Small Saga
- November 16, 2023
- Darya Noghani
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Small Saga" is a turn-based combat adventure game set in a medieval kingdom of rodents beneath the streets of London. You play as Verm, a mouse on a quest to retrieve his stolen tail from the Yellow God of Death. Along the way, you'll recruit a team of misfit rodents, battle awe-inspiring titans, and overthrow the hideous vermin in power. The game features no grinding and is focused on boss-oriented combat.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Charming pixel art and engaging character designs that bring the world to life.
- Compelling story with well-developed characters that evoke a range of emotions.
- Great soundtrack that enhances the overall experience and fits the game's atmosphere.
- Combat is too easy, lacking challenge and depth, making battles feel trivial.
- The game is relatively short, taking around 6-10 hours to complete, which may not justify the price for some players.
- Political themes can feel heavy-handed and detract from the immersion of the story.
- story1,203 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The story of "Small Saga" is widely praised for its engaging narrative, charming characters, and emotional depth, often drawing comparisons to beloved classics like "Redwall" and "The Secret of NIMH." While some reviewers noted that the plot can feel simplistic or predictable at times, many appreciated its exploration of themes such as revenge, trauma, and social issues, delivered with humor and heart. The game prioritizes storytelling over challenging gameplay, with character progression tied to story events rather than traditional experience points, allowing players to focus on the narrative experience.
“The story had me hooked from the very beginning and never once went where I expected it to, expertly getting me invested in its fascinating lore and likable characters.”
“The story is fantastic, filled with engaging twists and turns that kept me interested from start to finish.”
“Small Saga is a charming, surprisingly deep game with a story more serious than I expected.”
“The story concludes in a way that I feel for the character yet nothing is gained or concluded as a meaningful ending.”
“The story tries some heavy political themes, but a lot of the scenes throw the developer's politics square at your head rather than subtly weaving them throughout its story.”
“The story is skindeep and mostly doesn't matter at all.”
- music522 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its exceptional quality and variety. The soundtrack enhances the overall experience, complementing the game's atmosphere and emotional moments, and features memorable tracks, including vocal songs and standout boss themes. Overall, the music is described as a significant highlight, contributing to the game's charm and enjoyment.
“The music is simple, yet composed in a way where the mood and intent of each track is instantly noticeable.”
“The soundtrack is absolutely outstanding.”
“The music is fantastic and absolutely banger in some instances, and the pixel art is ridiculously superb.”
“The music is varied, timed well, contextual, and enjoyable.”
“There are areas where music will abruptly stop or areas where there is no music at all.”
“I personally found that the game took like 5-10 minutes to start up and music tended to go glitchy to silent on a regular basis, forcing me to restart the game if I wanted to hear music again.”
- gameplay282 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is generally described as simple and easy, often lacking in challenge, with many players noting that it feels more like a narrative-driven experience than a traditional RPG. While the mechanics are straightforward and accessible, they may not satisfy those seeking depth or complexity; however, the integration of story and gameplay is praised for enhancing the overall experience. Despite its brevity, with playthroughs averaging around 6-12 hours, the charming art, engaging characters, and strong narrative elements compensate for the gameplay's limitations, making it a delightful, if not particularly challenging, adventure.
“Not only are the mechanics smart, rewarding, and fun, but the story and artwork are stellar.”
“The gameplay is fun, the characters are memorable, and the art style is pleasing.”
“The gameplay is quick, precise, and adapts to your playstyle with an actually useful and customizable skill tree that you can change whenever you want to adjust your build.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay falls a bit flat.”
“As bad as the writing is, the gameplay is the weakest aspect of the game.”
“The gameplay is perhaps the game's weakest point.”
- graphics220 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Small Saga" are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, vibrant colors, and intricate details that evoke nostalgia for classic RPGs. Reviewers highlight the game's beautiful visuals and animations, which complement its engaging story and characters, although some note minor graphical glitches. Overall, the aesthetic presentation is considered a standout feature, enhancing the game's whimsical and heartfelt narrative.
“The art style is gorgeous, the worldbuilding is wonderful, and the characters all had interesting stories of their own.”
“The visuals are beautiful and the story kept me hooked all the way through.”
“The graphics, music, and storytelling are delightful.”
“Graphics and overall presentation are every bit as beautiful as the screenshots suggest, but the story, characters, and gameplay make me want to fall asleep.”
“Even if its graphics aren't anything crazy and nor is the gameplay, Small Saga's story, its humor, and the overall experience are so great you'll fall in love.”
- humor176 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, with many players finding it genuinely funny and heartwarming. While some critiques mention occasional over-reliance on modern slang or meta humor, the overall consensus highlights a delightful mix of witty dialogue, engaging character interactions, and well-timed comedic moments that enhance the storytelling. The game's ability to balance humor with deeper themes adds to its appeal, making it a memorable experience for players.
“The humor caught me off guard several times to the point where I did a cackle like a hyena.”
“Small Saga is a charming, polished, heart-pounding game stuffed to the brim with charming characters, compelling and humorous dialogue, amazing art, and an absolute blast of an OST.”
“It's genuinely very witty and snappy at times, and the humor is excellent, while not overshadowing the stakes or story.”
- emotional83 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Small Saga" is widely praised for its heartwarming and poignant storytelling, which effectively balances humor with deeper themes of friendship, survival, and revolution. Players report being deeply moved by the well-developed characters and engaging narrative, often experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions that includes laughter, tears, and a sense of connection to the characters. The game's charming aesthetics and strong soundtrack further enhance its emotional impact, making it a memorable and touching experience for many.
“The journey made me cry and laugh out loud, and I can't stop talking about it.”
“Small Saga felt like experiencing a beautiful, heartfelt piece of art.”
“The story is top notch with a lot of colorful characters and emotional story beats.”
- grinding83 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 71 % negative mentions
The game has been praised for its refreshing approach to RPG mechanics by eliminating grinding entirely, allowing players to level up through story progression and boss battles rather than repetitive encounters. Reviewers appreciate this design choice, noting that it enhances the narrative experience and keeps gameplay engaging without the tedium often associated with traditional JRPGs. Overall, the absence of grinding contributes to a more streamlined and enjoyable gaming experience, making it accessible for those who prefer a focus on story and character development.
“On one hand, the game has no grinding, no random encounters, or need for worrying about managing items to restock.”
“This game is more story-focused than gameplay; there are a good amount of fights, but most are event fights that happen at certain points in the story, with no random encounters or respawning enemies. All level-ups come from doing the story, so there's no grinding.”
“As advertised, there is no grinding in the game, so you level up really fast and quickly outscale anything the game throws at you.”
“Honestly, games have become such open-ended time wasters that I've felt overwhelmed to even start a new RPG game and spend countless hours on repetitious quests and grinding.”
“Like many games in the aforementioned emerging indie pseudo-jrpg subgenre, it tries very hard to fight negative conceptions of the genre as 'too grindy' at the cost of having overly brisk pacing that makes it hard to fully appreciate the nuances of the game's combat.”
“My only real complaint is most of the leveling system is mostly tied to story events rather than grinding, which will make it tricky to complete the final fights of the game especially if you try to rush through the story.”
- character development43 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is widely praised for its depth and creativity, with many reviewers highlighting the strong writing, engaging character arcs, and diverse, expressive character designs. While the game is relatively short, it compensates with meaningful storytelling and character interactions that resonate emotionally. However, some critiques mention inconsistencies in character growth and a few underdeveloped arcs, suggesting that while the overall character development is impressive, there are moments that could have been more impactful.
“It's not a long game, but you could fill a book with all the character arcs, secret weapons, and phenomenal character designs this game is packing.”
“The writing is spectacular, the character development is stellar, the combat flows well, and the music sticks in your head in the best possible way.”
“Small Saga is a shining example of masterful storytelling and character development.”
“As for Verm's own character development, he's essentially someone from an apolitical revenge story being dragged into a more political one, since the humans are enough of a threat that all of society must shape their policy around them, causing his quest to essentially be criminalized and his justice denied.”
“What I got: LGBT mice but there's a death in the first 5 minutes and the story doesn't talk about it, makes Vern an asshole (poor character development), and the rest of the story isn't written well.”
“Character development is really weak and sometimes outright negative, and their actions, although written off as being morally good and in a very 'and everything worked out and everyone lived happily ever after :)' kind of way, would really just have catastrophic consequences for each other, their societies, and people in general.”
- atmosphere22 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charming and immersive qualities, enhanced by a strong soundtrack that complements both adventurous and emotional moments. Players appreciate the nostalgic setting reminiscent of classic tales like "Redwall" and "Watership Down," with beautifully crafted art and writing that create a captivating world. Overall, the atmosphere is described as enchanting, with a perfect synergy between music, narrative, and visuals, making it a joy to experience.
“An absolute joy to play, full of great atmosphere, jokes, scenery, music, and everything else.”
“The atmosphere of the game is created through the art and the writing, but it's solidified by the soundtrack.”
“Amazing atmosphere, wonderful soundtrack, awesome stories.”
“The mechanics aren't anything to brag about, but the atmosphere is very charming while retaining its occasional darker moments.”
“Good music, decent pixel art, and the way they create the atmosphere in certain scenes are really well done.”
“Heavy emphasis on atmosphere and set pieces for the fights, very good.”
- replayability17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 47 % negative mentions
The game has limited replayability due to its linear story structure and lack of features like New Game+ or difficulty modes, which restrict players from exploring different outcomes or side quests. While many players appreciate the engaging narrative and recommend experiencing it at least once, the consensus is that the absence of replay value makes it less appealing for those seeking a game with high replay potential. Overall, it is seen as a worthwhile experience, but not one that invites repeated playthroughs.
“My only gripe is that I wish there was more replayability, extra storylines and side quests, difficulties, but that honestly just comes from a place of love for this game.”
“Really great story-driven RPG, short but replayable.”
“While this isn't some fancy long RPG with tons of secrets and high replayability, it is a wonderful and fun story that one should experience at least once.”
“Unfortunately, without a new game+ or other difficulty modes and with the story being extremely linear (you pretty much can't do any side quests until right up against the last mission, which you can start at any time), there is absolutely no replayability factor.”
“My one disappointment is that there's essentially no replay value since it's a linear story and there are limited saves, making it difficult or impossible to easily go back and find items you missed and not worth the trouble to play it again just for a couple of missed items.”
“Be aware though, it has no replay value other than to find secrets that you missed and to relive the story.”
- stability7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 71 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report a generally smooth experience with only minor glitches, such as wall and audio issues, others have encountered more significant bugs that disrupt gameplay, particularly during transitions and key battles. Despite these inconsistencies, some users have enjoyed bug-free sessions, indicating that stability may vary depending on individual setups.
“I had a bug-free run myself.”
“Not too buggy, though.”
“There were a few glitches (Sir Leo's final fight just ended? The first time I fought the turtle I did no damage and had to reset.) I also think the game is too short.”
“Outside of that, there were also some annoying glitches when the game transitions from one scene to another where the screen would repeatedly flash.”
“If you like turn-based RPG combat you will love this, only cons were some wall glitches at times but very nice art style and story.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally effective, allowing for quick encounters with minimal turns required. While performance issues were noted in fullscreen mode, switching to windowed mode resolved these problems, indicating a need for better fullscreen optimization. The game's mechanics are kept simple, which may appeal to players looking for a straightforward RPG experience.
“No issues with performance on my desktop.”
“Many encounters will go by quite quickly with any decent amount of optimization, with only about 4 encounters taking any more than 2 or 3 turns in my first playthrough.”
“+ for an RPG, many classic mechanics (combat, leveling, character optimization) are kept very basic.”
“While there is a stuttering issue if you play in full screen, playing the game in windowed mode resolved that issue for me.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is generally well-received, with users praising the balance between content quality and microtransactions, resulting in a score of 9/10. Players appreciate that the game world, narrative, and length provide substantial value, suggesting that the monetization strategies do not detract from the overall experience.
