Damned cowboys in a Victorian world full of beasts – “Alder’s Blood” review

At first glance, this production looks really great. The universe itself seems very interesting at the outset – we are dealing with a reality in which a good and merciful god was the most real and tangible, coexisting with people. Unfortunately, they finally turned against him, and not on a philosophical and theological basis, but on a completely down-to-earth basis – they murdered him. It was – surprise! – a serious mistake, because all the benefits flowing from his presence were forgotten, and on top of that, the corpse of the higher beings finally began to rot and emit Darkness, that is, a malevolent, negative energy that distorts everything it touches.

From this emanation arose the man-eating Beasts and a specific race of cursed superhumans who combine human qualities with the monstrous energy of Darkness. It is the latter, the Hunters, who will be our protagonists, acting in this world as both “shadowy” outcasts of society and the first line of defense of humanity against the Beasts.

A decent story is the key to success

Such a concept of a gloomy land suffering under the pressure of the terrible sin of the past definitely seems unusual and attractive. And it really is. The story is full of twists, varied side plots and characteristic heroes who first attract with their mystery, and later can evoke extreme emotions when we learn more about them and learn about their plans. The tasks are really addictive, and you want to go through the levels if only to know what will happen next.

Without getting into exaggerated spoilers, I can reveal that our team of Hunters will not only stand up for the little ones and meet the Beasts, but also participate in attempts to learn about the nature of Darkness and its relationship with the dead god, as well as become embroiled in political intrigues as Game of Thrones between the four noble families of the City (the only truly civilized group of people). They are preoccupied with competing for influence and pursuing their own secret plans to fend off the forces of evil. We have the ability to support all four as we see fit, and the game has a simple reputation system based mainly on how many quests we have done for each of them.

The main thread devoted to studying the nature of the tormenting world of corruption and finding effective methods to tame it is really interesting and keeps the pace decently, and performing side quests and getting to know the representatives of families and other important NPCs along with their motivations is really a lot of fun, especially at the beginning. The script is as suspenseful as a pretty good novel!

Someone may have forgotten that gameplay is the basis of the game

I could dissolve over the plot and the general idea for it for a long time, but that’s not all. To be able to enjoy it, you have to play. And the Alder’s Blood gameplay, unfortunately, stops defending quite quickly. At first, the whole concept seems intriguing – we lead a small group of Hunters, completing missions on tactical maps filled with creatures. Each of our heroes has their own statistics and equipment that we can manage between levels. We can choose between open conflict and stealth attacks, between firearms and hand-to-hand combat, and we can profile the team in the direction we like. So where’s the catch?

Although theoretically we have complete freedom here, the design of the game clearly favors the “stealth” approach. Most of the beasts have a greater reserve of life and endurance than our charges, so even one-on-one combat is usually doomed to failure. Additionally, disclosure alerts all nearby enemies, and missions where the enemy is not clearly outnumbered are rare. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that in most cases, starting an open fight instantly turns an already uneven duel into a group lynching on a careless Hunter. A bit like shouting the name of the wrong football club on a Friday night in a shady neighborhood …

In view of the above, we will be going through almost all levels stealthily, sprinting the heroes from bush to bush and carefully observing the direction of the wind that can carry our scent directly into the nostrils of the vigilant monster. The fun in this release is great for the first 2-3 hours, but then it gets boring, and the next missions turn into a painful chore if we want to get to know the next piece of the story. The fact that we always have one of three goals to accomplish – eliminating a certain number of Beasts of a specific type, collecting / launching an item or reaching a marked area as a team does not help either. Even the initially attractive character development and equipment panel does not offer much variety. Purchased on subsequent skill levels are only passive bonuses related to the camp menu,

At least there is something to hang your eye on

Another strong point of the production is the graphics. The dark, comic style immediately attracts attention and is somewhat associated with the line known from Darkest Dungeon , which for many will probably be a plus. It can even be said that here we are climbing a little higher, because the graphics are a bit more realistic, and at the same time the sad and dirty color palette is enlivened by flashy, bright colors reminiscent of a certain dreaminess and psychedelic. In this respect, the image of the game is very consistent and refined, and the title wants to be launched, if only to look at the next cutscenes and dialogue cutscenes full of really great drawings creating an unforgettable atmosphere.