BURGGEIST

About

BURGGEIST is a single player strategy game. It was developed by GHRIAN STUDIO and was released on October 14, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Burggeist is a real-time action strategy that features the use of height differences and the terrains as part of your tactics. Move around the field, quickly analyze the situation, choose the effective move to create and defend your Tower.STORY Years have passed since Lucile had become motionless. Her husband Ignace, a mathematician from Galacia, was in search of the cure but still completely in t…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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99%

Audience ScoreBased on 172 reviews

story21 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Burggeist offers a unique blend of genres, combining open-world exploration, tower defense, and action RPG mechanics, creating a fresh and engaging gameplay experience.
The game features a beautifully atmospheric world with intriguing lore, compelling characters, and a distinct art style reminiscent of classic PS2 games.
Players enjoy the satisfying movement mechanics and the strategic depth of combat, particularly the height-based damage system that encourages creative gameplay.

The game suffers from some janky controls and awkward animations, which can lead to frustration during platforming and combat sequences.
The story and character interactions are often seen as shallow, with many quests feeling like simple fetch tasks that do not significantly enhance the overall narrative.
Some players find the game world to be largely empty, with limited rewards for exploration, making it feel less engaging at times.

story
67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
65%
4%
The story of the game is a blend of intriguing lore and character-driven quests, set in a surreal world that evokes themes of loss and love. While some players found the narrative straightforward and occasionally lacking depth, others appreciated its unique atmosphere and the way it complements the gameplay. Overall, the story is described as compelling and filled with mystery, making it a significant aspect of the gaming experience despite some critiques regarding its execution and translation.
- “The story is steeped in a wonderful air of mystery and occultism, the atmosphere is impeccable, and the game just brims with heart and passion.”
- “An endlessly interesting story-oriented action tower defense game, in which the main character--Ignace--seeks to build a tower to the heavens in order to free his wife Lucile from an unending slumber, while commanding an enigmatic walking fortress known as Burggeist to aid him.”
- “The story is beautiful, and the characters are really well designed.”
- “The story is pretty weak. This is certainly not a game that one would play for the story; the character interactions are few and far between, and all of them happen inside the towers.”
- “With all honesty, I don't think I understood what exactly the story of this game was, but I can tell you I loved every second of it.”
- “The English translation is a bit rough, and the story is light, but the sheer weirdness of the world and its characters makes it compelling.”
gameplay
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
67%
7%
The gameplay of the game is a unique blend of exploration in a large open world and tower defense mechanics, featuring a distinctive height damage system that adds depth to combat. While some players found the mechanics a bit clunky and the game lacking polish, many praised its creative design, engaging atmosphere, and the rewarding nature of exploration. Overall, the gameplay is described as fun, innovative, and filled with charm, making it a refreshing experience in a landscape often dominated by conventional mechanics.
- “Brilliantly designed game with a weird, evocative world, great art design, and perfected gameplay loop.”
- “The gameplay is a mix of speedy-platforming around a map that looks like the shadow of the colossus overworld, and then tower defense segments where you're managing a customized weapon-platform-monster.”
- “In a world where even indie games recycle the same mechanics over and over to the point of boredom, burggeist is full of both quirky gameplay and storytelling the likes of which I would expect from a hidden PS2 gem.”
- “The only problems I have with the gameplay involve the endgame tower defense.”
- “On one hand, the game is graphically dated, the story is dry and episodic, and either you enjoy the weird guy and his daughter piloted fire support town or you dislike basically 90% of gameplay.”
- “While the narrative to the fight was cool and fitting, it was mechanically awful and frustrating.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
63%
16%
The game's graphics are characterized by a distinct art style reminiscent of PS2-era titles, which many players find appealing despite some technical limitations and rough animations in 3D elements. While the visuals evoke a nostalgic charm and contribute to an immersive world, the overall graphical performance is considered dated, with a barebones options menu that leaves room for improvement. Despite these shortcomings, the aesthetic and design elements, including character and enemy designs, are praised for their creativity and effectiveness in enhancing the game's atmosphere.
- “Said world is very evocative, and comes with some very nice visuals.”
- “Combined with the aesthetic, it feels like you're playing a PS2 masterpiece you somehow missed out on back in the day.”
- “As for blemishes, the art style and animation is kinda rough, though only in the 3D elements, as the menus are the best I've seen outside of AAA studios.”
- “It feels like it leans on visuals from Nier, Shadow of the Colossus, and other PS2/early PS3 games, creating an open world that's as beautiful as it is empty.”
- “Movement feels a bit slippery, the platforming is weird and the graphics are 'technically' on the lower end.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
7%
13%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers highlighting its ability to enhance the overall atmosphere and emotional depth of the experience. The soundtrack is described as amazing, often melancholic and bittersweet, perfectly complementing the visuals and narrative. Overall, the music stands out as a memorable aspect that elevates the game's unique vibe.
- “Amazing music and atmosphere.”
- “Complimenting the game's visuals is the incredible soundtrack, which elevates the experience all by itself... just like the original Nier, too!”
- “The music is lovely, often melancholy and bittersweet as you wander ancient battlefields.”
- “The game itself features perfectly timed and themed ambient audio and music.”
- “Given enough time, I'll eventually forget what the basic furniture and wall textures looked like, but I'll continue to remember the game's vibes, its music, character designs, and so on.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its mysterious and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful music and a rich, engaging world. Players appreciate the blend of genres and the emotional depth that contributes to a unique vibe, making exploration enjoyable despite some gameplay limitations. Overall, the atmosphere is described as impeccable, brimming with heart and creativity.
- “The main game world is empty, mysterious (what are those huge open books growing out of the ground?), and incredibly atmospheric.”
- “But the core gameplay is really fun and engaging, the story is steeped in a wonderful air of mystery and occultism, the atmosphere is impeccable, and the game just brims with heart and passion.”
- “A beautiful game with a rich atmosphere, really fun and fluid traversal abilities, and a unique blend of tons of genres.”
- “While exploring, a simple piano melody occasionally kicks in a la Minecraft or Breath of the Wild, which is just enough to add beauty to the atmosphere.”
- “With a style and atmosphere that feels like a mix between something out of the now-defunct Japan Studio and Nier, and gameplay that I can best describe as tower defense character action, Burggest is such a goddamn vibe.”
- “Creative gameplay and impeccable atmosphere.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its touching story and impactful dialogue, which resonate deeply with players. Moments of high drama, such as a character's daring leap to confront a formidable foe, evoke strong feelings, leading to genuine emotional responses, including tears. Overall, the game successfully connects with players on an emotional level, making for a memorable experience.
- “Touching story and dialogue.”
- “When Ignace said, 'It’s Burggeist time!' and jumped off a 5,000-noran tower to dunk a fireball onto a primal trumpeter, I cried.”
- “Touching ewwwwwwes.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find that while grinding for achievements can detract from the enjoyment of the game's narrative and exploration, it is not entirely unenjoyable. The experience is often hindered by a plateau in learning, making the process of discovery less engaging once players have mastered the game's mechanics. Overall, grinding is seen as one of the weaker aspects, with limited activities beyond resource collection and climbing.
- “Trying to 100% the achievements admittedly becomes significantly less fun than the more narrative and organic exploration-driven core playthrough, as it features a fair bit of grinding and combing the game's playable map. The real problem of that experience was the learning curve hitting a plateau, which shows just how fun and important the process of discovering the game's intricacies is - it's not as interesting when you have it all figured out.”
- “One of the weakest parts of the game is that, other than climbing some towers and grinding for extra resources, there is not much to do.”
- “Map: it's good, not very big, not very small, because some things are easy to find, but there is not a grindy way to collect everything; rather, it feels like a skill check if you would call chaining abilities a skill.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a surprisingly good sense of humor, highlighted by dry observations from the character Ignace and amusing vignette sidequests that provide both entertainment and rewards. The quirky translation adds to the charm, enhancing the overall comedic experience as players navigate through the eccentricities of the game's characters.
- “The game has a surprisingly good sense of humor, with Ignace giving very dry observations of the crazy people he runs into on his journey.”
- “Completing towers also gives you short vignette sidequests, each of which can be pretty funny, and reward you with valuable upgrade points and new gyromantia spells.”
- “The mostly competent but occasionally awkward translation feels downright nostalgic, and not entirely out of place with how weird these characters are -- them talking a bit funny feels almost right.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The game faces notable performance issues, particularly related to its graphics and endless view distance, which detracts from the overall experience. Players express hope that the developers will improve optimization in future updates.
- “There are a bit of a performance issue, but it seems like a fun game to play. Hopefully, the devs improve the optimization of the game.”
- “I guess it is because of the endless view distance and not much optimization.”
- “The performance is not that great for the graphics.”
- “I guess it is because of the endless view distance and lack of optimization.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Character development in the game is highlighted as a memorable aspect, with players emphasizing the lasting impact of the characters' designs and the overall vibe, music, and atmosphere, which overshadow more mundane elements like furniture and textures.
- “Given enough time, I'll eventually forget what the basic furniture and wall textures looked like, but I'll continue to remember the game's vibes, its music, character designs, and so on.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
- “I was hoping for a more engaging storyline, but the characters remain one-dimensional throughout the game.”
- “The choices you make don't seem to impact character growth, leaving the development feeling stagnant and unfulfilling.”