Blackguards
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Blackguards
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!
