Artifact Adventure Gaiden

About

Artifact Adventure Gaiden is a single player role playing game. It was developed by bluffman and was released on January 9, 2018. It received positive reviews from players.

Artifact Adventure Gaiden is a retro-style, roguelike RPG with card-based combat. You'll explore an open world, collect and upgrade cards, and face permadeath in this nostalgic adventure. The game features pixel art graphics and a chiptune soundtrack, creating a charming and immersive experience. With its strategic battles and procedurally generated content, every playthrough offers a fresh challenge.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews

story4 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The game features engaging side-scrolling combat and a variety of customization options for character builds, making battles feel unique and rewarding.
Choices made during quests significantly impact the story and endings, enhancing replayability and player investment in the game world.
The retro Game Boy aesthetic and music evoke nostalgia, appealing to fans of classic RPGs while providing a fun and addictive gameplay experience.

The game suffers from a lack of clear tutorials and explanations for mechanics, which can overwhelm new players and lead to confusion.
Controller support is inadequate, with no options for key mapping, making the default controls uncomfortable and frustrating for many players.
The pacing of combat and progression can feel slow, and some players find the quests to be vague or uninteresting, detracting from the overall experience.

story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The story is engaging, featuring a time skip mechanic that adds stakes to player choices, leading to multiple endings based on quest decisions. While the quests can be vague and some are considered boring, the choice-based elements and unique companion quests provide depth and encourage exploration. However, the quest log could be improved for clarity, as players may find themselves confused about objectives.
- “One thing really good about this game is that depending on your choices for the quests, it actually changes the ending of the game.”
- “Don't be misled by the old-school colorless graphics; it is actually a simple story, but what you can do ends up being pretty deep.”
- “There are dozens of dungeons for you to find, secret quests to uncover, and the choices you make will directly change how the story pans out.”
- “There is some difficulty in how vague the quests are, but this method is meant to emulate older game styles.”
- “Most of the quests are fairly boring, however.”
- “The quest log could also use some work; a lot of descriptions seem unfinished, and especially with companion quests, it's very possible to forget what you're meant to do and get stuck.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay is engaging and unique, blending classic genres with effective choice mechanics that enhance replayability. While it may take some time to grasp the mechanics, players find the character-building aspect rewarding. However, the difficulty balance is inconsistent, with normal mode being too easy and hard mode presenting frustrating challenges.
- “Really fun gameplay that manages to feel unique even though it's mostly just a mash-up of a few classic genres.”
- “I was very surprised with how this little game hooked me; the choice mechanics work very well.”
- “The gameplay of building your character and making choices is really engaging, and made it worth playing through multiple times.”
- “The gameplay is where things really pick up.”
- “Difficulty is a little screwed up at the moment; normal mode is incredibly easy while hard mode, due to some peculiar mechanical choices, is filled with instant deaths.”
- “The gameplay is a little different from the previous, but it's still completely worth it.”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The graphics of the game evoke an old-school Game Boy aesthetic, which some players appreciate while others find off-putting due to the colorless design. Although initially unappealing to some, the visuals, particularly during complex combat sequences, have been noted to improve over time. For those seeking a more vibrant experience, a DX version is available that enhances the visual presentation.
- “After a while, it grew on me, and the more complex combat graphics are where it really shines.”
- “I understand they are trying to reproduce the original Game Boy style.”
- “Don't be misled by the old school colorless graphics; it is actually a simple story, but what you can do ends up pretty deep.”
- “If the graphics and lack of color are bothering you, there is the DX version available that is pretty much the same game.”
- “Visually, I'm not a huge fan of the graphics, but I understand they are trying to reproduce the original Game Boy style.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The music is reminiscent of retro games, fitting the Game Boy style but is generally considered passable and unremarkable compared to classic NES or Game Boy titles. While it complements the game, many players feel it lacks impact and some even suggest muting it for a better experience.
- “The music is in the style of retro games.”
- “The music and sound effects are fine; nothing amazing, but they fit the Game Boy style and don't feel out of place.”
- “The music is passable but nothing special, especially compared to old NES or Game Boy titles.”
- “The music and sound effects are fine, nothing amazing, but it fits the Game Boy style and doesn't feel out of place.”
- “Furthermore, the music is worth muting.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
Players appreciate the game's replayability, noting that the introduction of a new game plus mode increases difficulty and encourages multiple playthroughs. The inventive design and unique systems further enhance the overall replay value.
- “Also, the fact that the game gets harder in New Game Plus mode adds to its replayability.”
- “This is an inventive game with lots of unique systems and great replayability.”
- “The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless.”
- “Once you complete the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
- “The game doesn't offer enough variety in gameplay to warrant multiple playthroughs.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game impactful, noting that even simple mechanics, like attacking by touching enemies, evoke a profound sense of connection and depth.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game enjoyable, as the combat is engaging enough to keep them occupied for extended periods.
- “The combat itself is pretty fun, but you can easily spend most of your time in the game grinding.”
- “Grinding feels repetitive and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
- “The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall experience.”