Sword Coast Legends

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 18
  3. Negative: 6 out of 18

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  1. Juras
    Apr 22, 2017
    2
    Mess, one big mess. More loading screens than actual gameplay, freezing/skipping every second during exploration/combat, outdated graphics, laggy as hell-menu opening/scrolling trough menus/ opening maps/conversations takes forever. Combat is like turn based forced into real time action=even more mess. After some time (advanced in second atc) game freezing and blue screening like every 2Mess, one big mess. More loading screens than actual gameplay, freezing/skipping every second during exploration/combat, outdated graphics, laggy as hell-menu opening/scrolling trough menus/ opening maps/conversations takes forever. Combat is like turn based forced into real time action=even more mess. After some time (advanced in second atc) game freezing and blue screening like every 2 hours. Quests arent any advanced but still may glitch and cannot be completed. Probably worst pc port i ever played on PS4.… Expand
  2. ghostgate2001
    Sep 9, 2017
    7
    The professional reviewers got it a bit wrong on this one, I think, as the gap between the user scores (6.9) and official scores (5.1) here probably suggest. The user score is closer to the mark.

    I picked this game up in a sale for £5, not expecting much, and have been very pleasantly surprised with it so far. It's actually a surprisingly decent Baldur's Gate wannabe - by which I mean    The professional reviewers got it a bit wrong on this one, I think, as the gap between the user scores (6.9) and official scores (5.1) here probably suggest. The user score is closer to the mark.

    I picked this game up in a sale for £5, not expecting much, and have been very pleasantly surprised with it so far. It's actually a surprisingly decent Baldur's Gate wannabe - by which I mean the PC version of Baldur's Gate (i.e. a "proper" RPG with pausable real-time party-based combat) not the action-RPG Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance games that appeared on consoles.

    One thing to be absolutely clear about is that the more natural home for this kind of game is on PC, with mouse control. If playing this game on PC is an option for you then you're best advised to do so, but if playing it on PS4 is your best option then rest assured this console port is not a disaster.

    When not in combat, you move your party around Diablo-style with direct joystick control of whichever party-member you select as "leader", and when combat kicks off you can pause at any moment to order your various characters to move to specific spots, target specifc enemies, carry out specific actions. Of course it's more fiddly to do that with a gamepad, cycling through allies and enemies rather than clicking on them directly, but it's a serviceable system that you soon get used to - and the pausable combat means you're never under any unfair pressure to issue commands at mouse-speed.

    You can also set the game to automatically pause (or not) based on a lengthy list of criteria (i.e. enemy spotted, combat begins, character takes damage, character near death, etc) so - with a bit of time - you can fine-tune things to your preference.

    It all works quite well, and the writing is unexpectedly good - some genuinely amusing dialog - plus the the built-in familiarity (for me, at least) that comes with the licensed AD&D rules, monsters, Sword Coast setting, etc., meant I already had a grounding in what the various monsters are capable of, what the spells do, etc., which helps. Yeah, I know a Gelatinous Cube when I see one :)

    Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised with this game and was motivated to write a review here because the "official" score doesn't really paint an accurate picture of it. I almost didn't buy it, even for a mere £5, due to its mediocre Metascore. That would've been my loss; don't let it be yours. I'm a jaded old gamer and this game actually managed to do the trick, enagage my interest, and keep me coming back for more - which is more than can be said for many allegedly "better" games I've bought.

    Just so it's not all praise, let's balance things out with some moans. There are some technical hiccups - just moments where it doesn't feel as polished as you'd like - but nothing major, and there's no horrendous screen-tearing, thankfully. Some aspects of the gameplay could've been better explained, i.e. cycling through your party-members is straightforward but I had no idea how to then cycle through targets for that character. Maybe it said how to do it, and I missed it? Never mind; I worked it out eventually with a bit of button-pressing experimentation! And be aware that the game's text-size could be uncomfortably small for some people, and maybe not ideal for gaming set-ups where you're sat further back from the screen.    … Expand
  3. BobFossil
    Apr 21, 2017
    1
    I am going this game a 1 star for one reason, but it's a darn big one. On the PS4 the text is effectively unreadable. I am talking maybe 6-8pt on a 40inch TV. I am sitting on the ground under 2m away from my TV and squinting during the character creation and setup. The text for the opening movie was even smaller, which is pretty impressive, I guess.

    I can't speak to the gameplay. I    I am going this game a 1 star for one reason, but it's a darn big one. On the PS4 the text is effectively unreadable. I am talking maybe 6-8pt on a 40inch TV. I am sitting on the ground under 2m away from my TV and squinting during the character creation and setup. The text for the opening movie was even smaller, which is pretty impressive, I guess.

    I can't speak to the gameplay. I literally can't play the game and because I bought it digitally, no refund. Thank goodness I only paid $10, but be warned.    … Expand
  4. Fletz
    Aug 10, 2016
    9
    I have been looking for a game just like this for years! As someone who played the old school D&D RPGs (back to the paper and dice days), I have been disappointed consistently by the recent wave of RPGs. Not that I am not impressed with their graphics and mechanics, but they lack the classic D&D pacing this has. What I love is that you can hack n slash if you want by just clicking an enemyI have been looking for a game just like this for years! As someone who played the old school D&D RPGs (back to the paper and dice days), I have been disappointed consistently by the recent wave of RPGs. Not that I am not impressed with their graphics and mechanics, but they lack the classic D&D pacing this has. What I love is that you can hack n slash if you want by just clicking an enemy and watching your party go to town or you can switch into tactical mode and select which baddie will get which attack from your party. And, what's better, is you can do it both ways. I am about 6 hours into the game (admittedly, I play slowly and in 45-90 minute bites) and I started my journey by using the select and watch style of battle play out. Last night I came across my first truly challenging melee and switched into tactical battle mode and it was awesome. Awesome. And, again, I don't need to do it that way every time. You come across a few sewer rats, you hit attack and watch the fun. You come across a wizard and a couple big bad demons, you go tactical.

    The story seems like the usual RPG fare. Your journey takes you from point a to point b and you learn more about your party ... but they've built a story I am committed to am now intrigued and want to know more about our history and why we are facing the challenges we are.

    The controls are a little cloogy - but it is a console controller. They do the best they can and once you get the hang of it it's not terrible at all. It did take me a few sittings to be fluent in the controls.

    Finally, they bring classic D&D monsters to life extremely well. Let's face it, ochre jelly is hard to make interesting, but they do it. The first time I ran into a gelatinous cube it kicked my butt and it looked cool doing it.

    Overall, this is the game I've been waiting for on my PS4. I wanted that Baldur's Gate world with a little faster pace of game play, better graphics and on my console. But, I also wanted it to feel like the dungeon crawling classics without requiring me to button mash with the expertise of a 14 year old (I am in my 40s and find the combos thing sometimes challenging!). This is the first game since Skyrim that has caused me to look at the clock and say, "I can go to work on 6 hours sleep," followed by "OK, 4 will be fine ..."    … Expand
  5. stoner311
    Feb 27, 2017
    10
    I am completely baffled by the poor reviews. This game is a blast to play and genuinely gives me the feeling of playing an epic D&D campaign. What's most puzzling is that Metacritic showered Pillars of Eternity with rave reviews and yet took a massive dump on this game. I have Pillars of Eternity and I played 16 hours into that game and got bored and frustrated from the very bland storyI am completely baffled by the poor reviews. This game is a blast to play and genuinely gives me the feeling of playing an epic D&D campaign. What's most puzzling is that Metacritic showered Pillars of Eternity with rave reviews and yet took a massive dump on this game. I have Pillars of Eternity and I played 16 hours into that game and got bored and frustrated from the very bland story line and constant changing cast of characters that you are forced to learn all of their abilities and control. Sword Coast, in my opinion, is an upgrade on story line over Pillars as well as overall game play. Yes, in Sword Coast you will have to control the other characters in your party but only to do simple tasks such as switching to the rogue to detect traps, secret doors and unlock chests but during battle you can feel confident just playing your own character and relying on the games AI to properly control the other characters. With Pillars I was constantly being forced to stop the game and switch from character to character to get them to do the right thing. The action is much faster in Sword Coast and feels much more fluid than Pillars. Sword Coast is an outstanding game that has been overlooked by the gaming industry. It's one of the best games I have played in recent years.… Expand
  6. Elliana2113
    Aug 24, 2016
    10
    I'm not a D&D fan and know nothing of the genre but this game to me was way more fun than Diablo. I'm not sure why anyone is complaining about load screens. This isn't No Man Sky (which btw, I want my $60 back). It works well on the controller and I think the level design is extremely well done. Puzzles and fun narrative. Lots of trinkets to discover. Well worth the money and a goodI'm not a D&D fan and know nothing of the genre but this game to me was way more fun than Diablo. I'm not sure why anyone is complaining about load screens. This isn't No Man Sky (which btw, I want my $60 back). It works well on the controller and I think the level design is extremely well done. Puzzles and fun narrative. Lots of trinkets to discover. Well worth the money and a good port to PS4.… Expand
  7. zerofudge
    Aug 1, 2016
    10
    For a battle-proven old-school solo CRPG gamer, who is a big D&D nerd, this game feels just awesome. The very atmospheric campaign just sucked me in. Sound and voice acting is state of the art, the graphical style seems about appropriate. I’m about 30hrs into this and no major complaints so far. YMMV.
  8. boococky
    Jan 18, 2017
    10
    I don't what all the hate is about, I had a lot of fun playing this game. If you liked Baldur's Gate, IWD or Pillars of Eternity you will like this game. Granted it doesn't have the polish PoE has but, for 20 bucks, its well worth it.
  9. roachtbp
    Dec 5, 2017
    8
    I am STUNNED by the low review scores for this game. If you like old school D&D games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, etc., then you will like this game. But I do know why some people hated this game - it says it uses 5th Edition D&D rules, but the developers took many liberties with the 5th Edition ruleset. Many D&D purist were turned off immediately by this andI am STUNNED by the low review scores for this game. If you like old school D&D games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, etc., then you will like this game. But I do know why some people hated this game - it says it uses 5th Edition D&D rules, but the developers took many liberties with the 5th Edition ruleset. Many D&D purist were turned off immediately by this and hated the game for it. But I am not very familiar with 5th Edition D&D rules, so the fact that some of the game's internal rules are different from 5th Edition D&D rules is a non-issue for me. However, one thing that WAS an issue for me was that 4 popular D&D classes were left out of the game - Druid, Bard, Sorcerer, and Monk. This did bother me a lot, and I didn't buy the game at release because of this. However, a couple years later I got bored and decided to buy it. I am glad I did!!! It was made by the same guy that made Dragon Age: Origins, and it feels very similar to DA:O, but with D&D rules. I love the characters, I think the writing and story are great, but mostly I love pausing/real time combat systems in rpgs. To me, this game is exactly what I am looking for in an rpg, and I am stunned by the low reviews. Yes, I WAS disappointed that there was no bard, monk, sorcerer, or druid classes, but after getting over that disappointment and actually playing the game, I am very impressed.… Expand
  10. Aidedonslaught
    Oct 11, 2017
    0
    This game crashes more than any game I've ever played. I'm not able to finish the last battle because it keeps messing up. I've tried 3 times now and it does the same thing each time. Characters just standing there and nothing works. Nothing but problems from start to finish.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Sep 26, 2016
    50
    A severe lack of polish. [Oct 2016, p.94]
  2. God is a Geek
    Aug 9, 2016
    65
    Sword Coast Legends is a decent CRPG let down by an overall lack of imagination and irritating difficulty spikes.
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  3. TheSixthAxis
    Aug 3, 2016
    50
    As you come to grips with the tactical combat and progression systems, Sword Coast Legends may start to grow on you. For those who can see past its long loading times and other shortcomings, there’s an RPG here well worth the price of entry. However, for casual fans of the genre looking for something upbeat, this n-Space swansong is likely to disappoint.
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