The Storm Guard: Darkness is Coming
- August 25, 2016
- Bitmen Studios
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"The Storm Guard: Darkness is Coming" is a turn-based strategy game with RPG elements. Players must defend their kingdom from dark forces by recruiting and commanding an army of heroes and units. The game features a rich story campaign, strategic battles, and character development. Protect your people and gather resources to upgrade your soldiers' skills and equipment.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a deep and engaging tactical combat system that rewards strategic thinking and planning.
- There is a strong attention to detail in the game's design, with varied character classes, abilities, and a rich atmosphere.
- The game offers a unique blend of RPG elements and procedural generation, providing a fresh experience with each playthrough.
- The game can feel repetitive over time, with many encounters and missions lacking significant variety.
- Some players have reported issues with balance, particularly in the difficulty curve and the impact of RNG on gameplay.
- The graphics and audio may not meet the expectations of players looking for a polished AAA experience.
- story214 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 88 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered thin and repetitive, serving primarily as a backdrop for tactical combat rather than a compelling narrative. Players engage in a series of procedurally generated missions that often revolve around combat, with minimal variation in mission types and a lack of deeper storytelling elements. While some appreciate the atmosphere and strategic elements, many feel that the story lacks depth and variety, making it less engaging over time.
“Love the storyboard writing, the atmosphere, the strategy, and the procedural maps.”
“The story is pretty thin and the game becomes repetitive after a while, but if you like building teams and characters and trying to come up with formidable teams of heroes, 'The Storm Guard' is a lot of fun.”
“Missions are a combination of randomly generated encounters (that can be wildly unbalanced) and set encounters that advance the story.”
“The story is pretty thin and the game becomes repetitive after a while but if you like building teams and characters and trying to come up with formidable teams of heroes, 'the storm guard' is a lot of fun.”
“The plot is terrible... Dungeons are simply encounters connected together through minimal narration - like a D&D game run by a newbie DM, rather than actual dungeons and a world full of story it feels like a string of random encounters, followed by a semi-random boss fight that often may as well be a regular random encounter.”
“The story is pretty generic and serves no other purpose than a window dressing on the real focus of the game - the tactical combat.”
- graphics92 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as basic and low-budget, with many reviewers noting a lack of polish typical of AAA titles. While some appreciate the functional and clear visuals, others criticize them as outdated and simplistic, often comparing them unfavorably to more polished games. Overall, the graphics are seen as serviceable for a one-man development team, but players seeking high-quality visuals may be disappointed.
“For a low budget indie game, the graphics are good.”
“The battle graphics and characters are very good, although I wish there were options for more customizations.”
“The storm guard appears deceptively simple, but if you get past the one-man-studio Unity graphics, the production value is rock solid.”
“Graphics is horrible.”
“The game is really quite basic and the graphics are horrendous.”
“- hideous visuals; the game should have been done in 2D as 3D just makes the overall experience even worse.”
- gameplay72 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
Gameplay in "Storm Guard" is a mixed bag; while it offers a fun learning curve and engaging mechanics, many players find it repetitive and lacking in variety once the core systems are mastered. The game features a range of mechanics reminiscent of titles like "Darkest Dungeon," but critics note that it fails to innovate, leading to a sense of sameness. Additionally, the implementation of stamina and rest mechanics is seen as problematic, hindering exploration and experimentation, which diminishes overall replay value.
“The visuals are spartan and require some imagination, but the gameplay easily hits a level of fun that dramatically exceeds the modest budget of this little 'garage indie' turn-based strategy.”
“It's hard but you can train in easy mode to familiarize yourself with the game mechanics; the atmosphere, quests, and characters are nicely done and immersive.”
“This game is really good if you play it smart, and once you understand its mechanics, nothing can stop you.”
“But this game is really short, and once you figure out the mechanics, the game gets repetitive and has no replay value.”
“Warning, the game doesn't really give you time to experiment and learn the mechanics slowly.”
“However, the cons of it are that there is not much variety to the gameplay.”
- atmosphere13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its immersive storytelling, strategic depth, and well-crafted quests and characters. Players appreciate the atmospheric music and the unique ambiance, with some comparing it favorably to other titles like Darkest Dungeon and Stormguard. Overall, the game is recognized for its rich and engaging atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
“It's hard but you can train in easy mode to familiarize with the game mechanics; the atmosphere, quests, and characters are nicely done and immersive.”
“There are several simple but highly atmospheric tunes.”
“It is similar to other games that I enjoyed, like The Hand of Merlin or Dungeon Rats; this game is a hidden gem in the same vein for those who understand depth and atmosphere.”
“Just my opinion, but the atmosphere and voice acting are much better in Stormguard.”
“Darkest Dungeon has more atmosphere, in my opinion.”
“It is similar to other games that I enjoyed, like The Hand of Merlin or Dungeon Rats. This game is a hidden gem in the same vein for those who understand depth and atmosphere.”
- stability10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some users commend the impressive polish from a single developer and note that it is less buggy than other titles, others report significant issues with AI behavior, unresponsive UI, and basic combat mechanics. The game is not entirely bug-free, but it has shown a commendable level of stability for its price point.
“Don't expect AAA graphics or customizations, but there's an impressive level of polish from a single developer, and it has thus far been bug-free.”
“Buggy, easily exploitable AI which tends to make unacceptable decisions for a $20 game.”
“Fights are buggy and very basic, to say the least.”
“Then you just realize that this is everything the game has to offer: horrible, unresponsive UI and plain, buggy, boring combat which feels like a chore.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Replayability in this game is mixed; while some players appreciate the variety offered by randomized class recruitment and random encounters, others find the game short and repetitive once the mechanics are mastered. The balancing issues with character selection can also limit viable strategies, impacting overall replay value. However, many agree that it offers better replay potential than most indie games, thanks to its engaging elements and detailed information systems.
“Much better than most indie games; excellent replay value.”
“The replay value is great because of random encounters, and everything has voiceovers, mouseovers, tips, and detailed info in the right-click menus.”
“But this game is really short, and once you figure out the mechanics, it gets repetitive and has no replay value.”
“Difficulty is well adjusted, provided you do not pick a team of all the weakest characters possible (balancing issue), which mainly hinders the replayability, since you do not have that many viable options for your active party.”
“There are enough classes to run into (while you pick from a randomized recruit roster, the availability of specific classes is random) to give enough replayability for several runs if only to learn the strengths and weaknesses of each class.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally considered decent and fitting for the setting, enhancing the overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the high-resolution artwork created in Unity, which complements the background music effectively.
“The music pieces in the background are fitting.”
“Music fits perfectly with the setting, and the artwork in the Unity engine is high resolution and detailed.”
“The music enhances the overall atmosphere of the game.”
“The music is decent.”
“The music pieces in the background are fitting, though.”
“Music fits totally in the setting, but it lacks variety and memorability.”
- character development6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game features an engaging character development system with a wide range of skills and class synergies, appealing to RPG enthusiasts. However, players express frustration over the potential for unfair character losses, which undermines the promised RPG experience and can lead to significant setbacks due to the need to reload saves.
“There's an engaging character development system with a plethora of skills to improve along with building synergy by pairing specific classes/skill trees together.”
“The only thing I wanted from it was character development and RPG-like features.”
“The glaring thing that really pisses me off is that the developers are selling it as an RPG-like game with character development for the money, but actually created a game that makes it possible to lose all your characters in often unfair, unbalanced situations. Or of course, you can reload a save from town, which might be an hour or more of progress lost.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Many players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, with some expressing a strong dislike for it. Despite this, some players still managed to complete the game, indicating that the overall experience may outweigh the grinding elements for certain individuals.
“I never completed DD because it was so tedious.”
“I detest grinding, and yet I played this game through to the end.”
“I never completed DD because it was so tedious.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
While the voice-over is generally criticized for its quality, some players found moments of encouragement that resonated emotionally, providing a sense of motivation. However, the overall experience is marred by a repetitive and dull storyline, which detracts from the emotional engagement.
“The voiceover, while not perfect, occasionally includes encouraging words that truly uplifted me, making me feel like, 'Okay, I've got this.'”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its use of absurd and out-of-place sound effects, particularly noted with the character Harpy Wilhelm, which adds a comedic touch to the overall experience.
