Of Blades & Tails

I won this game through SteamGifts. Of Blades & Tails is one of those games I really wanted to love. The pixel art is charming, the world is surprisingly big for such a small development team, and everything runs smoothly. The characters and writing are nice enough too, so it definitely has a solid foundation. Unfortunately, the gameplay just didn't click with me. Even on the lowest difficulty, the game is brutally punishing. I played for around six hours and ragequit at least three times. It feels like you're expected to grind levels before you can make any real progress, but experience comes in so slowly that the grind doesn't even feel rewarding. On top of that, you're constantly picking up mountains of gear, but almost all of it is vendor trash. The procedural quests didn't help either. Being told to dig up one random tile in a map full of identical-looking terrain isn't exactly exciting gameplay. I don't mind difficult RPGs, but I want the challenge to come from interesting mechanics rather than endless grinding and frustration. There's definitely a good game hiding in here somewhere, and I can appreciate what such a small team accomplished. But for me, it ended up being m…

A good short tactical rpg, the negative reviews are overblowing it. The game -does- appear grindy in the first hour or so as you are getting a grip on its mechanics but afterwards progression is smooth. - Talk to a blacksmith about modifying equipment and rip modifiers out from other gear to slot into your own (this and upgrading said gear at shrines is essential, not getting stat buffs may be why some get stuck at the end) - Explore thoroughly - Use consumables and go to areas that are your recommended level - Breaking LoS makes the food passive effects kick in even if someone is tracking you. - There is fast travel in the game, click on locations that have a bonfire through the world map once you've discovered some. - Combat music can be disabled in options since its one track that otherwise seems to loop through the whole game.

Great game, lots of different build options to explore. That said, just like another certain RPG, no matter what you intended to build you may just end up as a Stealth Archer. Also, for some reason half the closed doors in this game were oriented the wrong way, just a silly little visual bug. The one bit of advice I would say, if you find any torn bits of paper, only keep one on you at a time. You'll thank me later.

It's pretty good. Difficult but manageable if you're patient. Charming.

Of Blades & Tails is a charming retro-inspired RPG that combines open-world exploration, tactical turn-based combat, flexible character progression, and a richly imagined anthropomorphic fantasy setting into a surprisingly deep and rewarding adventure. Developed by Felix Laukel and published by Pineapple Works, the game follows Reik, a young fox whose peaceful life is shattered after tragedy forces him to leave his home and venture into a dangerous world filled with rival animal factions, ancient ruins, dangerous wilderness, and hidden secrets. While the game clearly draws inspiration from classic role-playing games, it succeeds at modernizing many of those ideas while still preserving the sense of freedom and discovery that made older RPGs memorable. One of the game’s greatest strengths is its setting. The fantasy world inhabited entirely by anthropomorphic animal tribes gives the adventure a unique identity that immediately separates it from more traditional medieval RPGs. Foxes, wolves, bears, rats, and countless other creatures populate towns, wilderness areas, and faction strongholds, each contributing to the world’s personality and lore. The setting never feels gimmicky beca…

Probably been one of the games I have come back to the most, mechanically its very interesting and the concept of a lot of the later unlocks seem like it would create very fun builds to play. BUT, the pacing is awful, it feels very grindy to get anything meaningful and is also one of the games I have put down the most. Still I'd say its worth a try but requires a lot of patience.