Jack the Barbarian
- May 21, 2018
- Cloaz Studio
Get on Steam"Jack the Barbarian" is an Old-School RPG game that offers a mini survival experience with features like farming, crafting, and combat. Play as a barbarian, elf, or pirate and engage in turn-based battles, looting, and fishing. Manage your own farm, cook, mine, and explore the village to discover secret places and sail your own boat.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a classic RPG art style that is visually appealing.
- It offers a unique take on fishing mechanics that some players found enjoyable.
- The game is very affordable, providing a decent amount of gameplay for its price.
- The game lacks a coherent story and meaningful dialogue, making it feel directionless.
- Combat is frustratingly difficult, especially at the beginning, with no clear way to escape battles.
- Many quests are poorly designed, often resulting in players not receiving promised rewards.
- story12 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for being nonexistent and lacking depth, with players feeling dropped into a town without any meaningful narrative or context. Quests are repetitive and simplistic, often revolving around mundane tasks like fetching items for minimal rewards, and the dialogue is tedious and unengaging. Overall, the storytelling aspect is deemed poor, detracting significantly from the gaming experience.
“I just stand next to a plot and spam Z to go through like 8 dialogue boxes every time.”
“Story is nonexistent (which is one of the most important parts in such games).”
“You're dropped into a town with no explanation or storyline.”
“Every quest boils down to 'bring me beer and I will give you 100 gold.'”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and directionless, with farming activities described as boring and lacking depth. While the game offers various activities like fishing and fighting, the repetitive nature of tasks, particularly in farming, detracts from the overall enjoyment. Many hope for improvements to make these mechanics more engaging.
“Ok, so far this might have been the best RPG Maker game I've played, but it's still really crummy, directionless, grindy, and tedious.”
“I got this game hoping for a nice little sandbox game - fighting, fishing, farming, etc. - but was quickly disappointed.”
“Game was tedious and boring with little to no point.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Gameplay is characterized by a lack of dialogue and a short experience, with simple mechanics that are easy to grasp. While the fishing mechanic is unique and attempts to set the game apart, it lacks a tutorial, making it challenging for players. Overall, the game offers good value for its price, despite generic monster designs and frustrating sound effects.
“Most of the game's mechanics are very simple and quick to understand.”
“The amount of gameplay you get for this price is really good.”
“I also like how the developers tried to differentiate themselves from other games in the genre by implementing unique mechanics for the fishing, as well as having a JRPG style of combat.”
“Dialogs are close to none, the game is short and the mechanics are odd.”
“All monster models are very generic RPG Maker designs, and the sound effects/music will tear holes in your ears after a bit of gameplay.”
“Dragons are large HP damage sponges with no mechanics or benefit to killing; the items they drop are vendor trash, minus the helm, which is easily replaceable for small amounts of gold in the second town.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their appealing custom-made art style, reminiscent of classic RPGs, and are considered visually impressive for a pixel art game.
“The art style is nice and seems mostly custom-made.”
“Classic RPG art style.”
“Graphics are pretty for a pixel art game.”
“The graphics are pretty for a pixel art game.”
“The classic RPG art style feels outdated and lacks detail.”
“The visuals are underwhelming and don't match the expectations set by modern games.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The music and sound effects in the game are criticized for being grating and unpleasant, contributing to a negative overall experience, while the monster designs are noted as generic and uninspired.
“The sound effects and music are grating and can become unbearable after a short period of gameplay.”
“The music feels repetitive and lacks any real depth, making it easy to tune out.”
“The audio design is subpar, with sound effects that are jarring and music that fails to enhance the gaming experience.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find "Jack the Barbarian" to have decent replayability, with many enjoying the game enough to play through it multiple times, typically clocking in around 2-3 hours per session.
“I spent 2-3 hours playing Jack the Barbarian, and I found it to be a highly replayable game.”
“The variety of choices and paths in the game makes it incredibly fun to replay.”
“Each playthrough offers a unique experience, keeping me engaged and eager to try again.”
“I got 2-3 hours of gameplay, and Jack the Barbarian is not a very replayable game.”
“The lack of variety in levels makes it hard to want to replay the game.”
“Once you finish the main story, there's little incentive to go back and play again.”
