Age of Barbarian is a game I've wanted to like for a long time, and thanks to the extended cut version and the speedy patching from the developers, I'm now fully able to enjoy it and I wish to tell you why, as well as invite you to try it out yourself.

The original Age of Barbarian game from several years ago was a neat concept, but it was also virtually unplayable due to a myriad of issues and I never got too far in it. If that is the game you are thinking this is, know that this version is much, much better. Control is tightened up and performing attacks, dodges. and blocks all feel much easier now (especially with some patches the dev has released). The platforming works well this time, though I did still have a couple of instances where I would fall through platforms when I tried to grab onto them. Still, the few that I mentioned to the devs were fixed quickly and the couple I didn't mention resulted in less than a minutes loss, so nothing too bad. The world map is now manageable and easy to figure out, instead of a jumbled mess that was difficult to navigate. Basically, every inch of Age of Barbarian has been polished up to make this not just a viable game to beat, but a fun one to play.

So, the question now is, what does the game play like. Well, people say that it plays a lot like the classic Barbarian games on European PC's, but being an American who grew up playing consoles, I have yet to try those games (other than brief dalliances with Amiga emulation). My frame of reference would something more akin to a 2d side scrolling Souls game (Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodbourne, that type). Perhaps not 100% that way, but the traversal still rewards careful negotiation (especially later on when insta-kill traps make their appearance), the combat is based on timing and watching animations and minding your stamina meter, and running up to an enemy while wildly mashing will usually get you nowhere (though once you get powerful enough, you kinda can get away with that for most enemies). The basic gameplay flow is that you go to an area that is usually mildly maze-like, killing enemies in your path, traversing the occasional environmental hazard, and looking for secrets or the exit. The first three levels have hidden maidens that need rescuing, and they are in secret places that are out of the way and lead to different and more difficult boss battles. Find the maidens, defeat the bosses, go to the next level - that is the basic gameplay loop for the early parts of the game, and it works quite well, especially when the game has a fair amount of playability in two selectable characters.

The two selectable characters are Sheyna (the female warrior) and Rahaan (the guy). The levels are the same, but their starting stats are slightly different and they have different stories, though with the same basic goals of rescue maidens and kill bad guy. You can choose who you'll start with...but let's be honest, you'll be starting with Sheyna (as you should), and this is a good idea since the devs have put the most attention into her campaign (as they should). I'll be perfectly frank here...if blood and gore and full-frontal nudity and sex aren't something you want in a game, then this game may not be for you. There is a option to blur out the nudity (enabled by default, be sure to change that in the options), but nudity is just one of the many over the top aspects of this game. People getting their heads chopped open and their brains falling out, dongs getting sliced off, implied (but not shown) tentacle sex, naked women tied up and carried off, traps that kill you in graphic ways; basically, there's a reason you won't be seeing this game on console, and I actually wouldn't be surprised if the devs had to release an external patch for the game to add some of the content the fans (including me) have been asking for that they seem happy to add on (but that Steam might not allow).

I also want to give a shout-out to the dev team for their quick turn around in patching bugs and other issues. The reason I didn't do this review earlier was that I kept having issues beating the game, due to a somewhat buggy state the game launched in. This being said however, the devs were putting out new patches everyday for awhile and were clearly watching the forums to see what issues were most pertinent at the time. To post in a forum about a bug you've found and then to have that specific bug fixed within 48 hours is a positive that shows the devs care about their players, and I wish more devs followed this example (though I understand that most games are a fair amount larger than this one, I still don't see Crion Soft doing something like in Arkham Origins where they publicly stopped fixing bugs so they could sell you DLC). While this game launched moderately buggy, I'll still have no problem buying their next game day one (whether it's Age of Barbarian Arena or AOB 2), because I feel confident that any problems that do pop up will squashed quickly.

To wrap things up, while some aspects of this game may be a bit clunky, it's impressive just how far it has come from its original release years ago, and how it has become a game that isn't just an neat attempt by a small dev studio (the credits list less than ten names, and it looks like one person did the bulk of the work) or as a showcase for graphic content, but a genuinely fun game that I can wholeheartedly recommend. If you want a slower-paced action game, or were a fan of games like Prince of Persia, Out Of This World (Another World), or From Software's Souls games, then this game should be right up your alley. Keep in mind the content if that is something you'll be worrying about and you should have a great time.

Age of Barbarian is a game I've wanted to like for a long time, and thanks to the extended cut version and the speedy patching from the developers, I'm now fully able to enjoy it and I wish to tell you why, as well as invite you to try it out yourself. The original Age of Barbarian game from several years ago was a neat concept, but it was also virtually unplayable due to a myriad of issues and I never got too far in it. If that is the game you are thinking this is, know that this version is much, much better. Control is tightened up and performing attacks, dodges. and blocks all feel much easier now (especially with some patches the dev has released). The platforming works well this time, though I did still have a couple of instances where I would fall through platforms when I tried to grab onto them. Still, the few that I mentioned to the devs were fixed quickly and the couple I didn't mention resulted in less than a minutes loss, so nothing too bad. The world map is now manageable and easy to figure out, instead of a jumbled mess that was difficult to navigate. Basically, every inch of Age of Barbarian has been polished up to make this not just a viable game to beat, but a fun one to play. So, the question now is, what does the game play like. Well, people say that it plays a lot like the classic Barbarian games on European PC's, but being an American who grew up playing consoles, I have yet to try those games (other than brief dalliances with Amiga emulation). My frame of reference would something more akin to a 2d side scrolling Souls game (Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodbourne, that type). Perhaps not 100% that way, but the traversal still rewards careful negotiation (especially later on when insta-kill traps make their appearance), the combat is based on timing and watching animations and minding your stamina meter, and running up to an enemy while wildly mashing will usually get you nowhere (though once you get powerful enough, you kinda can get away with that for most enemies). The basic gameplay flow is that you go to an area that is usually mildly maze-like, killing enemies in your path, traversing the occasional environmental hazard, and looking for secrets or the exit. The first three levels have hidden maidens that need rescuing, and they are in secret places that are out of the way and lead to different and more difficult boss battles. Find the maidens, defeat the bosses, go to the next level - that is the basic gameplay loop for the early parts of the game, and it works quite well, especially when the game has a fair amount of playability in two selectable characters. The two selectable characters are Sheyna (the female warrior) and Rahaan (the guy). The levels are the same, but their starting stats are slightly different and they have different stories, though with the same basic goals of rescue maidens and kill bad guy. You can choose who you'll start with...but let's be honest, you'll be starting with Sheyna (as you should), and this is a good idea since the devs have put the most attention into her campaign (as they should). I'll be perfectly frank here...if blood and gore and full-frontal nudity and sex aren't something you want in a game, then this game may not be for you. There is a option to blur out the nudity (enabled by default, be sure to change that in the options), but nudity is just one of the many over the top aspects of this game. People getting their heads chopped open and their brains falling out, dongs getting sliced off, implied (but not shown) tentacle sex, naked women tied up and carried off, traps that kill you in graphic ways; basically, there's a reason you won't be seeing this game on console, and I actually wouldn't be surprised if the devs had to release an external patch for the game to add some of the content the fans (including me) have been asking for that they seem happy to add on (but that Steam might not allow). I also want to give a shout-out to the dev team for their quick turn around in patching bugs and other issues. The reason I didn't do this review earlier was that I kept having issues beating the game, due to a somewhat buggy state the game launched in. This being said however, the devs were putting out new patches everyday for awhile and were clearly watching the forums to see what issues were most pertinent at the time. To post in a forum about a bug you've found and then to have that specific bug fixed within 48 hours is a positive that shows the devs care about their players, and I wish more devs followed this example (though I understand that most games are a fair amount larger than this one, I still don't see Crion Soft doing something like in Arkham Origins where they publicly stopped fixing bugs so they could sell you DLC). While this game launched moderately buggy, I'll still have no problem buying their next game day one (whether it's Age of Barbarian Arena or AOB 2), because I feel confident that any problems that do pop up will squashed quickly. To wrap things up, while some aspects of this game may be a bit clunky, it's impressive just how far it has come from its original release years ago, and how it has become a game that isn't just an neat attempt by a small dev studio (the credits list less than ten names, and it looks like one person did the bulk of the work) or as a showcase for graphic content, but a genuinely fun game that I can wholeheartedly recommend. If you want a slower-paced action game, or were a fan of games like Prince of Persia, Out Of This World (Another World), or From Software's Souls games, then this game should be right up your alley. Keep in mind the content if that is something you'll be worrying about and you should have a great time.