Tamarak Trail
- December 31, 2023
- Yarrow Games
- 12h median play time
One flipping good idea can’t save this repetitive roguelike deckbuilder from only rolling above average.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games StoreTamarak Trail is a story-driven, choice-based narrative game set in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. As the new park ranger, you'll make decisions that affect the town and its inhabitants, while uncovering secrets and solving environmental mysteries. With multiple endings, your actions will shape the future of Tamarak Trail.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
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Reviews
- The game features a unique dice-building mechanic that allows for diverse strategies and combinations, providing a fresh take on the deckbuilding genre.
- The art style and music are highly praised, with many players finding the visuals stunning and the soundtrack fitting and enjoyable.
- The game has a satisfying 'just one more run' quality, encouraging players to keep experimenting with different dice configurations and strategies.
- The dice rolling mechanics feel underdeveloped, often leading to frustrating moments where luck can heavily dictate the outcome of runs, diminishing player agency.
- Many players find the gameplay repetitive, especially in the early hours, with a lack of enemy variety and meaningful choices leading to a sense of tedium.
- The user interface and tutorial elements are criticized for being unclear and lacking essential information, making it difficult for new players to fully understand the game mechanics.
- gameplay38 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a unique dice-building mechanic that offers significant strategic depth and freedom, allowing players to create diverse combos and synergies. However, many users find the experience can become repetitive, particularly in the early stages, and express a desire for clearer explanations of mechanics and enemy behaviors. While the game has potential with its innovative concepts, some players feel it lacks longevity and polish, with certain mechanics feeling grindy or underexplained.
“With so much potential and freedom in the dice-building mechanic and in tuning the odds, with almost no restrictions that force you to strategize, the only challenge comes from the enemies having higher stats and numbers, as well as completely random elements like what die sides you collect during a run, and sheer luck when rolling the dice.”
“There is a lot of strategic depth and a ton of synergies to discover, with a unique dice/deckbuilding mechanic, a range of cores (granting abilities to individual dice), and very cool 'do x then flip to the right' to let you build up your own combos.”
“The dice mechanics add a fresh way of thinking, very different from the usual card-based game.”
“I found the gameplay repetitive and a bit dull, especially early on where you are fighting the same monsters over and over again while you try to upgrade the lodge to get bonuses to help you.”
“I wish there were more information about enemies and game mechanics in-game; it can be hard to figure out what you need to do until you've seen things in action a few times.”
“Many of the game mechanics are sort of hidden.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 86 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning artwork and intricate attention to detail, with many reviewers highlighting the unique art style that blends eldritch frontier and bayou Americana themes. Players appreciate the visual aesthetics, noting that the characters, maps, and backgrounds are beautifully rendered, making the game visually captivating. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
“One of the best artworks I encountered in my 30+ years of gaming experience.”
“The art style is amazing and full of detail; everything looks incredible from the characters to the map, backgrounds, and areas.”
“The graphics are great with a style of eldritch frontier/bayou Americana that I haven't seen anywhere else and works incredibly well.”
- music11 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise it for being fitting and emotionally resonant, particularly during key moments, others find its placement underwhelming and disconnected from gameplay events. Overall, the soundtrack is generally considered good, with standout tracks that enhance the experience, especially during climactic battles.
“Every chapter has really fitting music, and some makes me very melancholic, I love it so much.”
“The soundtrack is good and gets even better the more you advance, building to the epicness of the final battle.”
“The music is appropriate and quite nice.”
“The soundtrack's placement is underwhelming.”
“The music!!!”
“Every chapter has really fitting music, and some makes me very melancholic; I love it so much.”
- story2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The story begins with an engaging demo that effectively sets the stage, though some players express a desire for more depth, such as the ability to identify enemies by name, which could enhance the narrative experience.
“I'm not sure if they have a bestiary locked in story progression, but if they do, we should at least be able to address enemies by name.”
“The great demo at the start, which tells us the little story, is just optimum.”
“The story feels disjointed and lacks coherence, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“Character development is shallow, leaving me disconnected from their journeys.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the initial collection of garmonbozia to be frustratingly difficult, leading to a perception of excessive grinding, especially given the high costs of purchasable items. However, as players invest in the lodge and become more familiar with the game mechanics, garmonbozia becomes significantly easier to acquire.
“Garmonbozia is frustratingly hard to collect (at least at the start). I have no idea if this was intentional or not, but looking at the price of some of the purchasable characters and items, it makes the game seem a bit too grindy. However, garmonbozia becomes really easy to come by once you've invested in the lodge and learned the mechanics of the game enough to win boss fights and encounters.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users note that the game's reliance on metaprogression is a common feature of roguelike and roguelite genres, which can enhance replayability but may also be seen as a drawback for some players.
“The game's diverse character classes and random events make each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
“With multiple endings and branching storylines, I find myself coming back to explore every possible outcome.”
“The ever-changing environments and challenges keep me engaged, ensuring that no two runs are ever the same.”
“One of the main drawbacks I see is that, like many roguelike/roguelite games, it relies heavily on metaprogression to enhance replayability.”
“The lack of diverse content makes it hard to stay engaged after the initial playthrough.”
“Once you've experienced the main storyline, there isn't much incentive to replay the game.”
