Balrum

77%
Game Brain Score Based on 371 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • grinding
Balrum Game Cover
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Balrum is a single-player, open-world RPG set in a vibrant fantasy world with turn-based combat and deep crafting mechanics. Venture through a vast open world, complete numerous side quests, and craft custom items. Your trusty animal companion adds depth to the strategic combat, as you fight to uncover an intriguing story in this old-school RPG.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 371 reviews
story45 positive mentions
grinding71 negative mentions
  • Balrum offers a deep and rewarding gameplay experience with a blend of RPG, crafting, and survival elements.
  • The game features a vast open world filled with secrets, quests, and a variety of crafting options that encourage exploration.
  • The retro graphics and nostalgic feel resonate well with fans of classic RPGs, providing a charming atmosphere.
  • The game suffers from a slow pace, with tedious movement and a lack of fast travel options that can make exploration feel cumbersome.
  • Combat can be frustratingly difficult, especially for certain classes like mages, leading to a steep learning curve and potential for player frustration.
  • The UI and inventory management can be clunky, making it difficult to navigate and manage resources effectively.
  • story168 mentions

    The story in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its creativity and depth, while others criticize it for being generic and poorly written. Many quests are described as fetch or kill tasks, lacking meaningful choices or branching narratives, which detracts from the overall role-playing experience. Despite these criticisms, the game offers an intriguing world filled with secrets and exploration, though it could benefit from improved quest tracking and writing quality.

    • “The story is gripping and the gameplay only slightly linear, but imperceptibly so.”
    • “The story is solid, though not something that will blow your mind.”
    • “The story is interesting, though not enthralling.”
    • “The story is so painfully generic that it could be considered satirical, if the breathlessly amateurish writing didn't give away that the author thought he was telling a really cool story.”
    • “The quests are mostly just fetch quests and kill quests, so there's no branching narrative to roleplay as.”
    • “The 'storyline' is barely present, and is told with poor grammar in places.”
  • gameplay91 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics, including crafting, survival, and exploration, which offer a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic RPGs. However, players have noted issues with poorly explained mechanics, frustrating controls, and a lack of balance in combat, leading to a mixed reception. While the game provides a vast world and numerous systems to explore, it requires patience and can feel tedious at times, particularly with its survival elements and linear quest design.

    • “It has many details that enrich the gameplay, while not being bothersome and complicating things for the sole reason of being complicated.”
    • “Very nice old school RPG, with top-notch mechanics and exploration experience.”
    • “This game wants you to think about your choices and adapt your gameplay accordingly, which is good; thinking is good!”
    • “The gameplay seems relaxing from the videos, but in practice, the horrible controls, over-the-top hunger, and real-time gameplay force you to be constantly interacting and skipping through dialogue. The game is at odds with itself.”
    • “Unfortunately, it will be the challenge of overcoming the game's poor mechanics and design choices that those types of gamers will find rewarding, and not the act of simply engaging with the game itself.”
    • “The developers put together an appropriately polished game, and many will enjoy it, but there are just enough avoidable design errors that come across as user-hostile: the problem isn't that the game is hard, it's that the game is annoying.”
  • grinding71 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it tedious and slow-paced, particularly in terms of leveling and resource management. While crafting, farming, and survival mechanics are present, they often feel optional or even unnecessary, as players can bypass them with readily available resources. Overall, those who enjoy grinding and the associated mechanics may find enjoyment, but others may feel overwhelmed by the repetitive nature of these tasks.

    • “This game seemed tailor-made for me, and I love basically everything about it, except how tedious it is.”
    • “Considering how easy it is to find raw meat and roast it, or find flour and turn it into bread, or how many apples you can find on trees... farming and cooking are just a waste of time.”
    • “The crafting, building, and farming all seem fun and interesting, just a pity you are forced into combat grinding for levels needed to train crafting skills.”
  • graphics63 mentions

    The graphics of the game are predominantly described as retro and old-school, reminiscent of classic RPGs like Ultima and Eschalon, with a charming pixel art style that appeals to fans of the genre. While some reviewers note the dated visuals and limited graphical fidelity, many appreciate the attention to detail and how the graphics complement the gameplay and story. Overall, the graphics are seen as fitting for the game's aesthetic, providing a nostalgic experience rather than relying on modern graphical advancements.

    • “The graphics are sublime and really complement the game.”
    • “The game doesn't rely on fancy graphics to sell, yet I find the graphics to be beautiful and reminiscent of older CRPGs which made me love this genre of games.”
    • “Good and smooth graphics, well designed, well animated (if you like such kind of art, of course).”
    • “On the negative side are the limited graphics, isometric view, and difficulty of completing quests or finding dungeons, limited fast travel, and a weird map.”
    • “Technically the game is fine, the UI is okay, graphics are on the level of games 15 years ago, but it does fit the style.”
    • “The game is slow, graphics are dated, crafting and skills are a pain.”
  • music21 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and immersive qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere with a calming soundtrack and well-executed sound effects. While some users noted that the music can become repetitive, the general consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's appeal, complementing its graphics and gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, adding depth to the gaming experience.

    • “I promptly installed it and was greeted by that sweet, soothing Balrum opening soundtrack.”
    • “Fairy tale with great immersive atmosphere delivered by sprite-based graphics and fine tunes of music and sound.”
    • “The music is actually quite nice and the graphics are old-school, nothing bad.”
    • “There really isn't much warning at all and the music fades in so slow.”
    • “Game could use some quality of life features too - visible hunger/thirst/fatigue bars, an auto save feature, separate volume mixers for music, effects, background noises.”
    • “The visuals, music and sounds are all well done but the best part of this game, and the most important is the gameplay and I give it a major plus for that.”
  • character development8 mentions

    Character development in the game is described as glacially slow and often frustrating, with players feeling penalized for non-optimal choices and lacking a respec option. While the game offers a degree of freedom and an interesting story, many find the character development system tedious and unengaging, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, it may still appeal to RPG fans who enjoy open-world exploration and crafting.

    • “It allows the player a great deal of liberty in the world, has an interesting story to tell, a fun character development system (both at creation and in-game), nice and easy to grasp mechanics, the UI is simple and functional, and the music is nice to have in the background.”
    • “It's definitely a worthy game for RPG fans who like big open worlds, crafting, exploration, open-ended character development, a home to call their own, and an epic mystery to solve.”
    • “Character development is glacially slow and there is no respec option.”
    • “It's rather slow - character development takes ages (after 11 hours I'm on the 4th level).”
    • “The quests are terrible and the character development is not very fun, either.”
  • atmosphere7 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is initially engaging, characterized by charming fairy tale elements, immersive sprite-based graphics, and well-crafted music. However, some players express concerns about the potential monotony of future zones, which may detract from the overall experience. Overall, the atmosphere is praised for its nostalgic appeal and visual performance, particularly for an old-school RPG.

    • “Nice atmosphere, doesn't get monotonous or the game doesn't get dragged into full combat at all.”
    • “Charming atmosphere.”
    • “Fairy tale with great immersive atmosphere delivered by sprite-based graphics and fine tunes of music and sound.”
    • “So while I did feel a little pulled into the game by the atmosphere, it was doomed to fail me in the future anyway.”
    • “Colors, sprites, atmosphere... the visual performance just feels so right (for an old school RPG).”
  • replayability5 mentions

    The game offers solid replayability through the option to explore different classes and builds, as well as unique guilds and gameplay mechanics. While the initial playthrough is extensive and engaging, some players note that replaying may become less exciting once familiar with the game's structure. Overall, many users express a desire to experience the game multiple times to experiment with different character choices.

    • “Replayability is achieved through playing a different class and/or build.”
    • “In any case, the game is really vast and pretty long, at least the first time. It has some replayability with unique guilds, builds, gameplay, survival aspects, and housing.”
    • “+ Gameplay greatly varies with different classes, improving replay value.”
    • “I will probably complete the game with my first character and then reroll to try something different (mostly because of all the mistakes I've made creating this one), which leads me to the last part...the replayability is there, but I could see how it would become boring once you have an idea of where you're going.”
    • “It might not have the replay value of many games, but I have a feeling I might play through this more than once, just to try and go another way with my character.”
    • “In any case, the game is really vast and pretty long, at least the first time, got some replayability, with unique guilds, builds and gameplay, survival aspects, and housing.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    Overall, the optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players feeling that it falls short of expectations, particularly for those who prioritize performance and challenge. While some users report smooth gameplay with low CPU usage, others warn that the limited learning points and focus on specialization may detract from the overall experience, especially for completionists.

    • “Games that don't seem to constantly crash and run smoothly with very low CPU usage.”
    • “If you are obsessed with optimization, high challenge, and completionist play, I doubt it can be enjoyed if you expect that from a CRPG.”
    • “Too much hype, too little performance.”
    • “The limited learning points mean that optimization is more important than flavor; be a specialist rather than a generalist.”
    • “Otherwise, avoid it, particularly if you are obsessed with optimization, high challenge, and completionist play. I doubt it can be enjoyed if you expect that from a CRPG.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as small yet impactful, with a mix of interesting storytelling and amusing enemy designs. While some reviewers note a lack of graphical polish, they find the comedic elements to be a standout feature, contributing to an overall entertaining experience.

    • “Don't be disappointed with the graphics; this gem has an interesting story, with not too many difficult mechanics, lots of enemies (and some funny ones).”
    • “Hilarious!”
    • “Small but funny.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players express that the emotional impact of the game largely depends on personal attachment, as certain elements may feel disconnected from the overall world. Despite this, many find themselves emotionally engaged, likening the experience to living in a fantasy RPG.

    • “But it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t attach an emotional significance to it all by yourself - the shelter won’t be visited by anyone; it’s not really a part of the game’s world.”
    • “Made me feel like an average person just living in a fantasy RPG. Love it.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game is widely criticized as a generic cash grab, indicating a lack of originality and a focus on profit over player experience.

    • “This says it all... it's just another generic cash grab.”
    • “The monetization system feels exploitative and heavily favors players who are willing to spend money.”
    • “I can't enjoy the game when every feature is locked behind a paywall.”
  • stability1 mentions

    Users generally report a positive experience with stability, highlighting the game as bug-free and reminiscent of old-school mechanics, resulting in an overall favorable rating of 8/10.

    • “Overall, I like it. 8/10 based on the old school feel and bug-free mechanics.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

28hMedian play time
25hAverage play time
7-50hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 12 analyzed playthroughs

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