Svarog's Dream

88%
Game Brain Score Based on 314 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
Svarog's Dream Game Cover
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"Svarog's Dream" is an open-world exploration game where your decisions shape the world. As a lost soul, you possess free will and can inhabit human hosts, while avoiding the power struggle of the warring gods above. Your choices have consequences, and you may become a valuable piece in the game of the gods. The game is based on the old prophecy of Svarog, the first god who created six worlds and fell asleep, only to continue creating in his dreams.

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Reviews

88%
Audience ScoreBased on 314 reviews
story44 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique build system that allows players to combine two classes, providing a lot of variety and experimentation.
  • The controls are fluid, and the inventory and UI systems are well-designed, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
  • The game features a charming soundtrack and an engaging story rooted in Slavic mythology, making it a captivating experience.
  • The writing can feel unpolished and amateurish at times, which may break immersion for some players.
  • There are occasional performance stutters and the game is relatively short, which may leave some players wanting more content.
  • Some mechanics, like the death system, can be frustrating, especially if players become attached to their characters.
  • story163 mentions

    The game's story is a blend of engaging narrative and philosophical themes, often rooted in Slavic mythology, with player choices significantly impacting outcomes. While many players appreciate the depth and immersive world-building, some criticize the quest writing and pacing, noting that certain elements feel scattered or poorly executed. Overall, the story offers a rich experience for those who enjoy narrative-driven gameplay, despite some inconsistencies in quest design and character interactions.

    • “The story and its emergent possibilities craft an experience like none other.”
    • “The story and the world are quite interesting and nicely put together, the character progression and mechanics are great.”
    • “The story is full of philosophy and good teachings, but the freedom to do evil is there, causing possible big and small changes to the world by your actions.”
    • “The story straight up is boring and tries to be philosophical but just comes across as pompous.”
    • “The actual story feels scattered, and dialogue sometimes felt like scripts, characters just spouting off text without actual interaction.”
    • “Unfortunately, the writing is about 9th grade level which I suspect is further hindered by a poor English translation, so it's difficult to try and justify playing for the story elements.”
  • gameplay72 mentions

    The gameplay is characterized by innovative mechanics, particularly a unique death system that encourages experimentation without severe penalties, enhancing immersion and player investment. While the game offers enjoyable combat and character progression reminiscent of classic RPGs, some players find the overall experience marred by repetitive tasks and a lack of engaging side quests. Despite its imperfections, the game is praised for its fresh ideas and charming atmosphere, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of story-driven action RPGs.

    • “The gameplay is fresh and exciting.”
    • “The story and the world are quite interesting and nicely put together, the character progression and mechanics are great.”
    • “The death mechanic is very cool and does not feel like you lost your progress.”
    • “The permadeath character switch mechanic wasn’t for me.”
    • “From a gameplay standpoint, it's way too much running back and forth across mostly empty maps to fight some lame boss fights.”
    • “Wouldn't recommend it in current state.. the game mechanic is based on one save, and it crashes a lot, and there is no autosave. I lost several hours of progress several times just because the game crashes all the time without it saving.”
  • music41 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the atmospheric and immersive experience, with many reviewers noting its fitting and intentional use throughout gameplay. The soundtrack is described as beautiful, relaxing, and reminiscent of classic RPGs, effectively complementing both exploration and combat scenarios. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's charm and enjoyment.

    • “The open world is exceptionally atmospheric and the game's soundtrack is a perfect complement to the atmospheric and environmental storytelling.”
    • “The soundtrack is a work of art, sometimes it gives me TES Oblivion vibes but with superior quality; battle music is also great.”
    • “The world matches up really well with the music and creates an amazing and immersive atmosphere.”
    • “Without the music, which is alright... the game has no atmospheric or dynamic sound effects and is tremendously boring to play.”
    • “Like the RPG loot games of old, I find myself desiring more dramatic music, or music and sound effect range.”
    • “Some of the music (I recognized) is not unique to this game but it is awesome and matches the atmosphere and epicness of some battles.”
  • graphics28 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the nostalgic, simplistic art style and overall beauty, while others find them mediocre and not on par with major studio titles. Performance issues, such as frame rate drops and minor graphical errors, are noted, but many players appreciate the immersive quality of the visuals, especially considering the game's small development team. Overall, the graphics are described as good enough to enhance the experience without being groundbreaking.

    • “The simplistic and creepy art style is a 10/10.”
    • “Awesome writing, incredible story, good dialogues, beautiful graphics/effects.”
    • “In my opinion, the graphics are perfect and help to immerse you into the creation.”
    • “There is no voice acting, graphics and sound are (of course) not at the level of games from major development studios.”
    • “The graphics are not great.”
    • “I see everyone giving this good reviews, but I found the gameplay incredibly slow and the graphics mediocre.”
  • atmosphere18 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and organic open world, complemented by a fitting soundtrack that enhances environmental storytelling. While some players noted a lack of dynamic sound effects, the overall ambiance is described as captivating, dreamlike, and engaging, drawing comparisons to beloved titles like "The Witcher 3." The combination of beautiful visuals and music creates a serene and intriguing experience that keeps players invested in the game world.

    • “The open world is exceptionally atmospheric, and the lack of voice acting does not impede the game at all; instead, the game's soundtrack is a perfect complement to the atmospheric and environmental storytelling.”
    • “A very beautiful and mysterious open world to explore, with outstanding sounds and atmospheres to get you immersed.”
    • “The world matches up really well with the music and creates an amazing and immersive atmosphere, bringing me back to how I felt playing Gothic 1 for the first time.”
    • “The entire in-game atmosphere really made me feel like I was in a dream.”
    • “The game atmosphere will immerse you in that world.”
    • “In terms of atmosphere, I would go as far as to say it manages to capture the feeling I had while exploring White Orchard in The Witcher 3 - being blown away by a stunningly beautiful soundtrack while watching the trees bending in the wind... that kind of atmosphere.”
  • humor12 mentions

    The humor in the game is a standout feature, with many players finding the writing genuinely funny and filled with clever dialogue, despite some critiques of its polish. Players appreciate the blend of humor in quests and character interactions, often leading to moments of genuine laughter. Overall, the game's comedic elements contribute significantly to its charm and enjoyment, making it a memorable experience for those who appreciate witty writing.

    • “Oh, and asking [spoiler] Perun, the lightning god, 'who are you' for the third time literally made me laugh out loud.”
    • “The devs have a fantastic sense of humor and I found myself laughing a lot while playing.”
    • “The dialogue, while translated oddly in some portions, is actually genuinely hilarious.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while some players experience smooth performance without issues, others report occasional stutters and frame rate drops, particularly when entering new areas. Adjustments to settings may be necessary for optimal performance, indicating that the game could benefit from further tuning. Despite these concerns, many find the gameplay experience engaging enough to overlook the optimization flaws.

    • “In terms of performance, it’s been very smooth for me, with no bugs or glitches, and zero crashes on an i7/RTX 4060 laptop at 1080p.”
    • “The graphics are nice and the game runs smoothly, never had a single hiccup or bug related to display in 4 hours of play.”
    • “The game itself is not tremendously well-optimized or pretty, but if you can look past those bugs it's an incredibly engrossing experience.”
    • “Performance is okay for the most part, but there are still frame rate drops when entering new areas, no matter what you select in the graphic options.”
    • “The game could use a bit more of a tune-up with game stuttering.”
    • “The game itself is not tremendously well-optimized or pretty, but if you can look past those bugs, it's an incredibly engrossing experience.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the engaging mechanics of skill improvement and the unique resurrection system that adds significance to each death, others feel that their efforts in character progression can feel wasted without adequate world-building and balance. Overall, the potential for depth in character development is recognized, but it requires further refinement to reach its full potential.

    • “The character development is interesting, and the idea to resurrect as a different person each time you die makes it quite fun; every death feels significant.”
    • “Character development is well done, with you improving skills by using them, gaining traits from activities you do, and leveling up from experience points while choosing abilities.”
    • “There needs to be more world-building and character development; with balancing, this would be a 10/10.”
    • “All my stats that I gained and time spent on character development were wasted.”
    • “Character development is well done with you improving skills by using them, getting traits from activities you do, and then you have leveling from XP and choosing abilities.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and disruptive to immersion, as it often involves repetitive tasks like gear and level grinding between significant story moments. While there are effective loot mechanics, the inability to skip dialogues exacerbates the grind, making it feel more laborious. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a necessary but frustrating component of gameplay.

    • “There are things like 'pick the wrong choice and lose this character!' and 'if you want to go down this story path you must give everything away / die to resurrect!' like the game wants to force its rebirth mechanic on you, but in between these story beats, you're not immersing yourself into the world - you're just doing ARPG stuff like grinding for gear/levels and theory crafting builds.”
    • “It's rough, and I found it's made even more tedious as you can't skip through dialogues.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    Reviews on monetization highlight a divide in the gaming industry, with some players appreciating small developers who rely on word-of-mouth and passion projects, while others criticize certain games as mere cash grabs, suggesting a lack of genuine effort behind their development. This reflects a broader concern about the prevalence of exploitative monetization practices in the gaming landscape.

    • “Just another cash grab.”
    • “Just another cash grab that they probably spent a few months of the 4 years they talk about actually working on the game.”
    • “In a time where 'AAA' games are just cash grabs, it's these kinds of games, made with passion, that give me hope that the industry is not completely dead.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    Players appreciate the game's rogue-like elements and open world, which contribute to its replayability through diverse enemies and quests. While some express uncertainty about the overall replay value, many feel the current content justifies the price. Suggestions for additional content could further enhance the replay experience.

    • “Love the setup and the roguelike replayability of it, openness of the world with a variety of enemies and questing overall.”
    • “The judgment at the end is epic, and there are more elements that make it replayable. I have some ideas; feel free to hit me up!”
    • “I don't know how much replayability the game has, but I think the price point is fair for what you currently get.”
  • stability2 mentions

    Overall, stability in the game is mixed; while some players report smooth performance with no crashes or bugs, others experience issues like sticky movement, an unintuitive UI, and occasional visual glitches that detract from the overall experience.

    • “Movement and combat feel kind of sticky, the UI is a bit ugly and unintuitive, and the game is not the prettiest to look at (especially when some weird visual glitches show up).”
    • “The game frequently crashes, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
    • “There are numerous bugs that disrupt gameplay, and the overall stability leaves much to be desired.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players report having profound and touching emotional experiences, with some describing encounters that feel deeply spiritual and transformative.

    • “I unexpectedly experienced one of the most touching encounters with God in my life.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

17hMedian play time
21hAverage play time
15-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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