DROD RPG: Tendry's Tale
- February 12, 2016
- Caravel Games
Get on Steam"DROD RPG: Tendry's Tale" is a 2D puzzle dungeon crawl game with RPG elements, where players navigate through intricate room layouts to find exits while managing resources, weapons, and armor. The game features hand-crafted levels with deterministic monster battles and custom power-ups, providing a challenging and engaging experience for players. Decision-making is key, as players must choose when to fight enemies and manage their hit points for optimal rewards.
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Reviews
- DROD RPG offers a unique blend of RPG mechanics and puzzle-solving, providing a challenging and satisfying experience for fans of resource management games.
- The game is well-designed, allowing players to progress through its extensive content without excessive backtracking, while still maintaining a high level of challenge.
- There is a wealth of additional content available through user-created levels, enhancing replay value and providing even more complex puzzles to solve.
- Players may find themselves frequently needing to restart the game due to unwinnable states caused by poor resource management, which can be frustrating.
- The game lacks clear guidance, often requiring trial-and-error to navigate levels, which detracts from the puzzle-solving experience.
- Some players feel that the difficulty spikes and the need for extensive planning can make the game feel more like a chore than an enjoyable puzzle experience.
- gameplay7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Gameplay is characterized by a blend of RPG and puzzle mechanics, requiring players to engage in trial-and-error and frequent restarts to optimize their strategies. While some players find this interconnected approach enjoyable, others feel that the necessity for backtracking and restarting detracts from the overall experience, particularly in the context of traditional RPG and puzzle game expectations.
“In Puzzle Quest, you do RPG things using puzzle mechanics.”
“In DROD RPG, you do puzzle things using RPG mechanics.”
“But that's not the gameplay I was expecting – to me, trial-and-error is the antithesis of puzzle games, and redo-from-start is the antithesis of RPG games.”
“Saving often and backtracking is an inherent part of the gameplay.”
“The whole thing is a giant interconnected puzzle that uses deterministic RPG mechanics.”
- story6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers a compelling side story within the DROD universe, focusing on the perspective of one of Beethro's enemies, and features a rich backstory complemented by voice acting. While it is story-heavy for a puzzle game, it lacks the complexity and depth typically found in RPGs, with minimal side quests and anecdotes. Overall, players appreciate the engaging narrative elements, despite the simpler storytelling approach.
“It's a good RPG and a great side story to DROD that shows how things are on the side of one of Beethro's enemies.”
“This is a numbers game wrapped in a pleasant interface, an original soundtrack, and a deep backstory sprinkled over all the DROD games.”
“The story elements are delivered through voice acting and will make you love Tendry for his panache!”
“This game is story heavy for a puzzle game, but story light for an RPG: there is no complex story to read or numerous anecdotes and side-quests.”
“This game is story heavy for a puzzle game, but story light for an RPG: there is no complex story to read or numerous anecdotes and side-quests.”
“The story elements are delivered through voice acting and will make you love Tendry for its panache!”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Drod RPG is praised for its engaging and unique approach to optimization, focusing on resource management, specifically hit points. Players find the game's mechanics enjoyable and challenging, making it a standout in the optimization genre.
“Drod RPG is a really fun and unique optimization game.”
“The game is a resource optimization game, where the resource to optimize is your hit points.”
“The optimization mechanics feel unbalanced and often lead to frustrating gameplay.”
“I found the optimization system to be overly complicated and not intuitive at all.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its excellent puzzle design, offering significant replay value that encourages players to return for more challenges.
“Excellent puzzle game with tons of replay value.”
“The variety of challenges and different strategies keep me coming back for more.”
“Each playthrough feels fresh due to the random elements and multiple endings.”
- music1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highlighted as an original soundtrack that enhances the overall experience, complementing its pleasant interface and deep backstory.
“This is a numbers game wrapped in a pleasant interface, an original soundtrack, and a deep backstory sprinkled over all the DROD games.”
