Renowned Explorers: International Society
- September 2, 2013
- Abbey Games
- 22h median play time
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Get on SteamRenowned Explorers is a strategic expedition simulation game. Lead a team of explorers through treacherous environments, solving mysteries, and interacting with natives using a unique expedition system. Manage your team's emotions, resources, and reputation to become the most Renowned Explorer in the International Society.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Unique and engaging combat system that allows for multiple approaches (friendly, devious, aggressive) to encounters.
- Charming art style and humorous writing that adds personality to the characters and story.
- High replayability due to diverse character combinations, randomized events, and different strategies to explore.
- Combat can feel unbalanced, with some encounters being overly punishing and reliant on RNG.
- Limited number of expedition locations can lead to repetitiveness after multiple playthroughs.
- Lack of permanent progression or meaningful upgrades between runs may diminish long-term engagement.
- gameplay495 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its unique blend of simple mechanics that evolve into complex strategies, particularly through a rock-paper-scissors combat system influenced by character moods and emotions. Players appreciate the depth and replayability, although some find the learning curve steep and the reliance on RNG frustrating at times. Overall, the game offers an engaging mix of tactical combat, exploration, and resource management, making it a compelling experience for fans of the genre.
“The gameplay is fun (if challenging at times), and the replay value is great, as in addition to selecting an entirely new crew, you'll find that there are various secrets tucked away in every expedition that'll take multiple attempts to uncover.”
“The mechanics are clever, it's one of the first RPGs that tackles the concept of battling with 'words' and 'emotions'.”
“The gameplay itself is very fun as well, with great replay value.”
“Leveling up a perk adds nearly nothing to your gameplay except a slightly bigger number in the wheel of fortune you have during events, and occasionally giving you the odd extra unpredictable dialog option for some minimal advantage.”
“Invest hours into a campaign just to lose by bad mechanics/luck with no do over or continues.”
“The gameplay does get stale because the map can be repetitive/pretty small, and because the actions are relatively few and repetitive.”
- replayability403 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its high replayability, attributed to diverse team compositions, multiple strategies, and procedurally generated content that keeps each playthrough fresh. While many players find the replay value substantial, some note that it can diminish after several runs due to limited expedition variety. Overall, the combination of character uniqueness, unlockable content, and community challenges contributes to a robust replay experience.
“The different team compositions and research paths make for an amazing amount of replayability.”
“This is a really fun and different game with tons of replayability, a charming and lighthearted storytelling style and a surprising amount of depth to be found in mechanics that are easy to pick up.”
“Each of the many characters has their own unique personality that matched their design and creates unique and meaningful playstyles, allowing for ridiculous amounts of replayability.”
“I do agree with other reviews that the replayability is somewhat limited.”
“The replayability here is quite limited.”
“I would recommend getting this on sale if possible, just because the game doesn't really have a ton of replay value; in my opinion, rounds tend to be too homogeneous.”
- graphics262 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, colorful, and cartoonish art style, which enhances the overall experience and complements the game's lighthearted tone. Many reviewers appreciate the attention to detail in character design and animations, noting that while the visuals may appear simplistic, they effectively convey depth and personality. However, some players have pointed out occasional graphical glitches and a lack of polish, which can detract from the experience. Overall, the art style is considered a significant strength, contributing to the game's appeal and replayability.
“I thought the overall art style was bright and colorful.”
“The hand-drawn art style is beautiful, the animations just ooze character, the sound and music design is spot-on.”
“The graphics are charming, the gameplay is challenging, but never obscure, the humor is top-notch.”
“Graphics are primitive.”
“The graphical style makes it look like a cheap iPad game; the combat grid system looked completely average and generic.”
“I've found that there are some graphical goofs (not quite glitches) that impeded the flow of the game.”
- story242 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story in "Renowned Explorers" is characterized by its lighthearted and humorous tone, featuring a variety of quirky characters and engaging narratives that evolve based on player choices and team composition. While the overarching plot is relatively simple and can become repetitive after multiple playthroughs, the game compensates with a wealth of mini-stories and character interactions that enhance replayability and provide a unique experience with each expedition. Overall, the storytelling is enjoyable and complements the strategic gameplay, though some players may find it lacking in depth compared to traditional RPGs.
“The link between story, combat, and characters is a fun dynamic to explore through replaying the game.”
“A wonderful roguelike game with charming characters and a surprisingly high amount of depth in its gameplay and story dynamics.”
“The narratives in each expedition were entertaining and offered a bit of replayability to come across all the different story points.”
“The main storyline isn't deep, but it is compensated for by the smaller, often comical stories surrounding the characters, expeditions, and even individual encounters.”
“I'm pretty sure the story part might as well not exist because it's just so meaningless, and it's definitely not the game's strong point.”
“Not much of a story or campaign, so after a few tries it gets boring.”
- humor157 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is consistently praised for its charm and cleverness, with players enjoying the diverse and quirky characters, funny dialogues, and cartoonish scenarios that keep the tone light-hearted. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to generate hilarious situations through its unique mechanics and character interactions, making it both entertaining and replayable. Overall, the humor is a standout feature that enhances the gameplay experience, providing a delightful blend of wit and whimsy throughout.
“The characters are diverse and have their own personalities; the situations are cartoonish but have a nice consistent tone with some decent humor.”
“From treasures to events, to even the characters freaking talking to each other is fantastic; even at my 100+ hour mark, I was still chuckling at jokes and having a good time!”
“The game keeps a fairly lighthearted and humorous theme throughout, which is aided by its bright and colorful art style.”
- music76 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its charm and ability to enhance the adventurous atmosphere, while others find it repetitive or uninspired. Some highlight the dynamic nature of the battle themes, which adapt to the game's mood, adding depth to the experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally considered good and fitting, it may not stand out as exceptional for all players.
“I love the different characters, the music that is recognized after years of playing from the first single note on, and the art style, which perfectly fits this soothing, challenging, and rewarding game.”
“The hand-drawn art style is beautiful, the animations just ooze character, the sound and music design is spot-on... particularly the way the battle theme changes dynamically to reflect the current mood.”
“The music that accompanies you on your adventures makes you feel like a real explorer.”
“The fact that the soundtrack sounds very boring and uninspired and the overall plot feels kind of random don't really do much damage to my impression of how good this game is.”
“The music and encounters are extremely repetitive after a few playthroughs, with enemy types, map types, and win conditions having little to no variation.”
“Music isn't worth mentioning, I forgot it existed a number of times, but I was listening with low volume on so that may be my fault.”
- character development28 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is a mixed bag, with many praising the charming and clever character designs, as well as the amusing writing that adds personality to the characters. However, some reviewers noted a lack of depth in character development and storytelling, feeling that the gameplay can become repetitive and lacks meaningful long-term progression. Overall, while the art and design are well-received, the depth of character development varies significantly, with some players finding it engaging and others feeling it falls short.
“There are little jokes peppered in the story everywhere, and obviously a great amount of care has been put into the writing and the character design.”
“While it's easy enough to get started, the gameplay is quite challenging, underpinned by its deep and complex encounter and character development systems.”
“This game has everything you'd want in a good roguelite: interesting combat that has depth to its mechanics, interesting art style and aesthetic, character development, customization, various ways of advancement, loads of meaningful choices... all in all, it's my best roguelite of 2015.”
“It feels a little repetitive already, there's no storyline or character development of any note, or anything to pull you in really.”
“The problem is that this is an RPG about collecting artifacts... in which there are no long-term benefits to character development or artifact collection.”
“Character development in the story sense, not in the game stats sense.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game can be a mixed experience, often described as tedious and repetitive, particularly due to obscure mechanics and slow combat. While some players find enjoyment in the strategic elements and the thrill of RNG, many express frustration with the excessive grinding and convoluted currency systems that detract from overall enjoyment. Overall, the grinding aspect can lead to a lack of replayability and a sense of monotony, despite some fun elements present in the gameplay.
“It's good for a quick fix as you can finish your 5 expeditions in a couple of hours, but it isn't tedious and has endless replayability thanks to the crew combinations, allowing you to play for long periods of time.”
“The game has a bit too much grinding and gacha mechanisms where you get several currencies that you can turn into other currencies, that you can turn into other currencies, that you can use to buy '+1%' buffs.”
“It's boring, has a nonsensical system (in which you perform friendly moves after beating the crap out of your enemies, and for some reason, it not only works but it's the way it's meant to be played), tediously repetitive and has no replayability whatsoever, unless your standards are very low and you enjoy repetitive tasks over and over.”
“Unfortunately, the combat is incredibly slow and tedious.”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charming, whimsical, and light-hearted qualities, complemented by a colorful art style and engaging sound design. Players appreciate the balance between humor and deeper emotional moments, creating a unique setting that enhances the overall experience. The combination of a pleasant atmosphere with strategic gameplay elements makes it an inviting adventure for players.
“There's so much atmosphere and character to the game.”
“The sound design is great; I love the atmospheric sounds in the stages and the goofy sounds that the characters make.”
“However, the charming atmosphere and humorous dialogue will most likely win you over and have you embarking on your next adventure!”
“The art style and atmosphere are colorful, light-hearted, and varied.”
“I would like to combine the contents and deep gameplay of renowned explorers with the originality, pace, and atmosphere of the curious expedition to have a perfect expedition game.”
- emotional19 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its unique combat mechanics that revolve around the emotional states of characters and enemies, creating a dynamic and immersive experience. Players appreciate the blend of wholesome charm and strategic depth, where emotional manipulation can lead to various outcomes, making each encounter feel significant. However, the complexity of managing these emotional interactions can become overwhelming, especially in repeated playthroughs, adding both intrigue and challenge to the gameplay.
“Lightweight, yet also interestingly deep 'emotion' based combat mechanic, where you have to pay attention to the emotional states of all the characters and enemies, and deal with them accordingly to get the best outcome.”
“You win by emotionally overwhelming your opponents.”
“At its core, it's a pretty simple system of trade-offs between resources and fights/encounters, but it's got some hidden depth that makes it stay fresh (emotional combat states/character skill progressions/etc).”
- optimization15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it offers deep resource and crew optimization mechanics that enhance gameplay, it suffers from performance issues, particularly on Windows and Mac platforms. Players appreciate the smooth gameplay on most hardware, but many report bugs and a lack of polish in the graphics engine. Overall, the game encourages strategic planning and experimentation, though it may not run optimally for all users.
“An excellent turn-based strategy with a lot of careful sequence optimization.”
“Many of the things you can buy feed back into resource generation for future expeditions, so it's got a growth-optimization angle that reminds me a little of civilization and similar games (though the actual mechanics are thoroughly different).”
“A fun and engaging game that's enjoyable to pick up quickly, but has many more layers of depth to be optimized than is initially obvious.”
“One other note I'd make is this game is not optimized well for Mac.”
“The game is very clearly not optimized for Mac.”
“The only criticisms I could make against this game are a slightly clunky overworld map and a poor optimization of the graphic engine (a 2D game should be 100% smooth and polished, not 98%).”
- stability12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marked by frequent micro-freezes and various graphical glitches, which can disrupt gameplay but are generally not game-breaking. While crashes occur infrequently, some users report significant issues, particularly on Linux, leading to a frustrating experience overall. Despite these technical problems, many players still find the game enjoyable.
“The cloud storage glitches on Origin and Steam, so pray it gets fixed.”
“Not many... I have encountered some glitches, and the game crashes on me about one session out of 20.”
“For a game that doesn't seem particularly complex, it sure is buggy.”
