A Demo Review by Only One in All
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Detelamane – Legacy of Scars
A Demo Review by Only One in All
Download Here
Ever had a time where someone you really lusted after hurt you real bad, and you were left with a wounded heart? And after some time, the wound healed but left a scar? Right? Right? And then every thought about how they hurt opened the scar again? This is all speaking figuratively of course.
Unfortunately for Den, the protagonist of Detelamane – Legacy of Scars, this is literal for the scar on his face.
At the moment, Detelemane is more of a display of what to expect in the future rather than a demo. The problem is not the content so much as there not being enough. This is more of a personal complaint rather than a real problem, because the end of the demo left me wishing it was longer (this is a good thing). It felt as if it ended rather abruptly, but what it currently offers in playability is sure to entertain. The graphics are well done, and you can see Twinhamster’s distinct style. Music for the most part is well chosen and the gameplay is a good challenge.
The storyline thus far is that several gods gave life to a planet in hopes of living in it. However, the planet already was infected with evil, and it corrupted the world. The gods decided not to live on said planet, but left a tear called the
In order to prevent it from falling into the hands of evil, they set up elaborate traps and puzzles to prevent the naughty ones from getting ahold of it. Even with hints however, humans did not have the wit to find it, and it ended up that the Detelamane became a myth over time.
That’s where Den, our hero comes in!
The story feels a bit cliché. The lazy gods impart upon the humans to rid the world of evil via the chosen one, who is a good hearted man with a troubling past. The actual execution itself is commendable however. The style itself does not feel as clichéd. Dialogue is riddled with a touch of humor that gives the story more of a light feeling. It makes the game more entertaining, as too many RPGs take themselves too seriously. The humor really gives the game a different spin and you won’t feel like you’re playing another Generic Save the World RPG.
The dialogue is good, but character development is lacking. It is understandable considering the short length of the demo, but in the least Den should have a more defined personality. If I had to describe him, the only thing distinguished about him is the mask he wears to cover his face. The story behind why he has the scar is interesting, but Den himself doesn’t have much else going for him yet. It just feels like there should be.
This is just another minor complaint, because as mentioned before the otherwise cliché story is well done. The game’s sense of humor contributes to this largely.
The game’s graphics are relatively good. Twinhamster’s unique style can bring out some interesting enemy designs, while at other times they are nothing outstanding. Most noticeable are the animations during the cutscenes. Twinhamster took the time to animate any fighting that takes place out of battle. It gives the game more depth and it’s also fun to watch characters slice and dice each other with their weapons. Definitely a nice touch.
Other than that, not much else can be said graphic wise. Unless they are outstandingly well done or unbelievably horrific, I usually do not have much to say about them. This being the case, I will leave it at the graphics being just that – very good.
The gameplay is standard RPG fare with a couple of extras. New to the OHR is a skills system reminiscent of Tales of Phantasia. Each character has their own set of skills which, the more you use of a particular one, the more its learned percentage goes up. Once you reach 100%, you get a mastered skill, I assume. There aren’t enough battles in the game for you to master any skills so far, but it does make using skills more interesting.
The battles themselves have a bit of challenge to them to begin with. The first enemy you encounter can take quite a bit of pounding, and deliver as well. The bosses pack more punch, so having a spacebar mashing fest won’t get you through here. Making good use of skills and items and having a little luck is required.
The first boss you fight, while a unique fight, does have a few bugs. It has a barrier that you need to bust by hitting the three connector thingys before you can hurt it. However, something is wrong with the way it spawns. It will either respawn the shield into an awkward position or continue to generate the connectors over and over, making it impossible to get a chance to hurt the boss. Fixing this problem would make the first boss fight perfect.
The game only has two puzzles so far. The first one is a breeze (but the dialogue that ensues after you pass it is funny, making the ease of the puzzle appropriate in this sense). The second one takes a bit more thought, and has a bit of freedom to it. You can go through different doorways to get different results. This lets you pick up clues as you attempt to solve the puzzle which, I liked. If the game will continue to offer such puzzles with increased difficulty, it would be great.
Overall, the gameplay feels mostly polished, and if the problem with the first boss fight is fixed, it will have a complete feel as if it has been tweaked to ensure perfection.
The music more or less has been chosen well. I liked all the songs, particularly the title song and battle theme in the first dungeon. The other songs are also just as enjoyable. The only one that I felt was a bit awkward was the battle theme you hear during Den’s flashback. It simply doesn’t feel appropriate. It might be partially due to I’ve heard it as the main battle theme for an old OHR game called Run Away (not to be confused with Runaway, which has been uploaded to Castle Paradox more recently). Other than that, I like the music selection so far.
The first demo I played of Detelamane – Legacy of Scars honestly left me feeling less enthusiastic for a future release. However after playing through the second demo, I can honestly say I will be anticipating the next release with the same style it has been showing off so far. Hopefully we will see another release by the end of this year, because I would really like to know what will happen after that last cliffhanger.
