428:. He finds that "the needlessly frustrating opening" is to the game's detriment because stat descriptions "largely assumes youāre coming to the game from things like Dungeons and Dragons". He goes on to say that "this game painfully, desperately needs a Getting Started type guide. Thereās a manual, which is not optional, but even that is a weak introduction". To the game's credit, he goes on to say that "the frustrating/good thing is that behind all of this waits a surprisingly good RPG. Itās bursting with carefully designed areas and clever ideas, as well some really fun gimmicks. You can start with just yourself, or use your god powers to create a few extra empty shells to back you up until you find suitable NPCs to fill slots. When theyāre recruited, you can either take them warts and all or use your power to just straight up steal their souls, removing their tiresome free will". In conclusion, he finds that "thereās a lot of really good stuff here, and the game is mostly excellent, but the path to actually getting into the damn thing is far more frustrating than it is rewarding. Once past it, the amount of freedom it offers in everything from character builds to your path around an open world designed to reward exploration is all great, and knowing the carrot is there does help. Even so, do be sure you have the dedication to keep chasing it while being brutally beaten with the stick".
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the
Staglands is one gorgeous game", and that "the music composition is fantastic and perfectly suits both the feel and art style of the game". He is critical about the user interface, however, stating that the "old fashioned HUD tries to fit a large number of buttons so close together that it often confused me what each one did, even after many times using them" and misses the option to compare items. He concludes; "Iāve played some difficult games in my time, but I canāt remember any that left my lead character crumpled in a bloody heap on the cold ground so frequently as Serpent in the Staglands. Itās quite a task to nail down a solid conclusion about this game, as I feel like the overall enjoyment experienced will vary drastically based on the type of player. That being said, thereās much to be appreciated by all audiences, and I wholeheartedly recommend traditional RPG fans to buy this game now".
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249:. The player is free to create builds using any combination of the magic, combat and aptitude skills available. You create your character at the start of the game, and might optionally create up the five more. Alternatively, you recruit companions you meet in the game world. A noteworthy feature is the ability to bind the souls of these companions to the will of the player character, making sure that they will not leave your party later on. Similarly reminiscent of Fallout, the game allows open world
189:, you assume the role of Necholai, a lesser God who has descended to earth to take part in a festival in his honor. However, once the festivities are over, some unseen force prevents you from leaving your mortal form and returning to your home. Therefore, you disguise yourself as a spice merchant, trying to move unnoticed throughout the land in an endeavor to find out who is blocking your passage to the
316:"Featuring a chosen party of five, you take the role of Necholai, a minor god of a celestial body, who descends to the Staglands for a moonlit festival only to find his way home blocked and immortality slipping out of his grasp. Seeking answers and aid, he takes on a mortal body and the guise of a traveling Spicer".
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True PC Gaming lauds the variety of character creation options, emphasizing that "thereās a nice selection of races and subcultures to pick from, with unique bonuses attached to each. These choices are supplied with a staggering amount of back history for both alike". He also notes that "Serpent in
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takes place in the world of Vol. Despite being a fantasy world, it is inspired by the actual Bronze Age and heavily influenced by medieval
Transylvania. Despite the presence of classic fantasy elements such as magic, the game is known for its gritty, realistic and dark tone. This makes many gamers
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was developed by
Whalenought Studios, which is a husband-and-wife team consisting of Joe and Hannah. Joe takes care of art and animation duties, while Hannah is responsible for programming and writing. While based in Chicago during development, the company moved to Seattle after its release. The
174:. The game is notable for being "old-school", lacking several features seen in modern RPGs such as introductory or tutorial levels, automatically updated journals and quest-markers. It also has a distinct pixelated graphics style. The game uses the
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started in winter 2013. The
Kickstarter campaign ran over a 30-day period from 27 March 2014 until 26 April 2014. It exceeded the initial $ 10,000 funding goal, allowing for several stretch goals to be reached including the expansion pack.
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exploration, meaning that the player is free to move about the map as he chooses and solve quests in any order desired. The game also features a non-linear storyline, with multiple endings according to the choices made by the player.
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As announced during the
Kickstarter campaign, an expansion to the game is currently in development. It will be made available for free to those who purchased the game, either prior or subsequent to the
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was created using Unity 3D. Parts of the
Kickstarter funds went towards buying Unity 3D Pro, which featured more efficient path finding technology and optimized lighting solutions.
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was initially "almost completely ignored by the specialized press" at the time of release, reviews and impressions from (mainly smaller) gaming sites have since appeared.
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283:. The player is encouraged to pause often to take tactical decisions, using the abilities of the different party members. While one reviewer noted that he died "
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The initial planned release date was winter 2014. The game was postponed until 28 May 2015, however, to allow for additional bug testing and polish.
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Despite initially being "almost completely ignored by the specialized press", favorable reviews and impressions are starting to appear.
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Finally, the game was also reviewed by two Greek gaming sites, Greek Gamer and
Ragequit.gr. The latter awarded the game 90/100.
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campaign raising $ 28,058 from 1,092 backers. It was released via the
Whalenought website as well as
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519:"Serpent in the Staglands not innuendo: it's an old-fashioned party-based RPG"
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644:"Matt Chat's Interview with Joe and Hannah Williams of Whalenought Studios"
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The game features a classless role-playing system reminiscent of the
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669:"Serpent in the Staglands (pc) reviews at Metacritic.com"
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Combat has been noted by reviewers to be brutal. It uses
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Hannah and Joe
Williams interviewed on Matt Chat in 2015
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Richard
Cobbett describes the game in an article for
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618:"Serpent In The Staglands Reviews and Impressions"
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285:repeatedly despite learning how to manage combat
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493:"The RPG Scrollbars: Serpent in the Staglands"
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, ĪĪ»ĪĪ¾Ī±Ī½Ī“ĻĪæĻ (1 July 2015).
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193:to finally reclaim your immortality.
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847:Video games with isometric graphics
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616:WorstUsernameEver (13 July 2015).
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719:ĪĪ±Ī»Ī±Ī³ĪŗĪ¹Ī¬Ļ, ĪĪÆĪŗĪæĻ (21 June 2015).
558:"Serpent In The Staglands Review"
491:Cobbett, Richard (13 July 2015).
228:is currently under development.
807:Video games based on mythology
797:Kickstarter-funded video games
556:Riddle, Jarret (3 July 2015).
1:
642:Barton, Matt (13 July 2015).
277:, as well as the more recent
224:were among the backers. An
517:Sykes, Tom (8 March 2015).
348:Joe and Hannah appeared on
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721:"Serpent In The Staglands"
695:"Serpent In The Staglands"
453:"Serpent in the Staglands"
138:computer role-playing game
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47:Whalenought Studios
822:Role-playing video games
758:Serpent in the Staglands
413:Serpent in the Staglands
343:Serpent in the Staglands
338:Serpent in the Staglands
336:initial game design for
333:Serpent in the Staglands
304:Serpent in the Staglands
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127:Serpent in the Staglands
24:Serpent in the Staglands
782:Crowdfunded video games
832:Steam Greenlight games
812:Open-world video games
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222:Obsidian Entertainment
591:Whalenought Studios.
451:Whalenought Studios.
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497:Rock, Paper, Shotgun
425:Rock, Paper, Shotgun
261:, as popularized by
259:real-time with pause
787:Fantasy video games
593:"Kickstarter Pitch"
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280:Pillars of Eternity
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307:draw parallels to
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762:Kickstarter
725:Ragequit.gr
699:Greek Gamer
371:Kickstarter
320:Development
214:Josh Sawyer
198:Kickstarter
97:28 May 2015
75:Platform(s)
771:Categories
673:Metacritic
435:References
400:Metacritic
391:Aggregator
373:campaign.
132:old-school
648:Matt Chat
382:Reception
377:Reception
350:Matt Chat
310:Darklands
289:strategic
171:Darklands
135:isometric
524:PC Gamer
235:Gameplay
182:engine.
103:Genre(s)
730:15 July
704:15 July
678:15 July
653:15 July
627:15 July
598:14 July
567:15 July
530:3 April
502:15 July
463:15 July
356:Release
299:Setting
291:" and "
251:sandbox
246:Fallout
241:SPECIAL
202:GOG.com
159:Fallout
114:Mode(s)
94:Release
411:While
404:74/100
168:, and
130:is an
63:Engine
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220:from
206:Steam
180:Unity
154:Linux
88:Linux
68:Unity
732:2015
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532:2024
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465:2015
271:and
216:and
208:and
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150:OS X
144:for
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185:In
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
