This game caught my eye while I was searching around for games during Steam's Autumn Sales. At first glance, I didn't think much of it but you know me, I like doing research on games I've never heard of and I'm glad I did because I found a hidden gem!
Developed by Climax Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios, this was a western action RPG with JRPG influences for the original Xbox which came out for NA and EU in 2004. EU getting a PC port in 2005, then a world wide PC release in 2014 on GOG (Delisted) and Steam! From what I researched I realized there was more to this game than meets the eye with cult fans singing praises of the game. It got me curious so I decided to pick it up myself, it was only $6 bucks.
Given how old the game was, I was expecting to have to mess around with it to get it to launch but no, it just worked! I was also expecting jank, and I was wrong there too. The game plays surprisingly responsive and graphically speaking, I think it still holds up even today. There are some moments where the characters might look odd and times where they look perfectly fine. Maybe it's due to the games lighting system?
You play as someone named Tal and you start in a place called Illumina Castle. This is basically the tutorial area where you get acquainted with the map, the combat, how quests work and shops work. The NPC's seem to all be fully voice acted, at least the ones I spoke to, and it sounded pretty decent.
Not long after, I was sent out on patrol with two recruits by General Arlo to clear out a path from some skirmishes happening outside the castle. Following the path a little from the castle gates, you encounter some enemies known as the Aklorians.
Tal has a large number of moves at his disposal. You have Vertical attacks, Horizontal attacks, Skills, and a Sweeping attack which is basically a 360 crowd control move. You can even Block and dodge sideways or backwards. I recall hearing or reading a comment that the game is Fable on steroids and despite this game coming out first, I can understand where the comparisons are coming from.
Here's the neat part, you can mix & match three vertical attacks and horizontal attacks to create combos. This means Tal's attacks consist of:
Combo 1: A > A > A
Combo 2: X > X > X
Combo 3: A > X > X
Combo 4: X > A > A
Combo 5: A > X > A
Combo 6: X > A > X
Combo 7: X > X > A
Combo 8: A > A > X
You get the idea! Then you have your skill, Shin Splitter, which actually appears on the ground as a red AoE cone in front of you, like something you'd see from telegraphed World Boss attacks in an MMORPG. This blew my mind when I saw it.
Unfortunately the two recruits that were with me died from an ambush so I had to fight alone and they throw a bunch of enemies at you. What caught me off guard was how challenging the first several encounters were because you have melee enemies charging at you from the front and ranged enemies shooting at you from a distance.
Luckily the game gave me a lot of healing items as drops and they can be found from breakable objects out in the world too. I made my way to a new type of enemy that hit me VERY hard and explodes upon reaching low health. I got caught by this several times leaving me at 1 HP.
As I made my way through the enemies, I noticed some areas I couldn't climb or interact with but I suspect I'll be coming back once I obtain new party members given that Tal has the ability to move heavy objects with his strength. Eventually I reached the big bad boss, a giant ogre making short work of these castle guards.
This guy wasn't too bad, he likes to stick close to you. The secret sauce here is baiting and dodging sideways to avoid its attacks, then going in with some attacks of your own.
After defeating this boss, a spirit appears and gives Tal power, granting him access to his first Special Gauge move and new armor. For losing the two men under Tal's command, General Arlo sends him to escort the princess back to the castle who currently resides in a nearby town called Brightwater. I knew right away this was going to be a new party member so I rushed right on over there.
I spent some time doing quests here, looking for any treasure chests hidden around town as well. It didn't take long for me to meet my first real party member, Ailish, who looks like a spell caster. You can switch between Tal and Ailish on the fly with the Left/Right bumpers.
One of the quests I accepted earlier wanted me to go to a beach near town to recover some lost items so I made my way there. Leaving Brightwater, I was greeted with a tutorial for Ailish. Things got even more interesting...
vaultboyholdup.jpg
Alright, Sudeki, I see you! You mean to tell me playing as Ailish turns the combat into a first person shooter? I love where this is going! You can see Tal back there running around keeping the enemies busy while I shoot them!
Ailish can shoot spell bolts from her staff AND switch to another staff that shoots out arcs of lighting to stun enemies up close. Like Tal, she has skills at her disposal like Witch's Kiss which heals the party, and another skill that puts an AoE effect on the ground in a straight line! Flippin cool!
Now for something negative because so far I've been singing praises about Sudeki. As you can tell from the box art, the female characters in this game wear scantily clad apparel, which I guess makes sense for the time period this released. I can definitely see this being a huge turn off for some people.
With that said, I am genuinely impressed and excited, with what I'm playing. This game has been nothing but surprises one after another!
Any Sudeki fans here on era?
Developed by Climax Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios, this was a western action RPG with JRPG influences for the original Xbox which came out for NA and EU in 2004. EU getting a PC port in 2005, then a world wide PC release in 2014 on GOG (Delisted) and Steam! From what I researched I realized there was more to this game than meets the eye with cult fans singing praises of the game. It got me curious so I decided to pick it up myself, it was only $6 bucks.
Given how old the game was, I was expecting to have to mess around with it to get it to launch but no, it just worked! I was also expecting jank, and I was wrong there too. The game plays surprisingly responsive and graphically speaking, I think it still holds up even today. There are some moments where the characters might look odd and times where they look perfectly fine. Maybe it's due to the games lighting system?
You play as someone named Tal and you start in a place called Illumina Castle. This is basically the tutorial area where you get acquainted with the map, the combat, how quests work and shops work. The NPC's seem to all be fully voice acted, at least the ones I spoke to, and it sounded pretty decent.
Not long after, I was sent out on patrol with two recruits by General Arlo to clear out a path from some skirmishes happening outside the castle. Following the path a little from the castle gates, you encounter some enemies known as the Aklorians.
Tal has a large number of moves at his disposal. You have Vertical attacks, Horizontal attacks, Skills, and a Sweeping attack which is basically a 360 crowd control move. You can even Block and dodge sideways or backwards. I recall hearing or reading a comment that the game is Fable on steroids and despite this game coming out first, I can understand where the comparisons are coming from.
Here's the neat part, you can mix & match three vertical attacks and horizontal attacks to create combos. This means Tal's attacks consist of:
Combo 1: A > A > A
Combo 2: X > X > X
Combo 3: A > X > X
Combo 4: X > A > A
Combo 5: A > X > A
Combo 6: X > A > X
Combo 7: X > X > A
Combo 8: A > A > X
You get the idea! Then you have your skill, Shin Splitter, which actually appears on the ground as a red AoE cone in front of you, like something you'd see from telegraphed World Boss attacks in an MMORPG. This blew my mind when I saw it.
Unfortunately the two recruits that were with me died from an ambush so I had to fight alone and they throw a bunch of enemies at you. What caught me off guard was how challenging the first several encounters were because you have melee enemies charging at you from the front and ranged enemies shooting at you from a distance.
Luckily the game gave me a lot of healing items as drops and they can be found from breakable objects out in the world too. I made my way to a new type of enemy that hit me VERY hard and explodes upon reaching low health. I got caught by this several times leaving me at 1 HP.
As I made my way through the enemies, I noticed some areas I couldn't climb or interact with but I suspect I'll be coming back once I obtain new party members given that Tal has the ability to move heavy objects with his strength. Eventually I reached the big bad boss, a giant ogre making short work of these castle guards.
This guy wasn't too bad, he likes to stick close to you. The secret sauce here is baiting and dodging sideways to avoid its attacks, then going in with some attacks of your own.
After defeating this boss, a spirit appears and gives Tal power, granting him access to his first Special Gauge move and new armor. For losing the two men under Tal's command, General Arlo sends him to escort the princess back to the castle who currently resides in a nearby town called Brightwater. I knew right away this was going to be a new party member so I rushed right on over there.
I spent some time doing quests here, looking for any treasure chests hidden around town as well. It didn't take long for me to meet my first real party member, Ailish, who looks like a spell caster. You can switch between Tal and Ailish on the fly with the Left/Right bumpers.
One of the quests I accepted earlier wanted me to go to a beach near town to recover some lost items so I made my way there. Leaving Brightwater, I was greeted with a tutorial for Ailish. Things got even more interesting...
vaultboyholdup.jpg
Alright, Sudeki, I see you! You mean to tell me playing as Ailish turns the combat into a first person shooter? I love where this is going! You can see Tal back there running around keeping the enemies busy while I shoot them!
Ailish can shoot spell bolts from her staff AND switch to another staff that shoots out arcs of lighting to stun enemies up close. Like Tal, she has skills at her disposal like Witch's Kiss which heals the party, and another skill that puts an AoE effect on the ground in a straight line! Flippin cool!
Now for something negative because so far I've been singing praises about Sudeki. As you can tell from the box art, the female characters in this game wear scantily clad apparel, which I guess makes sense for the time period this released. I can definitely see this being a huge turn off for some people.
With that said, I am genuinely impressed and excited, with what I'm playing. This game has been nothing but surprises one after another!
Any Sudeki fans here on era?
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