Runespell: Overture
- July 20, 2011
- Mystic Box
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam"Runespell: Overture" is a role-playing game with puzzle elements, set in a dark fantasy world inspired by Norse mythology. As a fallen hero seeking redemption, you'll engage in turn-based combat using rune-based spells and abilities. The game features a story-driven campaign, deck-building, and strategic match-3 style battles. Your choices and actions will determine the fate of the world.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game combines poker mechanics with RPG elements, creating a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
- Visually appealing with well-designed characters and environments, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
- The story, while simple, is grounded in history and mythology, providing a compelling backdrop for the gameplay.
- Gameplay can become repetitive and lacks depth, leading to a feeling of monotony over time.
- The AI is overly aggressive, making battles feel unbalanced and frustrating for players.
- Technical issues such as crashes and lack of autosave can detract from the overall experience.
- story127 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story in "Runespell: Overture" is generally considered simple and somewhat clichéd, revolving around an unnamed protagonist on a quest to fulfill a destiny while battling various evil characters. While some players find the premise engaging and reminiscent of classic fantasy tales, many criticize the narrative for being basic, poorly written, and lacking meaningful progression, with a conclusion that feels incomplete and leaves room for a sequel. Overall, the storyline serves primarily as a backdrop to the gameplay, which is more focused on card mechanics than on delivering a compelling narrative experience.
“The story plays out as a fantasy adventure, your character being oblivious to his past and must do battles with numerous foes to advance, making allies and doing quests along the way.”
“Runespell: Overture is a near perfect marriage (or lovechild?) of puzzle quest and poker (or mythical poker as the game calls it).”
“There's some good strategy, a fairly compelling story, great music, and all around... it's a really nice chill game.”
“In the beginning it seems interesting, but further along you discover that everything is very basic and there is not much meaningful progression in terms of gameplay, story or presentation.”
“The game is very shallow and has a very lackluster story with choices that impact absolutely nothing.”
“The story is really like a prelude to the 'real story' which is never revealed.”
- gameplay96 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Runespell: Overture is a blend of poker and solitaire mechanics, where players create poker hands to deal damage to enemies, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of meaningful progression. While the unique combination of card game elements and RPG features offers some initial intrigue, many players find the mechanics simplistic and the overall experience dull, with a heavy reliance on luck and minimal character development. Despite its interesting premise, the gameplay ultimately feels shallow and fails to engage players over time.
“And the blend of Norse mythology with historical characters adds an intriguing twist to the gameplay.”
“The gameplay is very unique and is great for people who love card games and deck-building games.”
“Runespell: Overture is a casual game with a loose storyline that is interesting enough to tie together a reason to continue the fun gameplay element of the game; which is a combat system based on creating combo points with poker hands, which sounds strange but is actually quite fun.”
“Overall, not recommended; the computer is too aggressive, and gameplay is boring, repetitive, and slow.”
“In the beginning, it seems interesting, but further along you discover that everything is very basic and there is not much meaningful progression in terms of gameplay, story, or presentation.”
“Gameplay is repetitive and becomes stale quickly (collect poker hands to create attacks).”
- graphics25 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful artwork and animations, while others point out graphic errors and performance issues that lead to crashes. Many users appreciate the decent visuals that complement the gameplay, though some feel the graphics are not groundbreaking. Overall, the graphics are generally considered good for an independent title, but they are overshadowed by technical problems and a lackluster plot.
“The first thing that struck me when I launched the software is the beautiful graphics and animation for the game.”
“Finally, last but not least the graphics are awesome as well.”
“The graphics are simple but cool, and add to the atmosphere of the game.”
“It comes with graphic errors and a tendency to crash.”
“Major setback: even on the lowest graphics setting, the game chops like there's no tomorrow.”
“Interesting concept but bad graphics.”
- music24 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it enjoyable and fitting, while others describe it as repetitive and annoying over time. Several users noted that the soundtrack is decent but forgettable, with some even opting to mute the game entirely. Overall, while there are positive mentions of the music enhancing the experience, many players feel it lacks variety and polish.
“I enjoyed both the music and the sound effects, and despite the age of the game, some of the cutscene art is quite lovely.”
“Runespell sports a great soundtrack with honestly a decent storyline.”
“A very good casual RPG-poker game with perfectly fitting music and visual style.”
“I put the sound on mute and listen to other music because the loud sounds it makes get annoying after a while.”
“Absolutely atrocious music, unfit for a title where you need to pause for a while and think about your choices.”
“The gameplay and rules are easy to learn, so you can enjoy the battle, but the game's music is so bad, with only one track from start to finish, it's like the producer wants to brainwash you.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding in the game is a significant drawback, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly when it comes to achieving certain milestones or defeating bosses. While some acknowledge that a degree of grinding is necessary for progression, it often detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to boredom and frustration. However, a few players appreciate the game's execution despite the grinding elements, suggesting that the quality of the game can somewhat mitigate the grind.
“In addition, I am going to have to not recommend based on how much grinding you need to do in order to get some achievements.”
“The idea is okay, but the game itself can be boring at times, and I stopped playing it when I reached a point where the game was curiously hard and apparently I had to do some grinding against weak enemies in order to have the items needed to fight a boss.”
“The game is tedious even if you manage to play it through in a couple of hours.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by quirky 3D characters and lighthearted moments, eliciting chuckles and laughter from players, particularly during impressive gameplay moments. Overall, it is considered enjoyable but not overly standout.
“I was chuckling at the quirky 3D characters 😂”
“Nightcrawler: [laughing] I can't believe I just made that epic combo play!”
“The humor is quite enjoyable.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its interesting single-player storyline and appealing graphics, which, while simple, effectively enhance the overall experience.
“The single-player storyline is interesting, and the overall game atmosphere is very nice.”
“The graphics are simple but cool, and they add to the atmosphere of the game.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users report significant stability issues, with frequent freezes that require a restart to resolve, indicating a lack of reliability in the game's performance.
“The game frequently freezes and can't be unfrozen.”
“I experience constant crashes that ruin the gameplay.”
“The stability issues make it nearly unplayable at times.”
