Eschalon: Book II
- July 11, 2010
- Basilisk Games
Get on Steam"Eschalon: Book II" is a turn-based RPG that lets players explore a vast world filled with countless items, monsters, puzzles, and traps. The game is the second chapter in the Eschalon trilogy, and it allows players to go anywhere and do anything at their own pace. No prior experience with the first game is required to enjoy Book II's engaging and immersive storyline.
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Reviews
- Eschalon: Book II offers a nostalgic and enjoyable experience, with improved gameplay mechanics and a wider variety of enemies and areas compared to its predecessor.
- The game features a rich open world filled with exploration opportunities, interesting quests, and a solid character progression system that appeals to fans of classic RPGs.
- Many players appreciate the challenging nature of the game, which allows for customization of difficulty settings and encourages strategic thinking in character builds.
- The game's RNG mechanics can be frustrating, with players often experiencing low hit chances and being overwhelmed by enemies, leading to tedious gameplay.
- The story is criticized for being incomplete and poorly executed, with some players feeling that it lacks depth and coherence compared to the first game.
- Navigation can be irritating due to slow walking speed and poorly designed maps, which can detract from the overall experience.
- story18 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The story in the game has been criticized for being incomplete and underwhelming, often leaving players with unresolved plotlines and a lack of character continuity from previous installments. While some players appreciate the storytelling and the exploration elements, many feel that the narrative fails to deliver a satisfying experience, particularly when compared to earlier entries in the series. Overall, the game mechanics are praised, but the story's execution leaves much to be desired, with several players recommending skipping this installment if they were invested in the previous game's narrative.
“Great storytelling.”
“Good story.”
“Awesome story, game writing, and it's really hard.”
“The story is incomplete; it doesn't finish its main storyline, leaving the game on a cliffhanger.”
“During the game, there's one evil race, the Taurax, and then suddenly you hear about an even greater evil, but you never hear from that again until the end. It goes from being unimportant in the plot to the main antagonist in just a few seconds.”
“On the negative side, the map design is worse, with many empty areas, and the story is also lacking when compared to the first game.”
- gameplay15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of strengths and weaknesses. While the game features a faithful adaptation of tabletop RPG mechanics and introduces optional systems like item degradation and customizable difficulty, players criticize the unbalanced enemies, tedious backtracking, and a convoluted skill system that can detract from the experience. Overall, improvements over the predecessor are noted, particularly in combat mechanics, but issues with pacing and combat difficulty remain prominent concerns.
“Its real strength is in game mechanics; the graphics are about 30 years out of date and the story is sort of underwhelming, but the mechanics are a pretty faithful adaptation of a tabletop RPG system and it's fun to play if that's what you're into.”
“Where the game really stands out from the normal fantasy games are the optional game mechanics.”
“Compared with its predecessor, the combat mechanics were improved by adding a couple of tactical options and increasing the general game speed.”
“Also another grating mechanic - the price to identify items. You actually almost lose money identifying items when selling them afterward, unless you have tons of mercantile skill, which again leads to another problem: the impossible to maintain at useful levels suite of too many skills.”
“On gameplay, it's identical to the first one, except that here I firmly believe that the enemies are way too unbalanced throughout the game.”
“There is tons of walking back and forth - even with fast travel - which really pads out the game length, adding at least a couple of hours to gameplay.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered outdated, reminiscent of titles from 30 years ago, though some players appreciate the simple yet well-executed visuals. While there have been minor improvements since the first installment, such as larger screen size, the game still lacks support for 1080p resolution. Overall, the graphics evoke a nostalgic feel similar to older RPGs, which some players enjoy despite their limitations.
“Much like the game that came before it, the only thing that has improved is the graphical quality.”
“Simple but well-done visuals, great character progression, lots of loot and plenty of content make for a very enjoyable experience.”
“But I actually dig the graphics and interface.”
“Its real strength is in game mechanics, the graphics are about 30 years out of date and the story is sort of underwhelming.”
“It's like the older Elder Scrolls games, but with Ultima-style graphics and interface.”
“Cons: although they upgraded the size of the graphics on screen (from book 1), book 2 still is not capable of displaying 1080p.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's replayability due to its variety of challenges that encourage different playstyles, such as completing the game as a thief or healer. The tracking of player stats and the introduction of specific challenges enhance the overall experience, motivating players to revisit the game to improve their skills and explore alternative approaches.
“The game keeps a record of your kill, lockpicking, and other stats, offering various challenges that significantly enhance replay value. For example, you can play as a thief (never bashing anything) or as a healer (never using a weapon).”
“The addition of challenges provides a great boost to the game's replayability.”
“With the variety of challenges available, each playthrough feels fresh and engaging.”
“The addition of challenges gives some replayability to the game.”
“The game keeps a record of your kill, lockpicking, and other stats, providing various challenges to improve replay value, such as playing as a thief (never bashing anything) or a healer (never using a weapon).”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised as phenomenal and amazing, highlighting its strong impact on the overall experience.
“Phenomenal music.”
“Again, the music is amazing.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect tedious due to overwhelming enemy numbers in battles, leading to a repetitive cycle of running and resting that detracts from the overall experience.
“The enemies outnumber you in every single fight, which makes it tedious to constantly run and rest.”
“Grinding feels like an endless cycle of repetitive tasks that drain the fun out of the game.”
“The amount of time spent grinding for levels and resources is overwhelming and takes away from the overall experience.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a unique turn-based system that enhances its immersive atmosphere, drawing players into its captivating game world.
“The unique game world features a captivating turn-based system that creates an absorbing atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into the game's unique world.”
“Every element of the game contributes to a rich and engaging atmosphere that keeps you hooked.”
