Heroines of Swords & Spells
- March 17, 2020
- Kirillkrm
- 19h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Heroines of Swords & Spells" is an action-packed RPG where you lead a party of heroic women with different abilities and backgrounds. Explore a vibrant fantasy world, battle enemies using strategic combat, and uncover a deep story filled with intrigue and adventure. Choose your heroines wisely and build relationships to unlock unique abilities and storylines.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features charming visuals and a delightful atmosphere, with unique and endearing characters that have distinct personalities.
- The combat system is well-designed, with minimal grinding required, allowing players to focus on engaging story and character development.
- The humor and dialogue are fun and witty, making the game an enjoyable experience overall.
- The game suffers from overly long and sometimes meaningless conversations, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- Players may find themselves stuck due to vague quest directions and a lack of guidance, leading to frustration.
- Some characters start off weak and the combat can feel unbalanced, making early gameplay challenging and tedious.
- story116 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its uniqueness, engaging characters, and humor, with many players appreciating the depth and development of the heroines throughout the narrative. However, some reviewers noted issues with quest clarity and organization, leading to confusion and frustration, particularly with side quests that felt overwhelming or incomplete. Overall, while the story is considered solid and enjoyable, the execution of quest management could benefit from improvement to enhance the overall experience.
“A fun, engaging storyline, great characters, good mapping and gameplay - overall a real joy to play.”
“The characters are nice and surprisingly well written and thought-through, the story enticing and devoid of ever-persistent illusions of grandeur.”
“I loved not only this game's characterization, but I feel like the writing of the game deserves kudos for addressing the issue of female protagonists in a way that didn't feel cheesy and actually worked in the story.”
“After 7 hours, I finally quit and uninstalled the game because one of the quests at the beginning about finding out who is giving alcohol to kids was never completed.”
“Also, some of the quests aren't fully clear; it seems like they should be done but they aren't clearing, even though all the parts are done, like the textbook and flower quests.”
“I could excuse those if the story, setting, and characters could carry the game, but not this time.”
- humor36 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and cleverness, with many players highlighting the memorable character of Svetlana as a standout source of laughter. The writing features a mix of funny dialogue, inside jokes, and meta humor, creating a light-hearted yet engaging experience. While some found the English translation lacking, the overall comedic tone remains enjoyable and contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
“One of my favorite things about this game is its humor; it has a lot of really funny scenes, especially because of characters like Svetlana.”
“While at the moment there is no Act 2, this is still a very enjoyable game with memorable characters, great writing, and a fantastic sense of humor.”
“Each character is written well; there are some moments where I literally burst out laughing because of some of the dialogue.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its engaging character mechanics and a fun, lighthearted storyline, though it can be tedious at times. While the combat is described as basic and somewhat bland, the open-world structure allows for flexible questing, and the unique character evolution adds depth. Overall, the combination of charming characters, humor, and exploration makes it a joy to play, despite some criticisms of traditional gameplay elements.
“Shockingly good merge of character and game mechanics (a thief with a heart of gold that actually can't steal in-game gold) that surpass major studio RPGs.”
“A fun, engaging storyline, great characters, good mapping and gameplay - overall a real joy to play.”
“Stylishness, jokes and references, destruction of the fourth wall (direct and hidden with hints), unusual game mechanics (i.e. combat involvement of one heroine, exploring style of another one), exploring well-hidden secrets... yeah, there is a lot of fun here.”
“There's nothing unique about the gameplay either; the combat is the usual basic and bland fare and the only thing that is somewhat unique here is the structure of the open world, where you can do quests in whatever order.”
“An idiotic sexist trope that is actually incorporated into the gameplay.”
“+simple battle and leveling mechanic”
- graphics18 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many players appreciating the clean, simple, and charming visuals that enhance the light-hearted atmosphere. While some note that the graphics may not be as polished as other RPG Maker titles, they still find them visually pleasing and effective in conveying character personalities. Overall, the artwork and layout contribute positively to the game's appeal, despite minor criticisms regarding specific elements like profile faces.
“I like the visuals and the atmosphere; very charming. Characters have unique perspectives and different personalities.”
“Most of all, I love the graphics - clean, simple, and efficient.”
“The graphics are not annoying; despite the engine of RPG Maker, the graphics are pretty and visually pleasing.”
“The graphics are a little bit worse than some of the other RPG Maker games I have played, but apart from that, it seems like a pretty good game.”
“The game graphics, well, don't make my eyes bleed (which surpassed my expectations, to be honest), and also reinforce the light-heartedness of the game.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
Overall, players appreciate the minimal grinding in this RPG Maker game, noting that it features a well-designed combat system that allows for progression through story activities rather than repetitive battles. While some players desire more material farming to enhance leveling speed, the game's charming characters and engaging narrative compensate for any occasional tedium in gameplay. However, there are mentions of slow progression and occasional confusion regarding quest difficulty.
“I enjoyed the game very much; almost no grinding is needed, which is quite rare for RPG Maker type games.”
“It gets a lot of things right, although there needs to be actual farming of materials more, so we can level up faster, instead of taking too much time wandering around.”
“Solid, solid story, not really much grinding as enemies die forever after killing them (in most areas), negative may be slow progression and or lack of direction... sometimes I don't know which quest to do, and it turns out the one I picked was super hard, for a much later time, but still, awesome game and characters.”
“Rather than your powers always being matched against the enemies and increasing predictably with experience, here you improve through completing story activities rather than bludgeoning your way through tedious battles.”
- music8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally considered decent, with particular praise for the end boss battle theme. However, many reviewers noted the use of stock and generic tracks, which detracts from the overall experience and reflects common pitfalls of commercial RPG Maker games.
“Music is fairly decent; I absolutely loved the end boss battle music.”
“Also, the music is really enjoyable.”
“The soundtrack adds a lot to the overall experience.”
“Default tilesets, default sounds, stock generic music... the basic sins of commercial RPG Maker games are all here.”
“- faint, standard OST and VFX”
“Default tilesets, default sounds, stock generic music... the basic sins of commercial RPG Maker games are all here.”
- character development6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features exceptional character development, with well-crafted characters that exhibit strong chemistry both in combat and personality, reminiscent of a well-written sitcom. The storyboarding of character design and growth is evident, culminating in a final boss that serves as a significant payoff for the character arcs developed throughout the game.
“This is a game first and foremost with excellent character development, and interesting characters who play off each other as well as any well-written sitcom.”
“The characters are also very enjoyable in their chemistry with each other, both in combat and in personalities, and the final boss, which I shall not spoil, is basically pure character development that was hyped during the entire game.”
“Clearly a lot of time was put into storyboarding the character design and growth.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally engaging, highlighting its unique interaction with the creator and the heartfelt comedic elements that contribute to its charm. However, some side quests can disrupt the flow, leading to feelings of frustration. Overall, the emotional depth and special experiences offered by the game resonate strongly with users.
“It made me feel like this game is so special since interacting with the creator of a game itself is not something other games can offer.”
“Full of heartwarming comedies.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its charming visuals and the distinct personalities of its characters, which contribute to a captivating and immersive experience.
“I like the visuals and the atmosphere; it's very charming. The characters have unique perspectives and different personalities.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report a high level of stability, noting the absence of glitches or bugs that affect the quality of the experience.
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers notable replayability, with users highlighting its potential for multiple playthroughs.
“It does have replay value, though.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the performance is primarily centered around Svetlana, whose strong presence and humor overshadow the less engaging contributions of the rest of the cast, making the overall experience enjoyable despite some blandness.
