1348 Ex Voto

Despite awful PC performance dragging down the gorgeous visuals, 1348 Ex Voto excels at offering satisfying sword combat in an enjoyable, bite-sized adventure. However, as a whole package, it wasn't able to keep me invested in a story that I would otherwise love had there been more time spent developing its central relationship.

1348 Ex Voto is a highly imperfect work that—much like its own history—thrives on dualities, on light and shadow, yet manages to leave a mark in its own way: a small *ex-voto* capable of speaking to us and our modern cages, drawing upon a Middle Ages that proves itself both intimate and relevant.

Despite its fascinating 14th-century Italian setting and a combat system inspired by real historical martial arts, 1348 Ex Voto collapses under the weight of its own ambition. The rushed narrative, clunky and repetitive gameplay loop, jarringly empty environments, and a severe lack of technical polish overshadow the undeniable passion of the small development team. It's a game with great potential that sadly bites off much more than it can chew, leaving players with a frustratingly unrefined and buggy experience.

1348: Ex Voto is an interesting game with a great atmosphere, but it has a lot of problems. Its strongest point is the gloomy mood of the medieval world, which draws the player into a plague-ridden environment. However, the title suffers from technical shortcomings, repetitive combat and an empty world.

1348 Ex Voto is sick with its own pestilence. Every attempt it makes to upend the status quo for stories like this either goes criminally unexplored, is undercommitted to, or was never really deep to begin with. The rigid mission structure makes poor use of the beautiful areas throughout, giving you space to explore but nothing all that interesting to do otherwise. And every few minutes, you’ll have to plod through soupy, boring combat that never changes no matter how many options to modify small parts of it exist. The best parts of this package – a great setting, picturesque landscapes, and some truly standout acting – would be better served without all the video game bits around them.