Adventure / RPG is one of the favorite genres for many. It combines pumping, jumps, and riddles; the world is often large and open to exploration. And in general, it is in this genre that one of the best gaming series in history was made – we are, of course, talking about The Legend of Zelda . But precisely because of the above features, it is far from easy to develop such games – there are so many things that need to be taken into account, correctly combined and balanced. How did the authors of Aron’s Adventure cope with this task ?
Speedone
Sentinel vs dragon
Aron’s Adventure tells about the adventures of the titular youth Aaron, who, as usual, has already become the chosen hero (sentinel) and now has to protect his native huts. And there is someone to defend from – a certain dragon and his henchmen bring many troubles, who first killed Aaron’s parents, and then captured an important fortress. And when, with the help of our hero, the citadel was recaptured, the dragon returned and burned almost everything so much that people had to look for a new home. And we, naturally, must clear the way and gather forces for the decisive battle.
Almost everything is connected with the dragon.
In general, everything is pretty standard, but dramatic and intense. In addition, in the process, Aron sees flashbacks and learns a lot of interesting things about his past, and also communicates with another sentinel, locked in the mind of our hero. Plus the world is big, open and picturesque, and it is allowed to explore it not only on foot, but also on horseback.
Horses can be purchased at the stables. True, it is not very clear how they differ.
There are many locations – you have to run through the dungeons, and through forests / meadows, and on the roofs of the city. And even on ship decks. And many more side quests. They, of course, are also mostly standard – find the lost ring, free the mines, and so on. But the feeling that they all come from the average South Korean MMORPG does not arise either.
Traveling around this world, we find many chests, which are sometimes cleverly hidden.
Hit and shoot!
The gameplay of Aron’s Adventure itself is generally in line with the gold standard for adventure RPGs. We fight, and learn new skills, and periodically solve riddles, when, for example, we need to figure out how to load a huge cannon, and jump on platforms. And we are constantly collecting resources for crafting – they are needed to replenish the stock of arrows and make new equipment.
Crafting is very convenient and simple.
There are a lot of things in the battles too. Five types of melee weapons – there is a single sword, and its combination with a shield, and a two-handed, and a double blade. And you can also fight with two swords at once. Each one differs in damage, speed and its own combos, and with each weapon they are allowed to carry out special attacks – to “dash” forward, inflicting damage on everyone in the way, hit the ground, injuring and knocking back others. Plus there is stealth and the ability to kill with one stab in the back.
It is often necessary to scatter everyone with one blow.
The archery in Aron’s Adventure is also uncommon. There are special arrows: some teleport to the desired point or even to the enemy and immediately kill him; others work like grenades; still others slow down time, allowing you to take off several enemies at once in slowdown. And we pump all these special techniques for swords and bows with the help of skill points.
The bow in this game is a formidable weapon!
Fighting enemies and bugs
Agree, everything seems to be close to ideal. But, as is often the case with ambitious indie projects, many of the pros in Aron’s Adventure have their downsides. The world is picturesque, but the colors are sometimes too poisonous or such that it is almost impossible to navigate what, where, when and where. And invisible walls in this seemingly open world also sometimes appear.
Well, where is there to jump?
The battles are dashing, with a bunch of techniques, but for some reason it is impossible to “heal” the enemy, so from time to time everything turns into a mess. And there are problems with the balance – even at the highest difficulty levels, there are always enough resources for crafting and potions. So some problems can arise only during fights with bosses.
Naturally, the dragon is one of the main bosses.
During jumping exercises, the control cannot be called ideal – the character strives to take an extra step and fall off the edge. The control is the same when riding a horse.
I also did not like how much attention is paid to training in handling each type of weapon, new techniques, and so on – each time these are long quests in separate (albeit often very picturesque) locations, with which the authors artificially stretch what is happening.
First you have to learn to double jump.
Skill leveling also looks artificial. To get ability points, you need to go through various tests, which often boil down to just watching another flashback or jumping onto platforms. Or you need to pick up a luminous sphere – and that’s it, here you have pumped up your stamina, and got skill points!
The tests can take place in very scenic locations.
Just how are jumping and picking up the spheres logically related to the fact that the character is now able to improve shooting with teleport arrows or a sword strike from the back? It seems that the creators simply did not know where to attach the ability system, and decided to take the most primitive path.
A rare challenge where you need to fight with someone.
Finally, bugs are common in Aron’s Adventure . Then the hero suddenly loses his head and runs like that, frightening not those around him (they are used to it), but me. It just gets stuck in the air, trying to get off the horse. Then the pumped up skill tree starts to work as if it had not been improved.
Well, almost fantasy Max Payne!
As a result, the degree of positive emotions from Aron’s Adventure is gradually decreasing. The game seems to be drawn out, not brought to mind both from a technical and gameplay point of view. Of course, if you love the RPG adventure genre as much as I love it, then you can give it a try – the game still has its merits. But get ready for the fact that you will have to accept something, and something you will have to overcome.
Pros: scenic open world; spectacular battles using different types of weapons and skills; useful and convenient craft; nice picture and music.
Cons: rather banal plot; there are problems with the balance of difficulty, with control, optimization and logic of some mechanics.
