Galaxy of Pen and Paper

61%
Game Brain Score Based on 193 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • humor
Galaxy of Pen and Paper Game Cover
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"Galaxy of Pen & Paper" is a turn-based RPG set in a sci-fi universe, where players create their own Game Master and party to explore an expansive galaxy and engage in customizable combat. This game builds on its predecessor, "Knights of Pen & Paper," with new races, skills, and campaigns, providing over 3 hours of additional gameplay in the +1 Edition. The game's setting and mechanics aim to evoke the nostalgia of pen and paper RPGs.

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Reviews

61%
Audience ScoreBased on 193 reviews
story22 positive mentions
grinding24 negative mentions
  • The game features a charming and humorous narrative filled with pop culture references, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
  • Character customization is extensive, allowing players to build unique teams with various skills and abilities, enhancing replayability.
  • The pixel art and soundtrack are well-executed, contributing to a nostalgic and engaging atmosphere.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including game-breaking glitches that can disrupt gameplay.
  • Combat can feel tedious and slow, with some battles dragging on due to high enemy health and shield regeneration.
  • The user interface and menu navigation are often confusing, leading to frustration when trying to access inventory or manage characters.
  • story118 mentions

    The game's story is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of engaging main quests and humorous side missions that often rely on pop culture references and light-hearted writing. While some players appreciate the ability to create their own missions and the quirky characters, others find the overall narrative lacking depth and coherence, with many quests feeling repetitive and uninspired. Despite its flaws, the story's humor and creativity can provide an entertaining experience, especially for fans of the genre.

    • “What I did enjoy was the story; it was an amazing story that had me very invested in what would happen next.”
    • “The story and meta-narrative are reasonably well put together and draw from different sci-fi elements, as well as name-dropping some famous authors who inspired the game.”
    • “Awesome twist on Knights of Pen & Paper; as expected, the storyline was hilarious and well written, the characters quirky as they come, and the gameplay that can keep you entertained for the duration.”
    • “The main story seems to exist only to plug jokes and references, as if that's the main aspect of the game.”
    • “The story and gameplay are so bland, safe, and forgettable that you can play it with your brain completely switched off and you won't miss anything.”
    • “Nearly every 'quest' is a fetch quest with boring combats in-between, where you use the same skill rotation, plus the characters and scenarios you're in are mostly bland and try to be 'parodies' of popular franchises but do nothing fun or interesting with them.”
  • gameplay50 mentions

    The gameplay of "Galaxy of Pen & Paper" is characterized by a mix of turn-based combat and exploration, offering a range of customization options for characters and abilities. While some players appreciate the humor and charm of the mechanics, many find the gameplay to be repetitive and slow-paced, with a lack of depth and engaging challenges as the game progresses. Overall, the experience is described as fun but marred by bugs, balance issues, and a need for more dynamic gameplay elements.

    • “The story is cute and gameplay is pretty fun, especially as you start unlocking more characters and classes to experiment with party combos.”
    • “I recommend this game very much, it is very well planned, has a good unity and connection between its parts (art, mechanics, story, theme, tone) and, more specifically, it's fun.”
    • “The gameplay is simple and straightforward and you don't have to grind so long as your team has a tank, healer, and the two classes who have auto-crit skills.”
    • “The combat gameplay itself is quite basic.”
    • “The story and the gameplay are so bland, safe, and forgettable that you can play it with your brain completely switched off and you won't miss anything.”
    • “I got this game for 65% less with a coupon and I think I am still going to refund this, as it's clunky, slow design, gigantic map, which is abused by making you traverse it violently for any kind of upgrade, the grind, the general lacking mechanics and much more is still not sufficient to call this game anything but a jokingly bad cash grab that needs to be discouraged.”
  • humor33 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, with many players enjoying the quirky characters, witty dialogue, and pop-culture references. While some jokes are hit-or-miss, the overall comedic tone is described as light-hearted and self-aware, appealing particularly to fans of RPGs and tabletop gaming. However, a few reviews note that the humor can sometimes fall flat, and the writing may not always be as engaging as expected.

    • “When one of the jokes made me laugh out loud from how clever it was, I wanted to write a review.”
    • “Awesome twist on Knights of Pen & Paper, as expected the storyline was hilarious and well written, the characters quirky as they come, and the gameplay that can keep you entertained for the duration.”
    • “It’s full of bright, colorful, and humorously creative pixel art and the storyline is silly fun in a light-hearted and self-aware way.”
  • grinding25 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, often leading to frustration during combat and leveling. While some appreciate the option to control the level of grinding, others criticize the lengthy animations and numerous loading screens that exacerbate the grind. Overall, the experience can feel slow and unchallenging, making it a significant factor in the game's enjoyment for players.

    • “On one hand it is still better than the previous game, on the other hand - it still isn’t really fun, and considering that you will have to do a lot of combat - well, it gets tedious really fast.”
    • “The teeth grindingly bad bits weigh down the good until the entire game sinks in the end, the final encounters pure slogs, turning me against this initially promising title.”
    • “I openly despise any RPG that relies on grinding and damage sponges to create the illusion of challenge.”
  • graphics23 mentions

    The graphics of the game present a mixed bag, featuring a blend of retro pixel art and simple low-poly 3D elements that some players find charming and well-suited to the game's tone, while others criticize the inconsistency and cluttered aesthetic. While many appreciate the nostalgic nod to classic Sierra graphics and the overall art style, glitches and graphical errors detract from the experience for some users. Overall, the visuals are seen as a highlight for their creativity, but they could benefit from greater cohesion and polish.

    • “The retro graphics are done well.”
    • “The zesty sauce of the sandwich is the beautiful art style; pixel and simple 3D that actually makes it look great.”
    • “About the aesthetic, it has 2 types of graphics (pixel art and low-poly 3D), that match very well with the tone of the story, and it is very well done and polished, with a very light and cartoonish vibe.”
    • “And to top it off, the art style is a mess: the pixel art (with a few nice sprites, to be honest) clashes horribly with the very basic 3D maps!”
    • “Honestly, fairly glitchy; the artwork doesn't provide a consistent feeling for the game (e.g., space is kind of 3D cartoonish while characters are pixel art), and, honestly, the game is quite glitchy.”
    • “Graphics are a weird mix of pixelated (ground battles and chats with GM) and low-polygon 3D (vehicle travel).”
  • music17 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread praise for its quality and retro style, with many reviewers highlighting the engaging soundtrack that complements the pixel art and overall atmosphere. However, some players noted that the music can become repetitive over time, which may detract from the experience during extended play sessions. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that enhances the game's charm and enjoyment.

    • “What I will recommend though is go listen to the soundtrack, it's just so good.”
    • “The soundtrack is really good and eschews synth and vapor like a rainy neon-lit street with a bust of some Greek philosopher floating over a tiled floor in a shop window.”
    • “The characters are so cool, the music is incredible and the story is meta (and funny) as hell!”
    • “The soundtrack gets the job done.”
    • “I love the retro music; however, there's not too much of it and it can become repetitive.”
    • “Only slightly repetitive retro music.”
  • stability6 mentions

    The game has been widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs and freezing issues, particularly during early gameplay. While developers are actively working on fixes, many users recommend waiting for updates or purchasing the game at a discount due to its current state. Overall, the game's stability is a significant concern at launch.

    • “The change of setting wasn't a problem; the problem was that the game seemed buggy, underdeveloped, less well thought out on multiple levels, and just didn't play as well as the Knights of Pen and Paper games.”
    • “Game freezes on the first turn of the first round of combat if you use a skill. How does a game-breaking bug get through the first 5 minutes of the game?”
    • “It is very buggy in its current state; however, the developers are working hard on the fixes, so maybe wait a few weeks before buying or definitely worth picking up in a sale (if the devs stick to their word on fixing the bugs, that is).”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game offers moderate to high replayability due to various in-game choices that affect the story and the ability to experiment with different character combinations and party builds. While some players find limited replay value, others appreciate the inventive missions that encourage multiple playthroughs.

    • “It does lend itself to replayability since there are a number of in-game choices you can make that have small effects on the story. It might be worth a second play to see how they turn out, plus experimenting with different party builds.”
    • “Inventive missions and replayability.”
    • “Not much replay value.”
    • “It does lend itself to replayability a bit since there are a number of in-game choices you can make that have small effects on the story, and it might be worth a second play to see how they turn out, plus experimenting with different party builds.”
    • “Quite a bit of replay value in the number of combinations of characters you can use.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with some players expressing initial excitement that quickly turned to disappointment, feeling that it failed to meet their expectations in delivering a heartfelt experience within its sci-fi setting.

  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game is criticized for its absence of in-app purchases, which were expected in a mobile game, leading to a frustrating and slow gameplay experience.

    • “This was clearly designed to be a mobile game with in-app purchases to get it moving along, but that feature is entirely missing, making this game an absolute slog.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere is perceived as lacking in interest, with some reviewers noting that the writing fails to deliver the humor expected.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

86% average critic score

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Play time

24hMedian play time
19hAverage play time
7-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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