western roleplaying games

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Dragon Quest of The Fatemaker

I discovered the Gearbox Software-developed Borderlands series during the last decade, becoming enamored with its combination of first-person shooter and RPG gameplay to the point where I happily replayed the titles on multiple consoles to which they were ported, among them being those for Steam via my trusty Steam Deck. One of the expansion packs for the second game featured the story character Tiny Tina leading a Dungeons & Dragons-esque fantasy campaign setting, for which Gearbox would develop a successor and Borderlands spinoff entitled Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, which provides an experience on par with the main entries.

The map system is an improvement over those in the mainline Borderlands.

Upon starting a new game, the player must create a character termed The Fatemaker, who can be of one of several different classes. The gameplay remains like the main Borderlands games, with the player able to wield up to four firearms of various types (initially two), wear different item enhancements, and use a skill inherent to The Fatemaker’s class that needs to recharge. The spinoff’s “Save Your Soul” system also mimics the main series’ “Fight For Your Life” mechanics of being able to kill an enemy after losing all health to revive, failure resulting in revival at the last checkpoint and losing some money.

There are a few differences, which include the ability to wield melee weapons, cast magic that requires time to recharge, and, upon reaching a certain level, being able to select a secondary class that grants The Fatemaker an additional Skill Tree alongside their base one. As in the Borderlands games, leveling nets the player a skill point they can put into one of The Fatemaker’s skill trees, alongside a point they can invest into one of their base stats. The looter shooter mechanics work well as in the mainline Borderlands games, with some quirks like not needing to repeat phases of multiphase boss battles like that against the final boss. However, issues still carry over, like needing a steady trigger finger and losing all health without an enemy to kill to revive.

Wonderlands’ main weaknesses lie in its control. While there are a few improvements over the Borderlands games, like the in-game maps being three-dimensional and rotatable, which accommodates the multilayered stages, many areas are of questionable design to where I didn’t bother with whatever sidequest objectives were there. However, positive aspects from the main Borderlands titles return, like fast travel and objective markers, another improvement being that saving and quitting the game most of the time preserves The Fatemaker’s location. Still, other issues exist, including glitches (with objective markers occasionally disappearing in my playthrough) and unskippable voiced dialogue (which seems endemic to Western RPGs), and the game’s usability could have been better.

Narratively, Wonderlands is a parodic take on fantasy-themed RPGs, with plenty of humor (although some of it is toiletic) and references galore to other media such as the Star Wars franchise and the Smurfs. The campaign setting backstory is also well written, with some of it revealed through scrolls obtained throughout the game world. There are some areas where the writers could have been more creative, like calling the main antagonist something other than “Dragon Lord.” Moreover, given the unskippable voiced text, the narrative frequently feels forced down the player’s throat. Regardless, the plot is an enjoyable draw to the spinoff.

While some nice tracks fit the game’s fantasy setting, most of the music is unmemorable, aside from a vocal theme song played during the ending credits. However, the voice performances are largely superb, including Ashly Burch as the titular game master, Will Arnett as the Dragon Lord, and comedienne Wanda Sykes as Frette the robot, one of the tabletop RPG’s players. Regardless, a dearth of memorable music seems endemic to most Western roleplaying games.

One area where the glitches kicked in.

Like the main Borderlands titles, Wonderlands utilizes a cel-shaded visual style, which looks fantastic and even more colorful in its fantasy setting, with only a few minor issues regarding choppiness and collision detection.

Finally, the spinoff is about on par with the main series regarding playtime, around forty-eight hours, with plenty of lasting appeal through different difficulty settings, achievements, sidequests, various classes, the myriad sidequests, a playable epilogue, and so forth.

In summation, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is an enjoyable offshoot of the Borderlands franchise, keeping what has been fun about the looter shooter series while introducing some new elements and occasional improvements. The lighthearted writing often stands out, as do the voice performances, pretty graphics, and the deluge of supplemental content. However, many of the issues from its parent series recur, like a necessary trigger finger, some annoying glitches, occasional irritating level design, the unskippable voiced dialogue, and the lack of memorable music. Regardless, fans of first-person shooters owe it to themselves to chance this excellent spinoff.

This review is based on a playthrough of a digital copy downloaded to the reviewer’s Steam Deck and played with the Dock on a television, Clawmancer as his beginning class.

Score Breakdown
The GoodThe Bad
Nice twist on Borderlands looter shooter gameplay.
Humorous plot and writing.
Good voice performances.
Pretty visuals.
Tons of extra content.		Requires steady trigger finger.
A bit glitchy.
Some annoying level design.
Unskippable voiced dialogue.
Dearth of memorable music.
The Bottom Line
A great Borderlands spinoff.
PlatformSteam
Game Mechanics9.0/10
Control6.5/10
Story8.0/10
Aurals8.5/10
Visuals9.0/10
Lasting Appeal10/10
DifficultyAdjustable
Playtime48+ Hours
Overall: 8.5/10

Diablo IV

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Las Lágrimas del Reino

Back when my brothers and I were obsessed with the works of Blizzard Entertainment, we discovered the first of their Diablo series, with whose sequel and expansion I would spend significant time, given the multitude of classes. The third Diablo game wouldn’t see release until a decade after the second, and the fourth game, Diablo IV, would have a similar wait before it came out. The fourth entry, as a few other video game series in Japan and the West have, leaps into an open-world setting, like Nintendo’s Zelda and Pokémon franchises. Does it do so well?

The fourth game occurs half a century after the third in Sanctuary, where cultists summon the new antagonist, Lilith, daughter of the demon Mephisto, who seeks to fill the power vacuum created by the decline of angels and demons across the land. The narrative has varying cutscenes depending on which character class the player selects, along with plenty of texts that reveal backstories, sidequest subplots, and a well-developed central plot. A few narrative gaps still exist between the third and fourth games; however, the story remains engaging throughout the experience.

Players can select from five classes: Barbarian, Sorcerer, Druid, Rogue, and Necromancer, each with their unique ability trees, and choose a difficulty, accommodating to gamers of divergent skill levels. Regardless of whomever the player selects, all have a health orb whose depletion means death (in which case they can resurrect at the expense of a tenth of their equipment’s durability), a fixed number of potions with which they can recover their health (with upgrades to this amount found sporadically through Sanctuary’s dungeons), Spirit that the use of many abilities consumes (and which standard attacks can gradually recover), and many skills with a cooldown time before they can use them again.

Killing enemies earns the player experience, with foes frequently dropping money and treasure. Before reaching fifty levels, leveling gives players a point they can put into their class’s respective tree to unlock various abilities and bonuses. If players wish to do so, they can pay to reset points and redistribute them however they please. Players stop earning skill points when their character reaches the mentioned threshold. At that time, their Paragon Board unlocks, with its points acquired at fixed times while advancing to the next level and allowing for increased stats. 

In towns, the player can repair their equipment (which doesn’t seem to wear down regardless of whatever combat they’ve seen, except upon death), replenish their potions and health, purchase new gear, and so forth, like in prior games. The mechanics work well, with plenty of quick action and rewarding exploration; however, players can’t pause the game, and the potential to waste a lot of time against bosses exists (though depleting their health to fixed amounts will cause them to drop health potions). Regardless, the fourth game nicely fuses elements from the second and third entries.

Control, however, could have used improvement. Among the primary issues is that one needs a constant internet connection and a PlayStation Plus membership to play Diablo IV in the first place, which is ridiculous since I had spent $60+ for my physical copy. Even so, there are a few quality-of-life features such as subtitles for the voiced dialogue, adjustable text size, helpful in-game maps with objective markers, the ability to skip cutscenes and through some dialogue (though the latter feature isn’t available during “cinematic” scenes), the option to exit dungeons instantly after completing them (though some exceptions exist), and readily-available teleportation across Sanctuary, even when the player is far away from a teleport point. As mentioned, however, the game is unpausable, along with other issues like the absence of an in-game measure of total playtime, the vagueness of a few sidequest objectives, and how the game doesn’t preserve the player’s current location whenever they quit the game and restart later. Ultimately, the fourth game could have interfaced better with players.

While the soundtrack features good instrumentation and has some callbacks to prior Diablo games, the fourth installment’s music is otherwise unremarkable, given the lack of memorable tracks and overreliance upon ambiance, which seems typical of most Western video games. However, the voice acting and sound effects shine brighter.

Diablo IV executes its visuals nicely, with realistic art direction for the human and nonhuman characters and players able to customize their protagonist’s appearance. Different equipment also affects character looks, with the environments and colors being believable, the weather and illumination effects gorgeous, and the critical story scenes having an engaging cinematic style. However, the typical imperfections of three-dimensional visuals abound, like poor collision detection, blurry and pixilated texturing, and occasional choppiness.

Given the lack of an in-game clock, assessment of total playtime is difficult. However, I sometimes used my watch timer and estimated I finished the game in over seventy-two hours, consisting of significant time exploring Sanctuary and completing sidequests, although advancing the main quest doesn’t take long. Replayability exists with the vastness of the game world, which I hadn’t fully mapped, countless sidequests, achievements, and so forth. However, the need for a PlayStation Plus membership to continue playing, which I immediately canceled upon finishing the main quest, will deter many from devoting additional time to the game.

Ultimately, Diablo IV was an ambitious production from Blizzard and nicely accomplishes its transition of the series to open-world format, in my opinion, even better than other major video game franchises that have done the same despite their “universally positive” reception. The gameplay is fun and rewarding, the narrative is intricate regarding its backstory and “present” plotline, the visuals are top-notch, and plenty of extra content can occupy players endlessly. However, issues such as the need for a constant internet connection and PlayStation Plus membership to play, various interface problems, and unremarkable sound prevent it from “game of the year” status. Despite its faults, it warrants a playthrough from those who enjoyed its predecessors and is one of 2023’s better releases.

This review is based on a playthrough of a physical copy purchased by the reviewer as a Druid.

Score Breakdown
The GoodThe Bad
Variety of classes to choose from.
Lots to explore in Sanctuary.
Well-developed narrative.
Nice graphics.
Plenty of lasting appeal.		Requires constant internet connection and PlayStation Plus membership.
Quitting the game doesn’t always preserve quest progress.
Lackluster soundtrack.
The Bottom Line
One of the stronger major releases of 2023.
PlatformPlayStation 4
Game Mechanics9.0/10
Control6.0/10
Story9.5/10
Aurals7.0/10
Visuals8.0/10
Lasting Appeal8.5/10
DifficultyAdjustable
Playtime72+ Hours
Overall: 8.0/10

Borderlands 2

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Bowling for Pandora

The year 2009 saw the release of 2K Games and Gearbox Software’s Borderlands, which received critical acclaim for its hybrid first-person shooter/RPG gameplay, ultimately leading towards a Game of the Year Edition. Three years later came the game’s first sequel, Borderlands 2, which itself would receive a GOTY version, in keeping in tune with major well-received video game releases, alongside a port two years afterward to the PlayStation Vita, and other platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. The game itself provides an experience on par with its predecessor.

The action-based first-person shooter/RPG gameplay of the first Borderlands sequel largely resembles that of its predecessor, with the player able to wield a variety of weapons that consume different types of ammunition, the player able to restock their supply at vending machines if they have the money, and able to equip a shield that takes damage until it runs out of energy and the player’s character’s health receives damage instead. Fortunately, if the player’s character runs out of health, they have the opportunity for a few seconds to score a kill, in which case the player’s character revives with partial health and shield energy.

If the player does die, however, they revive at the last checkpoint at the cost of less than a tenth of their current money with damaged foes restored to total health, a generous price to pay for death compared to other RPGs such as the Dragon Quest games that take half the player’s money, and other Japanese RPGs that take the player back to the title screen or forces them to sit through all the unskippable company screens over and over. There isn’t much to complain about except the frequency of death and skewed difficulty curve, but otherwise, the gameplay helps the sequel.

Control, however, is more of mixed quality. While the central and side mission objectives are clear, getting lost is no problem, and helpful maps can prevent players from becoming lost, there are some hiccups with the Steam version that include the game not loading correctly, the lack of a suspend save, and the potential inventory space problems (though players can expend Eridium to expand the maximum number of items they can carry in Sanctuary). Ultimately, the developers could have spent extra effort to make the sequel more user-friendly.

Theodore Roosevelt revived as a cyborg

The writing in Borderlands 2 is generally solid, with the player controlling one of many different Vault Hunters on the planet Pandora, the original game’s setting, alongside the always-clear storyline objectives, despite some minor grammatical errors and the narrative feeling forced down the player’s throat, given the unskippable text.

As seems to be the case with most Western RPGs, the soundtrack leaves something to desire, being barely noticeable throughout the game, but some good tracks are present, and the voicework and sound effects are above average for the genre.

Borderlands 2 utilizes a cel-shaded visual style like its predecessor that looks pleasant for the most part despite some bland textures and dithering of scenery that tends to occur immediately after the player loads their game or revives at a checkpoint.

Finally, the sequel will last players a while, its main storyline taking around forty-eight hours to complete. However, the endless array of sidequests and achievements can boost playing time beyond that amount. 

Overall, Borderlands 2 is a solid sequel that hits most of the right notes. The looter/shooter gameplay is just as enjoyable as it was in its predecessor, the narrative is superb, the visuals are beautiful, and plenty of lasting appeal exists. However, it leaves room for improvement regarding its control (notably the absence of a suspend save) and unmemorable soundtrack. Regardless, those who enjoyed the original game will likely enjoy its first sequel, and I would gladly continue to play new installments of this franchise.

This review is based on multiple playthroughs of different console versions, most recently the Steam version as Zer0.

Score Breakdown
The GoodThe Bad
Great looter-shooter gameplay.Excellent writing.Pretty visuals.Plenty lasting appeal.Some glitches in Steam version.Inventory management can be a pain.Soundtrack is largely unmemorable.A few visual hiccups.
The Bottom Line
A great sequel.
PlatformSteam Deck
Game Mechanics9.0/10
Control5.5/10
Story8.5/10
Aurals7.5/10
Visuals7.5/10
Lasting Appeal10/10
DifficultyDepends on Character
Playtime~48 Hours
Overall: 8.0/10

This review is based on multiple playthroughs of different console versions, most recently the Steam version as Zer0

Diablo III Eternal Collection

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Hell hath no fury…

The Blizzard Entertainment franchise Diablo is renowned for its hack-and-slash roleplaying gameplay, beginning with the release of the first game on personal computers in 1996, its first sequel seeing release in 2000. The first two games would receive expansion packs sometime after their releases, with the development of the third entry commencing in 2001, the tertiary title officially announced in 2008. Diablo III would not see its initial release until 2012, with the PlayStation 4 release coming two years later, and eventually a collection of the original game and its expansions entitled Diablo III Eternal Collection, which, like its predecessors, provides solid action RPG gameplay.

Upon starting a new game, the player can create a character from several classes. The player can outfit them with different weapons and armor, each able to hack away at the enemy with their and use skills that require recharging before the player can use them again (the same goes for HP-restoring potions). Some skills use points with different terminology (Wrath for the Crusader and Spirit for the Monk), which recovers as the player attacks. Players can also have an AI-controlled ally with their own weapons, armor, and skills. The only issue is that the player cannot easily break out of enemies that crowd around them, death costing the player ten percent durability for their current equipment, a fair penalty.

The third entry sports many improvements over its predecessor in terms of control, chiefly more generous inventory space, organized as a list rather than a grid, that negate the necessity to return to town constantly to sell excess gear, in which case the player can teleport there for free to do so. Automaps form as the player progresses across fields and through dungeons, with clear direction on the next story objective that prevents players from becoming lost. However, no equipment optimization option exists for the player and their companion, and they cannot see how weapons and armor increase or decrease ally stats while shopping. Regardless, Diablo III interacts well with players.

Most Western RPGs tend to sport blank-slate protagonists, but fortunately, whichever class the player chooses to play does have sundry interaction during story scenes that differ depending upon vocation, the narrative itself continuing from the second game, with journals scattered on fields and within dungeons revealing various backstories. Furthermore, the transition between the fourth and fifth Acts feels fluid in the expanded version of the third Diablo. There are some minor tried tropes, such as amnesia, but the narrative is a significant draw to the game overall.

The soundtrack of Diablo III, as seems to be the case with most non-Japanese RPGs, lacks a sense of memorability, perhaps more so due to the sounds of combat drowning it out during gameplay, but is no deterrent, and the voice work is top-notch.

The visuals border on perfection, with a 2.5-dimensional view of the game environs, largely devoid of things such as jaggies and pixilated texturing. The character models also look nice and have realistic anatomy, with the only real issue being the poor collision detection among characters, enemies, and their environments.

Finally, finishing the game can take around twenty hours, with the variety of classes and in-game challenges that sync with PlayStation Trophies nicely enhancing replay value.

Ultimately, the PlayStation 4 version of Diablo III combined with its expansion is, for the most part, solid, what with its enjoyable hack-and-slash gameplay, tight control, lore-heavy narrative, superb voice acting, beautiful visuals that look good even today, and plentiful lasting appeal. However, as with most Western RPGs, the soundtrack feels unmemorable, but I enjoyed the third game just as much as, probably more than, its predecessors. Even so, those that enjoyed prior installments will most likely enjoy the third game’s enhanced edition.

This review is based on playthroughs as a Crusader and Monk on the easiest difficulty.

Score Breakdown
The GoodThe Bad
Superb hack-and-slash gameplay.
Great control.
Lore-laden plot.
Looks good even today.
Plenty lasting appeal.		Unmemorable soundtrack.
The Bottom Line
A great addition to the Diablo series that stands the test of time.
PlatformPlayStation 4
Game Mechanics9.5/10
Control9.0/10
Story9.5/10
Aurals8.5/10
Visuals9.5/10
Lasting Appeal10/10
DifficultyAdjustable
Playtime~20+ Hours
Overall: 9.5/10

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

A significant improvement over previous DnD films in that it’s canon to the Forgotten Realms and is a good mixture of action, comedy, and fantasy, more enjoyable than playing the tabletop game and whatever DnD video games I’ve played (with my experience limited to Baldur’s Gate, but it was the original PC version that hasn’t aged well). A shame it underperformed at the box office, so there probably won’t be any more films, and I’m not sure if the planned television series will go through, either.

Feudal Alloy

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The Alloy of Law

The Czech Republic (uncommonly called Czechia) is a relatively young country in Europe, half of the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, and, surprisingly, a marginal contributor to the world’s videogame industry culminating in the annual Czech Game of the Year Awards. One Czech developer most gamers are very likely unfamiliar with is the two-person Attu Games, whose first title was the puzzle platformer Toby: The Secret of the Mine. Their second game was the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night-inspired Feudal Alloy, which is surprisingly good for an RPG developed by only two people.

Feudal Alloy follows the journey of a robot named after the game’s developer, Attu, who searches throughout an interconnected world for ten medals owned by the antediluvian robots at the retirement facility where he works. The plot isn’t elaborate and doesn’t receive a conclusion until the player finishes the game, with the locket collection subquest a surefire missed opportunity for further narrative development. While the game’s unique robotic medieval setting shows promise, it goes unfulfilled, seeming an afterthought, perhaps a drawback of the minimalist development team.

Fortunately, the gameplay serves Feudal Alloy well, the player outfitting Attu with stat-increasing robot parts and a sword, only initially able to execute a forward or upward slash with his weapon. However, the player ultimately receives new abilities that allow him to perform actions such as a dash that can send him safely to the back side of an enemy, shoot electromagnetic pulses in different directions (necessary to down some barriers), and so forth. Attu has two primary stats: oil, serving as his life, and temperature, which dictates how many times he can attack without overheating and being temporarily unable to act.

Attu can gather parts from defeated enemies for money to purchase bombs necessary to break some barriers and make certain foes vulnerable to standard attacks, oil vials to restore his health, coolant to allow him temporary infinite use of commands, and equipment. He can also acquire experience for sporadic leveling, where the player can purchase abilities from one of three skill trees allowing increased attack power, heightened defense, or an improved cooling system, the last tree having a magnetic ability letting the robot collect parts from downed enemies.

One quirk of Feudal Alloy is that there are only two genuine boss fights throughout the game. However, several points abound necessary to advance where Attu must battle enemies that spawn from retracting chambers for several rounds. The game is friendly to players when they die, with Attu respawning at the last save point with no experience or money lost. These account for a satisfying battle system, with only minor shortcomings like Attu’s inability to slash his sword when kneeling (although he does get the ability to release an electromagnetic pulse in said position).

The game looks gorgeous in motion.

Control is smooth, with players in each subsection acquiring maps showing Attu’s current location, and while the game has an inventory limit, I never reached it in my playthrough. As in the RPG Castlevanias, skills can assist exploration of the massive, interconnected world, with some barriers, for example, downed by electromagnetic pulses. Granted, one can get lost in the gameplay zones, and a minimap would have been welcome since the in-game maps aren’t detailed. Other absent quality-of-life features include a suspend save and sortable items. Glitches in the Steam version with the rumble feature exist also, and the game could have interacted better with players.

The music is one of the much better efforts for a Western RPG, unsurprising given Europe was home to many an excellent classical composer. The soundtrack includes riveting Celtic medieval tracks that rarely give way to silent moments, but more variety would have been welcome. The sound effects are believable, and Feudal Alloy’s aurals well accompany the gameplay experience.

The hand-drawn visuals are also pleasing, looking much better in motion than YouTube videos would have one believe, with new equipment, for instance, affecting Attu’s looks, alongside a nice variety of enemy robot designs. While some foes look similar, they aren’t mere palette swaps, the framerate additionally staying consistent, with little to no slowdown or choppiness. There are some oddities, including the instant disappearance of uncollectible monster parts at times, but otherwise, Feudal Alloy is a visual treat.

Finally, akin to other Metroidvanias, the game is generally short, from eight to sixteen hours, depending upon whether the player wishes to unlock all achievements. However, there isn’t much lasting appeal afterward, and finding every elusive treasure chest to achieve all can be frustrating, given the lack of in-game tracking on how many unopened are in each area.

Overall, Feudal Alloy, considering its development by only two people, is surprisingly good, given its great Metroidvania gameplay, the fitting soundtrack, and the fluid visual style. Granted, those unfamiliar with its subgenre might find it easy to get lost in the large, interconnected world, the narrative is lackluster, and there aren’t nearly enough reasons to play on well after completing the game and most achievements. However, fans of the niche videogame genre will likely find plenty to celebrate in what this reviewer considers one of the first good releases in 2019.

This review is based on a playthrough of a digital copy downloaded to the reviewer’s Steam Deck to the canon conclusion, with all but one achievement earned.

Score Breakdown
The GoodThe Bad
Great Metroidvania mechanics.
Pleasing soundtrack.
Nice visual style.		Can be easy to get lost.
Paper-thin plot.
Little lasting appeal.
The Bottom Line
Not a masterpiece, but still decent for a game developed by two people.
PlatformSteam Deck
Game Mechanics9.5/10
Control6.5/10
Story5.0/10
Aurals8.5/10
Visuals9.0/10
Lasting Appeal3.5/10
DifficultyModerate
Playtime8-16 Hours
Overall: 7.0/10