The Great Gaias

About

The Great Gaias is a single player open world role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Horizon's End, Inc. and was released on June 22, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"The Great Gaias: Horizon's End" is a real-time strategy game set in a vibrant, fantasy world. Players must gather resources, build their armies, and engage in tactical battles to expand their kingdom. With a focus on exploration and diplomacy, players must navigate a rich, living world filled with diverse cultures and landscapes. However, beware the awakening ancient giants that roam the land.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 54 reviews

story39 positive mentions

grinding14 negative mentions

The Great Gaias features an engaging and intricate storyline with well-developed characters, offering a rich narrative experience that keeps players invested.
The gameplay mechanics, including the turn-based combat and crafting system, provide a satisfying challenge and allow for strategic depth in character development and party composition.
The game boasts impressive world-building and a vast array of content, including numerous side quests and mini-games, ensuring players have plenty to explore and enjoy.

The game suffers from balance issues, particularly in combat, where some bosses can feel overwhelmingly difficult, leading to frustration and reliance on grinding.
There are several technical issues, including bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and detract from the overall experience.
The pacing of the story can be uneven, with some players feeling that character development and plot progression are rushed or filled with clichés.

story
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
52%
3%
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring an engaging narrative filled with plot twists and a richly developed cast of characters, each with their own backstories. While some players appreciate the depth and immersive world-building, others criticize it for being formulaic and lacking originality, with some aspects of the gameplay detracting from the overall experience. Overall, it offers a compelling journey for fans of classic RPGs, though it may require patience due to grinding and pacing issues.
- “There are a lot of plot twists, which contribute to an epic adventure journey.”
- “The story is very compelling, so if you enjoy a good story, this is starting out to be a great game with different characters coming and going from the party.”
- “The story is deeply immersive.”
- “Combat is basic, story is amateur hour stuff, world isn't interesting, cliche after cliche, unoriginal characters.”
- “Next up, story: you're in for a fairly barebones plot with heavy D&D inspiration, and a host of characters, most of whom are fairly forgettable.”
- “If the story, gameplay, companions, or the world aren't interesting, there is no reason for me to continue the game.”
gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
49%
13%
The gameplay of "The Great Gaias" is generally well-received, praised for its solid mechanics and engaging challenge that encourages strategic thinking. While some players noted issues like clunky party mechanics and a lack of enemy variety, the overall experience is immersive and rewarding, with a traditional JRPG feel that offers substantial content for its price. Despite its difficulty, many find the gameplay enjoyable and worth the investment of time.
- “Fortunately, the gameplay is great, too.”
- “"The Great Gaias" is an exceptional, immersive RPG with excellent visuals, captivating storytelling, and engaging gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is smooth and starts to present challenge and tactical ability for the player.”
- “Too many characters, too strongly influenced (optically and mechanically) by WRPGs, too difficult (according to early players) - I had avoided games for less.”
- “A few other nitpicks come to mind, like the clunky party member change mechanic, the improvable mob enemy variety, the fact that most of the hidden items are composed of random loot, and a few orthographical/grammatical errors in the otherwise superb script, but that's it.”
- “If the story, gameplay, companions, or the world aren't interesting, there is no reason for me to continue the game.”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely regarded as excessively grindy, particularly due to its extensive crafting system and the need to manage multiple characters. Players report that the grinding can significantly extend gameplay time, often doubling it, and is essential for obtaining key items and leveling up effectively. While grinding can help mitigate challenges, it often leads to a tedious experience, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “First off, this game is grindy; and when I say grindy, I mean grindy.”
- “If I hadn't had to grind, this game would have been super quick as well: if I was just playing the actual story, it would most probably only be about a 20-hour game; with grinding, before you reach the end, you're looking at 40-60 hours if you're going to be skipping the super boss (which is also the actual final boss, so don't expect a satisfying story/ending if you do that!).”
- “All of these issues don't make the game unplayable or more challenging, they make it boring, as it means grinding, like Dragon Warrior I grinding.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The graphics of "the great gaias" receive mixed reviews, with praise for its custom art style and immersive visuals, but criticism for outdated 1990s graphics and odd graphic placement. While the game features unique, handcrafted environments, the lack of animation for enemy sprites and some technical issues detract from the overall experience, leading to a score of 6/10.
- “The 'Great Gaias' is an exceptional, immersive RPG with excellent visuals, captivating storytelling, and engaging gameplay.”
- “Custom art style and assets enhance the overall experience.”
- “All areas are custom made, with separate graphic tiles.”
- “Cons: platform puzzles, horrible quest tracking, too limited open world, 1990s graphics, frequent crashes”
- “Don't be fooled by the art style, it's mostly a western-style CRPG.”
- “Graphic placement is however somewhat odd, and enemy sprites are usually not animated in combat.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with some reviewers praising the soundtrack as a masterpiece that rivals iconic titles like Final Fantasy 6. While the compositions are described as good and surprisingly impressive, some players note a lack of memorable, catchy songs. Overall, the music enhances the gaming experience but may not leave a lasting impression.
- “The soundtrack for this game is produced by two of the most talented composers I’ve listened to in gaming.”
- “This soundtrack is a must-own masterpiece, and rivals that of Final Fantasy 6, and I don’t say that lightly.”
- “Music surprisingly good.”
- “No really catchy songs that you will remember forever, however.”
- “Decent soundtrack.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its extensive content and polished experience, contributing to high replayability. Players can enjoy multiple playthroughs without feeling fatigued.
- “It offers hours of content, replayability, and a polished gaming experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development is highly praised, especially given the extensive roster of over 16 playable characters, allowing for diverse and engaging growth arcs.
- “The character development is great, considering that there are 16+ playable characters.”
- “Each character has a unique backstory that adds depth to their personality and motivations.”
- “The progression system allows for meaningful choices that shape the characters' growth throughout the game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
While some players find the exposition overwhelming due to its rapid delivery of names and details, the game's rich world-building and interactions with NPCs and the environment effectively convey significant emotional depth, enhancing the impact of the story's twists and turns.
- “The world is fleshed out meticulously through interacting with NPCs and the environment, giving real emotional weight to each twist and turn.”
- “There are moments in the game that hit you hard emotionally, making you truly feel for the characters and their struggles.”
- “The narrative is rich and layered, allowing players to connect deeply with the story and experience a wide range of emotions.”