I used to learn a whole lot of books once I was youthful, till gaming got here alongside and changed it; video video games turning into the last word mix of media, with music, story, studying and immersion wrapped into one incredible bundle.
However maybe if I had the ability Etienne Quist has in The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales, I might be extra into studying today too.
Normally if a sport comes with an isometric viewpoint I’ll keep away from it just like the plague. I’m not saying isometric video games are dangerous, it’s only a private choice. Exceptions to that rule apply in fact, and within the likes of Command & Conquer or Jurassic World Evolution, that viewpoint works.
The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales has modified my thoughts on different genres utilizing the isometric (top-down) view. That mentioned, The Bookwalker additionally makes probably the most of a primary individual viewpoint too. That will sound bizarre, however belief me, this sport will get lots bizarre. Good bizarre, however nonetheless bizarre.
See, Etienne has a particular energy, able to coming into a e book and interacting with the varied worlds and characters as he sees match. Fairly cool, proper? Now you see why I might learn much more if I may do the identical.
Anyway, Etienne has been banned from writing for committing a criminal offense. He has to verify in with police and should behave in the course of his sentence. A mysterious organisation calls him up with a proposal, asking him to retrieve (steal) numerous magical objects from books utilizing his powers. So you can be stealing Excalibur in a single e book or Thor’s hammer in one other; every stage coming with its personal distinctive world and characters to discover and work together with.
Whereas inside a e book, which is the principle a part of the sport, The Bookwalker makes use of an isometric viewpoint of the world. Exploring every room one after the other, battling enemies as they seem, the sport actually holds your hand. In truth, exploring is probably the unsuitable phrase to make use of. Utilizing clues in-game, you should discover every object and go away, working selection based mostly choices that may alter the story, leaving room for replayability.
Battling enemies nonetheless isn’t The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales’ robust level, leaving level and click on based mostly adventuring to utilise turn-based RPG mechanics that appears like a clunky shift. Add to this the truth that the battling is primary and sloppy, I can’t assist however assume it ought to have made probably the most of a extra motion based mostly method. Flip based mostly RPG with restricted choices, mixed with unresponsive motion decisions at occasions make for a irritating a part of the expertise.
Exterior of books and battling, there may be one other half to The Bookwalker – the true world. If you find yourself in the true world, issues are performed out from a primary individual perspective. That is actually cool, feeling distinctive as typically you will want an merchandise to progress within the e book that isn’t round on the earth. This implies you should go away the e book to seek out the merchandise in actual life, bringing it again to the story to progress. It’s genuinely modern and enjoyable to see this swapping between worlds mechanic. Sadly with the hand holding – being instructed “Oh we’d like a sledgehammer, my neighbour has one”- as a substitute of determining the answer, means the novelty is drained shortly.
It doesn’t assist that when in the true world the sport struggles to maintain up a constant 30fps, which is complicated contemplating the small condominium constructing it’s important to stroll round in. Some polish and refinements right here would have made for a much better expertise as issues simply really feel sluggish and murky, particularly in comparison with the world of the books which hit 60fps with out a lot of a problem, more often than not.
The audio within the sport is sort of inconsistent too. Issues like footsteps and the noises of doorways opening don’t at all times sync up appropriately. This brings you even additional out of the immersion and when mixed with the sloppy framerate, The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales turns into fairly annoying. There isn’t a lot that notably stands out soundtrack smart both. A killer accompanying set of themes would have elevated this sport barely and it screams for a giant neo noir jazz riff within the dystopian actual world.
I might gladly play a extra polished and refined sequel to The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales. The 2 primary characters are likeable, and the entire idea of travelling into the totally different books is sweet. Sadly it’s let down by the fight, glitches and audio that result in frustration.
Ought to there be a repair to these points, in addition to the weirdly low framerate of the true world sections, then there may very well be an absolute knockout of a franchise ready to return to life.
The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales might not prime many sport of the yr lists, however it’s a distinctive expertise that’s enjoyable to play all through its brief runtime.
