7 people found this review helpful
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 17.3 hrs on record (9.3 hrs at review time)
Posted: Jul 28, 2016 @ 2:45pm

One of those games that may lead to missing time. I'm gonna blame aliens as to why the last 3 hours of my life seemingly went by in an instant. It has been a long time since I've played something that made me have that "just one more" feeling; whether it's just one more potion to brew, one more area to explore, I'm just getting started and I'm already feeling the addiction coming on.

I am 3 hours into the game and my character is only a quarter of the way towards a level up. If you are a completionist when it comes to games kiss your life goodbye. Tell your friends it was nice knowing them, let your significant other know they may want to get the divorce papers ready, and start thinking of excuses on how you're getting out of the next family get-together. Then buy this game, wait one minute for the 200 MB install, and dive in to the rest of your existence.

And that's another thing. The heck with VR. There are games out there that have been letting people dive into other worlds for decades now, and Balrum is definitely one of them. Completely engrossing, captivating, and creates an atmosphere that will consume you. If you missed the Summer Sale discount I'll tell you that it was just down to 9 bucks, so buying it at the full 15 isn't that big of a loss, and the amount of playing time you will get from this game is well worth it and a great value at full price.

The last time I felt this way about a game was the first time I played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl, so it's been a little while. This game doesn't exactly break new ground graphics wise the way the STALKER team did (STALKER: Call of Pripyat being the first game to use Direct 11x and Metro 2033 being their spiritual successor), but it still manages to find a way to create a pixel based world that isn't too kidsy or cutesy. It's grainy, a little eerie/moody, and pretty gosh-darn endearing if you ask me.

Gameplay is just what you'd expect, it's Diablo played out one step at a time though it flows at a real time rate when you want it to. Hold in a direction or a mouse-click and you'll keep walking, let go when you want to get in an arrow shot, a spell cast, or switch to an ability-type attack with a cooldown using a melee weapon before the enemy unit(s) takes their next step. Potions, armor and weapon upgrades and repairs, food as well as their crafting counterparts lsuch as alchemy, mining and smithing, and cooking are all present. And then there's home building, and no I'm not talking about buying a key to an abandoned house and then paying for stuff to be hung on the walls, I'm talking about real homebuilding.

I have just barely scratched the surface and I'm taking a short break, leaving this review and diving back in. If you're the type that cannot buy games at full price then do yourself a favor; add Balrum to your wishlist and do not let another sale pass you by. Otherwise, if you are looking for a new spin on the classic CRPG genre then pick it up today.
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny Award