The Age of Decadence

 PC
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Games.cz
    Nov 19, 2015
    70
    A great RPG is not afraid of doing things differently. Although graphically awful and even technically not perfect, Age of Decadence still is one of the most original games of its kind. It’s just not for everyone.
  2. We Got This Covered
    Oct 20, 2015
    70
    Although its unforgiving difficulty may only appeal to a minority, as well as being tarnished with out-dated graphics, The Age of Decadence is still admirable for what it aims to achieve, offering an impressively deep storytelling experience for anyone willing to invest the time required.
  3. Everyeye.it
    Nov 13, 2015
    69
    Maybe it's a bit too ambitious, but in the end the combat system doesn't feel right, and the pace is terribly slow.
  5. PC PowerPlay
    Dec 3, 2015
    60
    An ambitious game hobbled by laborious, unsatisfying combat and a "ready-made" approach to quest design that undermines player autonomy. [Dec 2015, p.58]
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Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Best PC Game of 2015
55
#55 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
76
#76 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 242 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 180 out of 242
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 242
  3. Negative: 40 out of 242
  1. the_real_deal
    Oct 15, 2015
    10
    Finally. Hardcore isometric cRPG for you Fallout, Forgotten Realms, Arcanum fans out there. Truckloads of text, branching quests, specializedFinally. Hardcore isometric cRPG for you Fallout, Forgotten Realms, Arcanum fans out there. Truckloads of text, branching quests, specialized character classes , skillchecks, tactical turn based combat, kill-them-all or talk-your-way-out styles viable, guaranteed replay value. A must have!
    PS. Graphics ? Graphics are for people without imagination.    … Full Review »
  2. Pinkbeaver
    Oct 15, 2015
    9
    Masterpiece! Truly a Gem! - Said some random 40 year old guy whose favorite games you don't even remember.

    Consistent with the old-school    Masterpiece! Truly a Gem! - Said some random 40 year old guy whose favorite games you don't even remember.

    Consistent with the old-school design philosophy - of not treating the player as an idiot, with little-to-none hand-holding, the game gives you a multitude of skills, backgrounds and approaches to fiddle with.
    It's very easy to get into (if you're not afraid to fail), but hard to master.

    When a typical RPG gives you options, consequences are usually shown as flavor text, a side-quest or two, or even maybe an additional ending (or a romance!), but in Age of Decadence choice is everything.
    In AoD the typical framework of choice & consequence is "upside down" - some SIDE quests will be present in multiple playthroughs while the MAIN path will be completely different each time! (if you choose different starting background/skills)

    It all means that:
    - Experimenting heavily with your character build (and seeing the effects) is possible, even necessary.
    - You won't see all of the options in a single playthrough.
    - Some unique areas won't be accessible to you in each game.
    See that old and strange architecture? There's an ancient mechanism to interact with? Soooo, you're an expert in ancient stuff? No? Then carry on, and do whatever YOUR character does best. You can always go back to the strange place with different character and see where it takes you from there.

    I admit, it can be frustrating playing this type of game if you don't agree with said design decisions (kind-of strict - "Play it our way" design), BUT if you try - just for few hours, to play the way it's meant to be played, you''ll see that there's still a lot of room for rewarding choice in that framework - besides character creation.

    Technical stuff: good SFX, so-so graphics (but with great art direction), no voiceover, great writing (better than any and all AAA titles) and almost bug-free at release (almost impossible with complex choice-based RPGs).

    One thing about writing (which is great). If you like RPGs, but you're afraid of walls of unnecessary text - have no fear about AoD. Yes the game IS text/dialogue heavy, but in contrast to Pillars of Eternity or latest Shadowrun game - there's no junk text. You won't have to read pages and pages of wordy but useless descriptions of unimportant characters.
    Of course its the player who decides what's important and what's not, but i think the Devs did a great job here of balancing the ratio of flavor text/important info.

    Curiosity and story drives you forward in AoD, and NOT the promise of being a hero, nor fighting the Big Bad Boss™ - defeating whom is usually underwhelming and unsatisfying experience in video games. ("You did it? Wow, here's a medal. Go wait for a sequel.")

    This "you're-not-a-hero" design is visible everywhere in the game, and the Devs clearly have their own and specific anwser to "what makes Games satisfying" question.

    If you agree with their approach, you'll love Age of Decadence.
    If not, I'm sure you'll learn to love it. I personally think it's worth trying no matter what games you enjoy.
    I suggest throwing away your preconceptions about RPGs and games in general, and just trying AoD for what it is. You will, most probably, be pleasantly surprised.

    So try it (there's a demo), or even better - buy it if you enjoy complex games that entertain your intelligence and imagination. You'll support ambitious developers trying something fresh, bringing to the table specific, and sadly - rare in our times, design philosophy.

    The world in AoD is your oyster. The oyster is dirty, jagged and deadly and can swallow you whole. But deep inside there's a pearl so big and so beautiful, that even limbless and dying you'll dream of seeing it just one more time, in it's full glory.    … Full Review »
  3. golibethesda
    Oct 15, 2015
    10
    It is by far the most innovative cRPG since a very, very long time, not only because of unique setting and lore but also because ofIt is by far the most innovative cRPG since a very, very long time, not only because of unique setting and lore but also because of non-standard approach "from zero to slightly more than zero" instead of "from zero to hero" like in most cRPGs. And even though you won't slay a dragon here the things you can do are way more memorable to me than any fight in Baldur's Gate for example. You can experience it quite early by playing as an assassin - the last mission in Teron is just superb. In Maadoran and Ganezzar there are even more epic things you can do (don't want to spoil it by giving specifics).

    But the real strength of Age of Decadence lies in its writing and combat. Quests are memorable and fresh (no fetch quests here, well maybe with one exception that has a hilarious twist at the end), characters seem to be made from flesh and blood (in my top 10 of most memorable characters in any game Age of Decadence would take most of the spots) and the plot is exquisite but to learn all the pieces you have to play for every guild. Which reminds me, I don't know another game that allows to see the same events from a different POV. Now that is awesome! What's more, combat is one of the best I've seen in any cRPG - even though you have less weapons than in Fallout 2 you can do so much more with them.

    I first learned about this game about a year after I registered on the Codex but didn't think much about it then. Only after Teron demo had been released the game got my attention. My first impression was bad - ugly looking (or so I thought at the time, I immediately forgot about aesthetics and presentation, the game was so absorbing that I forgot I have to eat or work ;P) game that only has one town (in a demo). Oh, boy was I wrong. This game has soul that most contemporary games lack. The setting is one of the best if not the best ones ever created, the characters feel alive and are brutally realistic and the quests are exquisite.

    There are no fillers here, no copy-pasting and no bloat. You can't grind here either because every fight is meaningful and there are no trash mobs. In fact, quite often it's more advantageous to skip a fight and skill points because the price is too big to pay, e.g. by making enemies of a powerful faction your options are limited and in the end you get less skill points. Now that's truly unique way of making cRPGs. Usually you're a leader of a fearless party that fears nothing - and I mean nothing, be it a dragon or Jewish condominium. Who in his right mind would flee from a fight right? You're after all destined to become a demi-god that can destroy a whole town if you wish so even though a while earlier you had problems with rats or goblins. Well, not in in Age of Decadence.

    Oh, and I said at the beginning that this game looks ugly - it's anything but. Locations are varied and some of them look amazing while the rest is decent at least. In fact I've never had immersion breaking, contrary to Fallout new Vegas for example (characters there look terrible and their mimics can give a headache, not to mention bugs and copy-pasted locations).

    Pros:

    1) Story being presented from different perspectives and different POVs. I don't remember anything like it in any other game which raises its value even further. Something fresh for a change instead of another "chosen one rescuing the world and fighting the dragons".

    2) Combat. It actually is enjoyable and makes me want to fight instead of mindlessly left clicking on everything that moves (or sends something that moves). The challenge makes it rewarding once you win whereas in most of other RPGs you can defeat almost anyone with **** stats and quick-save->quick-load strategy. In AoD there isn't a universal strategy for every fight. E.g. when fighting a fast and agile opponent that had very high dodge stats using a smaller but faster weapon was more wise (as it should be). You would never hit him with a big hammer but you would hit him with a small one and since he was so agile thanks to practically no armour it was enough to defeat him.

    3) Replayability and Choices and Consequences. They actually do matter and you can never do every quest in every possible way without replaying the game. And that is a good thing IMO. In Fallout New Vegas for example I did practically every quest there was, investing in speech at first since I knew that I could open safes or hack into computers later. For some reason no one would do it before me. Well, not in AoD. If you won't do quests in Teron someone else will and you can't go back for them. Which makes sense and which makes me want to replay the game. I don't want to replay F:NV though since I've done everything there was to be done and walking for hours was tedious (BTW, that's why I like teleporting, although I won't make a point about it).

    Cons: None, even graphics are fitting and pleasant to the eye.    … Full Review »
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