The Amber Throne

About

The Amber Throne is a single player casual role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Joshua Missile and was released on July 6, 2015. It received positive reviews from players.

"The Amber Throne" is a turn-based strategy game set in a dark fantasy world. As a deposed king seeking revenge, you'll recruit a team of heroes, explore randomly generated maps, and battle evil forces in tactical combat. With permanent death and permissive save scumming, each playthrough offers a unique challenge.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 152 reviews

story62 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

The game features stunning hand-drawn art and a beautiful soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
The story is intriguing and reminiscent of dark fairy tales, allowing players to explore a meaningful and cryptic world.
The combat system is unique, focusing on enemy weaknesses and stances, which adds a layer of strategy to battles.

The game suffers from bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including game-breaking issues and unclear navigation.
Character development is lacking, with some characters feeling underutilized and the writing sometimes being confusing or poorly executed.
The pacing can feel slow, and the lack of grinding options may leave experienced players wanting more challenge.

story
150 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
56%
3%
The story of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it intriguing yet often confusing and underdeveloped. While some appreciate the engaging themes and beautiful presentation, others criticize the lack of clarity and coherence, leading to a disjointed narrative experience. Overall, the game offers a compelling premise and artistic visuals, but the execution of the story leaves much to be desired, with players frequently feeling lost or unsatisfied by the plot's resolution.
- “The story is very interesting and tackles some interesting ideas about how regulations bind us, how we should forge our own destinies, and how you should let go of vengeful desires instead of letting them consume you.”
- “The story kept me involved and had a fairytale quality to it.”
- “The artwork is lovely, the gameplay is very intuitive, the characters are interesting, and the story, man, the story.”
- “Story writing is not fleshed out and often confusing or missing key content.”
- “Characters help with nothing in narration or moving the story along in any meaningful way.”
- “While the production value is undeniable, the story seems to be quite underdeveloped, with noticeably amateurish writing.”
graphics
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
39%
5%
The graphics of "The Amber Throne" are widely praised for their stunning hand-painted artwork and watercolor aesthetic, reminiscent of classic 90s JRPGs. Reviewers highlight the beautiful visuals and cohesive art direction, which significantly enhance the game's atmosphere and storytelling. While some players noted minor navigation issues due to the art style, the overall impression is that the graphics are a standout feature, elevating the gaming experience.
- “Basically a JRPG, 'The Amber Throne' is most distinguishable by its artistic graphics and beautiful music that you will rarely see and hear in games of this type.”
- “The graphics are breathtakingly beautiful and all the art is hand-drawn.”
- “It's beautifully realized in its aesthetic and its identity, bringing us possibly one of the most visually fleshed out worlds ever in RPG history.”
- “Additionally, it is often difficult to determine where the main character can walk on screen due to the low-resolution graphics.”
- “Knowing where to go was confusing (a lot of walking into invisible walls ensued), because of the watercolor art style there weren't clear lines as to where the path was.”
- “It got frustrating a few times (like the time I wandered around an entire area for 5+ minutes walking into all the spaces of the screen trying to figure out where I was supposed to go - it turned out that it was a screen you previously couldn't enter, but it looked the same as it always did, so I assumed it was one of those 'aesthetic' background doorways - like it was before it changed), as it does take you out of the immersion, but I don't know if that could have been helped.”
music
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
43%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience and complementing the stunning visuals. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, with a diverse range of tracks that evoke emotion and fit well within the game's context. While some found the music to be simple or not as remarkable, the majority agree that it significantly contributes to the game's immersive and engaging nature.
- “Then there's the beautiful ambient music which elevates the whole experience to an ethereal and evocative adventure.”
- “The painted locations paired with the music give the game a very distinct tone and atmosphere, which is the main selling point.”
- “The characters, dialogue, lore, and music mesh together effortlessly to create a really pleasing, immersive experience.”
- “The music of this game is very simple, no grand scores or epic pieces.”
- “Has some issues like after the stranger joins your party the music stops and doesn't come back, the UI isn't really that nice to move around with, windowed mode screen size is horrible and I was not able to use a controller in game.”
- “The story is good, and even if I personally didn't find the soundtrack to be as remarkable as some reviews said it would be, it's still satisfying.”
gameplay
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
54%
8%
The gameplay is characterized as a typical JRPG experience, featuring turn-based combat and exploration, but opinions vary widely on its execution. While some players appreciate the nostalgic feel and unique mechanics, many find the gameplay repetitive and tedious over time, with a lack of clear direction and some skills feeling redundant. Overall, the game offers a mix of engaging elements and frustrating mechanics, making it a mixed bag for players seeking depth in gameplay.
- “Gameplay-wise, it’s what you’d expect from a JRPG: a party of heroes exploring the world, finding treasures, and fighting enemies.”
- “There were many unique game mechanics that I felt helped balance and keep me interested in the combat.”
- “The art is amazing, the soundtrack is spot on and wonderful, and the gameplay, while simple, doesn't get stale and really keeps you engaged and interested throughout.”
- “But the actual gameplay gets pretty boring.”
- “I love the story, the art, and the ideas behind the battle system, but the actual gameplay gets boring really fast.”
- “No real direction as to what to do or what to use, and you're left with gameplay that quickly becomes tedious.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
7%
62%
Overall, reviews indicate that the game features minimal to no grinding, which many players appreciate as it allows for a more fluid experience without the need for repetitive tasks. However, some users note that the lack of grinding can lead to challenges, such as running out of healing items during boss fights, which may require backtracking. While the combat system has evolved positively, some players find the gameplay can become tedious due to a lack of direction and a limited skill tree.
- “Love the art style and it's not too grindy either.”
- “There is no grinding.”
- “No grinding either, which a lot of games like this on Steam have been leaning towards lately.”
- “Great game, but really grindy.”
- “Tedious and boring.”
- “No real direction as to what to do or what to use, and you're left with gameplay that quickly becomes tedious.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate a mixed emotional response to the game, with some players feeling a lack of connection to the characters and a sense of accomplishment. While the story is praised for its creativity and relevance to modern issues, the limited character dialogue and reliance on dreams and journal entries hinder deeper emotional engagement. Overall, the game may appeal to those seeking a heartfelt experience, but it may fall short for players looking for stronger character connections.
- “There are some nooks and crannies that are yet to be uncovered, so if you are looking for a heartfelt experience rather than a challenge to overcome, with an interesting story that takes place in a thought-out world, then this game is a good game to get.”
- “Heart-wrenching.”
- “Then there's the story, which is extremely creative and nuanced, touching surprisingly on quite a few modern topics that can parallel perfectly with the real world.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with many users reporting frequent bugs and glitches, including issues with the airship landing mechanics and occasional crashes. While some players experienced only minor incidents, the overall consensus indicates that the game remains unstable and prone to technical problems.
- “It's very buggy.”
- “The airship was buggy and only allowed me to land 5-10% of the time.”
- “There are glitches that occur that will remind you of some of the battle mechanics.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its beautiful visuals and fitting soundtrack, which together create a distinct tone that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the combination of painted locations and music as a key selling point, contributing to a compelling storyline and a satisfying sense of exploration.
- “This game is very beautiful and atmospheric.”
- “The painted locations paired with the music give the game a very distinct tone and atmosphere, which is the main selling point.”
- “It's a solid RPG with excellent atmosphere and artwork, along with a compelling storyline and satisfying sense of exploration.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
While the game's visuals and soundtrack are praised for their quality, many players feel that the lack of character development hinders emotional attachment to the characters.
- “I completely failed to grow attached to the characters, and that's probably due to a lack of character development.”
- “The characters felt one-dimensional and lacked any meaningful growth throughout the game.”
- “I found it hard to connect with the characters because their development was shallow and unengaging.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Reviewers feel that the game's replayability is limited due to a lack of diverse playable characters, which hinders the ability to adapt strategies effectively. More character options are needed to enhance the replay value and keep players engaged.
- “The variety of characters and strategies keeps the gameplay fresh, making me want to replay levels to try different approaches.”
- “Each playthrough feels unique due to the diverse character abilities and the dynamic enemy encounters.”
- “The game encourages experimentation, allowing players to explore different strategies and character combinations for a truly replayable experience.”
- “I know the point of such a system is to make the player switch between characters to adapt their strategy to the current enemy, but you need way more playable characters to be able to do that!”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to play through it again. The lack of meaningful choices and consequences really diminishes replayability.”
- “The game feels repetitive after the first playthrough, and the limited variety in missions makes it hard to stay engaged for a second run.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the funny and interesting characters, though players noted a frustrating inconsistency in difficulty, ranging from overly easy to unexpectedly challenging, which detracted from the overall experience.
- “The characters were funny and interesting.”
- “The difficulty level seemed to vary from laughingly easy to dead-in-two-turns between fights, for no discernible reason.”