Alder's Blood

Another journey into the macabre, where your worst enemy is the wind.

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In Alder's Blood, you lead a clan of skilled hunters with unique abilities, battling supernatural creatures in turn-based combat. Manage your resources, craft equipment, and make strategic decisions to survive while uncovering the mysteries of a world abandoned by God. Stealth and evasion are crucial in this dark, atmospheric game where tactical choices matter.

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

63%

Audience ScoreBased on 112 reviews

story28 positive mentions

stability9 negative mentions

The game features a unique and atmospheric art style that enhances the Lovecraftian theme.
The combat mechanics are engaging, with a focus on stealth and strategy, making each encounter feel tense and rewarding.
The story is intriguing, with a well-crafted narrative that draws players into its dark and mysterious world.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, including game-breaking glitches and a poorly designed UI.
Gameplay can become repetitive, with limited enemy variety and missions that often feel similar.
The character progression system lacks depth, making it difficult to feel attached to individual hunters as they often need to be sacrificed for the greater good.

story
90 mentions
31 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely praised for its intriguing and well-crafted narrative, set against a captivating Lovecraftian backdrop, which many players find engaging and atmospheric. However, the storytelling is marred by a lack of meaningful choices and repetitive missions, leading to a sense of monotony. Additionally, numerous bugs and technical issues detract from the overall experience, making it a mixed bag for those primarily interested in the narrative.
- “The story is well made, the art is well made, the combat is really interestingly built, so I found myself caught by the game.”
- “The story and world feel vibrant, alive, and well-thought-out.”
- “The story, which is both extremely - surprisingly really - well put together and written.”
- “Very little in the way of meaningful dialog choices, so the story can be clicked through, leaving the plot feeling hollow.”
- “The story thus far (100 turns in) has been entirely linear, and you as the player have no meaningful choices or dialogue options.”
- “Not sure about the story because I couldn't finish it being bored too much, but the dialogues are far from good writing and you've got no choice.”
gameplay
74 mentions
35 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by innovative stealth-based mechanics and tactical turn-based combat, which many players find engaging and immersive. However, it suffers from bugs, repetitive enemy encounters, and a lack of depth in certain mechanics, leading to a mixed reception. While the unique atmosphere and combat mechanics are praised, the overall experience is marred by technical issues and a need for better balance and clarity in gameplay systems.
- “✔️ Interesting and innovative stealth-based gameplay mechanics in a tactical RPG centered around avoidance and assassination.”
- “The gameplay revolves around the overworld travels of your misfit band, meeting the numerous factions, gathering resources, supplies and tools, and pursuing quests - and the turn-based top-down hex-based tactical squad missions, which are often stealth-oriented: positioning is key here, for your hunters are outnumbered most of the time.”
- “A strategy RPG, Alder's Blood brings a mix of stealth and turn-based gameplay that draws you in and demands that you think ahead.”
- “Moreover, the rewards don't seem enough for the effort; you can become overpowered with so little once you understand the battle mechanics.”
- “The gameplay gets a bit repetitive sometimes; the game would have benefited from being shorter because different enemies don't really represent a different menace to you thanks to the ability to one-shot anything if you catch them by surprise.”
- “The mechanics are unclear as well; the game doesn't do well to explain what exactly activates enemies - they will either wander pointlessly after being shot at or run straight at a hunter and attack them, ending the hunter's turn in the process.”
graphics
41 mentions
76 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Alder's Blood" are frequently praised for their beautiful and unique 2D art style, which effectively creates a dark and atmospheric tone reminiscent of gothic and Lovecraftian themes. While many reviewers appreciate the artwork and its ability to enhance the game's storytelling, some note that the overall graphical execution feels somewhat bare-bones and lacks variety in character designs. Overall, the art style is a significant selling point, contributing to the game's appeal despite some criticisms regarding its graphical depth.
- “The aesthetics and overall tone of 'Alder's Blood' is very atmospheric; the art style alone is a big selling point.”
- “The art style is absolutely gorgeous, and the world seems to hold enough mysteries for you to reveal.”
- “The game grips you with its dark and moody aesthetic, and together with interesting mechanics makes for a great experience.”
- “Graphics are... meh.”
- “Whilst the game still has a distinct 'early-access' feel despite being fully released, notably lacking many quality of life aspects such as hotkeys for controls as well as balance issues (high stamina hunters with stamina boosting items are very OP).”
- “I would describe it as Banner Saga with a Victorian gothic aesthetic.”
atmosphere
18 mentions
61 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
17 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Alder's Blood" is widely praised for its dark, Lovecraftian aesthetic, enhanced by stunning artwork and a fitting soundtrack that creates a tense and immersive experience. While the visual and thematic elements are compelling, some reviews note that the writing and gameplay mechanics do not fully match the game's atmospheric potential, leading to a mixed overall impression.
- “The aesthetics and overall tone of 'Alder's Blood' is very atmospheric; the art style alone is a big selling point.”
- “If you dig tactical stealth games and dark, almost Lovecraftian stories and atmospheres, then this is a solid title at a reasonable price - even better if you get it on sale.”
- “The atmosphere, music, and artwork are all amazing.”
- “You should, it drips doom and gloom atmosphere... and so does this game.”
- “It fails in a slew of other things, however, among which atmosphere, exploration, RPG system, and enemy intentions UI (which is absent).”
- “The atmosphere is dark and creepy.”
stability
10 mentions
10 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
90 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting significant bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, including issues with auto-saves and quest progression. While some players appreciate the art and mood, many feel that the game is unfinished and unplayable in its current state, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment. Overall, the consensus is that the game requires substantial fixes to improve its stability.
- “It's not buggy, has good voice acting (when there is voice acting) and is just the kind of thing for fans of XCOM who want some Bloodborne in their lives.”
- “Still buggy and unplayable.”
- “Play this buggy mess on ironman and you'd not feel punished by the difficulty, you'd feel punished by the train-wreck of its programming.”
- “Came in expecting a Darkest Dungeon meets XCOM type of game, but I'm sad to say I found an unfinished, buggy mess that wasn't sure what it wanted to be.”
music
7 mentions
57 % positive mentions
14 % neutral mentions
29 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally appreciated for its atmospheric and fitting qualities, contributing to a tense, gothic ambiance. While some players find it understated and effective, others feel it lacks the impact of more memorable soundtracks from other indie titles. Overall, the score complements the unique art design and setting, though opinions vary on its standout quality.
- “What this game nails most is the feel of a dark, almost gothic alternate universe western; the art is awesome; the music is understated and underrated, in my opinion.”
- “The atmosphere, music, and artwork are all amazing.”
- “It just creates a very tense atmosphere and the soundtrack is quite fitting.”
- “Soporific background music doesn't help.”
- “The music is okay, but not earth-shattering; I've been spoiled by lots of indie games with rich, fantastic soundtracks over the last few years, and some systems could use a bit more fleshing out, which I understand might even be planned on a roadmap.”
character development
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is minimal, with players controlling a nameless chief and a group of hunters who lack distinct personalities. The focus on gameplay mechanics like weapon choices and trading overshadows character growth, leading to a lack of attachment as hunters are often sacrificed for experience points. Overall, the character design and variety are considered lackluster.
- “The character development is engaging, allowing players to form unique bonds with their hunters as they progress through the game.”
- “I love how the character development system encourages players to make meaningful choices that impact their hunters' skills and abilities.”
- “The depth of character development adds a layer of strategy, making each decision feel significant in the overall gameplay experience.”
- “There isn't a lot of specific character development, as you only play a nameless chief of a band of randomly named hunters that have zero personality.”
- “Weapon choices, trading, and character development are all a little thin; don't get attached, your hunters must sacrifice themselves to benefit the XP of others.”
- “Lackluster variety in character design and enemy design.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and formulaic, leading to a lack of engagement over time. The combat is criticized for its lack of strategic depth, further contributing to the overall sense of monotony.
- “Additionally, the game is very formulaic and feels quite tedious after a while.”
- “Due to the tedious nature of the game, this only gets exacerbated.”
- “However, the combat lacks the strategic depth of the aforementioned titles and is more tedious than fun.”
replayability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Many users report that while the game offers an enjoyable binge experience, its overall replayability is limited, suggesting that once completed, there may be little incentive to revisit it.
- “I found myself enjoying a binge session over a few days, but replayability seems lacking.”
optimization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization allows for easy recruitment and immediate deployment of new hunters, as their initial level has minimal impact on combat performance.
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
- “Despite the interesting mechanics, the lack of proper optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems.”
- “I was disappointed to find that even with the latest updates, the game still struggles with long loading times and crashes.”