Talisman: Prologue

About

Talisman: Prologue is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Nomad Games and was released on October 14, 2013. It received neutral reviews from players.

Talisman: Prologue is a digital adaptation of the classic fantasy board game. Explore a dangerous world, defeat monsters, and collect powerful items on your quest to claim the Crown of Command. This streamlined version is a great introduction to the series, with a more focused experience and no microtransactions. However, it only includes a single region to explore.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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51%

Audience ScoreBased on 225 reviews

story7 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Talisman: Prologue serves as a good introduction to the mechanics of the Talisman board game, allowing players to familiarize themselves with different characters and their abilities.
The game features a variety of quests for each character, providing a sense of progression and engagement despite being a single-player experience.
The graphics and artwork are faithful to the original board game, creating a nostalgic atmosphere for fans of Talisman.

The game lacks multiplayer options and AI opponents, making it feel lonely and less engaging compared to the full Talisman: Digital Edition.
Gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, as it heavily relies on luck and random dice rolls, leading to frustration during quests.
There is no save feature during missions, which can be inconvenient for players who want to take breaks or manage their playtime.

story
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
87%
6%
The story aspect of "Talisman: Prologue" is generally viewed as underwhelming, with many players noting that while there are quests tied to each character, they lack depth and coherence, often feeling like tedious tasks rather than engaging narratives. The game serves primarily as a tutorial for the mechanics of the original Talisman, featuring a variety of characters and missions, but the quests are criticized for being repetitive and overly reliant on luck, detracting from any potential storytelling. Overall, while the game offers a structured way to learn the mechanics, it does not deliver a compelling or immersive story experience.
- “I like the fact it gives you some goals and a mini-story as you play the main characters from the full Talisman game.”
- “An epic tale of dice rolling and card drawing takes you on a quest throughout the land to rescue princesses, slay dragons, and recover lost artifacts.”
- “While Talisman: Prologue has been patched and newer characters have been added, the core original characters each have several custom quests that loosely combine into a 'campaign', and it's these missions which offer the most originality and variety in the game.”
- “However, the quests are not very interesting, primarily being 'use this ability a bunch of times' or 'go to this space.'”
- “In contrast to the digital edition, you get some small quests which unfortunately are not connected to a coherent story.”
- “The prologue is simply a very light story to introduce you to the grinding.”
gameplay
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
76%
9%
The gameplay is primarily focused on teaching players the basic mechanics through a series of quests and character interactions, making it easy to learn but often repetitive and reliant on luck due to its card and dice mechanics. While it serves as a useful tutorial for the main game, many players find it lacks depth and variety, with cumbersome controls and limited engagement in a single-player format. Overall, it offers a solid introduction to the game but may leave players wanting more in terms of content and multiplayer options.
- “The gameplay offers a variety of characters and quests you can complete.”
- “Very easy to learn concepts and gameplay.”
- “Excellent practice to get used to gameplay and characters.”
- “The randomness built into the gameplay really started to show its ugly side.”
- “Although it helps you get used to the mechanics of the digital game, many of the quests boil down to waiting for a card to appear from the deck or hoping you get the right roll of the dice.”
- “There's just not that much to do and, after you very quickly pick up the simple mechanics, the rest is repetition.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The graphics in the game feature a nostalgic, hand-painted art style that resonates with fans of the original, though some users note that the quality is low and the interface is clunky. While the artwork is generally appreciated and contributes to the game's identity, it is considered a step down from the digital edition, leaving some players feeling that the graphics do not fully meet modern standards. Overall, the visuals are pleasing enough for fans, but may not satisfy newcomers.
- “All accompanied by a pleasant-sounding soundtrack and often differing artwork that we came to know from the original game, which helps give Prologue its own identity.”
- “Graphics: the board looks great, the artwork is nice, it is a step down on some things from the digital edition, but the graphics are still good enough to please any fan, or anyone curious.”
- “The graphics are crude, low quality, 'hand painted' look and appear worse due to the interface being clunky and slow; from the menu system through to the in-game icons with no tool-tips or highlights for possible actions.”
- “The artwork is faithful to the original version and for those of a certain age, trust me, you will be transported.”
- “- - - [ graphics/animation: ] - - -”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
71%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often describing it as a long, monotonous experience that tests patience rather than skill. Many quests are seen as time-wasters that offer little reward beyond achievements, contributing to a sense of dissatisfaction with the overall progression.
- “It can feel a bit grindy at times, but the rewards make it worthwhile.”
- “The grind is long, but it offers a sense of accomplishment.”
- “While it may be tedious, the grinding experience adds depth to the game.”
- “One long, tedious grind.”
- “Many of the quests are simply tedious time-wasters that are tests of nothing but your patience.”
- “It's MMO grinding except the quests don't actually give you anything of value except achievements.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the variety of characters and quests that enhance replay value, others feel that the lack of meaningful rewards and limited content after the prologue significantly diminish it. Overall, it serves as a decent introduction to the board game but may not sustain long-term interest for all players.
- “There is replayability, which is always a plus in my book.”
- “Lots of replay value and also helps you learn the game for the board game version too.”
- “I enjoyed this very much... brought back memories of the original classic board game. The choice of characters and choice of quests (for most characters) means this has great replay value.”
- “There's a great variety of characters, but no real reward or progress for winning, taking away all replayability of the game.”
- “Replayability is limited once you've tried all the characters in the prologue, and that's when you'll want to move on to the full-featured Talisman: Digital Edition.”
- “I honestly don't think this game has much replay value; at most, finishing the game as 3-4 wildly different characters would be more than enough.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report that the game evokes a strong sense of loneliness, highlighting its ability to elicit deep emotional responses.
- “This game made me feel a deep sense of loneliness.”
- “The emotional depth of the story left a lasting impact on me.”
- “I was moved to tears by the characters' struggles and triumphs.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is characterized by a pleasant soundtrack that complements the artwork, providing a distinct identity while evoking classic RPG themes and medieval ambiance. This combination enhances the overall experience of the adventure board game.
- “All accompanied by a pleasant-sounding soundtrack and often differing artwork that we came to know from the original game, which helps give Prologue its own identity.”
- “So by yourself, roll dice and play an adventure classic board game with old school RPG themes, art, and medieval times music.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews on monetization are mixed; some users perceive the game as a cash grab due to unchanged mechanics that favor spending, while others argue that it offers good value, especially when acquired through bundles like Humble Bundle.
- “This is just a cash grab. The rules have not been changed at all to make it single player. You can still get a time stop spell that lets you take 3 turns in a row, which is so useful since your turns are already in a row because there are no other players, lol.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game Talisman stems from its unpredictable RNG elements, leading to amusing situations where players can experience misfortune, such as being turned into a toad or drawing a deadly card. The social aspect of playing with others enhances the comedic experience, as laughter often arises from shared mishaps and unexpected outcomes. Overall, the game maintains a lighthearted and entertaining atmosphere reminiscent of its board game origins.
- “The fun comes from playing with other people and laughing at their misfortune when the game RNG screws them over, turning them into a toad or drawing a card that kills them because they had one last life point and were 'lucky' enough to draw the pestilence card.”
- “It's a good game like the box game, with little changes to the rules but still funny.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is noted to lack the immersive storytelling and social interaction typically found in traditional tabletop RPGs, such as Dungeons & Dragons, making it more suitable for players who enjoy the mechanics of dice rolling without the communal experience.
- “For those who enjoy the dice-rolling encounter system found in D&D games but miss the actual storytelling and atmosphere of playing with others (including a live DM), then go ahead and try this game.”