Blackguards Reviews
Except for its muddled progression system, tactical RPG Blackguards gets a lot of things right.
Masochistic stat-chasers will find much to enjoy, but Blackguards' varied combat is no substitute for a fully-formed RPG.
Blackguards is enjoyable enough for diehard strategy fans, but nagging bugs and a poor UI keep it from its full potential.
Blackguards is a grueling tactical role-playing game that thrives on brutal challenges.
Though I feel incapable of giving Blackguards the fair shake it would get with fresh eyes, that's ultimately nobody's fault but the developer's. Early access works for emergent play – games like Rust and Starbound where no play session is the same and every update changes the dynamics – but it's ill-suited to more linear, directed experiences.
Blackguards is a nice change of pace from the Deadelic. The story is well told, if a little bit clichéd, and the slightly sub-par visuals are off-set by the interesting and addictive gameplay. It does suffer from a common strategy game issue, whereby if you fail at something, it can be hard to motivate yourself to spend another hour doing it all over again straight away. Play it in short bursts, however, and you could find yourself spending many an intriguing hour in Blackguard's universe.
Blackguards is a wonderful tactics game with some rough edges. The core gameplay and character progression elements are easily some of the best in the genre, but as battles tend to drag on and more and more enemies scream "owAUGH," the interest tends to fade. The story is easy enough to follow and interesting enough to keep players interested, so fantasy buffs should feel engaged the entire time. Even if the sound effects weren't satisfying, the gameplay itself more than made up for that, and it's easy to see that Daedalic Entertainment has a bright future ahead of them in the strategy sphere.
It was rather fun to play a turn-based tactical RPG in this style, but I wish it had just a bit more life to it and not feel so stiff. Don't get me wrong – it is still very enjoyable, I just wish it had a bit more to it. If you're a fan of games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Ogre Tactics, and similar games, I would say that Blackguards is definitely worth checking out!
Hardcore RPG fans and pen and paper purists will get their fill with Blackguards both in combat and story. Just be prepared to do a lot of planning and possibly losing in order to succeed.
There's nothing special or individual; everything is complete, but nothing more.
If you're looking for a turn-based strategy game with brutal combat, and you're into managing resources for a team of characters, Blackguards is just what you're looking for. It's a gorgeous game with memorable battles. But because the game's focus is obviously on combat, no matter how pretty the towns are, they feel like backdrops for your character sheets and inventory.
While the game is still currently in development, there is more than enough time for the developers to tweak the mechanics and make this a wonderful title that I would gladly recommend to fantasy and strategy fans, but right now, this just doesn't cut it. Hopefully, Blackguards won't remain as a sea of untapped potential. It feels like trying to eat delicious soup with just a fork; it's going to take too long, and there are just no spoons anywhere.
Blackguards is a strong RPG with top-notch tactical combat that's let down by some needless complexity and less-than-convincing voice-acting.
Loading times and voice acting drag down a decent title.
Blackguards has its up and downs, but at $40 for 40 or more hours of good gameplay, it's hard to beat.
A sort of diamond in the rough perhaps, in that Daedalic did a fine job with many aspects of Blackguards, yet a handful of problems, certainly some more crucial than others, and yet all patchable, keep the overall experience stunted.
There is fun to be had and Daedalic have done their best to keep battles interesting, but often things can get very frustrating and it's hard not to come to the realisation that you're just doing the same things over and over again. Daedalic have made two excellent adventures out of The Dark Eye, but they've yet to make a good RPG.
There is certainly potential beneath the many unrefined and unpolished layers, but Blackguards does not feel worth playing in its current state. Outside of the combat the game fails to impress in any way and often frustration at the user interface, the loading times or the embarrassingly jerky cutscenes drive the player away.
If you enjoy the Dark Eye Pencil and Paper game, then you will most assuredly enjoy this game. If you are role playing gamer…you will find a lot to like here. With a well-established gaming universe to pull from Blackguards does the Strategy RPG world proud.