A Blind Legend
- April 6, 2016
- Plug In Digital
- 5h median play time
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Get on itch.io Store"A Blind Legend" is an innovative audio-based game where players navigate a dark world using only sound. The game tells the story of Edward, a blind knight, and his daughter Louise as they fight off enemies and solve puzzles. Using binaural 3D sound technology, players must listen carefully to their surroundings and make decisions based on what they hear.
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Reviews
- A Blind Legend offers a unique audio-only gaming experience that immerses players in a world where sound is the primary means of navigation and combat.
- The game is fully accessible for blind and visually impaired players, providing an opportunity for those often excluded from gaming to engage in a meaningful way.
- The concept is innovative and has the potential to raise awareness about the challenges faced by visually impaired individuals, making it a commendable effort in inclusive game design.
- The gameplay mechanics can be frustrating, with issues such as unresponsive controls, repetitive sound effects, and a lack of variety in combat encounters leading to a tedious experience.
- The robotic voice used for menus and tutorials detracts from immersion, often breaking the player's focus and enjoyment of the audio experience.
- The game suffers from a lack of clear instructions and checkpoints, making navigation and progression difficult, which can lead to player frustration and disengagement.
- gameplay31 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "A Blind Legend" is characterized by its unique audio-based mechanics, which offer an interesting but ultimately repetitive experience. While the concept of navigating and fighting using sound is innovative, many players found the execution lacking, with rigid mechanics, limited variety, and frustrating UI elements detracting from the overall enjoyment. Despite its potential, the gameplay feels underdeveloped, leaving players wanting more depth and creativity in its implementation.
“The gameplay is mostly figuring out which direction to move based on your daughter’s voice calling to you and fighting baddies by hitting the arrow key in the direction the sound is coming from at just the right moment.”
“There is occasionally a bit of variety in gameplay when you’ll be instructed to do something different, like one scene where you’re running across rooftops and have to jump when your daughter tells you to and use your shield when you hear an arrow whistling toward you.”
“Original gameplay, sounds are amazing and the story is very compelling.”
“The gameplay is slow and extremely repetitive.”
“I feel there were many missed opportunities with the main mechanic and a general lack of creativity in how to implement the audio-only way of interacting with the world.”
“I found the lack of variation in the maps to be rather dull, and it really dragged gameplay down for me.”
- graphics24 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that "A Blind Legend" is an entirely audio-based game with no visuals, which creates a unique gameplay experience that relies on sound for world-building. While some players appreciate the innovative concept and sound design, others express disappointment over the absence of graphics, noting that it can lead to boredom and a lack of engagement compared to visually rich games. Overall, the game is praised for its creativity in using audio as the primary medium, appealing particularly to those who value sound over visuals.
“The sound in this game is absolutely stunning; I would recommend this to anyone who has a preference for great audio quality in a game and focuses less on the visuals!”
“By giving you only audio to inform you what is happening around you, it leaves the visuals completely up to your own imagination - so if you're an avid bookworm, then you should enjoy this game.”
“Blindfolding yourself to play a video game is such a unique experience, and personally, I enjoyed the new medium to paint the world around me with audio instead of visuals.”
“There are no visuals outside of the screen flashing white when you hit something and flashing a deep red when you get hit.”
“In case you missed the description, it’s entirely audio-based with no visuals.”
“Yes, that game uses graphics to try to represent blindness, but this game missed the opportunity to do something equally beautiful with sound.”
- story23 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story has been described as interesting yet often predictable and linear, with some players finding it engaging while others criticize it for being uninspired and lacking depth. Voice acting quality varies, with some performances being appreciated and others deemed poor or annoying. Overall, while the narrative has potential and a compelling premise, many reviewers feel it could benefit from more character development and a richer storytelling experience.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“The plot is simple, yet it still managed to engage me quite a bit, so it's fine.”
“Original gameplay, sounds are amazing and the story is very compelling.”
“The voice acting is fine, but the story is trite and predictable.”
“The voice acting is hilariously bad, the menu text-to-speech is grating, the story is uninspired and often confusing, the characters have less personality than a sack of potatoes.”
“The plot and narration is linear.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its relaxing and immersive qualities, with users expressing a desire for even longer compositions to enhance the storytelling experience. The audio effectively contributes to the overall atmosphere, making players feel at ease and engaged.
“I could only imagine what would happen if there was a six to seven hour long story with extremely immersive audio and different music to enhance the narrative.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is notably defined by its emphasis on sound, raising awareness of its importance, particularly for gamers with vision impairments. However, some users feel that the soundscape does not achieve the same level of atmospheric depth as seen in other visually rich games.
“This game is a unique experience that raises awareness not just of gamers with vision impairments, but also of the importance of sound as an atmosphere-defining factor in video games.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely perceived as unintentional, with users criticizing the poor voice acting and confusing story, which detracts from character development. Additionally, the odd sound design choices, such as the low-pass filter effect when raising a shield, contribute to a comedic yet frustrating experience. Overall, the humor seems to stem more from the game's shortcomings than from intentional comedic elements.
“The voice acting is hilariously bad, and the menu text-to-speech is grating, which adds an unexpected layer of humor to the experience.”
“The characters have less personality than a sack of potatoes, which somehow makes their interactions even funnier.”
“The story is uninspired and often confusing, but the absurdity of it all leads to some genuinely humorous moments.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability due to its repetitive story and battles; however, players can engage in a hardcore mode for an added challenge, which can extend gameplay by several hours.
“The game offers a great level of replayability, especially with the hardcore mode that adds a new layer of challenge and extends gameplay significantly.”
“I found myself diving back into the game multiple times, as each playthrough revealed new strategies and experiences.”
“The variety of choices and outcomes makes replaying the game a rewarding experience, keeping it fresh and engaging every time.”
“There’s not much replay value since it would be the same story with the same battles, but you can replay in hardcore mode for more challenge, which I did (and that took me another four hours or so).”
“Once you finish the game, there’s little incentive to go back. The story doesn’t change, and the gameplay feels repetitive.”
“After completing the game, I found no reason to replay it. The lack of different outcomes or new content makes it feel like a one-time experience.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The optimization of voice acting in the game is inconsistent, with the protagonist's performance standing out positively, while the supporting characters' voices are often described as bland or irritating, particularly during repeated gameplay sections.
“The protagonist's voice actor gives the standard fantasy plot a good effort; however, the rest of the performances are bland at best, and at worst they become outright obnoxious as characters recite their lines every time you fail and have to replay a section.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be highly repetitive and tedious, primarily consisting of only two phases: combat and running. This lack of variety contributes to a monotonous experience that detracts from overall enjoyment.
“It becomes incredibly repetitive: there are only two phases, the combat and the running, and both are super tedious.”
“The grinding feels endless and lacks any meaningful progression, making it a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.”
“I find myself doing the same tasks over and over again, which makes the game feel more like a job than a fun pastime.”
