Swords and Sandals 5 Redux

About

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Whiskeybarrel Studios and was released on January 9, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

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?

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Single-Player

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62%

Audience ScoreBased on 134 reviews

story6 positive mentions

stability33 negative mentions

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

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, causing frequent crashes and making it nearly unplayable for many users.
Dungeon mechanics are poorly implemented, leading to frustrating experiences such as getting stuck or losing progress due to game-breaking issues.
The balance of difficulty is off, with some players finding the game too easy or unbalanced, detracting from the overall experience.

stability
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by significant stability issues, 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, often requiring multiple restarts and workarounds to progress. While some appreciate the game's potential, the overwhelming consensus is that its current state is too unstable for enjoyable gameplay.
- “I love the series, but this game is too buggy to play. It always locks the game, so I have to alt+F4 all the time. It's a good game, but you can't even play it because of these glitches.”
- “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's 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
25%
37%
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 graphic quality, with complaints about mismatched visuals and a lack of animations for certain characters. Overall, while the graphics maintain a good level of detail and charm, they are seen as a step back in some areas compared to earlier titles in the series.
- “The battles, graphics, and sound design are much better, and the enemies are new and exciting. It keeps the essence of the previous titles, showing a simple but very good graphic detail.”
- “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.”
- “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 struggles with balancing its economic systems, leading to a grind-heavy gameplay that detracts from enjoyment.
- “Then the game's economy is an uphill battle, unbalanced or grindy, and dungeon quests act as a way to break up the main story as a gladiator.”
- “One of the annoying features I find is that on the night you are forced to choose between sleeping on the streets or at a tavern. In the tavern, it reduces, but does not completely remove, the risk of being robbed. You risk losing gold or items (you can lose up to 25k worth of items while you sleep) after paying 800 for a 'safe' room. This never happened in any previous game in the series. This game has serious issues with balance, as it's so grindy to maintain a positive income due to the economy and pricing of items that have not been readjusted. You need to spend considerably more on sleeping, dungeon equipment, and the repair costs of items.”
- “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 and enjoyable aspect, enhancing the overall experience.
- “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.”
- “Excellent game, it's challenging, addictive, innovative, and funny.”
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.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux is a role playing game with fantasy theme.

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux was released on January 9, 2018.

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux was developed by Whiskeybarrel Studios.

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Swords and Sandals 5 Redux is a single player game.

Similar games include Swords and Sandals Classic Collection, Swords and Sandals 2 Redux, Swords and Sandals Immortals, Swords and Sandals 2 Redux, Dungeon Lords and others.

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