Scarmonde

About

Scarmonde is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Ephiam and was released on October 7, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

The God of Dragons beckons you to Scarmonde. Gather your most trusted and skilled companions, then brave the The Depths to locate each of the Dragon God's Sacred Treasures. Legends say paradise awaits the one who gathers all three, but will you and your band of adventurers be the first to have their wildest dreams become their new reality? Before departing into The Depths below Scarmonde, you're t…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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99%

Audience ScoreBased on 187 reviews

story19 positive mentions

grinding16 negative mentions

Scarmonde is a solid homage to classic JRPGs, particularly reminiscent of NES titles like Final Fantasy, with a focus on gameplay over lengthy exposition.
The game features a diverse class system with 12 unique classes, allowing for extensive customization and strategic party building, enhanced by a skill system that rewards exploration.
The pixel art and chiptune soundtrack effectively capture the nostalgic feel of retro RPGs, creating an engaging atmosphere that complements the gameplay.

The game suffers from high encounter rates and some tedious random battles, which can disrupt the pacing and make exploration feel cumbersome.
There are instances of insufferable text lag in menus and dialogue, which detracts from the overall experience and can frustrate players.
Some players may find the story minimal and lacking depth, with certain gameplay mechanics feeling cryptic or underexplained, leading to confusion during exploration.

story
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
77%
3%
The story in the game is minimal and often serves as a backdrop to the gameplay, allowing players to focus on action and exploration rather than lengthy exposition. While some players appreciate the intriguing lore revealed through NPC interactions, others find the narrative somewhat predictable and lacking depth. Overall, the storytelling is understated yet effective, with a dark fantasy tone that enhances the atmosphere without overwhelming the gameplay experience.
- “The story is delivered in bite-sized pieces of dialogue as you encounter various NPCs along the way.”
- “There is an interesting and mysterious story waiting for you to unravel it through further descending into the depths, talking with the various characters you meet during your travels who have their own reasons for being in these perilous lands, and finding new places and bosses which sometimes tell their little personal stories that tie into the main narrative.”
- “The story is very minimal, which would be fine if the gameplay was very good, but it's just normal RPG fare.”
- “There isn't much of a story and your characters are complete blank slates, but what little is there is satisfying enough to drive you forward to discover more.”
- “The story, as it exists, is purely a vehicle for the gameplay.”
music
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
46%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised for its nostalgic chiptune style, effectively capturing the retro feel reminiscent of classic RPGs like Final Fantasy. While many tracks are considered excellent and engaging, some players noted that the battle music can become repetitive and overly loud, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a standout feature, with a variety of enjoyable themes that enhance the gameplay.
- “The music combines with this where it's got a retro feel to it and at some parts goes harder than expected with the chiptune sound.”
- “The soundtrack is what makes this stand out, it's incredible with a lot of variation.”
- “The music is actually incredible and fits the mood at every occasion.”
- “The music is not normalized and the battles are too frequent, so you can be listening to the good map music and then get the super annoying 10x as loud terrible battle music that plays way too much.”
- “I can't stand the main common battle music.”
- “I fixed this by replacing the music file with a silent track so the battles have no sound at all for me.”
gameplay
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
66%
6%
The gameplay of this game is highly praised for its depth, customization options, and engaging mechanics, reminiscent of classic JRPGs. Players appreciate the focus on mechanics over story, with a variety of classes, buffs, and debuffs that encourage experimentation and strategic planning. While the narrative is minimal, it serves as a backdrop to the gameplay, which is described as rewarding and nostalgic, appealing particularly to fans of old-school RPGs.
- “Surprisingly deep gameplay systems, very open-ended party customization, minimal plot that tells a story without getting too much in the way.”
- “The gameplay kept me interested throughout, as I plotted out my party's growth and thought about how to best make use of the new weapons and equipment I discovered.”
- “The game shines in its mechanics and exploration; buffs, debuffs, and ailments are strong and often effective against bosses, and while classes don't seem perfectly balanced, they all have their unique factors, so there's some great replayability here if you like this kind of JRPG.”
- “I thought it would be pure gameplay with lots of customization like Siralim Ultimate, but it's fixed classes with not many options.”
- “Outside of bosses and some specific enemy encounters that walk around the area, the game features a (now often considered outdated) random encounter mechanic.”
- “My biggest problem is that the game introduces mechanics with no clue they exist.”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
52%
12%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a nostalgic 8-bit aesthetic reminiscent of classic NES and SNES RPGs, featuring crisp sprite work and a charming retro style that appeals to fans of the genre. While some users noted the repetition in enemy artwork and limited color choices, many praised the overall visual presentation and atmosphere, describing it as a polished homage to old-school gaming. The combination of retro graphics and a catchy chiptune soundtrack creates an engaging experience that resonates well with players seeking a classic RPG feel.
- “The aesthetic hits hard: 8-bit chiptunes, minimalist but effective spritework, and an atmosphere that feels like someone took Final Fantasy 1, polished it with modern hindsight, and sent it back through a time machine.”
- “As far as feeling like an NES RPG, this is one of the most authentic experiences, from the sound to the visuals and colors. I haven't played a 'retro' RPG that feels this close to an actual RPG from that era in a long time.”
- “Scarmonde perfectly captures the old school aesthetic of 8-bit RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior.”
- “The downside is the large number of enemies with repeated artwork and the weak marketing on its Steam page.”
- “I'm not saying the graphics are bad, but I think the limited color choices made it look unappealing to me.”
- “Graphics is well, nothing to say much since it's 8-bit.”
grinding
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game, with some finding it tedious due to high encounter rates and lengthy battles, particularly in the mid to late game. While grinding can be avoided through strategic gameplay, many noted that the game could benefit from a reduction in overall playtime, as certain sections felt unnecessarily prolonged. Overall, the experience of grinding varies, with some players enjoying the challenge while others found it detracted from their enjoyment.
- “Overall, the dungeon layouts were about as basic as they get, just labyrinths of varying sizes with very little in terms of set-pieces, gimmicks, or events. The random battle rates are very high overall, and the enemies do start to put up a fight around the midgame, so they're not exactly short battles either. By that point, I also started getting really sick of the high encounter rates. One of the more powerful skills adds an extra action for your character, so by the end, I had to choose 8 total actions per turn. I kind of wish that whole ability just wasn't in the game; it's way too good not to pick, yet it also makes the tedious, pointless encounters into even more of a pain.”
- “The last leg of the game got exceedingly tedious for me. By my count, the game could've been a good 4-5 hours shorter, and it would have been for the game's benefit in my opinion.”
- “Towards the end of the game, I found myself running a lot more often as battle difficulty increased, and I found that each fight was taking longer and becoming more tedious.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
31%
23%
The game boasts high replayability due to its extensive class system and character customizability, allowing players to experiment with different playstyles and combinations. The inclusion of a roguelike mode and postgame content further enhances replay value, making it appealing for fans of JRPGs. Overall, players can expect a rich and varied experience with multiple playthroughs.
- “Taken together, you get a game that's a lot of fun with a lot of replay value.”
- “Its best selling point is the incredible customizability of your characters and party, leading to a great deal of replayability.”
- “With the ability to choose 12 classes and have 4 subclass shrines allows you to alter your playstyle a lot based on how you like, giving it a lot of replayability.”
- “The fact that classes don’t have their innate bonuses when selected as a subclass gives much more meaning to the choices you make at the beginning of the game – a paladin/warrior will feel a bit different than a warrior/paladin, which increases the replay value of the game.”
- “With the ability to choose 12 classes and have 4 subclass shrines, you can alter your playstyle a lot based on your preferences, giving it a lot of replayability.”
- “Fortunately, the game has added replay value from a roguelike random mode (upon starting a new game) to postgame (backtracking after defeating the final boss if you suffered through that difficulty spike), adding a ton of replay value without having to hunt for shortcuts, though the battles are tough.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The atmosphere of the game is heavily praised for its nostalgic 8-bit aesthetic, combining chiptunes and minimalist spritework that evoke a sense of mystery and dread reminiscent of classic titles like Final Fantasy. While the plot is cryptic, it effectively enhances the overall tone and world-building, igniting players' imaginations much like the NES era games.
- “The aesthetic hits hard: 8-bit chiptunes, minimalist but effective sprite work, and an atmosphere that feels like someone took Final Fantasy 1, polished it with modern hindsight, and sent it back through a time machine.”
- “Scarmonde has great atmosphere - I recall the store saying this game is all about the gameplay, not the story, but I really enjoy the general tone and world of the game, and it's ignited my imagination in the way the NES Final Fantasy games did when I first played them.”
- “The plot is minimal and quite cryptic for the majority of the game, but manages to create a solid atmosphere of mystery and dread.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Character development in the game is noted for its flexibility, allowing players to customize skills and passives through the use of magic orbs, rather than being restricted by traditional leveling systems. However, some users feel that the overall plot and character development are minimal, suggesting a lack of depth in narrative progression.
- “Character development is highly flexible, with all skills and passives being unlocked as you see fit by spending magic orbs on individualized unlocks, allowing you to prioritize what you need on each character rather than being level gated.”
- “Minimal plot and character development.”
- “Character development feels shallow and lacks depth.”
- “The characters do not evolve meaningfully throughout the game.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Overall, "Scarmonde" is praised for its stability, featuring a well-functioning combat system that is less buggy than its predecessor, Final Fantasy 1. Players also report that the game runs smoothly on platforms like the Steam Deck, enhancing the overall experience.
- “Great game for anyone looking for some old school fun; it runs great on the Steam Deck as well.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress without losing progress.”
- “I experienced multiple bugs that disrupted my gameplay, leading to frustrating moments.”
- “The stability issues are a major drawback, as the game often freezes or lags during critical moments.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
The game offers a fun experience with various classes being useful, though players note that optimization is needed for improved quality of life features, such as saving and a consistent dash function. The warrior class is perceived as less effective compared to others.
- “Fun game, just needs optimization for some quality of life improvements (saving and always dash are good).”
- “Now, I'm sure someone has done a nutty run with a wholly non-optimized party, and almost every class can absolutely be useful.”
- “Now, I'm sure someone has done a nutty run with a wholly non-optimized party, and almost every class can absolutely be useful (warrior felt like the lone exception).”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is influenced by the unpredictability of battles, as players experience a mix of random encounters and roaming enemies, which can create tension and surprise. This variability in combat situations adds to the overall emotional engagement, as players must navigate both familiar and unexpected challenges.