Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny Revised

 PC
User Score
3.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 69
  3. Negative: 46 out of 69

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  1. zormzorm
    Jul 30, 2013
    0
    This has the makings of a basic fantasy RPG, but the game that was released today (July 30, 2013) is unplayable, boring, and not even to beta level. Who knows what the game might be like if they keep developing it, but there are hundreds and hundreds of programmer hours between where it is now and where it would be worthwhile to try.

    It was not marked as an alpha "become our bug tester"    This has the makings of a basic fantasy RPG, but the game that was released today (July 30, 2013) is unplayable, boring, and not even to beta level. Who knows what the game might be like if they keep developing it, but there are hundreds and hundreds of programmer hours between where it is now and where it would be worthwhile to try.

    It was not marked as an alpha "become our bug tester" pre-release, it was sold to me as a fully functional game. If the game stayed the same as it is now and the bugs were fixed (it is essentially unplayable with the current level of bugs), I would give it a 2. It's quite terrible and I'm very tolerant of bad RPGs.

    Examples of problems:

    1) no instructions, non-intuitive interface

    2) many words not translated from German, weird mix of languages on the interface

    3) lots of modal dialogs that sit on top of each other and lock the game up, "ESC" does not exit from dialogs.

    4) if you can actually get yourself into a combat, the mechanics are absurdly tedious and 3 of the 4 combats we waded through ended with us just having to quit the game. saves are not allowed during combat, so that's 30 minutes of time to ploddingly, painstakingly getting through an ugly combat to discover that it meant nothing and one has to restart at the last save. We did get one combat to complete and it was totally unsatisfying.

    5) Terrible voice acting. Single male voice reading all the dialogs. I assume it's one of the dev team or their friends.

    6) Nearly all the images for inside buildings are identical.

    On the plus side, there are some pretty graphics. Check back on this one in 4-10 weeks.    … Expand
  2. omi
    Jul 31, 2013
    0
    not playable. not much to say about it. prealpha game.
    I always break my word on no preorder rule! what is wrong with me:(
    I give chance to every turn based game out there, and I cant stay hyped with a new one comes out. But I never expected steam would allow such a low quality game on sale. At least I ll be not preordering any game from steam for some time hopefully longer this time.
  3. fedoran
    Aug 1, 2013
    0
    this game isn't a joke. it's a robbery. The 3D exposed in steam is a fake. it's unplayable... I like RPG but it's worse than middle-good PS1 game.....
  4. Nekator
    Aug 16, 2013
    0
    This is a fraud.. some small web game, casual makers tried to remake one of the great old rpg games... and failed in nearly every way. The NPC models are so ugly it´s a monster show, every aspect which was fun and atmospheric in the original is done cheap and bad in this "remake" and the game doesn´t even work at half... stay away.
  5. TessDeMontfort
    Nov 9, 2013
    0
    You can score a game, but to be completely fair, you should score the developers and company too. You can take game design, planning, execution into consideration, but you can also take customer service and loyalty to one's fanbase as a concern. All of these things add up to make a great title.

    This Realms of Arkania remake and Crafty Studios both earn a zero out of ten. It's    You can score a game, but to be completely fair, you should score the developers and company too. You can take game design, planning, execution into consideration, but you can also take customer service and loyalty to one's fanbase as a concern. All of these things add up to make a great title.

    This Realms of Arkania remake and Crafty Studios both earn a zero out of ten.

    It's easier than you think to please fans of an old classic. Treat our world with the same enthusiasm we did in the old days, and don't insult us by pulling us in with pretty screenshots, only to find early 3D models from the late 1990's. You need only load up the game to see just how little these people wanted to make this game. Remember games like Rune, or the first Quake? Imagine if you could make the 3D models look *worse*. Take every character, bloat their arms out to the side. Make sure nobody changes facial expressions. If you can imagine that, you're on your way to imagining this miserable failure.

    Improvements to the game have addressed some bugs while leaving the most glaring ones alone. Already nice scenery was polished in updates, leaving the horrible 3D character models in towns to whip at the air with stiff hands and the same grimaced faces. Report a bug on the forum like the fact that much of the system dialogue for the English version is still in German and be ignored.

    And customer service. Sign up for the forum, helpfully post bugs that any basic QA check would find, and be ignored for your trouble, or worse, banned randomly with "anti-spam filter" as an excuse. Repeated appeals to their website administrator deliver the most profound silence. You're banned for no reason at all! Maybe they didn't like your screen name. Maybe they didn't like your nationality. You certainly didn't violate the terms of service. If you were an early purchaser and someone who waited faithfully for this game to improve, you may find yourself at the outcast end of some childish hipster clique. And you thought it was a group of RPG fans.

    This remake has failed so completely that it's not even deserving of the name, and while I hate saying it, Crafty Studios deserves every ounce of their pathetic disgrace. You can only insult your fans for so long. They should find themselves a new line of work. Let game designers make video games.    … Expand
  6. ravenesse
    Jan 27, 2014
    2
    Update:
    Yes, there were some big patches in the last months.
    It isn't that ugly anymore and the bugs are less. To me the UI is still user unfriendly. Pressing 'esc' still does nothing most of the time, I still have to click much more than I like to. Some quests still don't work properly, the combat avatars are still ugly as hell and not acting right (circling, not attacking enemies    Update:
    Yes, there were some big patches in the last months.
    It isn't that ugly anymore and the bugs are less.
    To me the UI is still user unfriendly. Pressing 'esc' still does nothing most of the time, I still have to click much more than I like to. Some quests still don't work properly, the combat avatars are still ugly as hell and not acting right (circling, not attacking enemies e.g.)
    Okay, it's better than before. But that's the most positive thing about this game I can say.
    And so I still don't need this remake, as the original gameworks fine for me. Without bugs and so called HD-graphics.    … Expand
  7. Zewks
    Feb 7, 2014
    3
    Imagine what a game might be like if some high school students had to make one for their computer science project.

    That is more or less what this game feels like. I play plenty of indie games, even ones with simplistic pixel graphics. RoA BoD however is just a blatant example of how unprofessional, or more so, unskilled developers make a game. Im sure the intentions were high, but the    Imagine what a game might be like if some high school students had to make one for their computer science project.

    That is more or less what this game feels like. I play plenty of indie games, even ones with simplistic pixel graphics. RoA BoD however is just a blatant example of how unprofessional, or more so, unskilled developers make a game. Im sure the intentions were high, but the road to hell.... well... you get the idea.

    This is the first game in over 10 years that I have asked for a refund for.    … Expand
  8. thevaliant
    Oct 11, 2014
    2
    Dreadful game. Not a patch on the original.

    Very poor voice acting and the graphics during character creation and combat are worse (how?) than the 1992 version.

    The only improvement on the original is the scenery. But the rest of the game is worse.
  9. Tachikoma
    Apr 13, 2018
    0
    I bought this on a whim and on the declaration that this was a much-loved PC classic with so much wonderful gameplay.
    Paid £40 ($60) for it on PSN and it was (and still is) one of the worst game I have played this decade.
    I also see that the suggestion of it being a much-loved PC game is rubbish too as it was very poorly received and on this point I contacted Sony for a refund due to    I bought this on a whim and on the declaration that this was a much-loved PC classic with so much wonderful gameplay.
    Paid £40 ($60) for it on PSN and it was (and still is) one of the worst game I have played this decade.
    I also see that the suggestion of it being a much-loved PC game is rubbish too as it was very poorly received and on this point I contacted Sony for a refund due to false advertising but it was inevitably refused as I'd already downloaded the game, sucks. Don't make the mistake I did...it is horrific.    … Expand
  10. Mercent
    Aug 16, 2017
    0
    This is monstrosity that should not have existed. This is a f-ugly parody of the original. Even after so many years, this pile of eye sore is still bug filled. Save yourself by playing the originals instead.
  11. MetaCthulhu
    Dec 20, 2019
    8
    When this game was released in 2013, it was an utterly disgusting mess. Didn't want to touch this ever again, but some days ago I had this one on the radar thanks to Steam ads. So I gave it a try and I have to admit: The developers did their best to clean up the mess and make this a real game. Now 'Blade of Destiny' is a fun old school RPG with turn-based combat. For Pen & Paper fans andWhen this game was released in 2013, it was an utterly disgusting mess. Didn't want to touch this ever again, but some days ago I had this one on the radar thanks to Steam ads. So I gave it a try and I have to admit: The developers did their best to clean up the mess and make this a real game. Now 'Blade of Destiny' is a fun old school RPG with turn-based combat. For Pen & Paper fans and RPG nostalgics a must-buy!… Expand
  12. BananaBucket
    Jul 31, 2013
    1
    I love this genre and I very, very rarely score games this low. I can only think of maybe 10 games in my 25 years of gaming that were this bad compared with what else is available eg. Shadowrun Returns. This game is fully as bad as other users reported. Unfinished (I mean really, very unfinished), incomprehensible, boring, badly presented sound and graphics. No quests that I could find, noI love this genre and I very, very rarely score games this low. I can only think of maybe 10 games in my 25 years of gaming that were this bad compared with what else is available eg. Shadowrun Returns. This game is fully as bad as other users reported. Unfinished (I mean really, very unfinished), incomprehensible, boring, badly presented sound and graphics. No quests that I could find, no direction and all I did for hours was walk from place to place. When I finally got a random encounter, a robber did 99 points of damage to me (of 38). What is that? Evisceration combined with decapitation? No entertainment value at all, unless you consider Worst. RPG. Ever. as worthy of a cult following. 2 points for having dwarves in it. -1 point for the dwarves being scrawny, runty humans.… Expand
  13. Representer
    Aug 8, 2013
    0
    This game is a buggy mess and just unfinished. Even without the bugs there is still a lot to fix, like the ultra slow combat which is absolutely no fun, the bad AI, the horrible graphics, lots of stuff missing from the original game.

    This game just sucks and the developers and the publisher should be ashamed about themselves. I'd write more, but I don't think this garbage is worth more words.
  14. sperril
    Apr 4, 2016
    6
    This is a re-rating after the fixes the devs have done. I think we have a playable game on our hands now. Most of the nasty bugs have been fixed. The game is brutally difficult in a good way. A wrong move could wipe out your party, but risk taking can also result in ample rewards. True to their word, the developers stuck with this game and fixed it up. They even threw in a free DLCThis is a re-rating after the fixes the devs have done. I think we have a playable game on our hands now. Most of the nasty bugs have been fixed. The game is brutally difficult in a good way. A wrong move could wipe out your party, but risk taking can also result in ample rewards. True to their word, the developers stuck with this game and fixed it up. They even threw in a free DLC for our patience. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a good game. But it is definitely no longer a disaster.… Expand
  15. Motoki
    Aug 4, 2013
    0
    In all my years of gaming and all the games I've played I can say that this is the absolute worst launch of a game I've ever experienced. An abysmal festering trainwreck that grants more entertainment value from reading angry posts in the forum than it does from the actual game.

    It looks like crap, plays like ass and has more bugs than a Louisiana swamp. To call it a beta would be    In all my years of gaming and all the games I've played I can say that this is the absolute worst launch of a game I've ever experienced. An abysmal festering trainwreck that grants more entertainment value from reading angry posts in the forum than it does from the actual game.

    It looks like crap, plays like ass and has more bugs than a Louisiana swamp. To call it a beta would be dishonest, that it's being sold as a finished product is really fraud. I'd say pre-alpha is the most accurate way to describe the state of this game.

    If all of that doesn't scare you off then please at very least go browse the community forums first before you go to buy this game and see what the general consensus is about the state of the game by owners. I won't even say players because hardly anyone can even play it for any significant length of time.

    They are issuing patches literally on a daily basis currently but it still has a long way to go and I don't have the most faith in these developers to ultimately end up with a good product at some point down the road. Just today they posted a note regarding the last 'patch' that actuality made things worse about how the "game engine is sometimes a bit unstable and ate the last patch alive by producing a horrible mess".

    Some of the "fixes" are also requiring that a new game be started all over from the beginning yet the game is being sold as a finished product and nowhere is there a warning you may need to start all over and loose all your progress (assuming you are lucky and masochistic enough to actually make some progress) due to all the patching.

    This game is a textbook example of why none of us should be pre-ordering or buying released games without first checking to see what the general community consensus is. It's extremely obvious that no one at Valve even booted up the game to play for 10 seconds and the developers admit it was released unfinished. Yet here it still sits in the Steam store being sold as a finished product.

    The old Roman concept of Caveat Emptor holds very true here.    … Expand
  16. masc
    Aug 1, 2013
    0
    Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny made by Crafty Studios has been released in a state most would call alpha at its best! As if that is not bad enough Crafty Studios and their lead developer for that game Christian Weinmüllner aka Chris Firefox insist the game is nearly finished and needs just a few small fixes and act as if all the complaining customers are just people who can not beRealms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny made by Crafty Studios has been released in a state most would call alpha at its best! As if that is not bad enough Crafty Studios and their lead developer for that game Christian Weinmüllner aka Chris Firefox insist the game is nearly finished and needs just a few small fixes and act as if all the complaining customers are just people who can not be satisfied. They are telling them things like "We are sorry that you are not satisfied" implying that as if it can be of question to be unsatisfied with this horrid peace of a game.

    A few days before the official release they even would tell worried customers in Germany who got the game early that with the day one patch everything would be fine lying them strait into the face. Now they are telling people that they ran into unexpected problems when they worked on the day one patch and that this would be the reason for the problems. A strait lie again. For example a few days before the release most of the spells weren't even implemented! This was found out by the customers who got the game early and later confirmend by the lead developer Christian Weinmüllner in their forums. I call that behavior evil.

    Do not get that game!    … Expand
  17. vivoxaxon
    Aug 22, 2013
    0
    I.... I.... I..... cannot describe how terrible this is. I didn't have the energy to even get to a single combat scene and i tried... really i did. voice-over guy please don't it hurts too much. Please take my money and buy a few shots and rethink doing game development.
  18. ArminW
    Dec 28, 2013
    4
    It has been almost 5 months after release, and an update is in order. Got the game again for 10 bucks on steam, which is a WAY more fair price than the ridiculous 30 Euros for that release disaster I returned in anger...
    However, I have to strongly disagree with the decent-to-good ratings that have started to come in. I agree, version 1.32 is a quantum leap when compared to the    It has been almost 5 months after release, and an update is in order. Got the game again for 10 bucks on steam, which is a WAY more fair price than the ridiculous 30 Euros for that release disaster I returned in anger...
    However, I have to strongly disagree with the decent-to-good ratings that have started to come in. I agree, version 1.32 is a quantum leap when compared to the fraudulent, apocalyptic trainwreck they released. But that just means it has improved to be a below-average game as compared to horrible, unfinished and dysfunctional theft.
    The game today is *still* a clunky, uninspired and cheap remake, full of bugs and glitches and very low on fun. Need examples?
    In the first 20 minutes, the 45 Dukats of starting equipment fail to happen due to a months-old simple and silly bug, in the first combat enemies get stuck in an endless loop *AGAIN* (and keep circling around and be unattackable in melee), I can't close the smith's repair interface because the button does nothing and I have to click 3 times after saving a game to close *every* open interface window.
    Graphics are improved but still very mediocre, NPCs now look "halfway OK" instead of "ridiculously awful", performance has improved from terrible to unimpressive...
    5 more months and this might be playable. I highly doubt it will *ever* be enjoyable.    … Expand
  19. Type4101
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Taking a person's money for an unfinished product should be illegal. The worst part about unscrupulous companies who do this sort of thing is that it reflects poorly on indie game makers in general, and the industry as a whole. The more this is allowed to happen without consequences (and I mean legal consequences), the more we can look forward to "games" like this. Don't hold this pieceTaking a person's money for an unfinished product should be illegal. The worst part about unscrupulous companies who do this sort of thing is that it reflects poorly on indie game makers in general, and the industry as a whole. The more this is allowed to happen without consequences (and I mean legal consequences), the more we can look forward to "games" like this. Don't hold this piece of evil garbage against all indie developers, some of whom work hard to bring us entertainment. But don't buy this nightmare.… Expand
  20. Hindro
    Oct 15, 2015
    10
    It has been a while since this game got playable and since than some major patches where released. The patchlevel is now 1.36 they added some Free-DLCs and an active Community has build several great MODs to extend the playing experience. It has evolved to a new game that is great fun to play if you like former pen&paper RPGs.
  21. taufirec
    Oct 20, 2013
    8
    Ok, so first off let me say that most of the reviews on here are based on the original launch version of the game, and with that being said they no longer hold much value. While it is true that the game had a bad launch and was bad at launch, after months of constant updates the game is now quite good. The graphics are not overly impressive, but the game play is solid and difficult. If youOk, so first off let me say that most of the reviews on here are based on the original launch version of the game, and with that being said they no longer hold much value. While it is true that the game had a bad launch and was bad at launch, after months of constant updates the game is now quite good. The graphics are not overly impressive, but the game play is solid and difficult. If you are a fan of hardcore, old school rpgs you will enjoy this game, and can expect it to only get better from this point forward.… Expand
  22. ugralitan
    Nov 5, 2013
    8
    Realms of Arkania HD, had an unfortunate release with several bugs infesting the game, content missing and graphics which were old and ugly.

    As you notice, that was the past. My admiration on developers of Realms of Arkania is that they are really putting their all effort to make the game enjoyable. Right now it took great steps forward to add the original content such as Ship of the    Realms of Arkania HD, had an unfortunate release with several bugs infesting the game, content missing and graphics which were old and ugly.

    As you notice, that was the past. My admiration on developers of Realms of Arkania is that they are really putting their all effort to make the game enjoyable. Right now it took great steps forward to add the original content such as Ship of the Dead, several spells, market days, shop opening/closing times etc along several new content where some of them user-contributed events fitting to the lore of Aventuria.

    By now there is no doubt they will bring the BoD HD to the level of original BoD and their rate of patching looks promising for the future. The latest patch alone made a great graphical overhaul adding beautiful environments, hills, weather effects, vegetation, swaying temple banners, new house exteriors, Thorwalian long houses, birds traversing skies, optical effects etc etc. Also combat features such as enemy health display(definition or bar), repeat last attack, autocombat added.

    While there is still much to do -such as revamp of NPC models which is the subject of next patch, adding more details such as tavern entrance punishment when you cause trouble by refusing to drink or cheat, scumbag healers damaging party members(hence making rumors about healers more important)- the game is close to completion as the proud member of Northland Trilogy.

    Now, I feel like I did a good choice by buying the game without hesitation, for supporting such devoted people to bring my youngling memories Right now I give it a "8" because they have still stuff and details to add in name of polishing. And I am sure they'll not leave things without adding some "extras". Then I'll gladly raise my point to 9.    … Expand
  23. Muhk
    Aug 21, 2013
    8
    The game ha a horrible release andwas unplayable for about a week but the Devs fixed nearly everymajor problem and even added new features after request fromthe community. they worked well and still areconstantly improving the game.so if you like oldshool rpgs an wannadosomedungeon crawling BoD is what you wanna check out.
  24. Wizzsama
    Jul 31, 2013
    8
    Eight. Game is still beta and not so good, which expected from "indie genre". So I don't recomend to play it right now.
    But I give it +3 for the "good old times" of the good old trilogy and +5 for the frustration of modern players. It's quite amusing to hear about "unplayable hardcore"
  25. TheLastofMe
    Jul 27, 2017
    10
    It is my destiny to play this game and it is revised. I love going to realms as they are magical places waiting to be explored. I will use my blade to carve my own future and earn global domination of Arkania. Pack your swords and come with me to a heroic tale of bravery and courage and explore Arkania soils.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
18

Overwhelming dislike - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 5 out of 5
  1. Games.cz
    Oct 24, 2013
    40
    A forced remake of that great RPG game. You'll be fine, if you just buy the original title.
    Read full review
  2. GRYOnline.pl
    Aug 19, 2013
    25
    Issues - this is the keyword that helps understand this game. Treat this as a fair warning against all that you can find in Realms of Arcania: Blade of Destiny HD. The original game (without the "HD") is a much more enjoyable product. Don't buy this horrendous conversion, but simply find the predecessor. Blade of Destiny AD 1992 is a hard and coarse game with issues, but at least it gives the impression that the developers knew what they were doing.
    Read full review
  3. GameWatcher
    Aug 15, 2013
    20
    In defence of Crafty Studios, they have been proactive in patching, but Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny seems a long way off of being playable quite yet. Save your nostalgia, start learning the German language, and pray to Cromm that things turn around quickly.
    Read full review
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