Operencia: The Stolen Sun

Thank you for this game!
It delivered well everything that was promised: beautiful dungeons, cool classic but varied puzzles, great soundtrack and a well balanced challenge in an overall good story.
The big strength I see are :
- The fully flexible respec/restat at any point of the game. It erases the stress of "I can't try this because if it's shit i'll have to wait 5h before I can change it, if I can at all" of other games. I had a lot of fun changing comps and builds.
- The potion system is well thought. Crafting them through a little riddle mini-game, and having auto-refill charges on rest is another idea that solves the well known issue of player hoarding powerups until "the right moment", which never happens and you end up with 9999 potions in stock.
- The voice acting was rather nice. Some felt a bit too forced (looking at you Kampo) but at least it was not bland.
The 2 things I would say are vastly improvable are:
- the early game balance of casters : if you don't pick mage first, you don't get one (which is rather a support) before half the game, or have Joska with poison spells (with the 2 first maps full of ennemies resisting.... poison :D). Actually i fully recommend any player to play mage first run. It's fun, powerful and other classes are way better covered that this one.
- having a combat log. Many times i took damage or had my turn skipped (probably due to CC) without being even able to see what was happening to me through the animations.
Those are details though, and I can only recommand this game to everyone. It was a blast!

Excellent game!! Based upon watching the ending all the way through, I hope they create another! I would absolutely like to have another game in this "series" if they are so inclined to do so! Thank you for an enjoyable gaming experience!

what a cool old-school dungeon crawler, i have barely dug into it so far but the aesthetic is really cool, gives me SRS Bard's Tale vibes...which is my favorite game series of all time...still today, if you are as old as i am and remember those games as fondly as i do, do NOT miss out on this one.

A mostly, old school party based, dungeon crawler in the vein of Bard’s Tale, Wizardry, Might and Magic, etc. For those who aren’t super old, the most similar game that is somewhat newer would be The Legend of Grimrock, though this has turn based combat. This is a more modern take on the genre though, with the ability to look any direction, smooth movement and a much more story and character focused game. Your character and party will often interject, commenting on dungeon features, story beats and just small talk. The story and characters are all fully voiced, and the voice acting can be quite good (with some exceptions). The gameplay itself is the usual for this type of game with exploring, fighting creatures in your way and a handful of puzzles per area. The puzzles are mostly well done and intuitive, but there are some where the objective or clues are just too obscure. One near the end was also a way too long / hard slide puzzle that killed the pacing. Many puzzles also require artifacts you will find later in the game. Once you unlock it though, getting back to those points is pretty painless. The combat is turned based, with each party member and monster acting based off their initiative. Unlike the old games, each character gets skills with cooldowns they can use in addition to their basic melee and ranged attack. Beyond that, there are a few original things like a potion creation mini-game (you just have to figure out recipes you find, no experimentation) and an unusual fantasy setting based on non-D&D / non-western fantasy.
The positives are the characters, dungeon design, atmosphere and mostly the puzzles. A lot of life is breathed into the game via the voice acting and storytelling with some very excellent voice acting from some characters (unfortunately this also makes the bad ones stick out more). The characters are all unique, gameplay wise as well. The first companion you find is a rogue, but if you start as a rogue your skill trees are pretty different. The same goes for all others, making each character unique. The puzzles are usually pretty short, and easy enough to figure out the concept and solution that you won’t get annoyed or frustrated. Of course, there are some exceptions as I noted elsewhere, but there is the internet to help if needed.
For negatives, the game has a weird combat system where abilities use energy, but you don’t regenerate energy at all unless you camp (which uses limited wood) or defend during battle. Defending has a cooldown and can only be done once every three turns. Abilities tend to use a lot of EP’s, so you will find yourself defending a lot, which gives combat a weird feeling and is not particularly fun. Not a fan of that system. Also, the fact that camping uses wood and you have no clue how much wood you will find or how long the game is, can make you too conservative. I ended the game with a lot of wood, but I also used the defend mechanism way more than I would have liked. The game balance is a bit all over the place as well. There are a few, very annoying enemies with abilities like energy drain or unlimited summoning that can be hard… but more so, they are just annoying and not fun. Some of the abilities available to you, also feel off. Your rogue will be your only source of healing for almost half the game for instance. And if you don’t’ play as a mage, you will be lacking area of effect spells for a long time as well. For the story, while well delivered, it was not my cup of tea. You will be talking to gods, and hearing tales of tears making lakes and other over the top types of story beats. While original, I prefer a more grounded setting.
So, is this worth a buy. For me it was, but I think it will be hit or miss with many people, even those who like dungeon crawlers. If you like, over the top and well delivered stories, exploration and puzzles and aren’t as interested in character building and combat, you will probably like it. If you are used to this genre being very combat heavy, with well balanced and fun combat and that is mainly what you are looking for, this game might not be for you.

I AM IN LOVE! Good voice acting, the game looks beautiful, the interface is good and the storry seems interisting. A clasic dungeon crawler in a fresh package. Highly recommend! This game is definitely worth its full price.

Got this on a sale. Music and gameplay is fun. The ending teases of a sequel but i doubt it i will ever happen.

40 Hours, no complaints. Not "easy" nor difficult , original, about the sun, good mechanics & overall atmosphere ... Still having good times in the copper forest right now.