Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness
- March 16, 2022
- GrapeOcean Technologies
- 29h median play time
Get on Steam"Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness" is a tactical cRPG inspired by classics like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. In the world of Yerengal, you must navigate a land plagued by war, pestilence, and mysterious abductions. Recruit allies, uncover the legacy of your birth, and discover the truth of the Black Geyser, all while using your preferred playstyle of sorcery, stealth, diplomacy, or brute force. The game features real-time tactical combat with pause, deep lore, and memorable companions.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game captures the nostalgic feel of classic CRPGs like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, providing a familiar experience for fans of the genre.
- The story and lore are engaging, with interesting quests and a unique greed mechanic that influences gameplay.
- The character creation and class diversity offer a good level of customization, allowing players to build their party according to their preferred playstyle.
- The loading times are excessively long, often taking up to a minute or more, which disrupts the flow of gameplay.
- The game suffers from balance issues, particularly with certain classes being underpowered compared to others, leading to a lack of strategic depth in combat.
- Many quests feel generic and repetitive, often relying on fetch quests that can make the game feel tedious and unoriginal.
- story367 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it simplistic and lacking depth, often relying on clichéd tropes and fetch quests. While some appreciate the potential for character development and the impact of player choices, others criticize the pacing, abrupt transitions, and underwhelming companion quests. Overall, the narrative is seen as a decent foundation that could benefit from further expansion and refinement, particularly in character interactions and quest design.
“The story is pretty compelling (at least what I've played so far) and the system has enough going on to make battles and leveling fun.”
“The story builds up for something potentially epic towards the end and then just falls flat on its face and gives you a scrolling text blurb that covers one major event and 'well everything went bad anyway' with nothing covering your companions, you, the places and people you helped etc.”
“The game has a unique in-depth lore to it and keeps a compendium of every person, monster, or place you've encountered so there is no end to the amount of depth and background story they have created.”
“The story is chaotic and contains way too many twists for such a short game.”
“The story builds up for something potentially epic towards the end and then just falls flat on its face, giving you a scrolling text blurb that covers one major event and 'well everything went bad anyway' with nothing covering your companions, you, the places and people you helped. Possibly one of the most dissatisfying game endings I've experienced.”
“The story is lackluster with the overall plot and the characters have little appeal; it's a short game and I can probably finish in a few hours, even with doing every side quest and most of the companion quests.”
- gameplay111 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its nostalgic ties to classic CRPGs like Baldur's Gate, while others criticize it for being clunky and overly complex, particularly regarding the alchemy and greed mechanics. While the combat and strategic elements can be enjoyable, many find the overall experience shallow and marred by balance issues, long loading times, and a lack of engaging story and character development. Despite these drawbacks, some players note that the game offers a decent amount of content for its price, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre.
“Overall, the gameplay is smooth and very enjoyable.”
“The combat is fun, the soundtrack is excellent, some decent humor and side quests, and the greed mechanic is an interesting spin and makes you think about every action.”
“The gameplay is intuitive and old lovers of Baldur's Gate will feel right at home.”
“The mechanics behind your stats and attributes in the combat are needlessly complex.”
“Gameplay is pretty much the same as in any of the Infinity games, just more bland.”
“The gameplay isn't very adaptive and basically takes all the annoying things from those games and keeps them in while getting rid of the more pleasant things that those games were starting to address.”
- graphics103 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally viewed as acceptable but not groundbreaking, often compared to older titles like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. While some players appreciate the nostalgic art style and beautiful environmental visuals, others criticize the character models and overall graphical fidelity as outdated or mediocre. Loading times and interface issues further detract from the visual experience, though many agree that the graphics serve the game's retro aesthetic well.
“The game world is beautiful and has the soft aesthetic of Icewind Dale 1.”
“The graphics give a very good atmosphere to the game; I think they have this old-school air about them, but without feeling dated.”
“Colorful and beautifully drawn graphics inspired by the RPG classics, good story and soundtrack.”
“Don't expect high-end graphics or sophisticated tech.”
“The graphics are okay, but the isometric perspective has no 'vanishing point', so the angles and dimensions are more like architectural drawings and detract from an immersive experience.”
“The graphics aren't the best, especially compared to Pillars of Eternity and Divine Divinity, but they aren't horrible either.”
- music35 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its retro charm and fitting atmosphere, while others find it repetitive and annoying over time. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the game's tone, ranging from jovial to grim, though some note that it lacks variety and can detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the music is generally considered adequate and occasionally enjoyable, it does not stand out as exceptional.
“The soundtrack was great.”
“The music is great, too.”
“The soundtrack, while not quite outstanding, is fitting, unobtrusive and used well.”
“Music got repetitive fast.”
“No instructions of what to do, just annoying music on a loop.”
“Maddening, overly repetitive music.”
- optimization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 39 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players reporting severe performance issues, bugs, and inefficient asset management. While some users noted improvements in load times since early access, the overall consensus is that significant optimization is still needed, particularly for those with mid-range systems. Players are frustrated by the developers' reliance on hardware upgrades as a solution to fundamental performance problems.
“Load performance has definitely improved since the EA launched, and overall performance is pretty good.”
“There are certainly some optimization problems, but this may be a PC problem.”
“I refunded, but I'm going to come back once some things are fleshed out...namely character customization, and better optimization.”
“The game is horribly optimized and, despite having a sub-1998 Baldur's Gate engine, chugs like crazy on my PC.”
“What really got under my skin was that the main excuses for this were 'simply ensure you have an SSD and other system optimizations' - please guys, we all know that's not the core reason for memory leak issues, catastrophically inefficient asset packaging and loading strategies, and a non-robust quest engine.”
“Right now it's a bit rough, and could definitely use some optimization.”
- atmosphere14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its dark, immersive qualities and nostalgic elements reminiscent of classic CRPGs like Baldur's Gate. However, others criticize it for lacking depth and excitement, noting that the narrative and character interactions feel less engaging. While the graphics and sound design contribute positively to the overall ambiance, many feel that improvements are needed to fully realize the game's potential.
“I had high expectations about this game too and was curious if it would be capable of capturing this old-school atmosphere while creating a new direction.”
“The infinity engine inspired backgrounds are filled with well-crafted and detailed assets, which bring the world to life, and the music is relaxing and well-suited to the atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is dark; the ambient music and landscapes in general give that feel.”
“I play CRPGs for the time I can get out of it, the replayability, variety they offer, and the atmosphere/world building, but this doesn't have it.”
“It has a less exciting narrative and atmosphere than the first Baldur's Gate; the number of bugs is quite heavy, and romances and party interactions are... strange, weird, like they are not real people.”
“As of now, this doesn't match the writing, presentation, originality, or atmosphere of Pillars of Eternity.”
- stability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 70 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report it as relatively bug-free and stable on Windows 10/11, issues persist with the native version, including startup failures and graphical glitches. Some minor character glitches and loading screen freezes have been noted, but most players find these issues manageable and not game-breaking. Despite some lingering bugs, the game is generally considered more stable than similar titles in the genre.
“On the plus side, I found the game to be quite bug-free and the greed mechanic is quite a clever concept, though it could have been handled a bit differently.”
“The only kind thing I have to say about this game is that it seems relatively bug-free aside from a few misspellings.”
“The native version was not playable, either not starting up at all or having severe graphical glitches, while the Windows 10/11 version seems perfectly stable and bug-free.”
“The game freezes up on loading screens or takes a lot of time to load.”
“Lots of the quests and gameplay were still a bit buggy after 1.0, but were fixed very quickly.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a mix of humor, with players appreciating the witty dialogue choices and amusing writing throughout. While some find the romantic elements to be more comedic than heartfelt, the overall tone is light and entertaining, complemented by fun side quests and engaging combat. The humor is well-received, making the experience enjoyable without overwhelming players with excessive lore.
“On the good side, this game has some pretty funny dialog choices for your character in conversations.”
“The game is pretty fun with some hilarious dialog options.”
“There is some funny and witty writing that I enjoyed, and it's not overly heavy with lore dumps and such so far.”
- character development6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally viewed as limited and simplistic, with players noting a lack of engaging plot and interactions among followers. While the character design is praised, the overall depth and complexity of character progression, particularly in combat and non-combat skills, leaves much to be desired, leading to hopes for improvement in future DLCs and sequels.
“Aside from that, excellent character design; we all hope for more depth and complexity. That's what DLC and sequels are for, though, and I feel confident this series has legs.”
“As far as character development is concerned, it reminded me of Pillars of Eternity where you get skills that you invest in.”
“Another unique thing that affects character development, that’s still being worked on, is the greed system.”
“The story is simple and there isn't much character development.”
“Character development in terms of combat and non-combat skills is just really limited.”
“Main plot was non-engaging, followers are boring and lack interactions, itemization is poor, and the character development is primitive and non-nuanced.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find enough variety for two separate playthroughs, others criticize it for low to moderate replay value due to a lack of distinct classes and limited choices. The game is relatively short, with many players feeling it does not offer sufficient depth or variety to warrant multiple playthroughs.
“Token amount of choice and consequence and replayability in general, good enough for two separate playthroughs: generous and greedy.”
“There's a decent amount of replayability.”
“I play CRPGs for the time I can get out of it, the replayability, variety they offer, and the atmosphere/world building.”
“It's about 25-30 hours long, with low to moderate replay value.”
“I play CRPGs for the time I can get out of it, the replayability, variety they offer, and the atmosphere/world building, but this doesn't have it.”
“Black Geyser is a short game with no replay value, and a lack of distinct classes takes away having variety in party build.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while some characters, like Hamlin, show potential for emotional depth, the overall narrative lacks compelling emotional moments and relies heavily on a monotonous fetch quest structure. Many players express disappointment in the underdeveloped backstories and emotional arcs, suggesting a need for a more engaging and intricate storyline.
“Hamlin has definitely been written more interestingly, although Arvex has a strongly emotional past, which the creators should develop a bit better.”
“The story is bland and boring, relying on fetch quests to level up instead of offering a compelling, engaging, and intricate main storyline.”
“The emotional depth is lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters or care about their journeys.”
“I felt no emotional investment in the plot; it was predictable and uninspired.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, particularly in the crafting system that requires repetitive collection of herbs and materials for potions. While the inventory management is standard and not overly burdensome, the monotony of grinding can become a significant drawback.
“The crafting system, which is essentially grinding herbs and other materials to make potions, gets old very quickly.”
“The inventory system is what you’d expect, and like other systems, it can be tedious, but not to the point where I found it to be a major negative.”
