Developer: Burst2Flame Entertainment
Publisher: Burst2Flame Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC/Steam
Stolen Realm – Preview
Kickstarter games don’t really have the best reputation. The projects end up unable to deliver on their promises quite often but this does not seem to be the case for Stolen Realm. Stolen Realm had their Kickstarter project funded in November-December 2020 with an estimated delivery date of November 2021. Burst2Flame Entertainment released their game in early access in June 2021 and has been frequently updating the game ever since. Every update seems to improve the game and adds new cool features, slowly turning the game into a complete, full, entertaining adventure.
The story still seems to be absent from the game. There’s some extremely basic monologue, but nothing that you can really call a story. Perhaps this is something we can expect in future updates before the official release, but as of now, the game seems to focus only on gameplay. This feels like a big missed opportunity as a good story would make the game much more enjoyable and feel less repetitive.
The graphics of Stolen Realm look great. The developers went for a hex-based grid system for mainly gameplay-related reasons. These visuals will probably not be loved by everyone. Nonetheless, the execution is spot-on, and you’ll be treated to vibrant colors, a great atmosphere, and lots of small details. Maybe, because of this, the game seems to struggle to run at 60 FPS consistently. There were instances when the game dropped below 30 FPS, even on a device that is far above the suggested requirements.
The soundtrack is also great, and together with the graphics, it really makes this game feel alive. There is great nostalgic town music, epic battle music, and basically everything else you need in your medieval adventure. There seems to be enough variety in the background music, and overall the sound design is simply very well done.
The gameplay is what this game really focuses on and where it really shines. Stolen Realm is best described as a turn-based strategy action RPG. You start in a small town. When going to the town’s portal, the game has you choose between main quests and side quests and every quest then sees you traverse 7 stages resulting in a boss battle. Every quest takes about 30 minutes to finish making it a perfect little break from other things. This gameplay loop gets quite repetitive though, and it seems this game is best played for 30 to 60 minutes per day. We found that playing more than two runs in a row makes this game feel too repetitive.
Every stage in a quest allows you to choose between different options. You have the classic options that are often found in these types of games such as stores, battle encounters, rest spots, treasures, and events which are exactly what you would expect. This game also has a gathering system seen on the map as “commodity”, which currently is still quite basic. The latter basically has you mine ores, which you can then sell at the store. However, based on info on their original Kickstarter page, it seems they are planning to expand on this feature with fishing and herb gathering. Expanding on these options would be great for the game as the current options seem to only revolve around the battles. Currently, the other features are small little distractions that don’t really do much.
The combat in Stolen Realm is by itself quite classic. The playing field is a classic hexagonal grid. It is very similar to DND in that sense. Each player starts their turn with one action point which they can use to perform an action that requires it. Not all ‘actions’ use action points though, for example, moving can be done every turn and does not use your action point. There are also multiple spells that don’t use an action point. This means in a turn you are trying to use your action point as efficiently as possible by supporting it with spells that don’t use an action point. After your turn ends, the enemies do the exact same. This is pretty much as basic as turn-based combat gets.
By far the best aspect of this game is the character customization. Not only can you distribute stats any way you want and equip gear with different buffs, but the best part is the skill system. You get 8 skill trees to choose from, and activating these in strategic combinations really makes your character feel unique. A lot of combinations seem viable, making it so you get rewarded for exploring different builds, rather dan exploiting one broken element.
Conclusion
This game is perfect to play every now and then. While this game can get repetitive when played for too long, the great atmosphere this game creates combined with the amazing character customization makes this game definitely worth a try for anyone that enjoys turn-based strategy games.
Stolen Realm – Preview,
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[…] Stolen Realm is a turn-based RPG where you crawl through a dungeon and loot whatever is not stuck to the walls. Available for you to play solo, or play co-op online, the game offers you to bring up to 6 heroes into a dungeon and try your best. The game already had multiple classes such as the thief, the ranger, and the wizard. It now also has a new class by delivering the monk to the players. This brings even more variation to the already customizable characters that allowed you to wield an array of weapons as well as to mix up multiple classes. The monk brings abilities that allow you to reposition enemies closer or further away, changing up the field to your own advantage. Use environmental hazards such as fire to your advantage, or support other characters with your skills. […]