Roadwarden

Simply the best and most engaging RPG I've played in years. I didn't expect more than a decent gamebook, but the variablility and degree of freedom is far beyond that. The world comes to live through the choices you make. I can only compare the experience to a tabletop RPG. Don't read anything about the game, it's so great to discover everything by yourself, because that makes you think about the people and the places. Highly recommended.

As the title says, this is basically a text adventure and thus won't be for everyone ... but if you don't mind the reading and minimal pixel-art style - this is fantastic! It reminded me of the Sunless Sea/Skies games or something like Vargus. You are a Roadwarden, exploring the frequently hostile environment of a rugged peninsula you've been sent to explore by a distant merchant guild. As you explore, you need to keep yourself in relatively good nick, keeping fed, healthy and clean, stats which are lowered by the various scrapes you get into and are for the most part restored in towns by paying for a meal and somewhere to sleep. Coin is scarce, however, as is your time - you have only 40 days before you need to head home and most actions tick down the clock. You also need to manage your time so you end each day at a safe resting spot, for the night is dark and full of terrors. So the actual game bit is about managing these kinds of issues - careful management of resources to enable you to keep exploring without running out of food/money/health etc. - very much like managing fuel/food/money in the Sunless games. The real focus, however, is on your adventures in the peninsula, which take place in a text-based choose-your-own-adventure interface. The writing is strong and the world of the peninsula is evocative and interesting, and peopled with complex, believable characters. There are mysteries to uncover (what happened to your predecessor? What's the story with the ruined village?) but for the most part you're exploring and winning the trust or enmity of the various inhabitants. The game also reminds me of Disco Elysium in that it really goes all in on roleplaying and letting you create a unique character and story by your decisions. You make both big decisions about your overall motivation and the fate of the peninsula but also many small ones, about how certain interactions make you feel and even what kinds of toothpicks you prefer. Highly recommended!

If you are like me and enjoy games that provide a cognitive challenge, then this game offers great value. I have played the game twice, both times as a "scholar" with standard difficulty and a 40-day tour of duty. My first play matched the most negative reviews that I have read. My character was too poor, too tired and too hungry to do much, and too dirty and smelly to convince anyone to trust me and give me work to improve my condition. I wandered around and didn't get much done. But I stuck it out for 40 days and learned a few things. On my second play I husbanded my resources better in the early game and discovered a world (OK, a peninsula) of enormous complexity, with physically separate villages whose inhabitants differed in resources, skills, traditions and political/religious beliefs. And some of the enclaves don't get along very well with their neighbors. These villages exist adjacent to a wilderness where various beasts rule. The challenge is to connect these diverse villages, respect the right of the beasts to exist, and leave the villagers in better shape at the end of your tour. Trust me: you will be challenged. The game is not perfect. In particular, the fill-in-the-blank questions suffer from the classic adventure game problem, trying to outguess the creators of the game. And you won't. But a few strokes on the internet solves that occasional problem, and leaves you to enjoy the rest. BTW, I did NOT achieve perfection on my 2nd play. But there is significant replay value. You can replay with different skills (mage or fighter) that will force you to solve certain problems differently. And you can increase or decrease the number of days of your tour. So there is a lot left for me to discover. You may enjoy playing this game late at night in a dark room. Let the game draw you into its fantasy world.

This is a wonderfully atmospheric game. It is not what most people would expect from a game now. It is a game where at some pits you type actions into the screen to decide what your character can do. Example: The spider is of the large, brown variety. Its mandibles twitch. Type 'dodge', 'duck' or 'block' and you get different results. Some better, some worse. This game is not for anyone expecting action or adventure. For people who still enjoy the old Oregon Trail, it should be a lot of fun- I thought it was, and I at 26 still love Oregon Trail. I loved this in much the same way. Go in looking for threat assessment and the balances of risk and reward, of who you can trust or not, and determined to do your character's duty to the best of your ability? Then the thoughtful, patient player is likely to enjoy it. Keep an eye on the time before dark. Be careful with your rations. Always manage your supplies carefully. Don't destroy what you may need to use later. And remember that your duty is to the people who live here, bitter as they may be; you chose the arduous task of keeping them alive. Your actions have consequences. At a certain point you can destroy a door to gain access to the building- there are no immediate repercussions. However, that results it it being a less effective shelter at certain points later on, when you are (doubtless), trapped away from safety. I highly recommend it, however, if you are uncertain, try the demo first. I did, and was so engaged I paid for the rest on the spot, spent the next week in it, and only stopped due to RL reasons. If Roadwarden works for you, it really works. if it doesn't, it is simply not your style.