Iron Danger

I usually play more "hardcore" cRPGs like the old Fallouts and Baldur's Gates but I found this a refreshing change. I don't have the same amount of time to play as I used to so this one fits the bill perfectly for a more casual RPG with an interesting story. Setting inspired by Finnish folklore is an unique choice, and I find it delightful. I might be biased as Finland is my home country but I think people from elsewhere will find the setting enjoyable as well.

Iron Danger features a very simple and very interchangeable fantasy-storyline. A good human kingdom ist attacked by an evil northern-steampunk kingdom. The heroine's village is attacked and she literally stumbles into her role - now no longer a civilian she can suddenly use magic. The game's description says: "The core of Iron Danger is its unique time control mechanic. You can rewind time for up to 5 seconds whenever you want." Matter of factly you cannot only do this, but to survive and win you HAVE TO constantly rewind time for two different timelines to micro-control all actions in each and every battle. And this is not only core of the game, it is the game. There are no xp, no levels, no stats, no equipment and only some basic predefined skills, that you can slightly enhance over time. The voices are ok, but the dialogues narrating the already simple storyline are very short and feel rushed. The game is very short - after the tutorial you have basically six railroaded quests to gather each of the six shards. That means you arrive by boat on a very small map, you enter a very small temple - sometimes you solve some kind of very easy and obvious puzzle - you leave a temple. That's it, done. One shard was taken before you can reach it - thats the final battle. You reach each area automatically in a linear matter. You can do nothing else and travel nowhere else. No map has anything to explore or unususal to discover. Then the story ended in the middle with a black screen. Some kind of sequel-bait?! You cannot save the game - due to the time rewind mechanic. That doesn't save you from those game-crashes and stuck game-sequences, however. The very few hours of gameplay result from micro-managing those timelines in battle. A very disappointing experience - even for a -80% sale! - for 5$ I do not feal ripped off - but to be honest for this small content it's not worth more.

Pretty good game. Worth its pricetag IMO. Biggest issue is rushed dialogue - presumably as a cost-saving measure characters plough through storyline like 1000 degree knife through butter, which often means saying obvious things, changing completely changing opinions within 5 seconds Bioware-style and clearly confusing actual voice actors. Nevertheless voice actors are really good and smooth out these rough edges in the dialogue. Actual gameplay is kinda like if you could quicksave and load after every turn in Divinity: Original Sin 2. Very cool and very well polished. Fights can be completed in a myriad of different ways, using environment, equipment and spells and setting up combos in this game is often even more satisfying than in Original Sin 2, which is high praise indeed. The story itself isn't anything special, and frankly most of the Finnish folklore this is supposedly based upon is quite vague to begin with, so that connection is superficial. I wish they would have focused more on world-building instead, as the steampunk universe they've made actually is quite interesting. One major (potential) issue is that this game is obviously meant as an "introduction" into the next game, which is foreshadowed starting from about middle of the story, however I fear that because this game basically received no marketing whatsoever, it's sales aren't going to be enough to fund this sequel, which makes the game's ending unsatisfying rather than intriguing.

#Summary (62%): Iron Danger promises us free reigns over the combat with its time rewind mechanic. Although I had fun with this element, the rest of the game felt mediocre. #Review: Time rewind is not an uncommon gimmick in puzzle games, but I rarely saw it outside that genre. Apart from Iron Danger, the only examples I recall are the modern Prince of Persia games. I am a sucker for this mechanic, so at first, I was not too bothered by the abundance of every JRPG cliché in the book. A dastardly empire of pure evil attacking the good kingdom. Our village burns down in the first chapter. The heroine must collect a set number of McGuffins to save the world. You know the rest by heart by now. I was also not impressed by the characters. Frankly, the mentor’s discount store knockoff Yoda speech irked me to no end after a while. As for the protagonist, I hated her. She whines most of the game about how she wants to go home, then all the sudden she is an inspiring commander. I admit, she grows into her role well, but that is hardly a redemption for her character arc. Still, I endured the story. I endured when I realised the game uses only two types of level layout. I endured when some enemies took 10 minutes to beat. I endured because I started to enjoy the combat. I can understand if players will find it difficult to see the good side of Iron Danger's combat mechanics. After all, it starts quite boring: we can dodge, swing a weapon, and that is it. Then, as the protagonist starts gaining spells, the tactical window also opens. In the end, it reached the point where I soloed entire levels once I unlocked mind control. It was fun. I finally clicked with the game. Still, you can tell that Iron Danger lacks the resources and the polish of a large AAA project. It is rough around many edges, and I can understand if that deters many players. I would still recommend it if you like tactical games, especially at a discount price.