The Great Gaias

About The Great Gaias

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 positive reviews from players.

A mysterious contract from the royal family sparks the interest of an organized band of sellswords. What seems like a normal job quickly spirals into a whirlwind of betrayal and tragedy, thrusting a young rogue and his unlikely companions into the middle of an ancient prophecy.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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Reviews

83%Audience ScoreBased on 77 reviews

story47 positive mentions

grinding16 negative mentions

Extensive and engaging story with deep worldbuilding and well-developed characters, offering a rich lore experience.
Classic JRPG-style gameplay with strategic, enjoyable combat, diverse party members, and a robust crafting system.
Large game world with many areas to explore, numerous quests, side content, and long playtime, providing great value for dedicated players.

Game can be very grind-heavy, especially with crafting and leveling all party members, which may frustrate some players.
Some balance issues in combat including RNG elements and status effect mechanics, leading to occasional difficulty spikes and frustrating boss fights.
Technical problems such as occasional crashes and clunky mechanics like party member switching and limited quest tracking, detracting from the overall experience.

story
102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46% positive mentions, 51% neutral mentions, 3% negative mentions
The story of this indie JRPG is widely praised for its engaging, epic narrative with well-developed characters and numerous plot twists, drawing heavily on classic RPG and D&D inspirations. While some find early pacing uneven and occasional clichés or minor plot holes, the depth, immersive world-building, and emotional storytelling consistently captivate players over long playtimes. Overall, it is regarded as a standout, heartfelt tale that may not be groundbreaking but offers one of the best story experiences in its genre.
- “Everything is connected in the present and to the past (most of which can be read at any time in the game's extensive journal); every party member and enemy general has a relatable background story or plays at least a suitable role.”
- “Really solid JRPG with great story, characters, and writing.”
- “There is a lot of story here. It might not be perfect, and it might not be the writing of some of the AAA titles, but it is good, and it will rip your heart out, in the same style that Game of Thrones does.”
- “Combat is basic, story is amateur hour stuff, world isn't interesting, cliché after cliché, unoriginal characters.”
- “- Everything is just bland fantasy stuff - story, lore, locations, companions.”
- “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.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34% positive mentions, 57% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for being challenging yet rewarding, with solid, well-executed JRPG mechanics that encourage strategic thinking and engagement with various systems. While some find difficulty and certain mechanics, like party management and town building, somewhat cumbersome, overall it offers a rich, immersive experience with substantial playtime and depth.
- “Fortunately, the gameplay is great, too.”
- “The gameplay is smooth and starts to present challenge and tactical ability for the player.”
- “The gameplay was to my liking, it was challenging at first but proper strategizing made all the difference.”
- “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 members 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.”
- “City building mechanic is very archaic and another grind to make even a single one.”
grinding
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game is notably grind-heavy, especially in crafting and leveling, with extended grinding required to progress and tackle difficult bosses. Success often depends on obtaining key items to efficiently farm rare enemies, and managing numerous characters adds to the grind. While grinding can help overcome challenges, it may lead to boredom and feels essential due to demanding enemy encounters and resource acquisition.
- “If I hadn't had to grind, this game would have been super quick as well: the actual story would most probably only be about 20 hours; 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 or ending if you do that!).”
- “So if you get to endgame and haven't got enough shards to get that sword, go ahead and go home, you're done: you can't grind at a reasonable rate if you can't reliably kill the rare encounters, as the leveling experience (which is still super long and grindy) is seemingly balanced around that.”
- “The system does not save you any money or grinding, as items needed are often monster-specific drops or steals and require multiple encounters.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54% positive mentions, 23% neutral mentions, 23% negative mentions
The music in this game is widely praised for its memorable and fitting design, featuring a standout soundtrack produced by highly talented composers that rivals classic RPG scores like Final Fantasy 6. While generally strong and well-crafted, some tracks are more notable than others, with a few exceptional themes being particularly highlighted. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant and commendable aspect of the game.
- “Music design is very memorable and fits the world very well.”
- “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.”
- “Soundtrack: 6 most of the time, 9 in a few places (character screen, frosthammer, final boss). Sewer theme reminds me of a Final Fantasy track, but I cannot put my finger on which.”
- “Decent soundtrack.”
- “No really catchy songs that you will remember forever, however.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 27% negative mentions
The graphics receive mixed feedback, praised for their custom art style and unique assets, contributing to an immersive RPG experience, but criticized for limited visual variety, outdated 1990s-style visuals, and occasional awkward graphic placement. Some users note unanimated enemy sprites and lack of distinct weapon graphics detracts from overall visual polish.
- ““The Great Gaias” is an exceptional, immersive RPG with excellent visuals, captivating storytelling, and engaging gameplay.”
- “All areas are custom made, with separate graphic tiles.”
- “Great art style.”
- “Cons: platform puzzles, horrible quest tracking, too limited open world, 1990s graphics, frequent crashes”
- “Not enough graphic variance in different weapons.”
- “Graphic placement is however somewhat odd, and enemy sprites are usually not animated in combat.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game provides extensive replayability with hours of engaging content, delivering a polished and enjoyable experience throughout.
- “It offers hours of content, replayability, and a polished gaming experience.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game initially had some glitches affecting stability, but no further issues were highlighted. Overall, stability appears generally reliable with minor early problems.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The character development is impressive, especially given the large roster of over 16 playable characters, allowing for diverse and well-rounded growth across the cast.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The emotional aspect is enhanced by a richly detailed world and meaningful interactions with NPCs and the environment, creating genuine emotional impact despite occasional heavy exposition.
- “There are times where the exposition is a tad heavy, especially when names of people, locations, wars, and kingdoms are delivered rapid-fire, but the world is fleshed out meticulously through interacting with NPCs and the environment to the point where there is real emotional weight of each twist and turn.”