Operencia: The Stolen Sun
Zen Studios’ modern homage to classic first-person dungeon-crawlers takes you to the land of Operencia, an unconventional fantasy world inspired by a faraway land referenced in countless Central European folktales. An old-school turn-based battle system combines with inspiration from unexplored mythology to offer an RPG experience that feels unique yet also familiar. An unknown force has abducted the Sun King Napkiraly, leaving Operencia in a state of perpetual darkness – and eventual doom. From hidden royal tombs and cursed castles to an ascent up the World Tree to reach the Copper Forest of the Land of the Gods, explore diverse settings throughout the far reaches of the land…and beyond. Each location boasts its own unique atmosphere, visual style, level design and puzzles, and many take place entirely outdoors. Operencia is home to an intriguing mix of unexplored mythology and fantastical versions of actual historical locations (e.g., Deva Fortress, Balvanyos) and characters (e.g., Attila, Seven Chieftains of the Magyars), all coming together to form one cohesive new gaming universe. Several of your own seven party members take influence from heroes of forgotten tales told hundreds of years ago, such as the brave knight Mezey and Sebastian the Dragon Slayer.
Game Discussion
Steam User 3
Setting is what kept me going the most here. Hungarian fantasy is just not something you see in games and it takes you to some interesting places.
As a blobber it felt a bit thin on customization, though as your party grows you get more possible combinations. A couple puzzles had me stumped for a while but it's all manageable and I played without objective markers so that's on me.
Dialogues can be a bit much sometimes with all the snark and feeling a bit too modern for the setting in general. I got stuck in geometry a bunch of times but a quick reload always fixed it. Pretty cool game overall but nothing crazy.
Steam User 1
A surprisingly good entry into the DRPG subgenre. This game feels like a really well-made B movie: it’s not groundbreaking, but it’s genuine, and it kept me entertained from start to finish. It’s especially impressive considering it was developed by a Hungarian company best known for making physical pinball machines. As a debut in this style, it’s a surprisingly strong effort. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a first-person dungeon crawler with turn-based combat.
The positives:
- Pretty faithful use of Hungarian folklore
- Beautiful environments
- Great music
- Fully voiced
- Serviceable characters
- Really well-balanced puzzles (they are mostly on the easier side but solidly designed)
- Excellent choice for trying a forgiving DRPG (free respecs anytime at save points)
The negatives:
- The VA quality is a bit of a mixed bag
- The combat is a bit too simple and slow
- Some characters are a bit one-dimensional
- Small amount of backtracking (pet peeve of mine, I just don't enjoy doing it, too much mental load, but for a 20-25 hour game it's fine)
- Very derivative of the genre (if you played 10+ DRPGs this won't offer any new mechanics)
All in all great effort, give it a try if you are interested.
Steam User 1
This is an insanely underrated dungeon crawler, I went on a kick of dungeon crawlers and this was literally the best one I think I've played ever (outside of Might and Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven). The incentive to go back and 100% previous levels to access potential power ups is legit as a mechanic, I can't remember exactly what game it reminds me of that had really good meta progression, but it's for real. It adds a mild dash of Metroidvania spice into the mix (because you can't 100% until you get _stuff_). I have seen many franchises make dozens of games on much weaker concepts, I could see this formula going hard. This was my unexpected gem when I got into it. Give it a minute, get past the first boss or two, I think you'll see what I mean.
Steam User 0
A magical fairytale ! Great story reminiscent of central european folk tales, well fleshed-out characters, and surprisingly deep gameplay. "Easy to learn, hard to master" comes to mind when looking at the simplistic-looking but still fairly deep character development and gameplay.
In case you're wondering whether the game is hard (and some players will complain that it is), I know for a fact that it's winnable on maximum difficulty / ironman without using any firewood or consumable items. It doesn't even take a genius to do so, all you need to do is build on the existing synergies in the game that are all but spelled out in skill & item descriptions and the journal.
Great ambiance, nice setting and story, lovable characters and a surprisingly deep gameplay make this a must play in my book.
Steam User 0
Everything is great, the gameplay, equipment, map, skills, stats, perfectly balanced.
Steam User 0
Fun blobber with an uniquely Slavic focus on characters and narrative. It's not doing anything groundbreaking in terms of gameplay but the combat and puzzles kept me engaged all the way through.
Only downside is that the game has some weird UE optimisation issues where the CPU gets flooded and sets my fans off randomly, but this doesn't happen often.
Oh, and Jóska is a king ♥♥♥♥ as well.
Steam User 0
This is by far the greatest love letter to Hungarian folklore in video game form, even if that list isn't particularly long. Game manages to juggle both combat and puzzles in a very fun and balanced way, while the you are sucked into the lovely atmosphere that's reminiscent of the Hungarian Folk Tales animated series from the 80s. It's all so magical and I'm sure even those not familiar with the cultural backdrop could absolutely enjoy this newbie friendly dungeon crawler.
Absolutely wonderful, and I'm curious to see if they can tie the wider central european themes into a possible sequel if it ever happens.