Serpent in the Staglands

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 35 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 35
  3. Negative: 8 out of 35

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  1. Haba
    Jun 17, 2015
    10
    Serpent in the Staglands is probably the only game of those times that does not simply pay lip service when it claims to be 'old school'. It is truly one of a kind experience. It takes you back to the early years of cRPGs, throwing you into an unfamiliar world and forcing you to you to use your wits to survive.

    This sense of unfamiliarity that a player grown accustomed to the luxuries    Serpent in the Staglands is probably the only game of those times that does not simply pay lip service when it claims to be 'old school'. It is truly one of a kind experience. It takes you back to the early years of cRPGs, throwing you into an unfamiliar world and forcing you to you to use your wits to survive.

    This sense of unfamiliarity that a player grown accustomed to the luxuries and safety of ‘modern’ cRPGs experiences works excellently to build this sense of being tossed into a hostile world full of unknown dangers. The hand-drawn pixel art is just abstract enough to leave room for imagination to fill in the gaps, further reinforced by the eerie soundtrack. And surprisingly competent writing takes care of the rest.

    The game truly doesn’t pull its punches, whether when looking at the puzzles, combat or character system. You’ll be frustrated and overwhelmed at times – just like you were when you played your first cRPGs many moons ago. In a peculiar way this all adds together into a special mix where even the weakest parts of the combination contribute in a positive way. It is a game that makes you forgive a lot, especially when you consider the fact that it is a debut work of a two-man studio.

    I won’t claim that this game is for everybody. Mollycoddled modern gamers will most likely get a severe allergic reaction from the mere exposure. But for those with an open mind and willingness to learn, this battle-scarred veteran of hundreds of RPGs can heartily recommend Serpent in the Staglands. Give it a chance – I can guarantee you will be positively surprised.    … Expand
  2. Lerk
    Jun 19, 2015
    10
    This game is a love letter to 1990s rpgs, doesn't hold your hand, and as such fully immerses you in its world and story. If you loved Fallout, you'll appreciate this game. It treats you like an intelligent human being, capable of reasoning and deduction. As such it's a rarity, and a valuable one.

    Explore, experiment, put together clues and experience the satisfaction of having    This game is a love letter to 1990s rpgs, doesn't hold your hand, and as such fully immerses you in its world and story. If you loved Fallout, you'll appreciate this game. It treats you like an intelligent human being, capable of reasoning and deduction. As such it's a rarity, and a valuable one.

    Explore, experiment, put together clues and experience the satisfaction of having accomplished something without the game leading you by the nose to it. Pore over hand drawn in game maps, recovered diaries, stolen missives; research ancient tomes; talk to animals, attempt to understand the hostile natives - or show them the diplomacy of the sword. Wonder who to trust, or who to avoid, or who to kill. Build your character, and others, with a classless system that has over 100 stats, skills, spells, and aptitudes that allow for unique builds. Wander an entire peninsula as an outcast God, trying to find his way home, while trying to discover the identities and motivations of his enemies.

    When's the last time you've been able to say any of the above about a crpg?

    You're not going to like this is you have come to rely on quest logs, objective compasses, and expect an RPG to allow you to "romance" (ugh) your party members. You're not going to like it if you expect an RPG to have a third person over the shoulder view or if you don't like reading in your computer games.

    But you will cherish it if, like me, you can remember marathon pnp rpg sessions where it felt like an entire world was out there, waiting to be discovered, and you were only limited by your own intelligence and imagination.    … Expand
  3. Mortmal
    Jun 16, 2015
    10
    They did not lie the game is really a throw back to the 90’s rpg like darklands , only adding more things over it, a melting pot from the best classic rpgs ,some bladur’s gate influence a fallout like overland map with events , and a whole flexible and customizable at will combat and spells kill set in an unique setting.

    Unique is indeed the best word to describe it , the beautiful    They did not lie the game is really a throw back to the 90’s rpg like darklands , only adding more things over it, a melting pot from the best classic rpgs ,some bladur’s gate influence a fallout like overland map with events , and a whole flexible and customizable at will combat and spells kill set in an unique setting.

    Unique is indeed the best word to describe it , the beautiful pixel art gives an eerie and alien atmosphere to the game . You are left ,as a fallen god, to wander with only a few supply and companions you can recruit in unknown and strange landscapes .

    You are free to go wherever you want with ,just given a vague guideline by your head clergy , then it’s up to you, no hand holding , no quest log. Explore chat to npc discover new locations ala fallout, solve clever puzzle and do some dungeonering with real time with pause combat.
    There’s character creation, stats, attributes, lot of it, very good writing and good lore .So its really back to what pc rpg really where if not more . If you liked darklands , Ultimas, if those name rings a bell this game is for you.

    It’s a game done by only two guys yet I had lot of fun playing this, quite impressive what they could do with a meager 28k$ budget . The game had a rough start cause of bugs wich might explain the low scores , but they are patching surprinsigly fast and listening to feedback.

    As of today I can say the game is mostly bug free , and completely playable. If you want an old school rpg , this is the best thing released since a long long time.    … Expand
  4. Skitnik
    Jun 17, 2015
    10
    “Ambition is not a dirty word. Piss on compromise. Go for the throat.” wrote Steven Erikson in the preface of his book, Gardens of the Moon. Without the ambition and talent of its creators, I would never have enjoyed a game like Serpent in the Staglands. Good games deserve to be played, so, if you too have interest in unique and challenging RPG, allow me to share my impressions in my“Ambition is not a dirty word. Piss on compromise. Go for the throat.” wrote Steven Erikson in the preface of his book, Gardens of the Moon. Without the ambition and talent of its creators, I would never have enjoyed a game like Serpent in the Staglands. Good games deserve to be played, so, if you too have interest in unique and challenging RPG, allow me to share my impressions in my first review here.

    Serpent in the Staglands is system driven. Using the ruleset and your wits, you're free to explore a strongly reactive, harsh yet beautiful world. Expect no hand holding.
    Your party will fight in real-time with pause, and while I prefer turn based combat, here it works reasonably well, served by a good pacing and clarity. The varied encounter design, as well as the fact that difference between life and death is often matter of a few hits, will never left you feel bored. Last but not least, the AI is competent, being quite smart when choosing or changing its targets.

    But combat is not the only challenge you'll face in the world of Vol. In order to progress and unravel the many mysteries behind the Moon Lord's story, you'll have to pay attention to details and be creative, both when facing a puzzle or a decision. You're never explicitly told where to go and what to do.

    Speaking of story, here you won't find the blandness of the tired struggles of a chosen one, battling some bored ancient evil. Let me just say that it felt surprisingly human, in a sense of facing a world where few things are clearly right or wrong, but where your decisions always have consequences. A world often shaped by selfish motivations.

    Another strength of the game is its setting, inspired by Eastern European past yet alien. In fact, I haven't met this otherworldly feeling in an RPG since Morrowind.
    Great lore deserves great presentation, and here, you won't be disappointed. I cannot but admire the use of colors, the composition and the balance between details and abstraction in one of the greatest pixel art I ever saw. On your way to some mysterious ruins, you will just pause and look at the snow falling on some giant mushrooms in a strange forest, while listening the excellent and fitting soundtrack.

    Reading my opinions, you already know how much I loved my journey in the Staglands. Yet I know that this isn't a game for everybody. It is demanding, it won't let you switch your brain off and feel awesome. But if you think that you deserve more than hollow compromise, if you don't lack ambition in what you read, what you see or what you play, then go for the throat.    … Expand
  5. Pattington
    Jun 19, 2015
    10
    It's more than a love letter to classic RPGs. This is one of the best RPGs from the last decade. The world building, reactivity, and exploration are amazing. It's like Fallout plus Darklands plus Baldurs Gate 1.

    There was a bit of a buggy launch but that's cleared up now and the game runs fine (albeit a bit slow--Unity). I haven't finished my first play through but there will be a    It's more than a love letter to classic RPGs. This is one of the best RPGs from the last decade. The world building, reactivity, and exploration are amazing. It's like Fallout plus Darklands plus Baldurs Gate 1.

    There was a bit of a buggy launch but that's cleared up now and the game runs fine (albeit a bit slow--Unity). I haven't finished my first play through but there will be a second. Possibly a third.    … Expand
  6. Yosa
    Jun 1, 2015
    1
    I saw this a couple months ago on a web site I frequent, It immediately made me interested; the game looked to have a new and unique progression system and was an RPG, my favorite genre of game,

    Things this game did well, I like the character design, to many games use stats to up the challenge combat and facilitate a constant sense of progression, this game takes the minimalist approach    I saw this a couple months ago on a web site I frequent, It immediately made me interested; the game looked to have a new and unique progression system and was an RPG, my favorite genre of game,

    Things this game did well, I like the character design, to many games use stats to up the challenge combat and facilitate a constant sense of progression, this game takes the minimalist approach ala D&D style as in every point and skill counts. I'll add as well that the unique skill sets were well imagined
    and implemented.

    Things it did badly, after exploring the first and second area, it felt too linear, as well the game has no life;
    I felt like I was just moving a game sprite from point to point without any care for what my goal was, the npc characters had no meaning, the story was set up well at first and then stopped as interactions were sparse, I had more fun killing all the chickens then exploring.

    I died a lot, it seemed pretty skewed to me, I trained some goblins into the temple just to sacrifice the villagers and my one team mate to gear up from the drops, I still kept dying in 2-4 hits from everything but the chickens I so loved to kill.

    The interface, a game will always be killed by bad UI, you need to have key mapping, you need to have visible key bars, and the map needs to show the whole region, not to mention a zoom out so you can notice hostiles and prepare before hand; there are some other annoyances but not too big a deal.

    Pixillated grafix, bad choice if it was intended, this is not so much a game flaw as a direction the developer took, I personally put it up there with the shaky cam from the Blair Witch Project.

    This is Well thought out character system within a badly designed game, its worth playing to explore that aspect, but the game itself is a shell.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. GameStar
    Jan 16, 2017
    74
    This extremely difficult indie RPG in the style of the 90s offers a lot of depth but no comfort features.
    Read full review
  2. RPGamer
    Dec 8, 2016
    60
    If you crave an exploration-heavy, open-ended, lore driven game Serpent in the Staglands will satisfy that craving like few other games today. But take care to brace yourself for the jarring impact that will bring it all crashing down in the end.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Jul 27, 2015
    80
    It’s not a great exaggeration to compare Serpent in the Staglands to Pillars of Eternity (if you’re willing to turn a blind eye to numerous bugs, that is). [08/2015, p.73]
See all critic reviews »