Review for Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark. Game for Linux, Mac, PC and Steam, the video game was released on 16/08/2018
When the imagination wanders to the point of encroaching on the maze of videogame memory, it often runs into tactical role-playing games belonging to the last century. How can we forget Delita's rise to power in Final Fantasy Tactics or the poignant vicissitudes of Tactics Ogre?
Real milestones of the genre. Thanks to their legacy over the decades, we have had the opportunity to improvise strategists to lead our troops in elaborate last-box battles.
Many in recent years have reworked the classic formulas, offering a very personal and welcome interpretation of Tactics. The guys from 6 Eyes Studio from their Florida office successfully proposed their vision and, thanks to a Kickstarter campaign for just 45.000 dollars, they managed to package a tactic of their own: back to the roots of the genre, in a nostalgic journey punctuated by welcome clichés and swirling phrases of blades.
Once upon a time
The legend tells of a group of 7 champions who in past centuries stood between the destructive fury of an insatiable devil and the prosperity of creation. A bloody battle ensued that saw the triumph of our heroes, who in addition to glory gained eternal life. The group arose as protector of the globe, forming the Council of the Immortals, a beacon of justice for centuries to come. The events that will involve the group of Arbiters that we will lead in battle take place during the moral decline of the Immortals, where a sooty plot seems to take shape during the sacred rite of succession.
As the genre dictates, Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is the story of a long journey, full of dialogue sequences that act as a break between one fight and another. In this combination the entire gaming experience develops, with a navigation in stages on a pleasantly illustrated world map that plays the role of navigation board in an excellent way.
The old habits
Once on the battle grid, veterans of the genre will find the unfolding of battles intuitive and familiar: each character has an initiative value, which compared to that of allies and enemies generates an intuitive turn bar, which shows who will have to act and when. Each character during its activation is entitled to one movement and one action of their choice, in any order. The actions range from a simple basic attack, which varies according to the weapon selected, to incredible and powerful spells.
The actions and skills available vary depending on the class in use, the quantity and diversification of the classes are the flagship of the production. Each character will have the right to select a main and a secondary class, thus allowing us to acquire skills and explore new jobs without giving up our favorite moves. Much of the fun of Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is represented in the growth and setting of the character, discovering the preferred or optimal customizations.
Unlocking new classes has in most cases the requirement to reach a specific level in another discipline, thus encouraging us to experiment with new configurations. Each class offers a not too extensive Skill Three, in which you can spend the skill points that we will earn simply by carrying out actions during the battle. Nothing new for the veterans of the genre, who will surely rejoice in front of the intelligent level design offered by the guys of 6 Eyes Studio.
Good new
Of course we are not faced with a "more of the same" and there are countless novelties of Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark able to streamline and embellish the well-established gameplay formula: for example we can say goodbye to the permanent death of the characters, cross and delight of the kind. Once defeated, our characters will simply leave the battlefield but will still be available during future battles (Unless a resurrection occurs during the fight itself).
However, the losers will suffer a wound that will reduce their stats by 10% and will return to perfect health if they remain on the bench during a fight. Even the use of consumables has been revised: we will have a limited use and common to all the characters per battle and we will never have to worry about replenishing our supplies, as they will be restored automatically and for free at the end of each battle.
The adventure of Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark can not only be experienced by choosing from the numerous game difficulties proposed, but the difficulty itself can even be calibrated on the basis of countless manually modifiable parameters. This precise choice allows the player to forge an experience that adheres as closely as possible to their needs.
Anesthetic aesthetics
Although the soundtrack pleasantly accompanies every moment of the game, providing the appropriate musical carpet to the events of our Arbiters, the glance cannot be said to be as satisfying. It is precisely on the graphic side that the limits imposed by the production budget become evident, with the graphic representation of the characters that is very uninspired that curbs the ambitions of a promising title.
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is the tactical RPG we needed: a classic journey into a living, pulsating world, where you can spend hours and hours in the company of interesting characters, getting lost in an endless whirlwind of battles, customization and replayability. Really an excellent test bench for the guys of 6 Eyes Studio, who despite the budget available have managed to package a captivating title, with an interesting and well-calibrated level design, which is widely forgiven for the graphic side by the Spartan models and animations . FFell Seal: Arbiter's Mark, despite being a title not suitable for everyone, will delight fans of the genre.
► Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is an indie-RPG-Strategy game developed and published by 1C Company for Linux, Mac, PC and Steam, the video game was released on 16/08/2018
