| Skald: Against the Black Priory | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | High North Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Raw Fury Games |
| Engine | Unity [1] |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Skald: Against the Black Priory is a 2024 role-playing video game developed by High North Studios and published by Raw Fury Games. It has a retro style influenced by the 1980s Ultima games. Players attempt to find a lost friend in a cursed land overrun with Lovecraftian monsters.
Players are shipwrecked on a cursed island while investigating a friend's disappearance. It is inspired by 1980s role-playing games, such as the Ultima series. It has a pixel art aesthetic and a dark fantasy setting inspired by Lovecraftian horror. Both the main character and recruitable characters can be customized through skills, some of which are available to multiple classes. Up to six characters can be in the party. [2]
Party members can be removed or changed with another character at camp. While camping, party members are given various tasks. Characters can cook ingredients that they find, which will heal them when eaten. Potions can also be crafted. Both potions and food can optionally be disabled. [2]
Combat is turn-based and tactical. Characters block each other, though some perks can be used to switch places with someone else. [2] Terrain can also block progress. Characters can only attack in the four cardinal directions, not diagonally. Positioning is important, allowing rogues to backstab enemies, for example. [3]
During conversations, characters can use skill, such as negotiating to get a better reward. Characters can also use skills to perform various actions, such as stealing items from a shop. This causes shopkeepers to become suspicious of the party and raise their prices. [2]
Raw Fury Games released Skald: Against the Black Priory for macOS and Windows on May 30, 2024. [4]
Skald: Against the Black Priory received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [5] Rock Paper Shotgun enjoyed how it modernized 1980s-era game design. Though they experienced several bugs, they gave Skald an enthusiastic recommendation, saying that its charm overwhelmed the minor annoyances they encountered. [2] PC Gamer praised how the horror atmosphere intruded on a typical fantasy world, turning it occasionally surprising and disturbing. [6] Eurogamer said that it "exudes grisly character" but felt it did not offer anything beyond what other retro role-playing games did. They also found the combat occasionally frustrating because of the indistinct pixel art and limited potential for positioning. [3]
Slant Magazine and RPG Fan felt that the retro aesthetics hampered the user interface. [7] [8] Slant also felt combat was imbalanced, making some game mechanics less relevant once characters became very powerful. However, they enjoyed the story and said that Skald builds upon its influences in interesting, new ways. [7] RPGFan praised its graphics, atmosphere, and story. Despite some bugs, which they said were being worked on, they said recommended it as a nostalgic role-playing game that channels various Commodore 64 games from the 1980s. [8] PCGamesN felt the combat eventually became a chore, especially given what they felt was a lack of balance. They said this resulted in repetitively choosing the best option rather than exploring alternatives, even on higher difficulty levels. However, they enjoyed the quests and lore, and they said they would eagerly play a sequel that fixed some of the issues they had. [9]
Swen Vincke, founder of Larian Studios, praised the game. [10]
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