Onyx

About

Onyx is a single player casual role playing game. It was developed by Valkyria Games and was released on April 21, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Play as Rowan, a secluded witch with a bad temper, in this intense adventure worth 30-40 hours of gameplay!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 25 reviews

story5 positive mentions

music2 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay mechanics with strategic combat and humorous dialogue that keeps players entertained.
Atmospheric world with a compelling story that unfolds as players progress, featuring interesting characters and settings.
Beautiful hand-drawn artwork that enhances the visual experience, despite some animation quality issues.

Gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks polish, with clunky controls and pacing issues that disrupt the flow of the experience.
Limited exploration depth and lack of meaningful player choices lead to a relatively linear experience.
The game suffers from numerous grammatical errors and poor map design, detracting from the overall immersion and enjoyment.

story
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
53%
18%
The story of Onyx follows Rowan, a witch on a 30-40 hour quest to reclaim her stolen ring, set against a richly detailed and atmospheric world. While the narrative is engaging and features interesting character interactions, some players feel it lacks depth and polish, with comparisons made to other works in the genre. Despite a slow start, the plot develops into a compelling adventure that resonates with themes of perseverance and camaraderie.
- “The game presents a richly detailed world with a compelling story that unfolds as players progress.”
- “I recommend it for the story and the dialogue.”
- “As with all of these adventures, the story itself is fundamental to the success of the game, and this is one that is interesting and well told.”
- “Just like this 'developer' doesn't actually do any game development, they also didn't do any plot development; this is a ripoff of an anime called 'Tales of Berseria'.”
- “Due to the ease of cranking out games when you have very little to do yourself aside from placing assets and writing a story, it creates an environment where you could easily release two or three games a month, given enough free time.”
- “Not great, graphics quite redundant; but manageable for its story.”
gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The gameplay is a mixed bag, featuring engaging mechanics like strategic combat and puzzle-solving that can immerse players, but it suffers from repetitiveness, clunky controls, and pacing issues. While some appreciate its nostalgic RPG elements and beautiful artwork, others criticize its low-quality visuals and lack of depth in exploration. Overall, the game has potential but requires significant improvements to enhance player experience.
- “Onyx offers a variety of engaging gameplay mechanics, including strategic combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving.”
- “Players will find themselves immersed in challenging yet rewarding gameplay throughout their adventure.”
- “While it may suffer from pacing issues and limited exploration depth, its beautiful artwork and challenging gameplay make it a worthwhile experience for fans of fantasy RPGs.”
- “The gameplay is repetitive, with clunky controls, and I can't recommend it based on its current state.”
- “Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low-quality copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art, looks awful, and has even worse gameplay.”
- “Adding more branching narratives or gameplay decisions could increase replay value and player engagement.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The graphics of Onyx are characterized by beautiful hand-drawn artwork that enhances the fantasy RPG experience, though the animation can sometimes feel stiff and lacks fluidity. While the visuals are generally appealing, the game's reliance on an outdated engine results in poor fullscreen performance and limited graphics options, which may disappoint dedicated modern PC gamers. Overall, the art and music contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “While it may suffer from pacing issues and limited exploration depth, its beautiful artwork and challenging gameplay make it a worthwhile experience for fans of fantasy RPGs.”
- “Beautiful hand-drawn artwork.”
- “Artwork and music are pleasing with an assortment of scenes and themes that help propel the game.”
- “While Onyx features beautiful hand-drawn artwork, the animation quality may occasionally feel stiff or lacking in fluidity.”
- “As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
- “Not great, graphics quite redundant; but manageable for its story.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a richly detailed world and a compelling narrative that enhances exploration, featuring diverse environments like ancient ruins and mysterious forests. However, some players note that the depth of exploration may feel somewhat limited despite the immersive atmosphere. Overall, Onyx provides an engaging adventure through its atmospheric settings and storytelling.
- “The game presents a richly detailed world with a compelling story that unfolds as players progress.”
- “From ancient ruins to mysterious forests, Onyx's atmospheric environments add depth to the narrative and exploration.”
- “Onyx offers an engaging adventure with its strategic combat, atmospheric world, and compelling story.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its humor, particularly its self-aware jokes about gameplay challenges and witty character dialogue, such as the humorous line "your funeral" when avoiding fights. This blend of clever writing and comedic moments adds a lighthearted touch to the overall experience.
- “The game features side-view battles, 100% visible encounters, three difficulty modes, and plenty of humor.”
- “I like the self-aware humor of how hard it is to find objectives.”
- “He’s funny when he says 'your funeral' because he doesn’t want to fight, and he has wise words too.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
Reviewers suggest that enhancing replayability could be achieved by incorporating more branching narratives and gameplay decisions, which would boost player engagement and encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “The game offers multiple branching narratives and gameplay decisions, significantly enhancing its replay value and player engagement.”
- “Replayability is a key feature, as each playthrough can lead to different outcomes and experiences.”
- “With various choices and paths to explore, the game encourages players to return for new adventures.”
- “Adding more branching narratives or gameplay decisions could increase replay value and player engagement.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The music in the game is highly praised for its relaxing qualities and ability to enhance the overall experience, complementing the artwork and various scenes effectively. Players find it soothing and integral to the game's atmosphere.
- “Artwork and music are pleasing, with an assortment of scenes and themes that help propel the game.”
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “The artwork and music are pleasing with an assortment of scenes and themes that help propel the game.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, with a low price point of around $5 USD deemed unjustifiable due to the game's numerous defects and reliance on low-quality assets. Reviewers express frustration that such poorly developed titles undermine the reputation of amateur developers and highlight the availability of superior free alternatives on Steam.
- “This kind of cash grab construction kit shovelware from bad actors like Andorlea gives amateur developers a bad name.”
- “Onyx has the greedy, cash grab price of around $5 USD; it's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings with the product, especially considering the sheer number of completely free, much higher quality games on Steam.”
- “It's horribly basic, riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, full of stock copy-pasted RPG Maker assets... no real game development has taken place here, this is just a cash grab, it's shovelware polluting Steam for profit.”