Developer: Pera Games
Publisher: Pera Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Overfall – Review
Overfall is an adorable but unforgiving fantasy role-playing game that combines multiple genres with great success. Using a rare combination of superb genres on its own, Overfall features a huge procedurally generated world with a turn-based combat system with RPG and visual novel elements scattered throughout the gameplay experience.
Story
The starting narrative is told via a graphical cutscene, telling the tale of the brave human army being victorious in the historical battle against the Orc empire. The immortal leader, the Ever King watched from afar and was pleased when his united tribes pushed through the chaos of the hordes of Orcs. He summoned two heroes and gave them a mysterious quest; to enter the magical portal into an unknown land. Eager to give into his wish, the two entered a hostile realm inhabited by ruthless warriors, the Vorn. The heroes stumbled upon the Disc of Ages, an artifact of great power and mysterious origins. Having such an important object being stolen enraged the Vorn and they began to pursuit the two heroes as they made way to the portal.
When the two re-entered their own realm, a man of old age greeted them with surprise evident in his voice. For many generations, his family had waited right where he stood, to welcome the heroes back to their homeland. Pleased with being able to fulfill his family’s prophecy, the elder begins to explain that the heroes have been gone for three centuries. The Citadel in which the almighty Ever King resided has long vanished and the Ever King himself has gone missing. A new adventure awaits the heroes as they set sail to find the person who hired them but times have changed and the world is in chaos. To find the Ever King himself, the adventurers must make their way up in society, proving themselves useful to factions whom may be willing to help them in their quest.
Graphics
The aesthetic is certainly interesting while not entirely unique. Vibrant colors lighten up the darker narrative while the bobble-head-like characters fit right in the comic-book-styled visuals that is the world of Overfall. Most of the user interface is visualized as icons, some of which will require you to hover over them to understand what they mean. Other icons are explained via pop-ups the first playthrough. We haven’t felt a need for a change in the UI as everything is placed perfectly for the setup of the game especially when certain informative bars vanish when necessary.
Sound
Although the soundtrack is not something that is extraordinary, we must admit that it has enhanced our gameplay experience immensely. The soundtrack stays in the background adapting to each situation you find yourself in, creating the perfect atmosphere, but the sound effects that come during the combat phase is outstanding and really adds more depth to the intriguing branching narration.
Gameplay
Overfall does not explain much of its rogue-like turn-based combat gameplay with snippets of visual novels and RPG, and you’re forced to experience the game’s features by trial and error. Once the starting narrative has been explained, the two heroes are given a ship to set sail towards the many islands scattered across the realm. By using the mouse, you can guide the boat to whatever island you want. There are over a hundred locations to discover but you’ll need a good strategy which you’ll only find out after being defeated about half a dozen times.
The islands are inhabited by certain factions. The grassland islands are inhabited by the humans and hollows while the forest islands have human and elf settlements. Barrens islands are home to the humans and orcs while arctic islands are run down by the human and forsaken. Goblins and their human counterparts are often found on swamp islands while dwarfs and humans venture on the volcanic islands. There are a total of six factions to gain reputation with quickly before doomsday arrives. However, it’s nearly impossible to become exalted with all available factions before time runs out so it is an important strategy to choose two or three factions you’re willing to ally with.
After several playthroughs of trial and errors, you should have unlocked other types of heroes which you can start the next game with. The fighter, a warrior-like character, and the cleric are the first two classes you’ll begin your journey with but at later stages you can switch up your band of heroes with other classes such as the monk, guardian, druid, rogue, warlord, wizard and ranger. Each class has different stats in each of the following: accuracy, defence, health, crit chance, speed and iniative. On top of that, there are 5 weapons per class (4 of which you need to unlock), 8 skills (5 requires to be unlocked) and 25 trinkets (18 of those are unlockable). Although you’ll only start with two heroes, gaining recognition in the world of Dys will allow you to hire companions whom can be helpful in larger battlefields. The key features state that there are 36 combat companions to be found but there are 108 persona you can acquire in total.
Once you’ve docked, you can be given two to five choices depending on the situation at hand. The choices you make will make a huge difference as they can result into a peaceful discussion or a fierce battlefield. If your choice does turn into a fight, a grid will appear on the ground with each tile presenting an area a character can stand in. This is the turn-based combat system which we talked about at the introduction. Party members of both sides are given three actions per turn broken down into three sections: movement, utility and combat phase. Each is skip-able when the time calls for it but you can’t fast-forward your enemy’s turn, a feature we desperately missed.
There are four currencies that are important to your progress. Frags is a common currency and can be used to upgrade or enhance weapon parts in Bazaars. Dust is a magical ingredient which can be used to upgrade Utility Skills on Guild Ships but it can also be used as a fuel for a speed boost. Runes are sacred stones which can be used for resurrection, protection and to hire companions. The first two can be provided at Altars. Aside from Frags, Food is the most important currency as it is a source of life. By handing out food to your characters, they will heal and the next battle may not be the end of you.
We already discussed Guild Ships shortly but the world of Dys features plenty of ships. Each faction has their own ship that is sailing from island to island to gather resources or perform trades but there are also less friendly ships such as pirate ships and Vorn ships. The latter will chase you if you are in their vicinity. Adventure ships will sail up and down the waters and are great ships to often visit as they can hand out quests or let you hire companions.
Surprisingly, Overfall has tons of easter eggs that may or may not be fully intentional. The Forsaken share similarities with the eerie White Walkers from Games of Thrones while the Everguards looked suspiciously like the comic book version of Gambit with tiny demon horns. The bull Hollow reminds us of Warcraft’s very own Tauren and Little red riding hood and the wolf are a common appearance in the game but there are others that may have slipped our easter egg radar.
Conclusion
At first glance, Overfall seems like a simple and small game until you find yourself in awe with the vast procedurally generated world, plethora of persona and the countless choices. Its gameplay is intriguing and unforgiving but each playthrough will yield better results than before and the replayability in this game is never-ending. The visual novel elements are subtle yet present, the rogue-like turn-based combat is superb and the RPG-like customization adds more replayability. Overfall is a fantastic indie title that created a whole new genre in a positive way.
Overfall – Review,
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