Eschalon: Book II

About

Eschalon: Book II is a single player role playing game with fantasy and historical themes. It was developed by Basilisk Games and was released on July 11, 2010. It received positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 190 reviews

story20 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

Eschalon: Book II improves upon its predecessor with enhanced gameplay mechanics, including combat stances and a more engaging open world to explore.
The game offers a nostalgic experience for fans of old-school CRPGs, with a classic turn-based combat system and a variety of character builds.
Players appreciate the challenging nature of the game, which encourages strategic thinking and character development.

The game suffers from significant RNG issues, making combat frustrating as players often miss attacks while enemies hit consistently.
Many players find the pacing tedious due to excessive walking and backtracking, which can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
The story is criticized for being cliché and underwhelming, with an ending that leaves many players feeling unsatisfied.

story
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
61%
5%
The game's story is criticized for being incomplete and predictable, often leaving players with unresolved plot points and a lack of depth in character interactions. While some players appreciate the intriguing elements and world-building, many find the narrative clichéd and linear, with a significant drop in quality compared to its predecessor. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay mechanics, which are more engaging than the plot itself.
- “After witnessing a mysterious murder, you get unwillingly involved in an epic quest full of intrigue, swords, and magic.”
- “I love this game because of a very interesting story and turn-based combats.”
- “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 you hear about an even greater evil in the middle, but you never hear from that again until the end, where it suddenly becomes the main antagonist.”
- “On the negative side, the map design is worse (with many empty areas), and the story is also worse when compared to the first game.”
gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
83%
7%
Gameplay in this title is a mixed bag, featuring solid RPG mechanics and a faithful adaptation of tabletop systems, but marred by unbalanced enemies and tedious backtracking that extends playtime unnecessarily. While improvements like item durability, a hunger/thirst system, and tactical combat options enhance the experience, some players find the mechanics cumbersome, particularly regarding skill management and the cost of identifying items. Overall, it appeals to old-school RPG fans who appreciate turn-based combat and survival elements, despite its slow pace and outdated graphics.
- “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.”
- “Compared with its predecessor, the combat mechanics were improved by adding a couple of tactical options and increasing the general game speed.”
- “There are some mechanics that can be exploited, and the enemies can be quite brutal at times, but I enjoyed playing this and was immersed in the atmosphere for most of the game.”
- “Unfortunately, gameplay is a bit slow, even for an Ultima-like game.”
- “There is tons of walking back and forth - even with fast travel - which really pads out the game length (I'd say adding at least a couple of hours to gameplay).”
- “[spoiler] There are some upgrades in book 1 (graphical and some gameplay elements, like item durability and water/food bar were nice), but overall I can't recommend this one due to the terrible combat at the end of the game and endless walking around.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The graphics in the game have received mixed reviews, with many users noting that they appear outdated, reminiscent of styles from 30 years ago, which detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the retro pixel art and simple yet effective visuals, others criticize the lack of modern graphical fidelity, particularly in terms of resolution and detail. Overall, the graphics seem to be a polarizing aspect, appealing to fans of retro aesthetics but disappointing to those expecting contemporary standards.
- “Eschalon is a turn-based role-playing game series with astounding graphics and sound.”
- “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.”
- “It's hard to recommend this because despite being released in 2010, the graphics are incredibly dated. It's hard to say if that was a deliberate attempt at making a retro-looking game or if the developer was just really bad at art.”
- “Cons: although they upgraded the size of the graphics on screen (from book 1), book 2 still is not capable of displaying 1080p.”
- “Its real strength is in game mechanics, but the graphics are about 30 years out of date and the story is sort of underwhelming.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the overwhelming number of enemies in battles, which leads to repetitive cycles of running and resting. While the RPG is generally enjoyable, the excessive walking through wilderness detracts from the overall experience.
- “And well, the enemies outnumber you in every single fight. It just gets tedious to have to run and rest, then run and rest.”
- “But it's tedious.”
- “That is why I would rate this game as decent: it's a very enjoyable RPG, except for the tedious walking through the wilderness.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback, with some users praising it as phenomenal and amazing, while others find it merely acceptable. Overall, the standout tracks seem to elevate the experience significantly.
- “Phenomenal music.”
- “Again, the music is amazing.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game offers significant replayability through its challenge system, which tracks player stats and encourages diverse playstyles, such as completing the game as a thief or healer. These challenges provide players with new goals and experiences, enhancing the overall replay value.
- “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).”
- “The inclusion of challenges enhances the replayability of the game.”
- “The addition of challenges gives some replayability to the game.”
- “Challenges (the game keeps record of your kill/lockpicking/etc. stats) provide various ways to improve replay value, such as playing as a thief (never bash anything) or a healer (never use a weapon).”
- “The addition of challenges gives some replayability to the game.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The monetization strategy primarily relies on banner advertisements, which may detract from the overall user experience.
- “The game is flooded with banner advertisements that disrupt the gameplay experience.”
- “I can't enjoy the game because of the constant banner advertisements popping up.”
- “The excessive banner advertisements make it feel like the developers care more about profit than player experience.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by a unique and entertaining admin gimmick that involves banning players through humorous rap verses that mock the banned individual's intelligence. This clever approach adds a lighthearted and comedic element to the gameplay experience.
- “Hilarious admin pseudo-gimmick who, for a brief time, would ban people with a rap extolling the banned poster's moronity.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The game features a unique turn-based system set within an immersive game world, creating an engaging and captivating atmosphere that draws players in.
- “The game features a unique world-wide turn-based system and an absorbing atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into the game's unique world.”
- “The combination of the turn-based system and the captivating atmosphere creates a truly engaging experience.”