Forged of Blood

Forged of Blood is ambitious well beyond its means, and it has so many systems at play at once that there are moments where, mechanically, they fall down. Thematically, however, it’s a gorgeous blend of complementary fantasy genres and approaches, and it’s done differently. We need to see more original and different games being made, and it’s great to see something of this vision and presentation coming out of emerging game development nations like Indonesia.

66%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

graphics, character development

66% User Score Based on 99 reviews

Platforms

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About Forged of Blood

Forged of Blood is a single player tactical role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Critical Forge and was released on August 1, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

A Fantasy Turn-based Tactical RPG, Forged of Blood places the fate of an entire world on your every decision. Engage in challenging tactical combat as you find your place in a morally grey fantasy world and decide whether the ends will ultimately justify your actions.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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Reviews

66%Audience ScoreBased on 99 reviews

story15 positive mentions

character development3 negative mentions

Engaging turn-based tactical gameplay with a unique spell crafting system that allows for deep customization.
The game features a reasonable story with interesting characters and a complex alignment system that affects gameplay.
The combat mechanics are challenging and rewarding, providing a sense of accomplishment when overcoming difficult battles.

The user interface is clunky and confusing, making it difficult to navigate and understand various game mechanics.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall experience.
The alignment system can lead to frustrating gameplay, as characters may desert the player's party based on moral choices, limiting player freedom.

story
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24% positive mentions, 71% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring a compelling narrative with branching decisions that impact the outcome, though some players find it overly linear and restrictive. While the world-building and character development are praised, the pacing and mission design can lead to frustration, particularly as difficulty spikes unexpectedly. Overall, the story offers depth and engagement, but it could benefit from more freedom and variety in gameplay mechanics.
- “The story adds many layers of complexity for the player to explore, but what solidifies the story are the characters.”
- “I was entranced watching the relationships develop between my favorite characters, and couldn’t wait to see how it affected the story.”
- “A challenging and fun strategy RPG, a story with branching decisions and strong tactical combat.”
- “But the game follows too strictly its story and doesn't allow a free play mode.”
- “The story's leashes totally destroy this game as you wade through conversation after conversation.”
- “The last thing I want from a game is a carved-in-stone storyline where the gameplay is just characters and combat.”
gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22% positive mentions, 72% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions
The gameplay of "Forged of Blood" features a mix of engaging mechanics and a compelling story, though it suffers from poorly explained systems and technical issues, including bugs and a lack of tutorials. While some players appreciate the depth and complexity of the mechanics, others find them frustrating and overly complicated, particularly the magic system. Overall, the game offers a unique experience reminiscent of tactical RPGs, but requires significant investment in learning its systems to fully enjoy the gameplay.
- “Sure it has some rough edges, but it has a reasonable story, medium to complex mechanics, some of which are unique, and is engaging.”
- “The gameplay is basically XCOM with a different movement system (I like this movement system) in a fantasy setting, and the meta game has you fielding three squads of characters around the map after you complete the initial segment of the game.”
- “While I understand the frustrations and complaints of several of the negative reviews, it seems many of those writers never even explored or spent time learning about the various systems and mechanics of this great little gem.”
- “To make matters worse, because of the mechanic that forces you to cast one spell to charge the other, it makes both of your spells unusable in combat... horrible design.”
- “The mechanics are very vague and overall proved to be a very unsatisfying experience.”
- “The magic system looks cool but ultimately you can't create much with it - there are a small handful of very basic skills and the only things you customize are minor things like the damage/healing numbers or the area of effect, and they are all mechanically identical.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 27% negative mentions
The graphics in the game are described as simplistic and somewhat unpolished, with weak animations that detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the realistic visuals compared to typical cartoony styles, many feel that the graphics lack refinement and can be janky, impacting immersion. Overall, the visuals are functional but could benefit from additional polish and attention to detail.
- “From an aesthetic and lore perspective, the game delivers, is interesting, and brings a lot of new functionality to the turn-based tactics genre.”
- “Also, the visuals are more realistic than normally found in such games (often cartoony), and the writing is better, with a more unique story than in most.”
- “Graphics are pretty good, and it is a relatively bug-free game, with the odd bug reported being tackled by the devs.”
- “Animations and graphics look very unpolished and, as mentioned previously, janky (something that especially stood out for me as I've recently been playing another indie turn-based strategy game with much better animations than this).”
- “Gameplay is fine, but, again, it suffers due to the animations and graphics, which constantly took me out of the game.”
- “Maybe it's just me, but the animations, graphics (including character portraits loading up all pixelated and staying like that for a long time) and those small bits lacking polish just rubbed me the wrong way.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its engaging blend of strategic turn-based combat, character development, and resource management, creating an immersive experience. Players appreciate the depth of customization and the overall ambiance that enhances gameplay.
- “The writing is good, the strategy is solid, the atmosphere works well, and the spell options have very deep customization.”
- “I didn't finish the game yet, but I liked the atmosphere of strategic turn-based combat, character development, resource management, and the caravan transportation system.”
- “After playing for 6 hours, I really enjoy the atmosphere and the system.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, -67% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed; while some users report it as relatively bug-free with effective developer support for minor issues, others criticize it for being buggy and poorly executed, with many glitches and unclear mechanics.
- “The graphics are pretty good, and the game is relatively bug-free, with any reported issues being promptly addressed by the developers.”
- “I appreciate the stability of the game; it runs smoothly without crashing, allowing for an immersive experience.”
- “The developers have done a great job maintaining stability, ensuring that gameplay is consistent and enjoyable.”
- “Buggy, poorly executed, abandoned game.”
- “Hindered by very poorly explained mechanics and many bugs and glitches.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67% positive mentions, 33% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised as good to excellent, enhancing the overall aesthetics and themes of the game world. While some users note weaknesses in graphics and animations, the soundtrack stands out as a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The music is good to excellent, and the overall aesthetics of the game world and its themes are very well thought out and interesting. A good game just a few feet from standing on greatness!”
- “The graphics and animations are a little weak but functional, but the music is excellent.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Character development is generally perceived as solid but lacks distinctiveness, with designs that may feel generic and unmemorable.
- “Character design seems solid but ultimately nondescript.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth.”
- “I found the character arcs predictable and uninspired.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the game's optimization is frustrating for some players due to a lack of guidance, making it challenging to navigate effectively. However, others find that while it can be punishing, there is potential for recovery through strategic team optimization and smart gameplay.
- “I don't know if there's some optimization I was missing or what, but lacking any sort of input or guidance, the bottom line is that it becomes an exercise in frustration.”
- “It's punishing but recoverable if you wipe a team, leaving room for making up for mistakes with future smart play and better team optimization.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while some players may find the grinding aspect off-putting, it can create a necessary sense of urgency that prevents the game from feeling overly repetitive. Additionally, the tutorial is generally viewed as helpful, though it may feel awkward for newcomers unfamiliar with weapon mechanics.
- “Now that's going to turn some people off, I am sure, but it generates a sense of urgency that games like this sometimes need in order to not become grindy.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions
Players note that the game has improved replayability due to a more balanced system and the elimination of random crashes, making it more enjoyable to revisit. Overall, the game offers sufficient replay value to keep players engaged.
- “No more random crashing, a slightly more balanced system, and the game has great replay value.”
- “No more random crashing, a slightly more balanced system, and the game has replay value.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of awkwardness and dorkiness, with voice acting that can be hit or miss; some players find it both funny and brilliant, despite noticing the same voice actor taking on multiple roles.
- “The voice acting is hit or miss; it's awkward, funny, dorky, and brilliant all at the same time. I also noticed the same voice actor doing multiple roles, which adds to the humor!”