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

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 128 reviews

story6 positive mentions

stability32 negative mentions

The game brings back nostalgia for fans of the original Swords and Sandals series, with familiar combat and character creation elements.
The addition of dungeon crawling and quests adds depth and variety to the gameplay, making it more engaging.
Despite its bugs, many players find the game fun and addictive, with a charming story and interesting characters.

The game is plagued by numerous game-breaking bugs, including frequent crashes and freezing, making it nearly unplayable for many users.
The dungeon mechanics are poorly implemented, often leading to frustrating soft locks and a lack of meaningful rewards.
Many players feel that the game lacks balance, with difficulty spikes and unresponsive mechanics that detract from the overall experience.

stability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and game-breaking bugs, particularly during dungeon mechanics and arena fights. Many players find the experience frustratingly unplayable, suggesting that the game is too ambitious given its current state. While some acknowledge enjoyable aspects, the overwhelming consensus is that the game is plagued by instability, making it difficult to recommend.
- “For a game centered around its dungeon-delving mechanics, it's a buggy mess and unless you have the patience, I'd advise sticking to something like Swords and Sandals 2 Redux.”
- “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, practically unplayable with all the crashes and glitches that cause you to have to restart the game.”
story
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
67%
11%
The story in the game is described as rich and nuanced, offering a blend of classic gladiator themes with new quests and character development, though it suffers from pacing issues, particularly with an underwhelming final boss. While some characters feel unnecessary and choices lack depth, the overall narrative is engaging and filled with easter eggs, making it a refreshing departure from traditional gameplay. However, technical issues and a grindy game economy detract from the experience, particularly as dungeon crawls are mandatory for story progression.
- “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.”
- “The story is tied to the dungeon, so the dungeon crawl is mandatory.”
- “Some characters in the story are absurdly useless; we don't need them, and the story choices, if you can call them that, are lacking.”
- “Finally, dungeon mode is terrible, and the main story mode forces you to do it for little or no reward.”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
53%
27%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant bugs and a departure from the classic gladiator style, leaning more towards dungeon crawling. While some appreciate the improved battles, graphics, and sound design, others find the mechanics tedious and lacking in innovation compared to earlier titles. Overall, the game offers a fun experience but falls short of greatness due to its gameplay issues and insufficient explanations of mechanics.
- “It doesn't lean more on the classic gladiator style of gameplay; it's more like a dungeon crawler.”
- “There are a few bugs, and the production value isn't very high, but the gameplay and story were pretty good.”
- “Gameplay and UI are similar to SAS 2 Redux, which is good; it worked pretty well there, and it does here as well.”
- “Unfortunately, very buggy dungeon mechanics.”
- “For a game centered around its dungeon-delving mechanics, it's a buggy mess, and unless you have the patience, I'd advise sticking to something like Swords and Sandals 2 Redux.”
- “I loved the first few Swords and Sandals games, especially S&S 2, but since there has been zero improvement to the UI or any of the very simple (and now very boring) game mechanics, I can't bring myself to like this game.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The graphics of the game evoke nostalgia by returning to its original flash-game roots, with a simple yet appealing art style that some players appreciate. However, there are mixed feelings about the inconsistency in visual quality, with complaints about mismatched graphics and a lack of animations for certain characters. Overall, while the graphics maintain the essence of previous titles, they are seen as a step back in some areas, leading to a divided reception among players.
- “The essence of the previous titles is maintained, showcasing simple yet very good graphic detail.”
- “A gripping plot, new weapons, armor, characters, and some fantastic new artwork to boot.”
- “The battles, graphics, and sound design are much better, with new and exciting enemies.”
- “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.”
- “This is only a bit different from the Grail of Antares I played back in middle school, and I can't decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I prefer the current art style going back to its original flash-game roots that was my childhood.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is a significant point of contention, with many players finding the economy unbalanced and overly tedious. While some note that quest rewards and loot can mitigate the grind, others feel that the need for constant resource management and the risk of losing items during rest periods contribute to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game is perceived as requiring excessive effort to maintain a positive income, detracting from the enjoyment of gameplay.
- “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 gold and items (up to 25k worth) while you sleep after paying 800 for a 'safe' room. This never happened in any previous games, and this one has serious balance issues, as it's so grindy to maintain a positive income with the economy and item pricing not adjusted to the need for spending considerably more on sleeping, dungeon equipment, and repair costs.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback; while many players appreciate the nostalgic soundtrack and enjoyable tunes, some find the audio balance problematic, forcing them to choose between enjoying the music or the in-game sounds.
- “I do enjoy the music.”
- “A good soundtrack to listen to.”
- “+ cool music and old sounds that bring nostalgia.”
- “The soundtrack feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “The music doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- “I found the audio quality to be subpar, with some tracks sounding muffled and poorly mixed.”
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 aspect that enhances the overall experience, making it both challenging and enjoyable.
- “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 in the game, indicating that once completed, there is little incentive to play it again.
- “I also feel like there is no replay value to it.”

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