Swords and Sandals 5 Redux

About

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux: Grail of Antares is a turn-based gladiatorial combat and roguelike dungeon crawling game, where you step beyond the arena sands into the dark dungeons of the world. Embark on an epic 20-hour adventure to the frozen frontier town of Suul's Gateway, and face terrifying beasts and hardy gladiators. Will you find the Grail and destroy the dreaded Emperor Antares or take his place as a new evil overlord?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 116 reviews

story6 positive mentions

stability24 negative mentions

The game offers a nostalgic experience for fans of the Swords and Sandals series, with engaging combat and a charming story.
The addition of dungeons and quests adds depth to the gameplay, making it more than just a gladiator arena experience.
Despite its bugs, many players find the game enjoyable and addictive, with a good balance of challenge and fun.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and crashes, making it nearly unplayable for many users.
There are significant balance issues, with enemies often being much stronger than the player, leading to frustrating gameplay.
The user interface and mechanics feel outdated, lacking the polish and improvements expected from a modern game.

stability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of frequent crashes, freezing, and glitches, particularly in dungeons and during key gameplay moments. Many players find the experience frustratingly unplayable, leading to repeated restarts and loss of progress. While some acknowledge the game's potential and enjoyment, the overwhelming consensus is that its current state is too buggy to recommend.
- “Glitches out often in the dungeon and during the arena champion fights, which is a shame because the rest of the game is fantastic.”
- “Too many bugs/glitches - seriously, this was the biggest turn off for me. The game literally kept crashing in the hypogeum and other dungeons, resulting in having to restart the game over 30 times.”
- “Do not buy this game for PC; it is practically unplayable with all the crashes and glitches that cause you to have to restart the game.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The game's story is rich and nuanced, featuring a blend of engaging quests, character development, and lore that enhances the traditional gladiator experience. While players appreciate the depth and variety of the narrative, some have noted issues with bugs and pacing, particularly in the endgame, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the story remains a highlight, offering multiple endings and a strong sense of character creation.
- “It has a lot of story, easter eggs, cool comebacks to many characters and takes a while to complete it.”
- “A very unique and story-rich s&s game.”
- “Yes, you still fight as a gladiator and there are many fighting sequences, but this time the story is more nuanced and adds more to the already existing lore made by the awesome Oliver Joyce.”
- “Unfortunately, I am constantly stuck at this stage (the game just freezes) there is a mission where I need to find a certain individual in 'the pyramid' within 250 steps, whenever I enter, the game freezes and I'm unable to do anything.”
- “The end game boss battle was really easy and also felt rushed in terms of when the battle could have occurred in that point of time during the story (maybe try adding additional acts to the game beyond 5 to make it not feel that way).”
- “Finally, dungeon mode is terrible and the main story mode forces you to do it, for little or no reward.”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
Overall, the gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it tedious and lacking the excitement of earlier titles in the series. While battles, graphics, and sound design are praised, issues such as bugs, low production value, and insufficient explanations of game mechanics detract from the experience. Despite these drawbacks, some players still find the game enjoyable, though it falls short of being great.
- “There are a few bugs, and the production value isn't very high, but the gameplay and story were pretty good.”
- “Oh and get this, it's more profitable to die and roll a crit than to dungeoneer (the main money-gaining mechanic of the game).”
- “One issue I had is there is very little in the way of explaining how sections of the game work and game mechanics, so you've got to make some guesswork and figure it out yourself, but I imagine the longer this game is out, the less of a problem this will be as the forums can help.”
- “But S&S doesn't make a good dungeon crawler and there is too much balance, which makes the gameplay considerably more tedious, in my personal opinion.”
- “The battles, graphics, and sound design are much better, and the enemies are new and exciting, but I feel this is a significant step back in terms of gameplay. Personally, it doesn't come close to the first two titles, but it's still a fun, good, not great game.”
- “One issue I had is that there is very little in the way of explaining how sections of the game work and the game mechanics, so you've got to do some guesswork and figure it out yourself. However, I imagine the longer this game is out, the less of a problem this will be as the forums can help.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the return to the original art style reminiscent of flash games, while others criticize the inconsistency in visual quality and lack of animations. Although the new artwork and sound design are praised, there are complaints about game-breaking bugs and a disconnect between character designs. Overall, while the graphics have improved in some areas, they fall short of expectations for others.
- “The battles, graphics, and sound design are much better, and the enemies are new and exciting.”
- “A gripping plot, new weapons, armor, characters, and some fantastic new artwork to boot.”
- “I hate it with a passion; it's the worst one in the series easily. The graphics don't match each other; it's like you are playing different games. The arena champions have been demoted to random normal enemies from a dungeon, and there are game-breaking bugs in the dungeon, like missing levers that just refuse to spawn sometimes.”
- “The arena champions could've also used far more animations or simply turned their artwork to a simpler style (like the player's avatar), including some of the dungeon mobs.”
- “The battles, graphics, and sound design are much better, and the enemies are new and exciting, but I feel this is a significant step back in terms of gameplay. Personally, it doesn't come close to the first two titles, but it's still a fun, good, not great game.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the game's grinding mechanics are heavily criticized for being unbalanced and tedious, particularly due to the high costs associated with sleeping and equipment maintenance. While some players note that dungeon quests and loot provide decent payouts, the overall experience is marred by the need for excessive grinding to maintain a positive income, leading to frustration.
- “The game's economy is an uphill battle, unbalanced and grindy, with dungeon quests acting as a way to break up the main story.”
- “One of the annoying features I find is that on certain nights, you are forced to choose between sleeping on the streets or in a tavern. In the tavern, while it reduces the risk of being robbed, it doesn't completely eliminate it. You risk losing up to 25k worth of items while you sleep after paying 800 for a 'safe' room. This never happened in any previous games, and this one has serious balance issues. It's incredibly grindy to maintain a positive income due to the economy and pricing of items, which haven't been readjusted to account for the increased costs of sleeping, dungeon equipment, and item repairs.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its nostalgic elements and overall quality. However, some users find the audio balance problematic, as they struggle to enjoy the music without being overwhelmed by the in-game sounds.
- “I do enjoy the music.”
- “Cool music and old sounds that bring nostalgia.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its humor, featuring hilarious voiceovers and a well-crafted dialogue with NPCs that adds depth and charm. Players find the humor to be a significant and enjoyable aspect, enhancing the overall experience.
- “Excellent game, it's challenging, addictive, innovative, and funny.”
- “The often hilarious voiceovers and score always give you a smile, and the conversations with NPCs are crafted with care and not random generic blah blah.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally express a lack of replayability, indicating that the game does not offer enough incentives or varied experiences to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “I also feel like there is no replay value to it.”