The Awakener: Forgotten Oath
- November 6, 2023
- TANER GAMES
Get on SteamIn "The Awakener: Forgotten Oath," players become the Awakener, tasked by the Twelve Gods of Therad to vanquish demons in the world of Sylvalond. Traverse through dungeons in a third-person perspective, utilizing combat styles such as swordplay and magic to defeat the forces of Chaos and prevent the Demon Lord's revival. Exciting battles and character progression await as you uncover magical mysteries in this rogue-like action game set in the dimension of Nothingness.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The combat system is fun and responsive, allowing for satisfying combos and skill-based gameplay.
- The game runs well on various platforms, including the Steam Deck, and offers a decent visual experience for its price.
- Despite its flaws, the game has potential and is enjoyable for fans of hack and slash and roguelike genres.
- The gameplay can become repetitive, with limited enemy variety and basic enemy AI, leading to a lack of challenge.
- The game suffers from clunky animations and rough translations, which detract from the overall experience.
- Recent updates have removed some enjoyable features and made the game feel less engaging, leading to frustration among players.
- gameplay40 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally enjoyable, featuring fun hack-and-slash mechanics and a solid core loop, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of variety in combat options and character abilities. While the combo system allows for creative builds, many players find themselves resorting to simple key mashing due to limited upgrades and mechanics. Overall, the game has a strong foundation but could benefit from more nuanced gameplay elements and character diversity to enhance the experience.
“This game has a solid foundation, a truly fun core gameplay loop.”
“Very good combat and fun roguelike gameplay loop with lots to unlock and play around with!”
“Fun hack and slash mechanics that are fun to learn.”
“The combo mechanics can be very fun, allowing for builds that heal and deal massive damage. However, the downside is that it can devolve into just mashing one key repeatedly, especially without upgrades. More emphasis on skill upgrades could enhance the gameplay experience.”
“I'll give a brief summary of each character, but all of them only have one weapon, and only one has a gimmick without upgrades. None of them have ranged attacks, which would definitely improve the game feel. The 'devil trigger'-esque mechanic isn't character specific, leading to a lack of variety.”
“For a smaller indie project, it's worth the price, but it might be better to wait for more nuance in the gameplay or a sale if it doesn't sound appealing to you.”
- graphics24 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the aesthetic and combat visuals, while others find the environmental design uninteresting and repetitive. Many note a lack of diversity in the settings and a rushed user interface, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are described as decent but not impressive, with a score averaging around 6/10.
“Addicting action combat, super satisfying combos and sweet graphics.”
“I think the awakener has a cool aesthetic of something more like Dark Souls and combat mechanics like Black Desert with a good parry system.”
“Forgotten Oath’s initial vibe feels like if you took Devil May Cry’s combat with Dark Souls aesthetic and Rogue Legacy’s rogue-lite systems.”
“Forgotten Oath's initial vibe feels like if you took Devil May Cry's combat with Dark Souls aesthetic and Rogue Legacy's rogue-lite systems and slapped it all together in an Unreal Engine for dummies game engine.”
“Floors lack diversity and, in some cases, explanations (why are there lasers shooting out of every angle in this castle???), and you will see the same room multiple times even though the rooms change aesthetics every 10 floors.”
“Font choice looks like a preset default was used and doesn’t mesh well with the aesthetic of the game, giving the UI a very rushed-looking finish and can cause some confusion when explaining relics and navigating around the menus.”
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The story in "Forgotten Oath" is criticized for its lack of depth and context, requiring players to repeatedly traverse the same areas to collect minimal story-related items, which ultimately feels thin and unengaging. While the combat is highlighted as a strong point, the overall narrative and world-building are seen as rushed and underdeveloped, leaving players to fill in the gaps without meaningful plot connections or character interactions. The game shows potential, but it needs a more compelling narrative hook to keep players invested beyond the combat experience.
“The first boss, the Skull Knight, is the only boss given some plot context, and that’s provided in a few lines of text before and after your fight.”
“Since the game does not really provide you with a reason as to why you are in these specific areas, you are just meant to fill in the blanks as to why this asset-friendly arena is where you need to be and why these enemies, which have no roots to the plot, are necessary to be defeated.”
“Forgotten Oath’s story arc requires you to traverse through the 30 floors multiple times (I needed 4 complete runs to finish) to collect story-related items, and in doing so, it shows you just how thin the content really is.”
“Forgotten Oath’s story arc requires you to traverse through the 30 floors multiple times (I needed 4 complete runs to finish) to collect story-related items, and in doing so shows you just how thin the content really is.”
“Since the game does not really provide you with a reason as to why you are in these specific areas, you are just meant to fill in the blanks as to why this asset-friendly arena is where you need to be and these enemies that are given no roots to the plot are necessary to be defeated.”
“The combat system feels fleshed out to the point of working and then everything else is rushed around it to mirror the allure of a complete experience: the plot is non-existent, the locales are paint-by-number, and the enemy selection is cardboard to stop you from speedrunning the game by accident.”
- music6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been widely criticized as mediocre, with some players opting to turn it off entirely in favor of their own playlists. Overall, it fails to leave a positive impression on the audience.
“I'm not gonna lie, the music is mediocre.”
“I think this is the first game I've ever turned off the music to and played my own in the background.”
“I'm not gonna lie, the music is mediocre.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers decent replayability due to its reasonable run lengths and potential character variations, allowing for different playstyles. However, some players feel it lacks sufficient variability and depth to keep them engaged long-term, suggesting it may be better suited for sale purchases rather than full price. Overall, while it provides some replay value, it may not meet the expectations of all players seeking more diverse experiences.
“Variations to the heroes allow for slightly different playstyles and add more replayability. The idea is to keep the move sets but tweak the characters; for example, instead of the warrior being an all-around character, it could rely more on critical hits while being much weaker, allowing for interesting combinations with elements like wind and no attunement.”
“The game offers a decent amount of replayability with some variability, making it worth the $10 I paid due to regional pricing, but I wouldn't really recommend it unless you can get it on sale.”
“It's not a bad game per se, just not what I'm looking for in these kinds of games (replayability with at least some variability). It was like $10 for me due to regional pricing, so I guess it's okay that I got 10 hours out of it, but I wouldn't really recommend it. Get it on a sale or something, I guess.”
“The runs are kept to a reasonable length and don't feel dragged out, making the replayability much better than some other roguelikes I've played in the past.”
“(An idea I thought of just to add some cool features) variations to the heroes to play slightly differently and add more replayability. The idea is that you keep the move sets but tweak the character, where instead of the warrior being an all-around character, it could rely more on crits while being much weaker. When paired with elements like wind and no attunement, you could do lots of damage.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally considered good, as it maintains 120fps on medium settings with a powerful setup (3070 and i9-12900k). However, some users feel that there is still room for improvement in optimization.
“The game holds 120fps on medium with a 3070 and an i9-12900k, so I'd say the optimization is good too.”
“Could use a bit of optimization thought.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game often arises from the quirky and sometimes frustrating aspects of combat, such as awkward hitboxes and characters getting stuck in animations, which can lead to amusing moments despite the overall focus on combat mechanics.
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews do not directly address stability in terms of performance or technical reliability; instead, they focus on the gameplay mechanics related to elemental abilities. Overall, the stability aspect remains unmentioned, suggesting that it may not be a significant concern for players.
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding required for upgrades to be excessive, indicating that it detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
“The amount of grinding you have to do for upgrades feels a bit excessive.”
