Driftmoon is the Little Engine that Could of the video game industry. As an independently developed top down hack-and-slash RPG, it has quite the mountain to climb if it wants to be accepted by the average gamer. Instead of endlessly repeating the mantra of “I think I can! I think I can!”, the game instead delivers an eye-opening amount of classic dialogue quips and addicting gameplay in order to get this train up, over, and into the hearts of players. This game isn’t your typical RPG, that is for sure. Instead this game is a charming adventure that will have players shouting “I know it can! I know it can!” as it is destined to climb to success and become a favourite of many.
Dammit, Bobby!
Playing the Alpha release of the game I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Slightly apprehensive of what was to come, I decided to throw my fears aside and jump into the game’s world. After watching a guy walk around a deserted island and break the fourth wall by mentioning the map maker, I had a smile on my face and was ready to being my adventure. After getting a hang of the movement controls, which can be slightly awkward at first, I was off. What followed was a tutorial in the form of a conversation.
Conversations in the game are handled with a response list. Every unsaid response is highlighted in red and the response you choose will affect how the game plays out. These scenarios can then determine what items you obtain and what level your character is at. For example, having the dialogue option to fight a tough enemy can result in having a cool new set of armor, while keeping a tough enemy calm and relaxed can lead to your character conserving health. While I found the dialog to be a little lackluster at times, I felt it does a good job of keeping the player engrossed while also being short enough to keep the player focused. Don’t get me wrong, there are no lack of long diatribes at certain points in the game, but for the most part the developers keep it quick and to the point. However, quick and to the point is not exactly how I would describe the game’s story.
Driftmoon tells a rather intriguing tale of adventure. The game starts with your player entering the town of Northropp after being summoned there by your father. According to his note, something terrible has happened with “Marthon’s Strange Gem” which he was researching. As you approach the town, you quickly discover that everyone has been petrified and turned to stone. After some slight exploration you discover your friend Word locked away in the Northropp Inn. A quick conversation with Word reveals that a “zillion” lizard warriors attacked the village, petrified all the townsfolk, and aubducted your father. It quickly becomes apparent that the strange gem your father was researching has something to do with the fiasco. As you continue to follow your father’s instructions, you are sent to meet your brother Robert. What follows is some shocking information about your father and the gem he was researching. Once you know this information, there is nothing left to do but go on a grand adventure spanning an entire world, as is typical for most RPGs.
Driftmoon likes to bring the funny, but sometimes it gets serious.
I found the game to be surprisingly well structured and rich in information. Going in I expected sub-par story bits to litter this hack-and-slash adventure. Instead, I found it to be quite an engrossing tale. What makes this story so great is how it infuses detailed information with humor. For example, of the many books and notes you pick up, one of my favourites was a note from the mayor of Northropp which orders that the “Gardening Tool of Doom” be locked up. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but it does a great job of keeping players very entertained while exploring through the game. Although some portions of the game can get a little wordy for those who are impatient, those who can stick with it will find lots of back story. The vast amount of backstory and little details come together well and really show that writing was a focus of the game’s creators. With enough lore to base a novel, the game is more than prepared to handle any players that may want to invest more than the average completion time.
After getting a hang of the basic controls and picking up what was happening in the story, I began to enter combat scenarios. The combat, which is only a small part of the gameplay, works fairly well. Like most Western RPGs, players guide their characters toward enemies and attack. Special attacks and spells can also be cast during combat to inflict even more damage. For players that want to add a little strategy to their combat, gameplay can quickly be paused using the ”Space Bar”. Players are also not forced to stick to one character class as they play. With the ability to place character points in any category, players are free to mix and match the way they conduct combat. Being a sword-slicing mage is not out of the question in this game. For players that enjoy mix and matching their weapons, a simple keystroke can switch from a melee sword to a ranged bow.
Once I began exploring dungeons and got into more intense combat situations, I found the game to be quite difficult. After many defeats, I decided to switch the difficulty down from the default ”Champion” setting to the lowest setting of ”Adventurer”. The game features four different difficulty levels: Adventurer, Champion, Warlord, and Guardian. Don’t think that just because the game is a little wordy that isn’t also a challenge. Players of any and all skill levels are sure to be defeated at least a few times as they journey through their adventure.
Combat can get intense.
For those who prefer an alchemical approach to their RPGs, Driftmoon offers a wide array of potions to mix. Potion mixes are presented as blueprints in the game. Once a player adds a blueprint to their inventory, they simply click on the blueprint and if they have the required components, a potion will be formed. These blueprints are picked up via exploration, which is a key component of the game. Moving items to find secret locations and traversing through deep woods to find items will all become second nature after a few minutes. As you explore through the game you will discover many sidequests, most of which are simply more ways for the developer to add humor to the game. One part of a sidequest had me finding a cherished rubber duckie to place on a mantle, thus revealing the location of a long lost treasure. Sure, it’s a little goofy, but it makes exploring the vast world actually worth while, which is something many AAA RPGs leave out.
Although the single player quest is enough to keep you busy for hours on end, the game also offers a wide variety of mods. Players can easily install through the game’s opening menu any mods they want. Dedicated players can even contribute their own to the community. Mods range in everything from goofy eyes that make dangerous spiders look cute to intensive mods that alter areas and add to the game’s exploration. As another way to both entertain and also add to an already fantastic experience, the mod tools are something that no one should overlook.
While exploring through the game’s world there is no doubt you will begin to question some of the graphical choices the developers made. As a 2.5 dimensional game with 2 dimensional character sprites, the movement around the game’s world can look a little odd at times. I also found some of the environments to be choppy, especially near water. Though at other times I felt the graphics fit the game perfectly. It was quite the mixed bag in my opinion and I felt the graphics were probably the weakest point of the game.
When smog attacks!
Despite the less than spectacular graphics, the game brings it right back in the audio department. As I explored, I found the audio to be a pleasant way of immersing the player. During certain parts of my time with the game, I would hear little creatures crawling or birds whistling and get the sense that I was really walking through a forest. On top of that, when entering certain parts of the world I would hear music begin to play. These little audio bits might not impress everyone, but they certainly were another tactic the game had to draw me into its world.
Driftmoon is an indie title that should not be missed. Whether you are a dedicated RPG player or just a PC player looking for another engrossing adventure, this game will surely lure you in and keep you enthralled for hours. With an indepth story, classic hack-and-slash gameplay, and audio that will truly immerse you in the experience, this game is not to be missed. The developers could work a little more on the graphics as the game outgrows its Alpha phase, but that’s a rather small request for such an expansive game. With a sense of quality you won’t find from most indie games and a dedicated mod community to back it, the game is destined to climb that mountain to success. ”I know it can! I know it can!”
A copy of Driftmoon was provided for this review via GamersGate.
Score: 9 / 10
Developer: Instant Kingdom
Publisher: Instant Kingdom
