Lords of Xulima
- November 14, 2014
- Numantian Games
- 89h median play time
Lords of Xulima is a great homage to classic RPGs which will satisfy fans of the genre and is accessible enough to newcomers.
Get on SteamIn "Lords of Xulima," lead a group of up to six adventurers on a challenging journey across a detailed, open world. Engage in strategic turn-based combat, manage resources and party skills, and explore diverse environments on your quest to defeat the fallen god. With a heavy emphasis on character development and strategic depth, this is a game for those who enjoy classic RPGs.
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Reviews
- Engaging and challenging turn-based combat that requires strategic planning.
- Rich character customization with a variety of classes and skills to choose from.
- Beautifully crafted world with diverse environments and a nostalgic old-school feel.
- Unforgiving difficulty spikes that can lead to frustration, especially for new players.
- Limited loot variety, often resulting in repetitive item acquisition from vendors.
- Lack of clear direction in quests, making it easy to get lost or unsure of where to go next.
- story232 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its intriguing plot and unexpected twists, while others criticize it for being generic and predictable. Many reviewers note that the narrative often feels secondary to gameplay, with a linear structure and limited character development, making it less engaging for those seeking a deep story experience. Overall, while there are moments of interest and charm, the story is frequently described as clichéd and lacking in depth.
“The story will take your hero and his companions to a forgotten continent where gods once lived, and your quest will be to explore the land, plunder its riches and uncover its ancient mysteries, free its people and its temples from evil and restore their kingdoms to their former glory.”
“Great old-school RPG that delivers 100+ hours of gameplay, an intriguing storyline, open world, very good isometric graphics, great writing, and extremely challenging battles especially in hardcore mode.”
“The story is great, from start to finish, the character development is really great as well, and the game's lore is complete and satisfying.”
“The story spends most of its time staring at its own navel and trying to be a trite fantasy plot, while being unwieldy on account of the sheer amount of names and attempts to build an entire mythos, without convincing you to care about that mythos in the first place.”
“In the end, the story is utterly predictable and uninteresting, even including the final overly dramatic plot twist, which was telegraphed from miles away.”
“If you put a lot of importance on story, dialogue, and choices in an RPG, this game is definitely not for you.”
- gameplay156 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Lords of Xulima" offers over 80 hours of content, featuring a mix of engaging exploration, challenging combat, and puzzle-solving elements. However, many players find the mechanics poorly explained, leading to frustration and a steep learning curve, particularly with food management and trap detection. While the game has a nostalgic old-school RPG feel and solid character progression, it suffers from balance issues and repetitive encounters, making the experience feel grindy in later stages.
“Lords of Xulima is a surprisingly engaging game given its age and that the gameplay isn't terribly complex.”
“Delightful gameplay, decent difficulty, and proper challenge!”
“The gameplay is very smooth and polished.”
“The game is really bad at explaining its mechanics.”
“Because the game is very bad at explaining mechanics and some skills and abilities get obsolete very quickly, the chances that you will think about restarting the game at some point are extremely high, because you will understand that some of your characters are ruined.”
“The gameplay is repetitive and frustrating (you miss a good 50-75% of the time, your opponents hit 90% of the time).”
- graphics103 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game, while not groundbreaking, are generally well-received, with many players appreciating the charming, hand-drawn aesthetic and vibrant colors that evoke a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic RPGs. Some reviews note that the visuals are functional and suitable for an indie title, with a mix of simple yet elegant designs that enhance the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are considered pleasant and fitting for the game's style, contributing positively to its immersive atmosphere.
“A great and challenging isometric turn-based CRPG with beautiful graphics and fitting music.”
“The graphics are simple but nice.”
“The art style is very interesting, the game is very colorful, with a vast amount of 2D graphics, which I really appreciate.”
“Forgettable story/characters and cheesy graphics.”
“The graphics are poor to mediocre at best.”
“The graphics are ugly and rough, lots of variation in the quality of the animations from correct to completely amateur.”
- grinding64 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that it becomes quite tedious, especially in the later stages where resource management and repetitive battles are common. While some players appreciate the nostalgic challenge reminiscent of classic RPGs, others find the grinding overwhelming and detrimental to the overall enjoyment, often leading to burnout. Overall, the game is best suited for those who are comfortable with grinding and enjoy a more traditional, challenging RPG experience.
“Elegant logistics, basic but not tedious.”
“It can become quite grindy in the latter stages of the game, and one of the most effective tools at your disposal is an item which has a limited stock per day, so you sometimes need to travel and wait to refill these, which adds to the grindiness.”
“The game gets very tedious and grindy after a while.”
“My brother put it best: 'After grinding all the way to level 10, I realized I wasn't having any fun.'”
- music62 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and fitting atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience with memorable melodies that often linger in players' minds. While the soundtrack is generally well-received, some players note a lack of variety, leading to repetitive listening during extended play sessions. Overall, the music complements the game's visuals and gameplay, contributing to a relaxing and immersive environment.
“A great and challenging isometric turn-based CRPG with beautiful graphics and fitting music.”
“The music is absolutely gorgeous, the graphics are beautiful with their own charm, and the gameplay is really nice and addictive too.”
“The art style suits this type of game very well and the music is very soothing, making playing this game a very enjoyable experience.”
“Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of different songs in the game, so you hear a lot of repeats.”
“The possibilities of your characters are very few, 1 spell for your magician, 1 song for your bard, 1 attack for your warriors.”
“Even your bard tends to fail singing songs so hard that he manages to hurt himself (go find another job, pal)!”
- stability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 70 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with many users reporting minimal to no bugs or crashes. While some minor glitches, such as quest issues and menu problems, have been noted, the game is considered more polished and stable than many recent AAA releases. Players appreciate the smooth performance, especially in comparison to other titles in the genre.
“A very polished, bug-free old-school RPG, in the style of Baldur's Gate, that has many cool ideas.”
“This is a decent, if not terribly inspired, group-based CRPG that is mostly bug-free.”
“Very good game, no bugs, runs great, not one crash. Very strategic game; at the moment, I'm trying to get through in old school mode without one character dying.”
“If you still survive this battle, it's very common that the game freezes at the loading screen.”
“Small glitches in quests (could not turn in one quest).”
“Minor menu glitches.”
- character development9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its depth and strong class mechanics, offering a satisfying progression system that enhances the overall experience. However, some players note that mistakes in character development can be punishing, as they require significant backtracking to correct. While the character development is straightforward and not as intricate as some classic RPGs, it remains engaging and complements the game's enjoyable combat and lore.
“This game is fun, the lore is charming, and character development/class mechanics are strong.”
“- Amazing class system and an amazing and deep character development tree for each class.”
“The story is great, from start to finish, the character development is really great as well, and the game's lore is complete and satisfying.”
“If you make any mistakes in character development, it is impossible to take back short of reloading however far into the past.”
“Advancement: a new definition of the term linear character development.”
“This is not a deep character development type CRPG like BG2 or even POE, but the gameplay is surprisingly entertaining and makes up for that.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, featuring quirky elements like giggling mushrooms, cackling skulls, and amusing enemy interactions that evoke genuine laughter. Players enjoy the lightheartedness and charm, although some find the balance of difficulty in quests to be inconsistent, which can detract from the overall experience.
“Funny thing though, when you kill an enemy summoner, their creations stay on the battlefield.”
“Game made me laugh more than a few times and kept me up late into the night quite a few nights as I played.”
“There are little mushrooms that giggle at you, goblins that giggle at you differently, talking skulls that cackle at you, guards that say 'I am your master'... it's funny, endearing, and I love it.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, optimization for the game is mixed; while some users report smooth performance and a fantastic interface, others experience significant lag, particularly on Linux, with issues like slow loading times for saved games and choppy movement. Adjusting settings like switching to OpenGL and enabling full-screen optimizations may help, but performance remains inconsistent.
“The German in me demands process optimization.”
“The game runs smoothly and the interface is fantastic.”
“It takes around 10 seconds to even display your saved games, and the performance is kind of 'edgy', especially if you walk diagonally.”
“Just a small warning - I found the performance under Linux abysmal; even just moving on the map caused stutter every 1-2 seconds.”
“Once in the game, I switched to OpenGL and re-enabled the full screen optimizations.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The reviews on replayability are mixed; while some players find the game offers high replay value due to various difficulty levels and party configurations, others feel it has low replayability beyond these options. Overall, many users appreciate the extensive gameplay hours for the price, suggesting a decent level of replayability.
“Amazing game with a high replay value.”
“The replay value is very low, except to try on harder difficulties.”
“As I cannot decide on an ideal party, there should hopefully be plenty of replayability.”
“Plenty of hours of gameplay and lots of replay value for the price.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game successfully evokes a nostalgic 90's atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience with engaging exploration, combat, and crafting elements. Players appreciate the relaxing music and immersive environment, making it a standout title that captivates even those who typically dislike crafting.
“There's a 90's atmosphere throughout the whole game.”
“I love the music in the game; the relaxing atmosphere it creates is incredible. For the first time since Football Manager (totally different game, I know), I am completely immersed in a game.”
“There's a 90's atmosphere in the whole game.”
“I love the music in the game; the relaxing atmosphere it has makes me feel totally immersed, for the first time since Football Manager (I know it's a totally different game).”
“+atmosphere”
