Asguaard
- April 10, 2015
- Aldorlea Games
- 100h median play time
Get on Steam"Asguaard" is a single-player Role Playing game with a good plot that offers around 100 hours of playtime. In a magical world facing devastating plagues, a human is summoned to save Asguaard through acts of friendship, passion, and heroism. The game features 500+ locations, 150 secret places, and Aldorlea's most popular experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic 80s/90s RPGs, appealing to fans of that genre.
- There are numerous hidden areas and secrets to discover, providing a sense of exploration and adventure.
- The battle system is engaging and allows for a variety of character development options through skill trainers.
- The story and dialogue are poorly written, often feeling juvenile and lacking depth, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including frustrating controls, lack of proper audio settings, and restrictive resolution options.
- Many players found the gameplay repetitive and tedious, with confusing navigation and an overwhelming amount of hidden content that can lead to frustration.
- story34 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many reviewers criticizing it for being poorly written, lacking depth, and resembling low-quality fanfiction. While some players found charm in the character-driven elements and exploration, the overall narrative was deemed weak and often absurd, detracting from the gameplay experience. Despite these shortcomings, a few players appreciated the nostalgic feel of old-school RPGs, suggesting that those who prioritize gameplay over story might still enjoy the game.
“So much thought and detail goes into these games, and they always have a great storyline and lots of secret rooms and discoveries to make.”
“As with other works from Aldorlea, the story is perhaps somewhat childish, even naive, but hey, old-school JRPG fans like myself will still get plenty of kicks out of the smooth, almost beautifully chaotic battle sequences and the nearly endless hunt for treasure and secrets.”
“However, if the story element doesn't bother you, I would recommend this game to any fan of old-school RPGs, because despite the story flaws, the game is really enjoyable to play.”
“In line with the other RPG Maker asset flips, there's barely any real plot or interest apart from badly translated high school anime club tier fanfiction writing, sloppy encounter design... this 'developer' has pumped out over 100 RPG Maker asset flips, and to nobody's surprise, they're pretty much all the same thing.”
“Relationships and character growth jump from nonexistent to fully-fledged with little in-between, missing out on the opportunity for nuanced storytelling.”
“Story boring and juvenile, cinematics drag on forever with poor development.”
- music11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and lacking variety, leading to a tedious experience. While some appreciate the charm of the mood music, others criticize the absence of proper audio controls and describe the overall soundtrack as lackluster. Despite a few positive notes regarding its retro style and production values, the consensus leans towards disappointment in the musical aspect.
“These kinds of games have it all - exploring and dungeon crawling, character and party development, cool equipment, skills, and spells to create a party to your style, quests, adventure, and you even get a story and often enjoyable music.”
“Music is reasonable and doesn't exhaust you as you hear so much of it.”
“It's a solid retro RPG with very high production values, from art to music to game mechanics.”
“Bewilderingly, the game doesn't include proper audio controls, so you can't turn off the annoying sound/background music; you'll need to alt+tab out and stop it using the Windows sound mixer.”
“Each area's soundtrack consists of short, repetitious melodies that quickly become tedious.”
“From its amateurish character art to its lackluster music and poorly executed guide, the game is a disappointment.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics in this RPG Maker game are widely criticized for their low quality, featuring untextured, low-polygon assets that resemble early 1990s games. The lack of resolution options and graphical tweaks, combined with a disjointed mix of art styles, detracts from the overall experience, leaving players feeling that the visuals are a result of laziness rather than intentional design. Overall, the graphics are deemed unacceptable for modern gaming standards.
“I like the artwork, and so far the story is fine.”
“Graphics are of similar quality.”
“The game features lazy minimalist/untextured low-polygon 'retro' assets and visuals, making this look like a barely functional 3D game from the early 1990s.”
“As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“The lack of textures is a method that lazy developers often use to disguise their lack of talent or interest in doing the graphics properly, trying to disguise it under the name of 'art' or 'we made it look bad on purpose', which really isn't something gamers should have to put up with.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its nostalgic elements reminiscent of early RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior, while others criticize its low-quality graphics and repetitive mechanics. Despite a solid retro RPG foundation and high production values, many players find the overall experience lacking and not worth the time investment.
“Gameplay style is nostalgic of the early Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior games.”
“It's a solid retro RPG with very high production values, from art to music to game mechanics.”
“100 hours of gameplay?”
“Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low-quality copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art, looks awful, and has even worse gameplay.”
“While I didn't mind the overall idea and gameplay, the storyline was painful.”
“Regardless of whatever the story or gameplay I wrote a review on was about... these games are just not worth playing.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding in the game to be tedious, with repetitive soundtracks and excessive backtracking contributing to a sense of boredom. The need to explore every area thoroughly adds to the monotony, making the overall experience feel unnecessarily prolonged.
“Each area's soundtrack consists of short, repetitious melodies that quickly become tedious.”
“The other thing this leads to is searching every nook and cranny, which quickly becomes boring and tedious.”
“There's enough grinding and backtracking to make Aveyond seem like the length of a comic book.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, characterized by poor quality, reliance on stock assets, and a lack of genuine development effort, which ultimately tarnishes the reputation of amateur developers.
“It's horribly basic, riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, full of stock copy-pasted RPG Maker assets. No real game development has taken place here; this is just a cash grab, shovelware polluting Steam for profit.”
“This kind of cash grab construction kit shovelware from bad actors like Andorlea gives amateur developers a bad name.”
- character development2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in "Asguaard" is marked by a unique feature involving skill trainers, but overall, it is criticized for being abrupt and lacking depth. This inconsistency suggests that while there are interesting elements, they do not fully enhance the overall character experience.
“The game's use of skill trainers offers a unique twist to character development, enhancing the overall experience.”
“The depth of character progression allows players to truly shape their heroes, making each journey feel personal and rewarding.”
“I love how the choices I make during the game impact my character's growth, creating a sense of investment in their story.”
“Character development in 'Asguaard' is abrupt and lacks subtlety.”
“The game's use of skill trainers offers a unique twist to character development, yet this feature alone can't carry the entire experience.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is negatively impacted by a limited audio landscape, which reduces the overall immersive experience.
“The lack of variety in the audio landscape significantly detracts from the game's atmosphere.”
“The environments feel lifeless and fail to immerse the player in the game's world.”
“The lighting is inconsistent, which undermines the intended mood and tension of the game.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The optimization aspect of the game has been criticized for lacking a coherent and efficient route, instead providing a disorganized list of hidden items and locations, accompanied by outdated maps and unhelpful screenshots.
“Rather than offering a logical, optimized route through the game, it merely lists hidden, trainer, and rune locations at the end, with nearly useless screenshots and outdated world map links.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by casual references to quirky human activities, such as techno parties, which adds a lighthearted and relatable touch to the overall experience.
“The game is filled with hilarious references to everyday life, like casually mentioning a techno party and other funny human activities.”
“I couldn't stop laughing at the witty dialogue and absurd situations the characters found themselves in.”
“The humor is spot-on, blending clever wordplay with ridiculous scenarios that keep you entertained throughout.”
