Epistory: Typing Chronicles

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,091 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Epistory: Typing Chronicles Game Cover
It’s been a long time since I found a game I truly connected to.
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"Epistory: Typing Chronicles" is an atmospheric adventure game where you play as a muse, exploring a paper craft world on a giant three-tailed fox. Every action is controlled through typing, from movement to battling enemies. As you gather inspiration and solve mysteries, the story unfolds in the writer's mind, revealing the magic power of words.

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

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,091 reviews
story679 positive mentions
grinding29 negative mentions
  • Beautiful graphics and art style that resembles origami, creating an immersive experience.
  • Engaging gameplay that combines typing mechanics with exploration and puzzle-solving.
  • Adaptive difficulty that adjusts to the player's typing speed, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced typists.
  • The story can feel vague and clichéd, with an unsatisfying ending that may disappoint some players.
  • Movement controls can be awkward, especially with the EFJI layout, which may take time to get used to.
  • Some puzzles and enemy encounters can become repetitive, leading to a lack of variety in gameplay.
  • story1,636 mentions

    The story of "Epistory: Typing Chronicles" is a unique blend of exploration and narrative, unfolding as players type their way through a beautifully crafted origami world. While some players found the story engaging and emotionally resonant, others criticized it for being vague or clichéd, with a lack of depth and clarity. Overall, the game is praised for its artistic presentation and innovative storytelling mechanics, though opinions vary on the effectiveness and impact of the narrative itself.

    • “The story is engaging, the combat (all typing!) is fun, the graphics are beautiful.”
    • “The story is very engaging, well told and cute.”
    • “The way the story is conveyed both fits the theme really well and feels extremely unobtrusive while playing.”
    • “Things take a quick wrong turn when you realize that the whole story is told via artsy narrations that manifest by text appearing on the ground whenever you explore the world.”
    • “Pretty sure this game fails big time to get its story across; at least I didn't get anything out of it.”
    • “The story is vapid nonsense, and the ending was so cliché it caused some physical aching sensations in my head, but it's still fun to walk around dungeons and explore the world map typing at things.”
  • gameplay685 mentions

    The gameplay of "Epistory - Typing Chronicles" is characterized by its unique typing mechanics that serve as both combat and puzzle-solving tools, creating an engaging and immersive experience. Players appreciate the integration of typing into the narrative and exploration elements, although some find the gameplay can become repetitive over time. Overall, the game is praised for its beautiful graphics, adaptive difficulty, and the innovative use of typing as a core mechanic, making it a standout title in the typing game genre.

    • “The gameplay mechanics in Epistory are both fun and challenging, providing a unique twist on traditional RPGs.”
    • “Epistory is a delightful and challenging typing RPG that successfully merges captivating storytelling with innovative gameplay mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay is engaging and the story draws you in; well worth the cost.”
    • “There's a myriad of problems with the game mechanics itself.”
    • “Because there is really nothing new to break the gameplay up, being the same loop and not masked at all, really drags on the whole experience.”
    • “The gameplay can be a little monotonous at times, and the map and keyboard controls leave something to be desired.”
  • graphics675 mentions

    The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their stunning origami art style, which creates a visually captivating experience that enhances the storytelling. Many reviewers noted the beautiful and unique aesthetics, describing the visuals as charming and immersive, although some experienced performance issues on lower-end systems. Overall, the game's graphics are considered one of its strongest aspects, contributing significantly to its appeal and enjoyment.

    • “Gorgeous graphics, engaging gameplay, good soundtrack (doesn't get tiring, even after many hours).”
    • “Beautiful graphics, lovely art style, gameplay is fun and gets challenging quickly, and the world is beautiful to discover.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, the sound track and story is just great, and it can get really addicting.”
    • “Frustratingly, performance is abysmal, even on the lowest graphic settings - maybe there's a problem specific to my setup?”
    • “The quality of the graphics wasn't as high as I expected, and as a result it also didn't have the atmosphere I had hoped for.”
    • “I would love to love this game; unfortunately, the graphics are so atrocious I can't even bring myself to want to play it anymore except to get my money's worth.”
  • music310 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread praise for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many players noting its calming and immersive qualities. The soundtrack effectively complements the gameplay and various environments, creating a soothing atmosphere even during tense moments. However, some users mentioned that certain combat tracks can become repetitive, and there is a desire for more variety in the music during specific sections of the game.

    • “The music is really good; it sets the mood for the occasion, and the ending piece is just so relaxing that it makes you feel good after completing the game.”
    • “The soundtrack complements the gameplay well, creating an immersive experience as you traverse the paper-crafted universe.”
    • “The music is haunting, mysterious, and beautiful.”
    • “I recommend setting the music to 25%, it was too loud compared to the voice-over in my opinion.”
    • “The music for combat is sadly on the repetitive side.”
    • “Some of the music tracks, as I mentioned, don't loop seamlessly.”
  • atmosphere77 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beauty, charm, and immersive qualities, often described as serene and poetic, with a unique origami art style that enhances the experience. Players appreciate the combination of atmospheric music, engaging sound design, and a captivating narrative that draws them into the game world, making it a standout in the typing game genre. Despite some critiques regarding graphics quality, the overall ambiance is considered a significant strength, contributing to a relaxing and exploratory gameplay experience.

    • “Epistory immerses you in an atmospheric action/adventure game where you play a girl riding a giant fox who fights an insectile corruption from an origami world.”
    • “The atmosphere and story are positive and relaxed, the graphical style is distinctive and bright, and those Mavis Beacon skills get a good run for their money.”
    • “The atmosphere the game creates really draws you in.”
    • “The quality of the graphics wasn't as high as I expected, and as a result, it also didn't have the atmosphere I had hoped for (this might be less of an issue on a small screen).”
    • “It is the ending that really brought this game down, and I thought it could have easily been a thousand times better if it continued to follow the atmosphere and provided reasoning to all of the parts of the game (the stones, the insects, the reason for the different powers you unlock...) and having it remain in the world's universe.”
    • “However, lacking the story might be, the exposition, music, art, and character progression do an excellent job of keeping a consistent atmosphere that really sucked me in.”
  • emotional51 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Epistory: Typing Chronicles" is widely praised, with players highlighting its touching narrative, beautiful art style, and immersive soundtrack that collectively evoke strong feelings. Many reviewers noted that the game successfully intertwines its gameplay mechanics with a heartfelt story, leading to moments of nostalgia and emotional resonance, even prompting tears for some. Overall, it is described as a unique and artistic experience that transcends typical typing games, offering a profound emotional journey.

    • “The story is interesting and emotional, the gameplay is addictive and I also learned a lot of vocabulary.”
    • “I get the sense that this game was put together by people who very much wanted to craft a big, emotional, personal story, the sort of game that'd get you thinking and tug at your heartstrings.”
    • “Epistory thrusts you into an emotional tale in a beautiful world with an excellent art style that is very befitting to the overall tone and narrative of the game; the music is also quite enjoyable to my pleasant surprise.”
  • grinding31 mentions

    The reviews highlight that grinding in the game can be excessively tedious, particularly for completionists aiming to unlock all achievements, which often require repetitive tasks like defeating thousands of enemies. While some players find the core gameplay enjoyable, the grind for achievements and certain battles can detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration and a sense of monotony. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as a significant drawback, especially for those not fully invested in the game.

    • “There's a lot of grinding involved, but it feels rewarding.”
    • “You'll need a second life for all the grinding, but it's worth it for the progress.”
    • “Grinding can be time-consuming, but it adds depth to the gameplay.”
    • “For completionists, however, I cannot recommend the game, as the last few achievements are quite grindy and especially the last few insect nests are just plain repetitive.”
    • “My only complaint is some of the achievements are grindy, and are best done with a macro (10,000 kills, when you only kill 1,500-2,000 in a playthrough of the game, yikes).”
    • “There isn't much replay value here, and by the end, the game is tedious.”
  • replayability22 mentions

    The game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the survival and arena modes that offer opportunities for high scores and skill improvement, others find the overall replay value limited due to repetitive combat and lack of compelling content. Although there are elements like treasure hunting and multiplayer challenges that can enhance replayability, many players feel that the experience does not strongly encourage multiple playthroughs.

    • “There's a survival mode if you played through the story, so it theoretically has infinite replayability.”
    • “The replay value of this game for me is huge considering it's one of the very few games I've ever played more than once, let alone multiple times completely through.”
    • “In terms of story, I felt like I maybe wanted a little bit more out of the ending; however, there does appear to be a decent amount of replayability with upping the difficulty and the arena challenges.”
    • “There's an arena, but the replay value is a bit low.”
    • “Besides the arena mode, which focuses on the core gameplay mechanics, there isn't a lot of replayability value though, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because the game you play beforehand is such a well-rounded, fantastic experience.”
    • “There isn't much replay value here, and by the end the game is tedious.”
  • stability22 mentions

    The game exhibits a range of stability issues, including minor glitches and graphical bugs that can disrupt gameplay but are generally not game-breaking. While some players report frequent freezes and the need for restarts, others find the experience manageable and enjoyable despite these imperfections. Overall, the game is considered unpolished but still captivating, especially for fans of its unique typing mechanics.

    • “The game runs great on my gaming desktop.”
    • “The music is beautiful, the sound design is fantastic, and the game runs great.”
    • “The game is also rather buggy and unpolished; the sound cuts in and out at times and is otherwise lacking in effect. The character moves like it belongs in a flash game from 2003.”
    • “I'm not necessarily picky, and I can live with glitches. I know this game is only in early release, but I truly feel like I wasted my money buying this game. I have played free games that were better than this!”
    • “The only real problem with the game is that there are small glitches in places, but if these ended up getting me killed, they were always gone the next time I returned to a fight (which took all of about 10 seconds).”
  • optimization13 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is inconsistent, with some users experiencing poor performance even on low settings, while others report smooth gameplay on various setups, including Linux and laptops. There are notable issues with framerate stability and performance on Mac, leading to a general consensus that the game could benefit from further optimization. Despite these challenges, some players appreciate the adaptive mode that adjusts difficulty based on performance.

    • “Played on Linux (native), excellent performance and no bugs.”
    • “Then I played on battery, no CPU boost, on 3/4 graphics quality at a resolution of 1920x1080 and the game was running smooth, almost no stuttering.”
    • “The art style is gorgeous as well, especially on max settings, and the game feels well optimized on my laptop.”
    • “Frustratingly, performance is abysmal, even on the lowest graphic settings - maybe there's a problem specific to my setup?”
    • “Horrible optimization.”
    • “This game also lags on my professional gaming laptop, meaning it's poorly optimized.”
  • humor6 mentions

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players finding it funny and refreshing, though some feel it doesn't reach the comedic heights of "Typing of the Dead." Achievements, like "angling a dry ocean," are noted for their humorous nods to the developers, adding to the overall enjoyment. The game's approachable and visually appealing design complements its comedic elements, making it a fun experience.

    • “I earned 52 of the achievements just by grinding away for hours, but the 'angling a dry ocean' achievement required some help from a guide. It's trivial in the grand scheme of things and was a humorous nod to the developers that they undoubtedly put in for that reason; I don't consider needing a hint for that achievement to be a big deal.”
    • “Funny refreshing gameplay, somewhat basic, approachable and not bland.”
    • “Such a funny typing game with beautiful graphics.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Reviews indicate that while the character designs and visual elements are praised, the overall character development is lacking, with a barebones storyline that fails to provide depth or growth for the characters.

    • “I could gush continuously about the character designs and the world assets, but then this review would be extremely long.”
    • “Amazing concepts, artworks, level designs, and character design (good job!)”
    • “The storyline is pretty barebones; there is very little character development or plot.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “There are missed opportunities for character growth, leaving the cast feeling one-dimensional.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    Players express frustration with the monetization strategy, particularly highlighting a disruptive advertisement for a new game that negatively impacts their experience. This has led some users to reconsider their willingness to support the developer further.

    • “I can say that I certainly don't plan on purchasing Nanotale after this ridiculous advertising bug that is ruining the enjoyment of the game I already paid for.”
    • “The game's title screen menu system has been recently broken by the advertisement for their new Nanotale game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

78% average critic score

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Play time

9hMedian play time
38hAverage play time
6-16hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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