Driftmoon

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 36
  3. Negative: 2 out of 36

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  1. AyHy
    Nov 10, 2013
    6
    There's a lot of good in Driftmoon, but some really ugly flaws.

    The main thing that it has going for it is that it's a truly charming game. It's lighthearted and playful and funny. The author isn't afraid to throw in anachronisms or pop culture references just to get a giggle out of the audience. It has a time travel subplot that is much more Doctor Who than Twelve Monkeys just zany,    There's a lot of good in Driftmoon, but some really ugly flaws.

    The main thing that it has going for it is that it's a truly charming game. It's lighthearted and playful and funny. The author isn't afraid to throw in anachronisms or pop culture references just to get a giggle out of the audience. It has a time travel subplot that is much more Doctor Who than Twelve Monkeys just zany, wibbly-wobbly, and fun.

    It's a short game, clocking in at maybe eight hours, depending on how thoroughly you explore and read all the flavor text. It has a good sense of pacing. It holds your interest and never gets boring. Your character progresses at a nice, linear rate; there's no level grinding; nothing ever feels tedious. It's also largely bug-free; I only found one in my playthrough, and it wasn't game-breaking.

    But one of the main strikes against it is that there's truly nothing new to see here. Maybe that's actually a "plus" to some people that it just fondly recalls a bunch of very, very familiar RPG mechanics and tropes. But everything about the game is profoundly generic. It's Baldur's Gate with less complicated game mechanics, a shorter running time, and a much flatter difficulty curve. You run fetch quests and click on things to fight them. You do this for eight hours. And then the game is over.

    I also had one complaint about the interface: I don't like the fact that the camera can only be rotated about ten degrees. I got the sense that the lack of camera control was simply based on the fact that neither of the game's creators knew how to draw faces and if I'm right, that's a very unfortunate reason.

    sh4dow, the first user to review this game, is not out in left field. The game's politics are rather glaring, and they're a problem. People get understandably upset when reviews are excessively political and agenda driven, reflecting only the author's personal pet peeves. But the thing is, this game wears its own social agenda right on its sleeve, so commenting on that social agenda is fair game.

    Most telling: from about the second act, you start finding Bibles hidden in the game. Not the scripture of some fictional religion; the actual Holy Bible, unabridged, chapter and verse. Why? What point does this serve? Driftmoon is supposedly set on some hypothetical moon, where dragons and magic exist. There is no Red Sea, no Jerusalem. What are Bibles doing here? I guess it's just the author's way of saying "I'm a Christian, I think you should be too, and I made my own game so I get to say that." We're being proselytized to.

    Other than the presence of the Bibles, the game doesn't exactly scream "I am trying to convert you to Christianity," but there are a number of hints of that like one of the main themes of the game being that eternal life can only exist in the hereafter, and the fact that the "omniscient sage" type character of the game is named Paul and I got a strong sense he was a reference to the Apostle Paul.

    Whether you consider this a political issue or not, the romance subplot is just a disaster. If you want to look at it apolitically, let's just say that the romance springs out of nowhere, it's poorly written, it's eye-rollingly genetic and forced, and there's absolutely no reason for it to be in there. If you do care about feminist issues, let's just say this romance contains enough sexist tropes to make Anita Sarkeesian lose her lunch. I can't really explain those without spoilers, but if you know anything about those tropes, you'll find them.

    There are a lot of really charming things about Driftmoon. I wanted to love it more than I did. I think my hopes were too high.    … Expand
  2. sh4dow
    Mar 31, 2013
    7
    From a gameplay perspective, this was one of the best RPGs I have played in quite a while. No long hikes (but still nice parts of little fighting and more exploring/puzzling), decent loot and most importantly: frequently interesting quests. Objects have to be dragged and interacted with in all sorts of ways like in few (if any) other RPGs. I guess that's why I believe the devs themselvesFrom a gameplay perspective, this was one of the best RPGs I have played in quite a while. No long hikes (but still nice parts of little fighting and more exploring/puzzling), decent loot and most importantly: frequently interesting quests. Objects have to be dragged and interacted with in all sorts of ways like in few (if any) other RPGs. I guess that's why I believe the devs themselves have talked about it as more of an RPG adventure. I also appreciated the atypical monster characters (aside from one direct movie ripoff that was just too blatant).
    But what bothered me as an anti-religious egalitarian are the conservative values that permeate the game. From lots of holy scriptures, talking about the maker and whatnot to characters so typically girly that one might not even see them in some "well-known sexist" games. One may argue that in that fantasy setting, it would make sense for people to have such a traditional world view. But first of all... if you imagine a fantasy world, you can imagine anything. Secondly, that is precisely what a lot of RPGs have done over the years. AND I especially find it questionable because this game seems to be heavily targeted towards kids. If one was to make a Game of Thrones like fantasy RPG filled with chauvinist a-holes (not that Driftmoon would be THAT extreme but still...) because that's just how that world is and is really more of a criticism of that attitude than an endorsement and one clearly markets it to an adult audience, why not. But in this case... personally, I wouldn't want my children to be influenced by such a conservative world views. But to enlightened, adult RPG lovers, I would recommend it with a grain of salt.    … Expand
  3. LukeMatt
    Apr 4, 2014
    8
    Compared to other games, Driftmoon has these positive features:

    1. Excellent game balance The player can progress through the game at a steady pace. No constant “run here to pick up drops from dead enemies”, “run there to sell useless items to a merchant”. Occasionally during the game, I worried “I’m not going to make it...I’m not going to make it”. At that moment, Driftmoon    Compared to other games, Driftmoon has these positive features:

    1. Excellent game balance

    The player can progress through the game at a steady pace. No constant “run here to pick up drops from dead enemies”, “run there to sell useless items to a merchant”.

    Occasionally during the game, I worried “I’m not going to make it...I’m not going to make it”. At that moment, Driftmoon provided some kind of welcome relief.

    In short, the game’s developer is **very** empathetic towards the player.

    2. Puzzles

    I’m not a big fan of puzzles in RPG games because they break up my “hacking and slashing” rhythm.

    In Driftmoon, the puzzles are perfect, adding another facet to the game’s pleasant atmosphere.

    3. Waypoints

    As the player explores an area, Driftmoon **automatically** sets waypoints.

    Then, at moments when, in any other game, the player would think, “I don’t want to trudge through there again”, the player can simply display the local map and click on the desired waypoint to transfer immediately to a previous location.

    4. Font

    Silly, I know, but I really like the font that the developer used for text in Driftmoon. Moreover—and I’ve never seen it in any other game—the player can adjust the font size via a slider.

    5. Feedback

    Driftmoon’s developer welcomes feedback. Throughout the game, the player can press the “f” key to display a feedback form. The completed form is automatically sent to the developer along with, if the player desires, an automatically generated screenshot.

    Negative Features

    This review would seem like a marketing pitch (and I do recommend purchasing Driftmoon) if I didn’t include some complaints:

    1. Even though the Mod Editor provides tooltips, the Mod Editor is **not** intuitively obvious to the uninitiated. No documentation exists to explain its functions.

    2. The website of the game’s developer, Instant Kingdom, needs a makeover.

    What do these two complaints have in common? They show that the game’s developer has focused attention on producing an excellent game rather than on secondary issues.    … Expand
  4. ChoicestGames
    Sep 20, 2014
    7
    For those put off by Driftmoon's basic 3D graphics, I would urge them to try and judge the game for its plot and gameplay. While the production values are not going to be as high as your typical AAA titles, Instant Kingdom has done a great job in providing a charming, accessible, indie CRPG that everyone can enjoy. If you don't end up liking the story though, there's always the availableFor those put off by Driftmoon's basic 3D graphics, I would urge them to try and judge the game for its plot and gameplay. While the production values are not going to be as high as your typical AAA titles, Instant Kingdom has done a great job in providing a charming, accessible, indie CRPG that everyone can enjoy. If you don't end up liking the story though, there's always the available modding tools you can use to create your own adventures to share with friends and the public alike.… Expand
  5. ibitato
    Feb 28, 2014
    7
    It's a nice game,with a lot of love on it.
    Good quests, nice environment.
    Play it on warlord to get some challenge, otherwise might be a bit easy. It has a mod community and modding tools. This is really nice, since people liking the game and assets will expand the lifetime of the game as long as there is people interested in modding and others in playing those mods. The game runs on    It's a nice game,with a lot of love on it.
    Good quests, nice environment.
    Play it on warlord to get some challenge, otherwise might be a bit easy.
    It has a mod community and modding tools. This is really nice, since people liking the game
    and assets will expand the lifetime of the game as long as there is people interested in modding
    and others in playing those mods.
    The game runs on a shoe box, so that's a plus. Even on my old Intel GMA935 the game runs and
    its perfectly playable.
    One thing I do not like, and holds back a better score, it's some path finding issues for thr NPCs and
    some combat glitches.
    Other than that,it's a nice experience.    … Expand
  6. tadnid
    Nov 17, 2022
    10
    This game was on my laptop for many years; I've only tried it a couple of weeks ago and finished it yesterday. Took about 14h on warlord difficulty. This is an old school CRPG with a lot of good humor. You have attributes and skills that you strengthen when you level up, but the game doesn't punish you if you mess up a bit with the skill tree. The story is ok, the combat isThis game was on my laptop for many years; I've only tried it a couple of weeks ago and finished it yesterday. Took about 14h on warlord difficulty. This is an old school CRPG with a lot of good humor. You have attributes and skills that you strengthen when you level up, but the game doesn't punish you if you mess up a bit with the skill tree. The story is ok, the combat is straightforward, the loot is almost nonexistent, but there is something magical there that will keep you smiling throughout the adventure. A few annoying combat glitches, like your companions don't attack unless you attack first. But since the game is not really hard even on warlord, it's ok.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. 4P.de
    Jan 24, 2014
    60
    Conservative, but entertaining roleplaying adventure.
    Read full review
  2. GameSpot
    Jan 10, 2014
    70
    Driftmoon is much like a classic fairytale story, overflowing with charisma and heart. The game takes a modest approach in its systems, but shines with clever writing and memorable characters. Whatever flavor of RPG you enjoy, Driftmoon is a delectable treat, particularly if you tend to shy away from the genre's typically complex gourmet meals.
    Read full review
  3. PC PowerPlay
    May 1, 2013
    80
    Hardcore aspects combined with uncomplicated play make for an intoxicatingly enjoyable and nostalgic journey. [May 2013, p.92]
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