Reverie Knights Tactics: Review

Get ready, now there will be a lot of words “tactics” and its derivatives in a row, which is a nightmare for Andrey Makoveev (and what synonym can you come up with??) and a treat for the eyes and ears of genre connoisseurs. So, everyone who loves Japanese or stylized Japanese tactical RPGs in the spirit Final Fantasy Tactics And Tactics Ogre, should pay attention to the new Reverie Knights Tactics, which has really difficult battles and interesting tactical mechanics. Mastered? Hold on, this is just the beginning – now I’ll tell you what’s really good in the game and what’s not so good.

Daddy’s girl

Authors Reverie Knights Tactics carefully work out the program that is mandatory in such cases – the game has a fantasy plot and more or less funny characters who actively communicate and show their character. True, some are rather annoying, but more on that later.

The setting here, I must admit, is well developed – in any case, the glossary is constantly updated with information about places and characters. The action takes place on the continent of Ramnor, where many fled after another continent, the more ancient Lamnor, was captured by orcs, kobolds and goblins. Here new residents founded the Kingdom, which became the largest union of independent states.

From here, the servants of the Order of Tanna-to (this is the local goddess of knowledge) plan dangerous expeditions to Lamnor in search of lost relics and information. So the father of our main character, Aurora, went to the ancient elven city of Lenorien, captured by goblins. And naturally, he, along with the rest of the expedition members, disappeared. Aurora, being not only a loving daughter, but also a cleric of the Order, after some time goes in search of him.

Although the mission is official and, to put it mildly, dangerous, for some reason the girl is initially forced to fight monsters in splendid solitude and look for the guide allocated to her in the dark forests – I, to be honest, did not understand this plot twist. It was apparently invented to effectively reveal to the taken aback Aurora her best friend Brigandine, a jokester who loves to eat heartily and also a strong girl who wields a sword and shield. She, as it turned out, secretly made her way aboard the expedition ship in order to help us.

Then they are joined by that very guide – the impulsive elf Fren, who at first does not believe in the girls’ abilities. After some time, a representative of the leader of the Order, Hellaron, an intelligent golem, a living artifact capable of absorbing the memories of the dead, joins the squad. Meanwhile, in the camp there is a grumpy drunken captain Galleras, who is generally irritated by the members of the expedition; the cheerful fat cook Garlos, obsessed with food like Brigandine; as well as a scientist and a scribe in one person, a goblin in a robe.

As you can see, all the characters in Reverie Knights Tactics colorful in their own way. You can communicate with everyone, conflicts arise from time to time, and one day there is even an option to kick Fran out. However, there is no drama and depth in the spirit of Dragon Age, Pillars of Eternity and similar classics of party RPGs – the style is not the same. In this sense, the game is, of course, easier and funnier, despite the fact that according to the plot, Aurora will sometimes find dead those she knew and who went on an expedition with her father. True, the “funnyness” is largely based on the fact that Brigandine and Garlos are obsessed with food – jokes and conversations on this topic soon begin to unnerve.

Knights of Chaos and Order

There are also questions https://12bet-casino.co.uk/games/ about the chaos/order system. Sometimes we need to make a decision that will tip the balance in the “red” or “blue” direction, respectively: a more emotional and not always reasonable one leads to chaos, a more balanced one leads to order. This affects the attitude towards us and communication with characters, as well as the range of skills issued at new levels.

And just imagine. In one of the situations, my Aurora refuses to kick Fren out of the squad, acting in “order”. And even before that she made more “blue” decisions. However, in the very next important event, when there was an option to bypass dangerous enemies with the help of a special spell, the elf ruins everything, acts recklessly, forcing us to get into a fight. Perhaps, of course, I haven’t influenced him enough with my “order”, but still, you must admit, it doesn’t look very logical.

It is also assumed that our decisions affect the plot, but in several situations this was not noticeable. So, one day it was necessary to decide which of the goblin camps to check first. Moreover, in one camp, as we found out, there was a high probability of finding a member of the expedition of Aurora’s father in captivity. It would seem that we should go there quickly before he dies. But in the end, in both options, even if we don’t hurry, we will find him alive and listen to the same dialogue. Well, what was the point of this choice then??

Combat skills

But with tactical battles in Reverie Knights Tactics everything (well, almost everything) is definitely good. On the one hand, here we have a classic of the genre – characters spend turn points to move and action points to attack, skills, go on defense or use consumables. You also need to choose the direction of view and, accordingly, protection. After all, blows to the back cause increased damage, and if they hit you “in the face”, then the chance that the attack will be missed increases. On the other hand, a huge focus is placed on the use of an interactive environment.

Everyone has different skills, corresponding to their specialization (there are no classes as such). Brigandine, for example, knows how to hit and repel enemies with a shield; Aurora, who specializes in ice magic, cools down opponents with spells; Hellaron creates copies of himself to distract opponents and can heal allies.

At new levels, they not only allow you to upgrade one of three characteristics (strength, defense, dexterity), but also give out new skills. Moreover, in addition to the standard ones, there are also special ones related to chaos or order (depending on the heroine’s inclination towards one side or another). And then a dilemma arises – to teach, for example, Aurora an extremely useful treatment or an ice storm that deals area damage. And you are only allowed to take three skills into battle.

In addition, we influence the characteristics with equipment and tomes, which we study from the goblin scientist in the camp for kogni points – this is the local analogue of souls, obtained for killing enemies and completing missions. Finally, it is important to craft food from the chef on time (yes, about her again!) from collected ingredients – it restores health or mana and removes negative effects. And with the help of Galleras we make fire, acid and other bombs.

The battlefield is like a trap

All this is really important to do, because battles are almost always difficult – this is if you play on the normal difficulty level (which is the main one here) and not on the story difficulty level. The opponents are strong, there are many of them, they often cast spells and use skills. And at the same time, the battlefield is always filled with interactive objects. Some restore health or mana, others, if broken, will give a useful item (sometimes you also come across chests). But more than others, which are traps – these can be poisonous thickets, bear traps, explosive barrels, vats of fire, plants that spit thorns when hit, stone columns falling on your head, and so on. But our opponents also periodically throw bombs at us..

And we need to take this into account when planning the movement and positioning of fighters so as to push the enemy into one of these traps or, for example, so that when such an obstacle is destroyed, the opponents receive damage, while our charges remain unharmed. By the way, in almost every battle there are additional tasks related specifically to the use of the environment – for completing them we receive additional experience points and souls.

Correct placement is also important because fighters have skills that deal damage over an area, in certain directions and cells. Some of them, especially strong ones, spend the concentration gradually accumulated in a fight. In addition, if you correctly position the characters next to each other, they will be able to carry out a particularly powerful collective attack.

This is all the more important in fights with bosses, where special conditions always arise that force, for example, to attack first of all the magicians who maintain the protective barrier.

The only frustrating thing here is the lack of lowlands and hills, which would make the use of terrain features even more interesting and tactical. Well, an extensive system of professions that could be changed by shuffling the set of skills would not hurt, although these are purely subjective things.

As I usually say in such cases, Reverie Knights Tactics – the game is not ideal, questions may arise about it, but… It is as a tactical RPG that it certainly fulfills its main task – it makes you think and sweat in almost every fight and keeps you in suspense, including due to the fact that it maintains a shortage of consumables and does not allow you to automatically restore health/mana after a battle or in a camp. In addition, she really looks and sounds very nice, and the bright characters only benefited the story.

Pros: quite an interesting story; there are many colorful characters, although the jokes and remarks from some are, let’s say, not for everyone; challenging and exciting battles that constantly force you to think and use the environment; the game is beautifully drawn.

Cons: the consequences of our decisions are not always felt; I would like more opportunities to use relief maps; The role-playing system may seem limited.