The Legend of Candlewind: Nights & Candles
- February 11, 2015
- 2tainment
Get on SteamIn "The Legend of Candlewind: Nights & Candles," players must protect the once peaceful town of Candlewind from the forces of darkness that have taken residence in the depths of the earth. With hand-drawn graphics and turn-based battles, this role-playing game pays homage to classic dungeon crawlers and challenges players to explore dark dungeons, discover legendary treasures, and battle evil. Only the most skilled role-playing gamers will have a chance at survival.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has nice illustrations and graphics.
- It captures some of the feel of classic dungeon crawlers like Eye of the Beholder.
- There is an interesting aspect of resource management, as players must carefully manage torches, food, and spell points.
- The game lacks basic functionality, such as character creation, a coherent story, and a proper tutorial, making it very difficult to play.
- The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, requiring excessive mouse clicks for basic actions like using ranged weapons.
- Combat is repetitive and boring, with uninteresting enemies and a lack of engaging mechanics or animations.
- story20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The reviews reflect a mixed reception regarding the story aspect, with some praising it as great while others criticize it for being shallow and poorly developed. Many users noted a lack of engaging plot, character choices, and meaningful interactions, describing the storytelling as lazy and repetitive. Overall, the story seems to be a significant point of contention, with some players finding it compelling and others feeling it detracts from the overall experience.
“5 of 5: great story, great gameplay.”
“4 of 5: great story, average gameplay.”
“3 of 5: average story, great gameplay.”
“There is no story development or plot; you have no choices to make when your characters level up, and you have no NPCs or neutrals you can either fight or help for different risks/rewards.”
“The story is delivered in textboxes and is ultra-lazy.”
“Forget about a reasonable intro - only one page with a cliché story appears.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Legend of Vandlewind" is criticized for being repetitive and lacking engaging mechanics, with uninteresting enemies and poorly designed levels that fail to captivate players. Many reviewers noted the game feels unfinished, with glitches and empty dungeons, leading to a lack of motivation to continue playing. Overall, the gameplay experience is described as tedious and uninspired, failing to offer the depth and excitement found in other party-based games.
“While others have flaws as well, at least they have worlds, recognizable areas, and advanced party management mechanics.”
“Again, I've played few games without one, but at least it was compensated by game mechanics - puzzles of some kind, different textures on the wall, interaction with NPCs, animation of monsters (and also groups of monsters), or animation of swings during the fight.”
“Let's face it, half an hour of gameplay isn't really enough to give a 'review'.”
“Well, you can actually finish it, but the mechanics are just terrible.”
“There are some glitches, the mechanics are terrible, dungeons are somehow 'empty' and I have the impression that the developers just did a sloppy job of finishing it.”
“There's no wonder the video on the store page doesn't show gameplay as there's really nothing to hook you at all.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered decent for a throwback turn-based CRPG, with appealing character and enemy artwork. However, the overall visual experience is marred by a lack of diverse environments, basic NPC interactions without accompanying graphics, and underwhelming combat animations. While the in-game graphics are a positive aspect, they are overshadowed by the game's bare-bones presentation and navigation issues.
“In terms of first impressions, I quite liked the artwork of the characters and enemies.”
“The in-game graphics are not bad for this type of game, it has to be said.”
“It captures some of the feel of playing Eye of the Beholder 1 or Bard's Tale, but with better graphics.”
“But that is it, it is very bare bones; there aren't any different looking levels, there aren't any puzzles, and the few NPC encounters throughout the game are very basic text (not even a graphic of the NPC!) with a yes/no option of whether to give them gold, torches, or healing potions in exchange for healing or XP.”
“Random NPCs you run into have no artwork, just a wall of text.”
“In terms of first impressions, I quite liked the artwork of the characters and enemies, but I was underwhelmed by the combat animations. I found the wall textures to be troublesome for navigation and really didn't like the lack of an in-game tutorial.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is limited to a single track, which some players found enjoyable but ultimately repetitive, leading to ambivalence about its overall impact. Additionally, the absence of music when it stops, requiring a restart to play again, detracts from the experience. Overall, while there are a few positive elements, the music does not significantly enhance the gameplay.
“When it stops, there won't be any music unless you restart the game client.”
“I found myself fairly ambivalent towards the music.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players note that the game is relatively short, with many completing it in around five hours, including time spent on grinding. This suggests that while grinding is present, it may not significantly extend the overall gameplay experience.
“The game is a short dungeon crawler; I beat it within 5 hours, including grinding time.”
“The game is a short dungeon crawler; I beat it within 5 hours, including grinding time.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by dark and ironic moments, as exemplified by the recurring joke of rescuing characters only to find them dead shortly afterward. This blend of absurdity and unexpected outcomes adds a unique comedic twist to the gameplay experience.
“And a funny thing - as soon as I rescued them, both of them were dead.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches and poorly designed mechanics, leading to a perception of unfinished development. Additionally, players find the dungeons lacking in content, further contributing to the overall sense of instability.
“There are some glitches, the mechanics are terrible, dungeons are somehow 'empty,' and I have the impression that the developers just did a sloppy job of finishing it.”
