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Renowned Explorers: International Society

A charming and unique turn-based adventure that hides an intricate battle system behind all the whimsy.
Renowned Explorers: International Society Game Cover
82%Game Brain Score
gameplay, replayability
grinding, optimization
92% User Score Based on 2,336 reviews
Critic Score 60%Based on 6 reviews

Platforms

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Renowned Explorers: International Society Game Cover

About

Renowned Explorers: International Society is a single player role playing game with fantasy and historical themes. It was developed by Abbey Games and was released on September 2, 2015. It received neutral reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

Renowned 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.

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92%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,336 reviews
gameplay230 positive mentions
grinding22 negative mentions

  • Unique and engaging combat system that allows for multiple approaches to encounters, including friendly, devious, and aggressive tactics.
  • High replayability due to diverse character combinations, randomized events, and different expedition paths.
  • Charming art style and humorous writing that adds personality to the game and enhances the overall experience.
  • The game can feel repetitive after several playthroughs, as many events and encounters are similar.
  • Some players may find the RNG elements frustrating, especially when failing high-percentage skill checks.
  • Lack of permanent progression or significant unlocks between runs can diminish long-term engagement.
  • gameplay
    641 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Renowned Explorers: International Society" is characterized by its unique blend of turn-based tactical combat and resource management, featuring a rock-paper-scissors mechanic influenced by character moods and interactions. Players appreciate the depth and complexity of the mechanics, which allow for varied strategies and high replayability, although some find the learning curve steep and the reliance on RNG frustrating. Overall, the game combines charming visuals and engaging storytelling with a rich gameplay experience that rewards experimentation and mastery.

    • “The gameplay is engaging, highlights being the exploration of the different areas.”
    • “The mechanics are clever, it's one of the first RPGs that tackles the concept of battling with 'words' and 'emotions'.”
    • “The combat mechanics are surprisingly deep, the 'choose-your-own-adventure-storybook' vibe is a welcome breath of fresh air and the overworld phase adds a juicy layer of long term strategy.”
    • “Almost no mechanics, pretty boring and repetitive combat.”
    • “The gameplay seemed tedious and uninteresting, and I didn't care for the art style, which I originally thought I was going to like quite a bit.”
    • “The gameplay is also very lackluster.”
  • replayability
    507 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely praised for its high replayability, attributed to its diverse character combinations, procedurally generated maps, and various strategies that can be employed in each playthrough. Many players appreciate the depth and complexity that come from experimenting with different crew setups and play styles, leading to unique experiences in each session. However, some reviewers note that after several playthroughs, the novelty may diminish due to repetitive elements, suggesting that while the game offers substantial replay value, it may not be infinite.

    • “The different team compositions and research paths make for an amazing amount of replayability.”
    • “This game has so much replay value because of the fact that each run you can use a different crew and go on different adventures that I just do not stop playing this game.”
    • “The sheer number of random instances are amazing and the ability to play around with your expedition team to test out different group dynamics makes for quite a bit of replayability.”
    • “However, replayability is low.”
    • “In the end, I realized that there was not much replay value to the game when, after 3 games, I began seeing many of the same events.”
    • “Fun for the first playthrough but not enough replay value (I don't care how many pictures of different relics I can collect if the game is exactly the same to play each time) and not long enough.”
  • graphics
    345 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming, colorful, and cartoonish art style that many players find delightful and fitting for its lighthearted tone. While some reviews mention a generic or simplistic aesthetic reminiscent of older browser games, the overall consensus highlights the visuals as vibrant and full of personality, contributing positively to the game's engaging atmosphere. However, a few players noted minor graphical glitches and a desire for more polish, suggesting that while the art style is appealing, it may not meet the expectations of those seeking high-end graphics.

    • “The game is bursting with personality: tone and art style are delightful, from its colorful, cartoony visuals to its light-hearted, often hilarious writing.”
    • “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 graphics are charming, the gameplay is challenging, but never obscure, the humor is top notch, I'm not sure I have anything negative to say about it.”
    • “Everything about the presentation (sound, music, graphics, animation) feels extremely generic, like I am playing a bottom-of-the-barrel browser game, so nothing there really sparks joy.”
    • “The graphics might be a bit amateur, but don't let that put you off.”
    • “The graphics don't do justice as it makes the game look like a flash game from ten years ago.”
  • story
    305 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is characterized as lighthearted and whimsical, with a focus on character-driven narratives and humorous interactions. While it lacks a deep overarching plot, the various expeditions and character backstories provide engaging, albeit sometimes repetitive, storytelling experiences that enhance replayability. Players appreciate the charm and creativity in the storytelling, though some express a desire for more substantial narrative depth and variety in missions.

    • “It's a roguelike RPG where story elements are revealed through finishing exploration campaigns and reading newspaper excerpts, in campfire tales which are unlockable through playing the game with various character combinations, vastly increasing replayability.”
    • “The narratives in each expedition were entertaining and offered a bit of replayability to come across all the different story points.”
    • “A wonderful roguelike game with charming characters and a surprisingly high amount of depth in its gameplay and story dynamics.”
    • “Lacks a strong overarching story or narrative payoff.”
    • “The story overall is pretty bare bones, but the goals and the characters' motivations are presented fairly well. Overall decent, but not really meant to be a strong point.”
    • “Renowned explorers is mostly a turn-based combat adventure with almost no main or sub plots; you just explore different islands or historical sites and find treasures to reach your goal, and that's it, so it is not strictly an RPG because there is not much story.”
  • humor
    206 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in "Renowned Explorers: International Society" is widely praised for its clever writing, whimsical tone, and charming art style, creating a light-hearted atmosphere throughout the game. Players appreciate the diverse and memorable characters, as well as the hilarious interactions and scenarios that arise during gameplay, which contribute to its high replayability. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with strategic elements, making it both entertaining and engaging.

    • “The game is bursting with personality: tone and art style are delightful, from its colorful, cartoony visuals to its light-hearted, often hilarious writing.”
    • “The characters are diverse and have their own personalities, the situations are cartoonish but have a nice consistent tone with some decent humor.”
    • “It's a charming and funny boardgame-like game.”
  • music
    105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its upbeat and whimsical orchestral style that enhances the adventurous atmosphere, while others find it repetitive and uninspired. Many appreciate the adaptive nature of the soundtrack, which shifts to match the game's mood, but some feel it can be distracting or overly generic. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's charm and experience, it may not stand out as exceptional for all players.

    • “The soundtrack is upbeat and fitting, think whimsical orchestral flourishes with a touch of pulp adventure.”
    • “The music that accompanies you on your adventures makes you feel like a real explorer.”
    • “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.”
    • “Everything about the presentation (sound, music, graphics, animation) feels extremely generic, like I am playing a bottom-of-the-barrel browser game, so nothing there really sparks joy.”
    • “The music can be incredibly repetitive and uninspiring.”
    • “On the other hand, the soundtrack and sound effects are not particularly involving and don’t stand out in any way.”
  • character development
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while the character designs are praised for their charm and creativity, many reviewers note a lack of meaningful narrative depth and emotional engagement. Some players appreciate the variety of play styles and the amusing writing, but others criticize the absence of a compelling storyline or significant character growth. Overall, the game excels in visual design and character customization, yet falls short in delivering a robust character development experience.

    • “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.”
    • “So the jokes fall flat and there's no drama or character development to care about.”
    • “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.”
  • atmosphere
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charm, whimsy, and unique storytelling, creating an engaging exploration experience. Players appreciate the diverse and exotic locales, each enhanced by distinct musical scores, while the light-hearted art style and clever writing contribute to a delightful ambiance. Despite some critiques regarding complexity, the overall atmosphere is described as inviting and enjoyable, balancing humor with moments of depth and strategy.

    • “Each of the exotic locales you'll be exploring have a unique song to help build on its atmosphere.”
    • “The sound design is great, love the atmospheric sound in the stages and the goofy sounds that the characters make.”
    • “The atmosphere and story is lighthearted and fun.”
    • “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.”
    • “... whimsical atmosphere.”
  • emotional
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features a unique emotional combat system that emphasizes the importance of characters' emotional states, influencing strategies and outcomes in battles. Players appreciate the wholesome and charming atmosphere, alongside the depth of emotional mechanics that allow for various approaches, from friendly diplomacy to emotional manipulation. However, the reliance on these mechanics can lead to unpredictable challenges, making the gameplay both engaging and occasionally burdensome.

    • “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.”
    • “I love the idea of using emotional warfare; that combined with the graphical polish and playful sense of fun and humor makes it very worthwhile.”
    • “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).”
  • grinding
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is often viewed as tedious and repetitive, with many players expressing frustration over the slow pace and lack of impactful rewards. While some appreciate the strategic elements and find enjoyment in the gameplay, the overwhelming presence of grinding and convoluted mechanics detracts from the overall experience for many. Overall, the grinding aspect is a significant point of contention, with players divided on its impact on enjoyment and replayability.

    • “Tactical combat is entertaining and not tedious.”
    • “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 for long play sessions.”
    • “The gameplay seemed tedious and uninteresting, and I didn't care for the art style, which I originally thought I was going to like quite a bit.”
    • “The music is why I bought it, the achievements (after unlocking all cards which takes hours of brainless grinding) then the game is very fun if you like determined RNG; a good example is the many 'map's treasures' which shoves 20% chances on you to get the best treasure.”
    • “It's boring, has a nonsensical system (in which you perform friendly moves after beating the 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 gameplay over and over.”
  • optimization
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players noting significant performance issues, particularly on Windows and Mac platforms, where it is described as poorly optimized. While the gameplay encourages resource and crew optimization, leading to a rewarding experience, the technical performance detracts from the overall enjoyment, especially during intense encounters. Despite these issues, many players appreciate the depth and strategic elements that require careful planning and optimization.

    • “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.”
    • “As the encounter progresses, the game gets slower and slower, so there is some kind of performance issue there.”
    • “One other note I'd make is this game is not optimized well 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%).”
  • stability
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is marked by frequent micro-freezes and various graphical glitches, which can disrupt gameplay but are not deemed critical by most players. While it generally runs well in window mode, users report occasional crashes and issues with cloud storage on platforms like Origin and Steam. Overall, the experience is inconsistent, with technical problems that can detract from enjoyment.

    • “Runs great in window mode.”
    • “A lot of micro-freezes which are annoying, but it's not a FPS, so not really a big deal here too.”
    • “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.”
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23h Median play time
55h Average play time
7-80h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 33 analyzed playthroughs
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Renowned Explorers: International Society is a role playing game with fantasy and historical themes.

Renowned Explorers: International Society is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 55 hours playing Renowned Explorers: International Society.

Renowned Explorers: International Society was released on September 2, 2015.

Renowned Explorers: International Society was developed by Abbey Games.

Renowned Explorers: International Society has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Renowned Explorers: International Society is a single player game.

Similar games include Curious Expedition 2, Trials of Fire, Thea: The Awakening, Across the Obelisk, Gordian Quest and others.