Masquerada: Songs and Shadows Reviews
Like its characters, Masquerada: Songs and Shadows puts on the mask of a good game. The above par voice acting and art style will certainly lead you to believe that.
Despite a relatively strong start, this simply isn't worth the time or effort.
If you can fumble your way through the gameplay, you’ll find a unique and intriguing story buried beneath it. With everything you have to put up with to get to it, though, I’m not really sure it’s worth the effort.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows doubles down hard on building a world of enlightening lore, but forgets to do the same for the combat and gameplay, giving the game more of a visual novel impression, which will leave a lot of players wanting if not a fan of the mentioned niche genre.
Masquerada starts out with promise. The art is bright and unique and the lore and battle system give off an aura of depth. There's just not a lot behind that first look. The beautifully-drawn courtyards and dungeons are linear and restrictive. The lore is densely written, but digging in reveals a lack of soul and meaningful drama. The battle system is an intricately carved hammer: it might look like it has a lot going on, but it really just pounds shit. Masquerada, behind the glamour of its mask, just pounds shit.
Masquerada declines as the plot slows down. The herky-jerky pace gets more grating, the mania for proper nouns more distracting. What looked like a scrappy little underdog RPG turns out to be a collection of worn-out ideas.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is a game with an interesting world and plenty of different viewpoints to consider. The game’s narrative and dialogue are strengths and weaknesses, and it has a codex for the player to keep it all straight. Not everyone will enjoy having to invest the time to get there, but, if you can move beyond that and the frequent loading screens, the game will deliver a story with plenty of twists and turns to keep you engaged.
If you're looking for a captivating story set in an immersive world then Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is sure to satisfy.
A lot people are going to have a wonderful experience because Masquerada looks good and plays well and they’ll be skipping through most of the dialogue scenes.
I believe there are gamers out there who will find much to love in Masquerada. A compelling story, placed in a fresh and fully realized fantasy world, without the concern of struggling with unforgiving combat is certainly a description I can see being in some people’s wheelhouses.
So Masquerada is set in the Citte of Ombre, which has a clear Venetian feel too it's design and is divided by class. At the top are the Masquerada, with access to Mascherines, masks that grant their wearers magical powers.
While the gameplay fails to impress, the story at least manages to keep things interesting.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows rides the line between too little and too much, and often swerves into the too little range. Between the difficult to manage combat, and the constant breaks from gameplay for story, this could have been a misfire. Fortunately, it's saved just enough by beautiful artwork, sublime voice acting, and a presentation to die for.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows sacrifices depth to tell an intriguing story. Its incredibly linear design keeps things moving, but between unremarkable combat and an over-reliance on exposition through a bloated codex, it's never able to fully capture your imagination. Masquerada is a stunted RPG that's entertaining enough while it lasts, but you probably won't be coming back to Ombre once it's over.
While there's nothing particularly poor about Songs and Shadows' story or battle system, the way they come together leaves an unwelcome void in between. When playing, it's hard not to compare it to bigger, better games like Baldur's Gate or more recent RPGs like Pillars of Eternity and Divinity. Masquerada just doesn't have the same level of rewarding complexity or seamlessness, bogged down by constant stopping and starting.
Unfortunately, in the game’s current state I likely won’t finish Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, but for those looking for an interesting world and story with some pretty solid voice acting, it’s a solid game to pick up at its price point.
For a freshman effort by an indie developer, there is just enough to really get your attention in Masquerada, and I look forward to seeing what Witching Hour Studios does next. Behind the mask of this game is a studio with a lot of heart, and while their first outing is ultimately flawed, their heart is sometimes all you need to make your mark in the gaming world.
If all you want is an interesting, but complex, tale of war and politics, then Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is probably worth a punt.
Masquerada is clearly an interesting game. But it stands to improve a little bit more. It can get tiring moving from Point A to Point B with nothing to take us away from the main quest. Despite the rich world we’re given, there’s no need for any initiative to explore such a world. It’s clear that this isn’t a game that people can keep playing for more than a few hours straight without eventually taking a break from listening to characters talk over and over again. It can get tiring and repetitive when having to follow the main story without halt.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is a colourful, easy-to-play RPG with a unique setting and nifty characters.