand scheme of things but it’s not needed at all because the game gives you the illusion of exploring ‘islands’ but it’s not really the case. If you go too far to the left or right, the controls are taken away from you temporarily to put you on the main road. The mini radar literally shows you where you can go and how close you are. The map is there to give you a general sense of direction but it’s mostly to make you feel how it’s pointless and there is no real infrastructure due to the story. The story is not really about the characters. It’s more about showing you how this can happen to anyone and how it feels, not the characters being memorable.
This is a game that could have used some more polish but I still loved it. I’ve completed it within 4 straight days and I leave satisfied. €20 feels like a bit too much but the €12 I paid is fine. I could have played the Netflix version for free but I’m glad I got it on PC for the performance etc. Give the game a try if you like the lore of Demagog games and are a fan of strategy RPG while keeping expectations in check in terms of scope.