Age of Fear 2: The Chaos Lord GOLD
- March 27, 2015
- Leslaw Sliwko
- 40h median play time
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Get on itch.io StoreABOUT THIS GAME Age of Fear 2: The Chaos Lord is a refreshingly fun strategy title that marries a tabletop wargame with elements of RPG. The game features a huge variety of units, a novel hex-free battle system, morale, and multiplayer. Play as a manipulative succubuss or a brutal orc warchief in two story driven campaigns! Strategy Guide - the series has grown into a complex creation with multi…
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Reviews
- The turn-based combat is engaging and strategic, requiring careful positioning and planning.
- The game features a humorous and interesting storyline with choices that affect the outcome.
- The developer is very active in the community, regularly updating the game and responding to player feedback.
- The graphics are simplistic and may not appeal to players looking for modern visuals.
- The voice acting and sound design are lacking, which can detract from the overall experience.
- The steep learning curve and overwhelming amount of text can be off-putting for some players.
- story142 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it either cliché or poorly executed, often overshadowed by subpar graphics and voice acting. While some campaigns, particularly the demon campaign, are noted for their humor and engaging narratives, others feel the storytelling is juvenile and lacks depth. Overall, the narrative is seen as a backdrop to the gameplay, with some players appreciating the branching choices and character development, while others criticize it for being repetitive and uninspired.
“The demons campaign has the better story involving a succubus escaping from hell.”
“The story is deeper than it seems, but it needs some knowledge of the lore and the previous game, but it is still okay as a standalone.”
“The story is well written and unlike some other turn-based strategy games, it connects everything together rather than getting in the way.”
“While the gameplay has some redeeming qualities, the overall package is let down by poor graphics, bad voice acting, and a story that fails to impress.”
“The graphics are so bad it's hard to tell the characters apart on the battle screen, the gameplay mechanics are weird, and the story is cliche and badly narrated.”
“I found the story a bit boring and uninspired: the story is not so important in this kind of game but if it is interesting and makes you curious then it motivates you to play on.”
- graphics81 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting their simplicity and dated quality, often likening them to those of older titles. While some appreciate the functional and retro aesthetic that supports gameplay, others find the visuals lackluster and a significant drawback, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the graphics may not impress, they do not overshadow the enjoyable gameplay mechanics for those who prioritize strategy over visual fidelity.
“Graphics are great, capturing a rich tabletop feel similar to Steve Jackson's Car Wars tabletop game in detail and art style.”
“The graphics and animation have a definite retro feel to them, so don't expect some high-quality stuff, but all in all, this game is a nice relaxing experience.”
“The visuals are simple but effective; different units are easily recognizable, and although the animations are pretty basic, they get the job done.”
“One of the first things that stood out to me was the game's lackluster graphics.”
“The graphics are so bad it's hard to tell the characters apart on the battle screen, the gameplay mechanics are weird, and the story is cliché and badly narrated.”
“The graphics are about twenty years out of date, which I knew going into the game, but still disappointing.”
- gameplay58 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Age of Fear 2: The Chaos Lord Gold" is a turn-based strategy experience that combines RPG elements with tactical depth, featuring permanent unit death and a focus on unit management. While the mechanics are engaging and offer a unique approach to movement and combat, players have noted inconsistencies and bugs that can affect strategy, alongside criticisms of the game's graphics and narrative. Overall, those who appreciate tactical gameplay may find enjoyment despite the game's rough edges.
“However, when it comes to the gameplay, Age of Fear 2 does shine.”
“The gameplay is top notch, the army building is exquisite.”
“The turn structure and combat mechanics make sense immediately, and the joy of leveling your troops and upgrading their skills remains engaging throughout the campaigns.”
“While the gameplay has some redeeming qualities, the overall package is let down by poor graphics, bad voice acting, and a story that fails to impress.”
“The graphics are so bad it's hard to tell the characters apart on the battle screen, the gameplay mechanics are weird, and the story is cliché and badly narrated.”
“The game is enjoyable if you don't take it too seriously, but the game mechanics are so inconsistent that a lot of the time luck can be a bigger factor than strategy.”
- music15 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising it as soothing and atmospheric, perfectly complementing the gameplay, while others find it average or lacking. Notably, the inclusion of classical pieces, such as Bach, adds depth for some players, though others feel the sound effects and voice acting do not match the quality of the music. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated by many, it may not resonate with all players.
“Music is honey dripping game healing goodness oozing soothing audio massages to the senses, making for the perfect evening game after a stressful day.”
“The music is very relaxing.”
“From the inspired war drums to classic RPG scores, the music never falls short on setting the right atmosphere for every situation.”
“Music/sound: at some point I just started playing with no sound, listening to my own medieval playlist.”
“-music is just bad (dark age).”
“Fifth the sound & music:”
- humor14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of genuinely funny moments and cringeworthy lines, often reminiscent of b-movie dialogue. Players appreciate the chaotic campaign's pacing and the comedic interactions between characters, particularly in the demon campaign, which adds to the overall enjoyment. While some writing is intentionally bad and evokes laughter, the humor is not consistently strong throughout, with some players finding it hit or miss.
“Dialogue and voice acting is a hoot, pouring boiling pots of laughter and triggering humor in the player with many b-movie level remarks.”
“The chaos campaign is amazing, funny, and well-paced.”
“The writing is so bad it's good - hilarious in a probably semi-intentional way.”
- optimization9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it generally runs well on low-performance systems and has minimal issues for most players, significant rendering performance drops occur during large battles. Players appreciate the developers' responsiveness to reported bugs, but some experience stuttering in high-intensity scenarios.
“Instead of talking about the useless aspects of graphics in an old-school indie game, I’d rather mention that the game so far has minimum performance issues for most players.”
“Developers are very active and supportive on their forums; if you encounter any customized bugs or performance issues, by reporting them, you often get a lightning-fast fix.”
“Graphics are functional and allow players to enjoy the game on low-performance systems.”
“The rendering performance is especially disappointing in the later battles with lots of units on the field.”
“I am sitting here on my low-performance laptop, and just finished the demon's campaign.”
“The game is based on Java, which led to some stuttering on my PC in big fights, but I never encountered any bugs.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the game offers solid replayability through multiple difficulty levels and diverse story outcomes that significantly affect gameplay. The potential addition of skirmish battles could further enhance replay value, especially for those who enjoy grinding and completing challenges. Additionally, the ability to modify units and create custom campaigns adds to the game's tactical replayability.
“It allows for replayability on multiple difficulty levels.”
“Age of Fear 2 offers tons of replay value since the choices of the main story of each campaign result in diverse outcomes and will permanently affect the story progress, routes, and difficulties.”
“This leaves the player with endless abilities to modify how units work, making for even more tactical game replayability, or you can even write your own campaigns!”
“I am kind of hoping re-doable skirmish battles are added at some point, as that would really increase the replay value for us grinders. It's a solid game nonetheless.”
“We players who are into this genre are usually grinders and completists, and if they were to add those features, it would literally double replayability.”
“This leaves the player with endless abilities to modify how units work, enhancing tactical game replayability, or you can even write your own campaigns!”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is notably poor, with frequent and frustrating perma-freezes that require users to force close the application, often rendering it unresponsive to standard exit methods. Additionally, players report regular glitches and issues with loading save games, detracting from the overall experience.
“Sadly, the experience has been disappointing due to repeated perma-freezes of the application that I also cannot minimize or close with Task Manager, Alt + F4, or other means.”
“"Luckily" the game freezes regularly, so you have to close the game via Task Manager.”
“Loading save games just freezes the game.”
- character development3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally praised for its depth and integration with D&D rules, enhancing the overall experience. However, some reviews note that while the tactical elements are strong, the writing and voice acting may detract from the character arcs, leading to mixed feelings about the overall narrative quality.
“Decent story and bad voice acting, but this game is just nice because there are D&D rules and character development, which makes this game great.”
“I consider it more a visual novel than an adventure, but with really deep tactics and character development, beautiful soundtrack, and an enthralling storyline in all campaigns I've played.”
“Somewhat like Fire Emblem with better combat but worse writing and character development.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by a compelling soundtrack that features inspired war drums and classic RPG scores, effectively setting the right mood for various situations throughout the gameplay.
“From the inspired war drums to classic RPG scores, the music never falls short on setting the right atmosphere for every situation.”
“The haunting visuals and ambient sounds create an immersive experience that pulls you into the game's world.”
“Every corner of the environment is filled with detail, making the atmosphere feel alive and engaging.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate that the grinding aspect is balanced, as the manageable number of units prevents long wait times for enemy turns and minimizes tedious micromanagement of their own units. This design choice helps maintain a smoother gameplay experience.
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the developers' dedication to the game, noting that regular updates and content additions reflect a deep passion for their creation, which enhances the emotional connection to the game.
“The developers are constantly updating the game and adding content or adjusting balance every week, proving they love their creation.”
“The emotional depth of the characters made me feel connected to their struggles and triumphs.”
“I was genuinely moved by the storyline; it resonated with my own experiences and left a lasting impact.”
