Blackguards...Review I guess? Could also be classed as a rant though.

[Clockwork]

So I saw this advertised as a 'dark RPG' where the main characters are a band of misfits and criminals. Sounds good, combat is probably going to be crap though as usual. In the steam sale I bought it for very little money, thinking it would be a dud. I was very wrong.

I'm about halfway though chapter 3 of 5 and I can see that it fails hard in a few ways.

The dialogue is terrible. I'm not sure if the writers were non native English speakers and it didn't translate properly. It is a German game, both the tabletop from which it was made and the devs behind the videogame.

The story is well below average, I place it somewhere between X-Com EU and Age of Empires 3. The main thing that irked me about the story though was that it was sold as criminals end up saving the world (I may be paraphrasing), within the first 20 seconds the MC and party members are shown to be (yet another) falsely accused victim of some kind of power play who then proceed to help every Tom, Dick and bloody Susan out of his/her pathologically 'good' nature.

Another failing is the voice acting.  It's hit-and-miss. The first mage sounds like a foppish tool, the dwarf is too dwarfy but the elf has an interesting backstory, raison d'etre and is voice acted reasonably well. Plot spoliers ahead

Spoiler

AND YET THEY portugalING KILL HER OFF FIRST. FFS DEADALIC!

Other characters have no real reason to help out the MC other than: because he/she's the MC.

However, despite all these failings, this game is an absolute gem.

Firstly, the setting is brilliant. I love the world that is created (Ok so some people have silly names, whatever), the art style is fantastic: very dark and yet doesn't feel either too dark and grimy or a repetition of The Witcher, getting progressively lighter as the game goes on. The pseudo time period is great, sort of 15-1600's but without arbequeses or any sort of blackpowder. It makes for a nice detraction from the usual tropes anyway.

Secondly. The combat is excellent. If you like turn-based combat: This is the game for you. Turn off speech and press spacebar as frantically as possible to skip straight to the next fight. Each one feels unique and usually adds a challenge or puzzle to solve, too many enemies for you to fight conventionally? Group them up and shoot the rope above a chandelier (cheesy yes, but oh so satisfying) Troll won't take any damage from your greatsword weilding beserker? Run him across a tar pit and light him up. With switches and traps, environmental objects and probably much more: the combat never loses it's entertainment value.

Lastly, the character customization feels exactly like a PnP RPG and is all the better for it. XP is awarded well, I didn't feel too powerful or too weak and the diversity of it means that you can have a plate wearing mage if you so choose, or a nimble and agile dwarf, with the power to smell danger before anyone else can see it.

In conclusion: Is the game perfect? Hell no. But the bits that are good, are really good.

Rob

[Silver Wolf]

Heh, nice twist in the story.
At first I thought that you're going to unleash your rage on this poor little game.

How about some screenshots?

[Clockwork]

Glad you liked it

I'll post some screenies soon (when I find out how). The game is pretty much set in the northern Empire lands from Warhammer actually (the foresty bit)

And by soon I mean now.

First one is in a great fight scene against some invincible undead you have to wade through to get to the necro keeping them up.

Second one is one of the times where you aren't in combat.

Third one is a fight I've not been able to beat yet. The giant plant will mind control one of the characters which the tree-troll then kills with about as much effort as looking at you.

Spoiler