Horror Tales: The Beggar follows on from its predecessor in the Horror Tales saga, The Wine. Solo developer CarlosGameDev is back with his familiar style, showcasing breathtakingly gorgeous environments and a graphical finesse so uncommonly seen in Indie one-dev horror games. The horror elements do take a bit of a back seat here, and there are some shared flaws with this game and The Wine, but overall, I very much enjoyed my playthrough. The level of detail is phenomenal, even if the gameplay is a bit wonky.

Pros

• Absolutely beautiful & extremely detailed visuals
  
• Photomode
  
• Variety of differing environments
  
• Unusual story that seems creative (but a bit hard to follow)
  
• Element of player choice in your actions
  
• Variety of impressive powers

Cons

• Slightly buggy powers that don’t mix well together
  
• Enemy/character models are a large visual drop in comparison to environments
  
• Physics bugs

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3277785942

Continuing on from the story in The Wine, The Beggar is a sci-fi adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world in different environments. Without discussing spoilers, the game encourages players to think for themselves and piece the story and its characters together as the game progresses. Make choices, see the happenings of this broken world from a different perspective and bend time and weather at your will.

Note: I highly recommend playing The Wine before jumping into this as it is a direct continuation of the story and does not go back to re-explain things.

The story is ..strange. Things make a bit more sense at the end, but it ends quite abruptly, like it is a main teaser for the next game in the saga, Iron Reich. There are not many notes or lore to read and no collectables like in the first game. The protagonist has a robot friend following him around and guiding him in the right direction for most of the game. He speaks very uh, rudely and it just does not feel like it belongs in the game. They try and explain his rudeness by his “polite module” being broken, or something along these lines but it is just strange as he seems to swear for the point of swearing and it does not make a lot of sense or seem to fit the rest of the game. Despite this, I like the story that the game is trying to portray and I am looking forward to see how this continues in the next release.


The Beggar is similar to The Wine in that it is mostly a light puzzle and exploration game, except this time, you have powers to control time, weather, levitate objects and more! There are many less jumpscares or scary moments in general, particularly in comparison to its predecessor. This time, Carlos has added in combat scenes. These felt perhaps the most cheap or non-quality scenes in the game. The model for Morvin (bad guy) is pretty stock standard and nothing special. The reason why I focus on this is because the environments are absolutely GORGEOUS! Then the next thing I see is green neon-skull-man??I found this quite jarring but I suppose everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and I do applaud the plight of the one-man team. Without spoilers, there are also some light moral choices which are not super obvious to players. I loved this as an addition and would like to see more of it in the next game.

The combat was ok but as aforementioned, did not have the same merit as the rest of the game. You use your powers to throw objects at him. Do this multiple times and eventually he will falter. The physics on throwing is a bit tricky to navigate at times but is mostly ok.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3277785380

Puzzles were fairly straight forward and involved manipulating the time of day or weather to proceed. Change the day to noon to open solar-powered doors, flip circuits to ensure power is on, rain will flood certain areas to allow access. Different times of day will cause platforms to move around etc. Most of the powers worked with ease and I loved watching the day switch between noon, sunset and night. However, the protagonist also has a power to illuminate the area around him, but the button to do this is the exact same button as attracting objects towards you. This means that if you’re just trying to see where to go, you will have chairs, desks and whatever else coming flying at you. This seems like it would be an easy fix (I could be wrong) but the physics of the game were a bit off. Sometimes I would walk into something only to be scared for my life as the bucket or random thing ricochets off the walls with the loudest of sounds

I wouldn’t really say this game is a horror game (except maybe for the games wonky physics). It does not try to build the tension or atmosphere as seen in the last entry to the series. Morvin is semi threatening but I wouldn’t say he was portrayed to be frightening. I don’t think this is a negative, but it does seem like the saga is going in a new direction which I do think is for the best, but the title is a bit misleading.


The game is undeniably gorgeous and this is by far, the best element to the game. Just like the bright sunny visuals in The Wine, Carlos delivers here too. However, the beginning of the game is in a very dark and bland looking environment that made me worry. I was looking forward to seeing the visuals I had come to expect from this developer. Thankfully, as soon as I reached an outdoor environment, woah! The sulphur crested cockatoos flying across the barren wasteland, the detail in lighting, shadows and textures on the Australian outback. I spent much of my time walking around taking in the sights. Despite this area being quite literally, a desolate wasteland with nearly nothing in it, the environment felt so meticulously detailed with every texture on rocks, fallen trees or cliff faces being extremely realistic. Watching the breeze lightly sway the plants and how the sun changes the horizon between noon and sunset was relaxing. The photomode is also excellent and the amount of technical settings is reminiscent of much larger studios. Indoor environments absolutely pale in comparison to the outdoor environments, but I would absolutely love to see this developer release a walking simulator game with a pure focus on the visuals.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3277169977

Audio was a standout during the “boss battles” and felt almost unnecessarily hyped for what was actually going on but nevertheless, I enjoyed it!

This game was played using a keyboard & mouse, and with the following PC specs. I played on maxed out settings averaging 100 FPS :
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Playtime: 3.5 hours or less to complete and 100%

Controller Recommended? Player choice.

Replayability value: No. There is a chapter select to mop up some last achievements if you missed them.


Horror Tales: The Beggar is a short game, with a short story and some outstanding visuals. Being developed by a one-man team, I am blown away by the attention to detail and creativity that has gone into this game. Although it has its shortcomings, namely its issues with physics and controls for powers, this is a great little game and exceeds the quality of most small-team horror titles here on Steam. Although the horror factor is no longer the focus of the game, I am really excited to see where CarlosGameDev takes the game next, and I applaud all of his efforts thus far.

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7 / 10
This game took 2.5 hours to finish.

+ The graphics are exceptional, eye watering on max settings
+ For having such awesome graphics, the game actually ran super smoothly
+ The story is really interesting and connects to the developer's other games
+ Changing the weather and riding the platforms in the air was soothing and beautiful

- I do not like the design of the main bad guy, he sticks out like a sore thumb in such beautiful environments
- Charging up your hand for throwing objects and changing the weather takes a few seconds too long
- None of the levels connect in a logical way, one minute you're in a hospital, the next you're in the sky, the next you're in a underground bunker etc
- Sometimes the whole thing feels like an extra long tech demo and not a game
- The last boss fight was a super annoying 30 minutes of throwing street pylons at the main bad guy with wolves running around biting you while he flies around in the sky. Its as ridiculous as it sounds, and frustrating.

Despite its flaws I still recommend the game, most of it was alot of fun.

So I’ve completed The Wine today, played The Beggar right away and had a very good time after getting 100% with the achievements. However, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed and even slightly tricked. The game is a unique mix of horror with super hero powers. Your powers are used to solve minor puzzles, find your way to the next level and fight an enemy called Morvin.

Let’s start with the good stuff. The game’s biggest selling point is the unique way you use your powers and how it’s shown visually. I was in awe at the things I could do and amazed at the view when I can manipulate the sun for instance. There are no fillers and no collectibles either. It has many special moments. The gameplay is fun, the levels are varied and it’s just a very intriguing game. It’s definitely of good quality and it’s worth playing to continue the story of the trilogy. The achievements were excellent. The settings menu is extensive and the game has short load times.

Here’s the thing though, I’ve completed the game with all the achievements within 2.9 hours. I wasn’t rushing it and I was taking everything in. Now that doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem if the game feels complete, one whole and with a satisfying ending. And that’s where it misses as well. The game feels like a tech demo where set pieces got glued together to create a game. The notes were very scarce, the story feels rushed and the ending is disappointing. It was more of a tease for Iron Reich, the third game of the trilogy. Other flaws though minor: one bug where the animal’s head goes through walls in the hospital and using the power of light (when it’s dark) is clumsy when it’s also the same move to bring objects towards you. Sometimes I just want some light. A separate key/button for that would have been better. Also while we’re at it, why is there sunset as part of your move set when it’s never used for puzzles from what I noticed?

I was impressed when I read about 40% off day one but having completed it now, less than €10 honestly feels like this should have been the normal price. Over €16 without the discount feels like way too much. I don’t know why the developer kept saying the game is between 4 and 5 hours long. That is simply not true even when I count myself as a very slow player. The Beggar, while good, feels like a stop gap for the third game and I find that to be a bit of a shame. The game deserved more cohesion. The Wine felt like a very complete game with no hint of a sequel, the story was very fleshed out and the levels were all part of one big island which is great. Again though, I still had a very good time with The Beggar and I hope we’ll get Iron Reich to complete the trilogy.

The gameplay is very fun but the English translation leaves a lot to be desired. There are two settings for view distance? I'm not sure what they do. Some of the dialogue just makes no sense in the context it's said in. The robot at the beginning swears multiple times which seems out of place? I love the game and the dev but if I could give one piece of advice to them I would say that maybe have someone double check the localization and the writing.

For example, I don't think a robot would say "life signs: screwed" or "beggar acquired time to f*ck off" it makes me feel like something was lost in translation there.

You can play with the wolf cub / 10

Very fun little game with nice varied gameplay. I very much enjoy the variety in its mechanics, you are not just running away and gathering items. The gameplay is varied and constantly changing.
Graphics are nice, weather effects look great.
The weakest spot is probably the narrative, I didn't quite understood the story.
It's not as scary as it looks (plays more like a puzzle game), but be aware it does have some jumpscares.

It is being an unforgettable experience, The Beggar is one of the most surprising horror games I've played in recent years.

It runs smooth as hell, and it's gorgeous. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I'd probably consider this more of a puzzle platforming adventure than a horror game, but it does have it's eerie sections and startling jumpscares from time to time. The godlike powers you possess and the mechanics you can employ on your adventure across the world makes this a very unique experience, and in my opinion, well worth a go.

Visually impressive, especially considering it was developed by a solo developer. It unmistakably feels like a Carlos Coronado game, with both the highlights and minor annoyances familiar from his previous titles.

The game features less horror than I anticipated, which is a bit disappointing. The combat feels off, mainly due to the excessive throw charge time. However, the combat atmosphere is well-crafted, suggesting that with some tweaking, it could improve significantly. Since the game is not combat-centered, except for occasional boss fights, this issue doesn't detract much from the overall experience.

The most frustrating aspect for me is the physics system, particularly the boxes and other props that block your path. While you can move them, they feel clunky and add nothing to the experience. This seems to be a recurring issue from previous games.

Given the price point, I believe it's a MUST BUY.

Not a bad game. It's super creative with some of its environmental designs, and I loved changing the weather and time of day to solve puzzles. The story was cool too, but I disliked the boss fights. They didn't feel particularly good, but they weren't too bad at least.