Over the past couple of years, the top-down RPG has made a comeback, with games like Torchlight 2 and Diablo 2 all the way to Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2 and Pillars of Eternity in the newer generation. It’s been one of the more eccentric genre comebacks gamers have seen in years, and it should be no surprise that developers who have succeeded in other fronts are placing their hands in the pot.
Such is the case with Digital Extremes (developers of Warframe), who are publishing the Dungeon and Dragons based Sword Coast Legends. While the developer of the game shut down months ago, this doesn’t change the fact that ports can be made, and Digital Extremes has been adamant that the magic of the game is still intact. Or, was it never there to begin with? Here’s our critical findings.
Gameplay:
Starting off, Sword Coast Legends seems to have the familiarities and the depth of the other RPG greats out there, including ones that aren’t fully top-down. In some ways, the game even reminds me of the underrated Dungeon Siege 3, which I spent countless hours playing on my red-ring nearing 360 a couple years back. However, the game does have some unbalance present in each of it’s classes, which takes down the otherwise unique and positively complicated gameplay down a notch.
Examples of this are mostly found in the game’s superficial attention to the Dungeon and Dragons lore. While I didn’t specifically have issue with it, I think it could bother many fans who are looking for a wider dedication in the gameplay department. Some big figures of the franchise are missing, with others losing key features. It’s rather silly for a game that sells itself to be rooted so far in this fictional mythology.
Story & Design:
People always associate heavy lore, and Sword Coast Legends reminds me why, but not in a particularly poor way. There’s heavy stakes surrounding every quest, which certainly makes them feel less padded on. There’s also a bit of a dialogue system, but it’s an add-on that doesn’t really make a true difference to the narrative.
In terms to how your quests are woven into the story, Sword Coast Legends gives the incentive of more progression as long as you work hard and long. (AKA grinding) This is sort of a shame, because the game’s higher scale moments don’t give much reward, and the side quests are a completely different story, but nonetheless weak.
Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:
A mixed bag of a story isn’t to say that Sword Coast Legends doesn’t have a lot of content. There are a wide breath of difficulty options, community packs, and of course general missions. There’s also some DLC that should be coming soon, and in some cases it looks a tad more promising than what I saw in the story sections.
The other specks of Sword Coast Legends presentation are some of the best things found in the game. The soundtrack is what to be expected but of slightly higher caliber, and I found the voice acting to match this mark too. Considering how much is there and for each character, it’s a testament of passion and hard work.
Conclusion:
Sword Coast Legends is a worthwhile top down RPG, but is let down by some aspects that would disappoint those it’s appealing too. The rest is the confines of your typical RPG, but I think experienced players of the genre will have quite a good time with this. It’s not the refreshing kick everybody needs, but it’s good enough.
Sword Coast Legends gets a 7/10 (Average)
We’d like to thank Digital Extremes for giving us a code!
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