The Wagadu Chronicles
- December 4, 2023
- Twin Drums
Get on Steam"The Wagadu Chronicles is a sandbox MMORPG that allows players to freely customize their skills and appearance for role play. The game features a player-driven economy where everything is crafted by players, from weapons to village buildings. Compete with guilds to claim and upgrade villages in this open-world game filled with spirits and turn-based tactical combat."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique setting and lore inspired by African culture, providing a refreshing alternative to typical MMO themes.
- The art style and music are praised for their beauty and fitting atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
- There is a strong sense of community among players, with many expressing excitement for the game's potential and future development.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs, poor UI, and a lack of polish, making gameplay frustrating and tedious.
- Combat and gathering mechanics are slow and clunky, leading to a feeling of tedium rather than engagement.
- Character customization options are severely limited, and the game has been criticized for its lack of innovation despite significant funding and development time.
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is criticized for being simplistic and plagued by quest bugs, leading to confusion among players. While there are some engaging elements like crafting and quest series, the lack of clear communication and logical inconsistencies detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, some players appreciate the chill vibes and cute quests, suggesting potential for improvement in future updates.
“Getting out is quite dangerous but very much worth it to collect blueprints, sights, story, new tame-ables and such abilities.”
“Chill vibes and cute quests in Wagadu!”
“I played a couple of quests already.”
“The game has some bare-bones tutorial which is just tell, don't show, and then has an ancestor quest it doesn't tell you about, which is the real tutorial.”
“I had a quest given by one character to deliver items to another, and then another quest from a different character to deliver items back to the first. It felt repetitive and uninspired.”
“There are logical bugs in quests where a spirit won't accept something because another spirit with a quest at that location has priority, leading to confusion with spirits at different islands having the same names.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful art style and soothing color palette, creating a warm and inviting environment. While many players appreciate the aesthetic and potential of the game, some express concerns about a perceived bias within the community that may overshadow critical feedback. Overall, the artwork is a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience.
“The art style of the game can only be described as beautiful and the music is really well-composed and suited for the game.”
“Always wanted to find a game with this aesthetic and they absolutely delivered.”
“Still they have an army of discord groupies that act as their yesmen will say yes no matter what because any graphical aid to their discord roleplay is welcome, with the added bonus that they are rejecting newcomers from their already pre-formed circlejerk groups.”
“Artwork, yes they have artwork and yes I guess they spent 9,999,999.99€ from the 10m€ for the artwork.”
“The colors and graphics are so soothing!”
- music9 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its beautiful composition and thematic fit, enhancing the overall atmosphere with a cozy, African flair. However, some players noted that the repetitive nature of the tracks can become grating after extended play. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, its lack of variety may detract from the experience over time.
“The art style of the game can only be described as beautiful, and the music is really well-composed and suited for the game.”
“The worldly setting is cozy, and the African flair is evident in the gorgeous soundtrack.”
“The UI looks amazing, there is interesting variety in the biomes and foliage, and the music is great.”
“Music started to be grating an hour in.”
“Credit where it's due, the thematic attempt, the concept art, and the music.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for feeling outdated and overly simplistic, reminiscent of late '90s MMOs, with tedious mechanics in gathering and combat. Players have reported numerous bugs, poor animations, and a frustrating user interface, leading to a lack of enjoyment and innovation in the overall experience. Despite some potential in the lore and mechanics, the execution leaves much to be desired.
“Culturally, this is such a breath of fresh air that I was ready to accept a bit of wonky gameplay here or there, but most of it is straight out of the MMOs of the late nineties.”
“Twin Drums has produced mountains of lore and fun, crunchy game mechanics in their tabletop supplements that they are still working to get incorporated in this game.”
“Update 1, 10.7 hrs: I now understand the game mechanics better and improved my skills in both crafting and fighting.”
“The game feels generic in its gameplay (braindead gathering and combat) and like it's 15 years old - apart from the theme, I don't see any hint of innovation, and worse, neither imitation of what works in the genre.”
“Animations are terrible, character rubberbanding regularly (no idea where the servers are but you've got no choice anyway) and the gameplay is so tedious you'd enjoy yourself more just doing chores around your house.”
“Terrible UI, non-intuitive gameplay, very buggy, and to some degree, much of the game is non-functional.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and slow, with a heavy emphasis on gathering and resource management that detracts from combat. Many express frustration with the need to invest points in skills to improve efficiency, leading to a lack of engagement and enjoyment in gameplay. Overall, the grinding experience is often described as more laborious than entertaining.
“The game is quite grindy, and you need to invest points into skills like 'gather bark faster' just to avoid watching progress bars move at a snail's pace.”
“It is slow and tedious.”
“Harvesting is tedious and slow.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
“The game is buggy.”
“Terrible UI, non-intuitive gameplay, very buggy, and to some degree, many aspects of the game are non-functional.”
“I don't know what people were expecting if they believe a certain feature is unpolished or buggy.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's user interface is poorly optimized for standard definition screens, resulting in some information being cut off at the edges of certain menus.
“The UI is not optimized for the SD's screen, so you will notice bits of information being cut off at the edges in some menus.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the emotional depth of the game, highlighting the wholesome interactions with others as a refreshing change from typical MMO experiences. This sense of community fosters a positive emotional atmosphere that enhances overall enjoyment.
“My encounters with others were all really wholesome, which I'm not used to in MMOs anymore.”
“The story made me feel a deep connection to the characters, and I found myself genuinely caring about their journeys.”
“I was moved to tears by the emotional depth of the narrative; it resonated with my own experiences.”
