Onyx is a single-player Role Playing game that offers an epic adventure lasting 30-40 hours, with stunning artworks, humorous touches, and optional mouse control. As Rowan, a witch seeking her stolen ring, players can fight monsters in side-view battles, discover 51 secret rooms, and choose from three difficulty modes. Comparable games include "The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing," "Hand of Fate," and "The Age of Decadence."
Reviews
- The game offers engaging gameplay mechanics, including strategic combat and exploration, which immerse players in a rewarding experience.
- Onyx features a richly detailed world with a compelling story that unfolds as players progress, enhancing the overall narrative.
- The hand-drawn artwork is beautiful, contributing to the game's atmospheric environments.
- The game suffers from pacing issues, with certain segments feeling slow or repetitive, disrupting the overall flow of the experience.
- Animation quality is occasionally stiff or lacking in fluidity, which detracts from the visual presentation.
- Exploration depth is limited, with fewer interactive elements and hidden secrets, leading to a relatively linear experience.
- story10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a witch named Rowan, who embarks on a quest for revenge after being robbed by a mysterious thief linked to a larger evil group. While some reviewers criticize the lack of originality, citing similarities to "Tales of Berseria," others praise the engaging narrative and atmospheric world that enhance the overall experience. The story is deemed fundamental to the game's success, with well-developed characters joining Rowan on her journey.
“An RPG that takes you back to the old school style of gameplay, this offering tells the story of a witch (Rowan or whatever name you choose) that has been robbed and left for dead by a mysterious thief who is part of a larger group of very bad people with evil designs on the world.”
“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.”
“The game presents a richly detailed world with a compelling story that unfolds as players progress.”
“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 place assets and write a story, it creates an environment where you could easily release two or three games a month, given enough free time.”
“An RPG that takes you back to the old school style of gameplay (that I personally enjoy very much), this offering tells the story of a witch (Rowan or whatever name you choose) that has been robbed and left for dead by a mysterious thief who is part of a larger group of very bad people with evil designs on the world.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mix of engaging mechanics, including strategic combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving, which immerses players in a rewarding experience. However, it suffers from pacing issues and limited exploration depth, with some users criticizing the low-quality visuals typical of RPG Maker titles. Overall, it appeals to fans of old-school RPGs, though it could benefit from more branching narratives to enhance replay value.
“An RPG that takes you back to the old school style of gameplay, this offering tells the story of a witch (Rowan or whatever name you choose) that has been robbed and left for dead by a mysterious thief who is part of a larger group of very bad people with evil designs on the world.”
“The overall mechanics are good, with easy controls using either the keyboard or the mouse.”
“Onyx offers a variety of engaging gameplay mechanics, including strategic combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving.”
“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.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are characterized by beautiful hand-drawn artwork that enhances the visual experience, although the animation can sometimes appear stiff and lacking fluidity. However, the RPG Maker engine limits the game's graphical capabilities, lacking full HD support and customization options, which may disappoint dedicated modern PC gamers. Overall, while the visuals are appealing, technical limitations hinder the overall graphical experience.
“Art work 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.”
“Its beautiful artwork and challenging gameplay make it a worthwhile experience for fans of fantasy RPGs.”
“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.”
“[b]🎨 Visuals and animation[/b] While Onyx features beautiful hand-drawn artwork, the animation quality may occasionally feel stiff or lacking in fluidity.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
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.”
- music3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The music in the game is 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.
“The artwork and music are pleasing, featuring 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.”
“Artwork and music are pleasing with an assortment of scenes and themes that help propel the game.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
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 products 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.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
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.
“Adding more branching narratives or gameplay decisions could increase replay value and player engagement.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its self-awareness, particularly in poking fun at the difficulty players face in locating objectives. This meta-humor adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay experience.
“I love the self-aware humor about how difficult it is to find objectives.”
“The witty dialogue and clever puns kept me laughing throughout the game.”
“The absurd situations and quirky characters add a delightful layer of humor to the gameplay.”