Recent reviews by Genuine Prodigy

I did my best to give this game a try and it's really enjoyable when it works. However, put a ton of emphasis on "when it works" as it's common to repeatedly deal with failed matchmaking and being booted back to the camp and you have to repeat going through the process of signing up for a sortie until you're finally let into a match. Then, even at that point, I've had matches fail to start when it attempted to sort players into teams, which booted me back to the camp. Plus, I've had matches freeze at the end of a match and never end for people, which I've had to force close the game.

Now, I understand this game has been out for several years on other platforms, however, I don't agree with the typical response along the lines of "this is unfortunately normal on other platforms" ...why? Why is the playerbase just accepting that it's normal to spam failed matchmaking until the game decides to work? If it gets fixed, I'll gladly play the game but until that point I think it's fair to point out a core process of the game (the act of getting into actual matches) is itself a gacha.

The game was overall enjoyable. You can't select the difficulty and be warned that the game is extremely easy as it's focused on the story similar to Quantum Break and Alan Wake, which are, developed by the same developer too. Thankfully, I found myself invested in the story and enjoyed my experience -- otherwise, the game is short too. I completed the game (excluding the foundation DLC that takes at most 4-5 hours) in 25-26 hours.

EDIT: Finished the Foundation DLC and my playtime totaled 29 hours for base game + Foundation DLC.

Note: I've 100%-ed this game and have unlocked all achievements

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is an interesting game that was something of a kickstarter surprise coming from the indie developer -- Snowcastle Games, but after playing the game through I can say that it's maybe not that that surprising at all. The game is supposed to harken back to 90's RPGs and it excutes that pretty well -- even the generic parts.

The game is fairly short, about eleven hours for the main story, twenty hours for the main story + extras, and if you're an achievement hunter such as myself you're looking at about twenty-six hours tops.

In my opinion a game is overall decided by story and gameplay, one or the other has to be excellent and the best games have both in full strength.


The story here is pretty generic, with some choppy character development and character dialogue. Basically you're searching for your uncle after he gets kidnapped due to your character discovering an unknown artifact in some ruins at the very start of the game. You go look for him, and along the way you learn more about the artifact and meet people.

There is however apparently a much deeper story in the background, but the game lacks the lore to explain it in depth, which, is a shame. The game will explain just enough to move the story along without answering all your questions. Personally, I would love to know more about "Valvurs" for example.

[POOR] [ACCEPTABLE] [EXCELLENT]


I played this title using my steam controller on my ultra wide monitor and my resolution was supported, which, is always a plus. The controls were decent and felt fluid and the gameplay itself was simple, as one would expect from any RPG, especially from one that aimed to resemble a 90's RPG. The difficulty was average, in fact, with the level cap being 20 the difficutly is further diminished if you simply take a moment to fight a few extra groups. While some reviews and discussions state that some mechanics were ludicrous, I personally never lost to a boss until the final boss and I defeated it on my second try.

There's nothing to cry home about here. There aren't any moments where the game makes you feel great about an accomplishment or the completion of an an event and nothing for those seeking challenge I was still happy enough to tackle each section and had motivation to continue forward, and the game was fun throughout in a simple, pleasing way.

That's probably due to the very retro vibe I got in terms of gameplay and controls, that's not necessarily a bad thing and some people might even like it.

[POOR] [ACCEPTABLE] [EXCELLENT]

• Ultra-wide monitor support
  
• Classic turn-based combat
  
• Nostalgia atmosphere

• Music was forgettable, as was the presented story.
  
• Over-simplified crafting & harvesting system.
  
• Struggles with character development & dialogue at times.

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is never going to be an indie hit, but it's a good game for being a kickstarter with a $178k budget. If you want a feeling of nostalgia and been looking around for a turn-based combat RPG in the sea of action RPGs than you'll probably enjoy Earthlock: Festival of Magic.