SKALD: Against the Black Priory

[i]Just to let you guys know: This game is freaking amazing! Its deffo a sleeper hit among cRPGs. I actually dont undestand why it is popular or talked about among RPG forums on the interwebs... Anyways, yeah the graphics and sound are extremely retro, kinda like a 80ies, begining of the 90ies game, but dont be fooled: the story and setting are Much more dark and mature than the game looks. It seems like your typical fantasy medieval world, but its actually heavily inspired by HP Lovecraft and his idea of Cosmic Horror.[/i] [h3]Story[/h3] Your character is a mercenary that was cast away from the lands of a feudal lord because your deceased father failed on his watch of Young girl called Embla, who was herself your childhood friend. Because of that, strange powers When forces awoke on the girl and set the prophecy in motion. A tale of an ancient primival force sleeping underground for ages that is set to devour the world whe it wakes up or some absurd non-sense like that. Now, as an adult, youre called again by the same lord that exiled you to find his daughter, your childhood friend Embla, who ran away on a strange quest to a mysterious island looking for a place called “the black priory”. The Ending is terrible.... not because its bad written or anything, but because its too dark and gritty. You beat the final boss but you find out your character wa actually following a prophecy, a destiny he couldnt change. You feel defeated. [h3]Conclusion[/h3] Overal, this game is incredible. Really interesting worldbuilding, narrative and RPG system, all this using so little resourses like the retro graphics and music. Its crazy to see Triple AA gaming companies spending zillions of dollars in soulless and forgettable games, while this one manage to tell a great story and deliver good gameplay with so little…. [h1]10/10[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3399037745

(Follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42150626-Jarl%2527s-Game-Treasury/]my curator[/url] for more reviews like this) Skald is a solid CRPG inspired by 1980s to early 90s classics. It features turn based combat on a tactical grid, overworld exploration ala Ultima, and a handful of quests that can be approached in different ways. What it does, it does well, but my only disappointment was with its length. It's very short for a game of this type, and I finished it after only 16 hours. When you think you finished the first major area of the game and expect the world to open up, you've actually passed the halfway point already and the game becomes far more linear and sparsely populated afterwards. Apart from the disappointing second half, the game was quite excellent though. And really, any game whose biggest flaw is that there wasn't enough of it should be recommended. The highlight is definitely the city occupied by sinister cultists, which offers several approaches to solve its main quest. Exploring the island is highly enjoyable too - at some point you get a ship to explore other islands, but sadly there's not too much to discover there apart from one or two locations. The combat is solid, rewarding tactical maneuvers on a grid like the classic Gold Box games. Skald has a few interesting systems, like two health bars: the first represents a character's endurance and when it's depleted, every hit inflicts a wound which can only be healed by resting (or leveling up, which fully heals up the character). This makes protecting characters with low health a priority, to prevent them from getting hit on their second health bar, while also encouraging focusing on wounded enemies to further reduce their combat effectiveness by inflicting debuffing wounds. While there are a couple of useful magic spells, I found myself using them rarely. Buffs and debuffs were the ones I used the most, as well as healing, while damage spells felt underwhelming compared to the damage output of fighters and thieves. Oh, the thieves - this game has the most overpowered thief class I've ever seen in an RPG. Thanks to the backstab feat, they can do insane amounts of damage that almost insta-kill every enemy up to the late game. Flanking an enemy usually adds a bonus to hit and damage, but thieves do additional backstab damage to any flanked enemy, which is ridiculously high. For comparison, when my strongest fighter would do 20-40 damage per hit, the thief's backstab did 130. No other source of damage compares. For most of the game, my tactics revolved around pinning enemies with my defensive melee characters, and then moving the thief in to finish them off with a single hit. Despite the lack of balance, the fights were fun and engaging. Especially early on the combat is challenging and requires good tactics to survive. You can only rest where it's safe to do so, and healing potions are rare in the early game, so there's quite some resource management and attrition to consider. While the combat is solid, the game's real strength is in the writing. Skald combines a traditional medieval fantasy setting with a plot of Lovecraftian horror. There are weird tentacle creatures, sentient fungi, dreaming gods, characters losing their sanity, all the classic tropes. There's even one quest in a particular town which essentially retells a particular classic cosmic horror tale... if you know your mythos, you will be able to predict 90% of that quest's events from the moment you hear a certain woman sing a few lines of a song while gazing out across the shore. The plot doesn't do anything new, many of its elements feel very familiar if you've read Lovecraft and other authors around him. But the sheer quality of the writing is impressive, genuinely one of the most well-written RPGs I've played in years. The prose is excellent, far far above what you'd usually expect from a computer game. If game awards had any meaning, this would have won best writing of 2024, but we all know these awards aren't really about quality. Another high point is the soundtrack, from the catchy menu theme to the more somber atmospheric pieces playing deep down in the crypts. I may be a little biased since I'm friends with the composer, but he did put out a couple of bangers for this one. The music and visuals work together to create a dense atmosphere, and the game is very immersive despite its low-resolution graphics. The artstyle fits very well to the Lovecraftian themes of the game, reinforcing the vibe of dread it establishes. Overall, a very enjoyable traditional RPG with excellent writing and great atmosphere, although its second half feels a little rushed and I was disappointed at how quickly it was over. Can't help but feel like there's a bit of wasted potential in here - just a few more locations, a few more quests towards the endgame, and it would have felt more well-rounded. Even so, I can fully recommend it to any fans of oldschool RPGs, to enjoyers of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, or simply to people who want some actual good writing in their computer games.

Surprisingly good cosmic horror themed CRPG. Writing is really solid all the way through, with the debatable exception being the ending. Pixel art is well made, and I found the text descriptions of events to be particularly vivid and detailed. It's not Baldur's Gate 3 or anything, but some of your party members will provide information or comment on major plot points which is nice. Combat is fun with good music and visual feedback for critical or bloodied hits. Lots of magic available, but combat is definitely balanced in favor of melee. The game has customizable difficulty that you can adjust at any point in your playthrough. I thoroughly enjoyed my 15 hour playthrough (main story + most side content) and would highly recommend this game. TL;DR - If you have any interest in cosmic horror, CRPGs, or retro-inspired indie titles, this game is absolutely worth it.

Pretty cool game. Story is cool, but there are a few things that made me stop playing. - The combat part where you can only move one space if you are next to an enemy kinda make it boring to fight which is the - Major interactive part of the game. - The combat ui is not very easy to get an overview over. The spells are just indicated with Two letters and you have to hover to figure out what is what. Combat is not very FUN tbh. Too much missing of attacks and too slow. Whats fun about that? Selecting heroes for healing for example is badly indicated as well. - No interestisng loot except for in quest - Steam deck controls are VERY bad.

I spent around 26 hours beating it on hard. I enjoyed the story and the atmosphere. The combat got a little tiring at some points but it wasn't bad. If you're into spending a lot of time reading stats and options that go into your character's build(s) you'll probably enjoy it.

This is a game of the year for me - a lovingly realised homage to early format dungeon-crawling and stat rolling executed to the highest quality I have seen in a long time. The Lovecraftian theme is vividly realised and exquisitely paced as the known danger fades to greater threat and mounting dread. The world is small, but the game time is refreshingly shorter than most modern titles - think of it as an experience that dips into the old format just long enough to give you the satisfying nostalgia without steeping you in the drawbacks of that era. This is perhaps why I really enjoyed my time with Skald - it succeeds in bringing you to an authentic older generation of gaming but with a modern understanding of how to engage with the elements that made it so entertaining. Textually, the game is not as deep or bloated as modern dungeon crawlers or strategic party based combat titles-but it accentuates strength through rich, evocative tone and well-written dialogue/description to provide a clever lesson in managing minimal content to maximum effect. Furthermore, the aesthetic is beautifully rendered in a variety of screen effects that mirror C64 and 8bit CRT perfectly-this is simply the absolute best I have ever seen this retro style appearance realised-not just an included option but one that actually enhances the experience wonderfully. Finally, the choice of in-game options provided here is astoundingly comprehensive. It presents the typical settings you might expect to see -including a quaint commodore style cheat command menu. However where it excels is that you are empowered with options to sculpt and personalise your experience. Not only does it make replayability for this short and generally linear title more accessible; it speaks volumes about the confidence of the developer in the core game itself. This is a story that wants to let you play on your terms, and rewards you with a beautifully made game that deserves high recognition and - hopefully, a sequel down the road! Highly recommended and congrats to the new developer!

A creepy cosmic-horror CRPG with beautiful aesthetic design and an altogether solid design. By the end of the game I found some of the combats frustrating because it seemed like certain members of my party were just useless, but I was involved enough in the story to push through it. I think it seems like a good engine and I'd also be excited if they developed more content for it. Overall a solid recommend.

Absolutely incredible crpg and its kind of absurd that its so cheap, the game oozes atmosphere, the art is beautiful, the combat is satisfying (even though it gets a bit repetitive towards the end) and the writing (especially the ending) is very refreshing. I cant believe this game is not more talked about.

The combat took some getting used to, and many of the spells I simply didn't use. But overall, a fun game that doesn't overstay it's welcome.

Overall solid RPG with nice lovecraftian themes. The early parts of the game felt like a traditional RPG, and I feel like it leaned well into the horror aspect nicely throughout, ending in a fever-pitch with the ending. Took me ~25 hours to complete which felt like the perfect amount of time for something like this. Overall the combat in the game was easy, and some spells felt utterly useless (I dont recall any enemies ever going invisible, despite multiple spells removing invisibility) but there's enough here to be worth your while.

Really cool old school RPG. Gets extremely dark and extremely weird.

Really fun. Kind of expected to bounce off, since it’s a lot of text and while I used to love that in recent years it rarely worked for me. But it had me glued to my Steam deck the last couple of nights and I am really impressed by the pacing. Great art and atmosphere. Definitely worth picking up.

It's a nice, genuinely beautiful, game. While I do wish a few things were expanded and tweaked. The core experience is very well done, and I can't think of one moment during my 2 playthroughs where I had a significant negative reaction.

Really cool retro style RPG with amazing pixel graphics and dungeon synth soundtrack. my biggest complaint would be the combat balancing. It really feels a little lazy to give later mid to late game monsters so many damage immunities even against crits or backstab. It really just killed the fun and kinda works contrary to the skilltrees pushing you to go for more crit. Still a solid game in my opinion!

it's a really good game, with my only criticism being that the ending is too closed ended. if you want to see eldritch horror rpg endings done right, check out the game "Look outside". aside from that though, it's a really great experience, I wish I had more content to expiriment with. some genuinely terrifying art and story moments

Sensational game. Really nails the cosmic horror!

What can I say? It's a solid old-school CRPG with great writing, atmosphere, and setting. It runs well on Steam Deck, though I recommend using custom control bindings.

Coming from a long-time RPG player who often skips through dialogue to get on with the quests; the fact that I'm here actually reading everything speaks volumes for this game ha ha. Scratches the DnD itch a bit and gives you a lot of leeway with character customization. I highly recommend this game as long as the art style doesn't put you off. I think my biggest gripe (maybe something the dev could change or improve if he makes another similar game) is being able to choose who does an interaction. Yes you can change your "leader" to use them to make a check but you can't do that within dialogue options. For example, there's a keep I entered where I found some prisoners and it only allowed me to use my MC's Thievery skill to try and pick the locks while my rogue just sat there twiddling her thumbs. It doesn't let you repeat the attempt. There are a few cases like that where say, maybe I want my Diplomacy character to speak, not my warrior MC. There are also some typos that do momentarily break immersion, maybe hit one of us OCD fans up for proofreading if you want ha ha. Still! The writing is gripping, the combat is fun, and I've been sucked completely into things that happen. A minor thing I like is that say...maybe your character is better at threatening someone than reasoning with someone...that still may not be the best call. If the situation doesn't lend well to you threatening someone, even succeeding may be negative or failing a check may lead to something positive. I like that kind of variance and instead of just "click the one you're best at" sometimes it's best to do what makes the most sense in the situation.

Enjoyed the game, although the ending felt rushed and inconsistent.

Stupid game autosaved over my save. Put me into combat on game then, i was in an infinite loop of deaths. No way to run from a fight, other then to restart the stupid game again.

the different font assets are hard to read and hurt your eyes, why cant they just put a simple font text in

My favorite little rpg since Baldurs Gate 3. A major throwback and less massive for sure. But what it doesn't have in those voice acted scenes, it does have in good ol fashioned rpg heart. Make your guy, choose a portrait, throw some points into stats and get into this story driven rpg that reminds me of Ultima and maybe a little fire emblem? Highly recommended. Cthulhu and Lovecraft themes with a bit of Grimm fairy tale stuff. Couldn't have done it better for me right now.

Graphics on the small steam preview window look decent but when played on full screen mode the rough pixel graphics make the many small items barely discernible from each other and looks quite bad actually. The UI in combat is not fun as you often misclick and waste turns because enemy frames and adjacent tiles overlap. compounded by visual clunkiness only have NSWE as viable directions makes the combat sluggish and frustrating.

Brings back the nostalgia of an old school rpg, no voice acting, just read.

Cool, super old-school CRPG. Even has some (small) Ultima references.

Could not be further away from being steamdeck verified. An absolute nightmare to work with, button wise.

console with a cheats-list already build into the game, not even hidden ... WTf ?

Fantastic retro rpg with an amazing atmosphere!

I'm liking what I've played so far. Good story telling. The combat reminds me of AD&D - classes; feats; spells; abilities; etc... If I were to wish for one thing, it would be a map and the ability to scroll around.

Messy and difficult to parse UI Annoying to track who's turn it is

as of the great games of 1990, not as they were, but as we wanted them to be

Just wait til the end. But do it on an empty stomach. Muahahahaha!!!

Great mood and story so far! Love this game.

All is darkness! And I tell you this as the guy with alien avatar ;)

If "spooky, 8-bit BG3" doesn't sell you on it I don't know what will.

Хороший тактон, приятная лавкрафтианская история

is good (and spooky)

this game is AWESOME

Nah, die in Normal mode during the first 5 minutes? Game is gated

One of the best games

good vibes

YES

:)

Si.