Aunque funciona como una continuación directa de los elementos que Inkle venía trabajando desde 80 Days, si no antes, Pendragon toma decisiones que se me hacen difíciles de aceptar. La idea de configurar un juego de estrategia a pequeña escala con el sistema de narrativa orgánica de Ink invita a la idea de crear tu propia versión de la leyenda artúrica, con nuevos personajes y opciones abriéndose conforme juegas dificultades más elevadas. El concepto no es malo, pero la ejecución deja que desear. La imposibilidad de retomar combates que van como deseas ha de instigarte a aceptar que a veces la narrativa escapa a tu control, pero esa aceptación se vuelve frustrante cuando llevas varias partidas y los encuentros empiezan a repetirse. Sin una opción que te permita separar las rutas más trilladas, el juego acaba sintiéndose con mucha más paja de la que realmente tiene, y eso desalienta a explorar historias menos convencionales o escuchar los cuentos mejor escritos. El sistema de combate, por su lado, no es particularmente ofuscante, pero tampoco muy profundo, y eso se nota mucho en tu pelea obligatoria con Mordred al final de cada historia. Me creo que mucha gente haya acabado dejando el juego por perder ante el hijo bastardo de Arturo.
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While setting itself as a direct sequels of the elements Inkle has been working on since 80 Days, if not before, Pendragon veers into areas I find hard going to. Mixing small-scale strategy gaming with Ink's organic narrative suggests the possibility of creating your own Arthurian legend, with new characters and options opening up as you play higher difficulties. The concept isn't bad, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The inability to rewind fights when they don't go your way are meant to make you accept that sometimes you won't control the narrative. But that becomes frustrating when you're several sessions in and encounters start repeating themselves. With no option to evade the most common routes, the game ends up feeling like it has far more chaff than it really does. And that discourages you from exploring less conventional stories or listening to the best tales. The combat system, meanwhile, isn't particularly obfuscating, but it's not very deep either, and that's very noticeable in your fight with Mordred at the end of every story. I can believe a lot of people ended up quitting the game because they were always losing to Arthur's bastard son.
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While setting itself as a direct sequels of the elements Inkle has been working on since 80 Days, if not before, Pendragon veers into areas I find hard going to. Mixing small-scale strategy gaming with Ink's organic narrative suggests the possibility of creating your own Arthurian legend, with new characters and options opening up as you play higher difficulties. The concept isn't bad, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The inability to rewind fights when they don't go your way are meant to make you accept that sometimes you won't control the narrative. But that becomes frustrating when you're several sessions in and encounters start repeating themselves. With no option to evade the most common routes, the game ends up feeling like it has far more chaff than it really does. And that discourages you from exploring less conventional stories or listening to the best tales. The combat system, meanwhile, isn't particularly obfuscating, but it's not very deep either, and that's very noticeable in your fight with Mordred at the end of every story. I can believe a lot of people ended up quitting the game because they were always losing to Arthur's bastard son.