Shades of Rayna

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Shades of Rayna is a free to play and early access ARPG with lots of loot and endless gameplay content.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 109 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

grinding14 negative mentions

The game is free to play and offers a fun and addictive ARPG experience with satisfying combat and a lot of loot.
The developer is actively updating the game and listening to community feedback, showing dedication to improving the overall experience.
Gameplay is smooth and enjoyable, with a good sense of character progression and a variety of skills to explore.

Many features and classes are locked behind a paywall, which can be frustrating for players looking for a complete experience without additional costs.
The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and lacks variety in maps and enemies, leading to a grindy experience.
The user interface and menus are confusing and unpolished, making navigation difficult and detracting from the overall enjoyment.

gameplay
25 mentions
32 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally enjoyable, featuring a satisfying loop of grinding and boss fights across six maps, with responsive controls and impactful skills. However, players note a need for improved UI clarity, more detailed skill tooltips, and additional content variety, as well as some technical polish. While the game is free-to-play and offers a smooth experience, it still has bugs and lacks depth in certain mechanics, leaving room for future development.
- “Very satisfying gameplay, responsive controls, hitting stuff feels nice, skills are impactful.”
- “So if you like grinding items, creating different builds in an easier way, satisfying loots, fast-paced gameplay and again, most importantly grinding, then give it a try.”
- “Amazing little game with a lot of potential, not much in variety but the gameplay is super smooth, looking forward to more classes.”
- “The basic gameplay loop is to play each of the 6 maps 10 times, with the 10th time being just an extra large boss fight.”
- “Confusing UI, rigid gameplay, and only the base class is available without paid DLC.”
- “No random rolls, no interesting mechanics, nothing special on gear aside from 'higher tier = higher stats.'”
grinding
14 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that the game features extensive grinding, often described as repetitive and time-consuming, yet enjoyable for those who appreciate the grind. Players note that while grinding can feel excessive, it also offers opportunities for character development and loot collection, making it appealing to fans of the genre. However, some express frustration with class access being gated behind a paywall and the game's simplistic mechanics.
- “It's the most grindy form of grinding.”
- “Some minor glitches (none game breaking, just annoying). After about an hour, it begins to become extremely repetitive and grindy without any extra difficulty.”
- “Optimization aside, I do think that this game is a great time cruncher with its level grinding and mob fights.”
story
10 mentions
30 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with players noting that quests feel more like a grind than a narrative experience, often consisting of repetitive tasks that can be ignored. While there are some unique elements like NPCs and random portals, the overall structure is linear and lacks depth, making it unsuitable for those seeking a compelling campaign or storyline.
- “I really like how each map has random things in it like portals with puzzles and NPCs with their own rewards and quests, which breaks the repetitiveness.”
- “You will also encounter some NPCs who will give you quests and rewards; you'll also discover portals that lead to different paths to explore and loot.”
- “I like the quest system as well; it's pretty unique for the ARPG market.”
- “Each map is just a linear path with a boss at the end, with the occasional side area to fight an elite or something. If you're looking for some campaign or really any sort of story, this is the wrong game for you.”
- “There are some quests, but they're not really noteworthy - complete x maps or kill y bosses, go kill that monster, take this item to the end of the map without getting hit too much. When you start the game, you're bombarded with like 100 quests, but you can pretty much just entirely ignore what the quest descriptions say.”
- “- No story, 100% grind, same maps.”
graphics
9 mentions
22 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered basic and lacking in detail, with some users noting that while the Unreal Engine provides decent visuals, the overall presentation feels unpolished and inconsistent. Critics point out that certain graphical effects are excessive and detract from the experience, and the user interface is described as elementary, contributing to a disjointed feel. Overall, while the game has potential, it requires significant refinement in its visual and technical aspects.
- “Some nice visuals with it.”
- “The game has some interesting concepts and the gameplay mechanics make the game itself fun to play, but it needs a lot of polish as it actually feels uncohesive on the art style and the technical aspects of the game feel rough sometimes.”
- “Thanks to the Unreal Engine, there are a few graphics tweaks, and the game doesn't look terrible (but it's not winning any awards either).”
- “Some graphical effects are over the top (in a bad way), such as the giant blinding explosion for level ups.”
- “The game has some interesting concepts and the gameplay mechanics make the game itself fun to play, but it needs a lot of polish as it actually feels uncohesive on the art style and the technical aspects of the game feel rough sometimes, making you feel lost between the menus and tutorials.”
music
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise it as beautiful and well-suited to the gameplay, others find it basic and somewhat generic. Overall, it complements the fast-paced combat without being overwhelming, enhancing the overall experience.
- “Really enjoying the game, beautiful music and tight animations and gameplay.”
- “The scoring (music) is beautiful.”
- “The controls are nice and work well with the fast-paced combat; the music is also good, not overwhelming when you need to focus, and the bosses can prove to be a challenge.”
- “Music is very, very basic.”
- “The soundtrack is alright, though it sounds a bit generic.”
monetization
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization model has been criticized for requiring around $60 to access all classes, with only one class available for free, while cosmetic microtransactions are deemed unappealing. Additionally, the adventurer pass is viewed as a cash grab that may only attract less discerning players.
- “The monetization model feels unbalanced, with only one class available for free and additional classes locked behind a paywall.”
- “The cosmetic character effects offered through microtransactions don't seem appealing or worth the investment.”
- “The adventurer pass system appears to be poorly designed and doesn't provide enough value for players.”
- “If you want to enjoy the game with all classes and extras, it adds up to around $60, which is the price of a AAA game.”
- “Weird microtransactions; only one class available unless you pay for the warrior. The cosmetic character effects are not worth it at all, and I don't see anyone ever buying that. The adventurer pass seems bad.”
- “Cash grab lure system that only re-traders will fall for.”
optimization
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is criticized primarily for poor performance on the menu screen, with players unable to adjust certain graphic settings to improve frame rates. Despite these issues, many still find the gameplay enjoyable, particularly for its level grinding and mob fights.
- “Optimization aside, I do think that this game is a great time cruncher with its level grinding and mob fights.”
- “The main performance bottleneck is in the menu screen, and unfortunately, you cannot lower certain graphic settings to the lowest to gain even a crumb of FPS.”
- “Optimization aside, I do think that this game is a great time sink with its level grinding and mob fights.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a limited character archetype but is enhanced by a variety of amusing items and interactive elements. Players find the repetitive nature of certain locations leads to an easier experience, which may detract from the overall comedic impact.
- “Still in the early stages, it has a single character archetype, but a long list of funny items to pick up and things to press.”
- “Dragon 5 times and it's easier each time because you just get overleveled by running the one funny straight location over and over again.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Overall, users report minor glitches that are not game-breaking but can be annoying. Additionally, the gameplay tends to become repetitive and grindy after about an hour, which may affect the overall stability of the gaming experience.
- “Some minor glitches (none game-breaking, just annoying). After about an hour, it begins to become extremely repetitive and grindy without any extra difficulty.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
- “I encountered several bugs that disrupted gameplay, leading to frustrating moments.”
replayability
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's replayability, highlighting it as a strong point that enhances the overall experience, particularly in the action RPG genre.
- “I'd recommend this game; it's a great ARPG with excellent replayability.”
- “The variety of character builds and choices keeps me coming back for more.”
- “Each playthrough feels fresh due to the dynamic events and multiple endings.”