Cursed Lands
- November 17, 2017
- Winter Wolves
- 20h median play time
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Get on itch.io Store"Cursed Lands" is a RPG where you serve as the Empire's Envoy, investigating a mysterious mist spreading undeath from the Castle of N'Mar. Assemble a diverse team of recruits from various regions and factions, utilizing an innovative social talent system. The game's mission: infiltrate the castle, uncover the source of evil, and put an end to the blight before it reaches the Empire's borders.
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Reviews
- The game features a rich and engaging story with well-developed characters, making it enjoyable for fans of narrative-driven gameplay.
- The character customization options allow players to create a unique protagonist, enhancing the personal connection to the story.
- The blend of RPG mechanics with visual novel elements provides a diverse gameplay experience, appealing to fans of both genres.
- The dialogue is excessively verbose and often feels repetitive, leading to a lack of meaningful interactions between characters.
- Many characters lack distinct personalities, making it difficult to connect with them or differentiate between their dialogues.
- The combat system is simplistic and can become tedious, with a heavy reliance on grinding in arena battles that detracts from the overall experience.
- story123 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally well-received, featuring an engaging adventure with dynamic characters and multiple branching paths that enhance replayability. However, some players find the pacing slow and the plot occasionally drags, with long stretches of gameplay that feel tedious and disconnected from the main narrative. While the romantic elements and character interactions are appreciated, the overall execution of the story can feel inconsistent, leading to mixed feelings about its depth and engagement.
“An excellent adventure story with fun characters.”
“The plot is interesting and keeps you engaged.”
“Great story, very creative and innovative.”
“The overall story feels bland.”
“I felt as if there was zero effort put into the plot at all.”
“The main story is actually very, very short only to give room to that huge amount of irrelevant small talk.”
- gameplay29 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a blend of visual novel storytelling and basic RPG mechanics, featuring a day-by-day progression system that can feel grindy and repetitive. While the combat mechanics have seen some improvements, they remain simplistic and can become tedious, particularly with the limited party size and lack of meaningful time constraints. Despite these drawbacks, the game offers a rich narrative experience with multiple character paths and replayability, appealing to fans of story-driven RPGs.
“I usually abhor games that force me to race against the clock, but this game is one of the rare ones that I could enjoy that has this mechanic.”
“+ unique RPG mechanics -- I really did enjoy some of the new mechanics here, and felt that the creators really worked hard to incorporate them nicely.”
“The freedom to choose how you'd like to play the game really makes it clear that the developers didn't want to force the gameplay down your throat.”
“The day-by-day mechanics can get very grindy; often there's nothing to do but advance several days forward hoping the next story event will trigger.”
“The gameplay is mainly reading or skipping through the story (with some decision- and romance options as well as solving quests) and semi-round based fighting; it gets repetitive very soon.”
“The gameplay is a bit of a step backwards in comparison to Season of the Wolf, which featured six-person team battles with two rows and tense time-limit mechanics in the overworld. Here, you have four characters in a single row and time progression that is not very meaningful.”
- grinding16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received significant criticism, with many players noting that it can be excessively tedious and reminiscent of old-school JRPGs, requiring repetitive arena battles that lack rewards and variety. While there are options to reduce or skip grinding through easier modes or visual novel settings, the overall experience can feel stale and uninspired, particularly due to the lack of engaging mechanics during these grind sessions. Players suggest that the game would benefit from a reduction in grinding requirements to enhance enjoyment and maintain interest in the story and characters.
“The day-by-day mechanics can get very grindy; often there's nothing to do but advance several days forward hoping the next story event will trigger.”
“The biggest con here, and the one that may scare some people away, is the insane amounts of grinding.”
“We're talking old school JRPG levels of grinding, fighting the same enemies in the arenas over and over and leveling up a little at a time.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics are characterized by a vibrant and diverse art style that reflects the individual creativity of multiple artists, resulting in a colorful and engaging fantasy world. While many appreciate the effort and detail in the backgrounds, some critiques point to inconsistencies in character design, with a few sprites resembling those from previous games in the series. Overall, the artwork is seen as a labor of love, though opinions vary on the attractiveness of character designs.
“The artwork is nice, especially the backgrounds.”
“The artwork here is clearly a labor of love, and while I agree with the reviewers who would have preferred more attractive male romance partners, the artwork is colorful, engaging, and really helps to build a beautiful fantasy world.”
“The artwork is nice.”
“Like, it's clear that there was more than one artist, and rather than bothering to match each other's art style, they just said screw it, I'll draw how I want.”
“- for the most part the art style is pretty similar to Loren's, with some sprites actually taken directly from that game (and the others of the Aravorn series).”
“And the art style makes everyone look like potatoes with extra chromosomes.”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it mediocre and generic, likening it to basic background tracks that lack depth. However, others appreciate its ability to enhance the mood, particularly noting a special song in the epilogue that adds a pleasant surprise to the experience. Overall, while some enjoy the atmospheric qualities, many feel it falls short of expectations.
“The music added the right amount of spice, and the special song in the epilogue was a nice surprise.”
“The music is quite good and mood-enhancing, fitting the slight horror theme of the story.”
“It's exactly what you picture when you think 'ye olde background music.'”
“The music is offensively mediocre and the price is ridiculous.”
“It's honestly on-par with something that I could whip up in Acid Pro or another music maker software program in about a day at most.”
“It's exactly what you picture when you think 'ye olde background musick'.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is notably high, primarily due to the ability to choose different genders for romance options and the significant impact of major choices, such as companion recruitment order. While the story and romance elements may feel average, the overall variety and immersive writing encourage multiple playthroughs. Players can experience a wealth of content with strategic saves, enhancing the game's longevity.
“Violence aside, I can highly recommend this rare gem of a game to all except children and overly sensitive adults, because of the unmatched overall variety, interesting premise and story, enjoyable gameplay, polished and undemanding design, very high replayability and play time, and cute art.”
“The story is average, but the romance characters are few and tied to gender. The romance part itself is quite short, and the CGs are not interesting. Its replayability depends on which gender you pick to romance certain characters. With a few well-placed saves, you can see pretty much everything.”
“There are also other major choices, like the order in which you recruit companions, that in some cases add a lot to the game's replayability.”
“There's so much replayability, and the writing was in-depth and immersive.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players noting that while grammatical errors are minimal, they can be amusing. Characters like the vampires Zachary and Valery add to the comedic elements, and the class stories are also highlighted as entertaining and funny.
“Grammatical failures are few and far between; nothing game-breaking and some are quite funny, in fact.”
“The vampires, Zachary and Valery, were hilarious.”
“The class stories you get are cool and funny.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is enhanced by appealing character designs and visually impressive CGs, which some players have come to appreciate despite the art style being consistent with previous Aravorn RPGs. While the aesthetic may not appeal to everyone, it is regarded as the best in the series.
“The art is the same as in the previous Aravorn RPGs and may not be to everyone's taste, but I actually got used to it. I think it's the best-looking game in the series, with cool character designs and some really beautiful CGs.”
“The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to shape their heroes in unique ways that reflect their choices and playstyles.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, with meaningful backstories and personal growth that make you truly care about their journeys.”
