After all the streams during the Summer of Gaming, I added a few games to my wishlist. Cris Tales and Cardaclysm already had demos on Steam so I decided to try them out.
Cris Tales
My husband immediately said it was game a for me based on the art style and storytelling. I loved the idea of being able to see the past, the present, and the future. It’s certainly something I haven’t seen before.
The first part of the demo is much like the trailer. Lots of story, Lots of pretty art, cute, little quests to give some life to the story.
Then I had the chance to try out the battle system. The basics of attacking remind me of the turn-based fighting of the classic j-rpgs. There is a timeline at the top to keep track of the battle order. You can pick between your attacks, defense, and items. If you press the button again at the right time you can get a critical hit or block an attack.
Sounds good, right?
Well, there is one big fight. What I saw as the boss fight. It took me over half an hour because I just can’t hit the buttons at the right time. I didn’t finish it… I’m not sure how close I was to beating the boss as there are my HP bars. But if this is the battle system, it’s not worth it for me. I’m not going to be frustrated for an hour knowing I could’ve finished if I could react better to visual clues. I’m not.
That’s why I like demos. If I didn’t try this game, I would’ve bought it and stopped playing after 20 minutes. It would’ve been wasted money. I know Steam does refunds, but I also know that I will want to try again later. Maybe when circumstances are different. But the pessimist in me already thinks that I won’t be able to do it ever.
So I’m not going to get this game.
Cardaclysm
Cardaclysm is another game that stood out to me. I love card games and I really like everything I saw in trailer. I even loved everything I played.
The card game itself is pretty straightforward. If you’ve played Magic: the Gathering or Hearthstone before, you’ll figure out the game super quick. Then there’s the overworld navigation. Your avatar walks through the world and you’ll find buffs, items, and enemies. Everything (as far as I experienced anyway) is set.
When you find fight the last enemy, you’ll hear something roaring. There’s a big skeleton knight chasing you and you have to reach the end of the level or fight him.
Having things chase me (the first bit you won’t even see him, just audio) is bad for my blood pressure. I know that’s the intention. But I don’t really need nightmare triggers in my games. I actively avoid my nightmare triggers.
I love everything about this game so far, except this. If there was some way to get rid of it (as a friendly/peaceful option), I’d play it in a heartbeat. But for now, I won’t buy it.