Heroes of the Monkey Tavern

I received a copy of this, to test it - and I actually fell in love :) This is an old-school looking dungeon crawler, but with really nice graphics ( My first try on a game looking like this ). Pro`s : First of all - This is Fun ! Easy , partly relaxing, partly exiting ! Fun ! - Highly recommended ! 1. Easy to understand the controls (I use an Xbox 360 controller and mouse, but keyboard works perfectly , too ) 2. Game-play is perfectly smooth . 3. Well made surprises and puzzles . 4. Beautiful music ! - actually a bit chilling and haunting, especially if you play this a late night, sitting alone . The music made me think partly of Twin Peaks, and partly Neverwinter Nights 1 ! There are also an option to listen all music, if you want to - well done ! 5. Characters are very well made. You can choose between warrior ( who will specialize in every weapon - the only character to do so ), barbarian, rogue , monk, priest, elementalist and archer . All with different skills. 6. The difficulty settings are very well balanced . 7. Nice graphics and well made map . 8. Secrets you really will want to uncover ! Might become very tricky on Hard difficulty - as it should be :) 9. You can sleep to regain health - and helpful hints are showing on the sleep-screen . There are also a "pool" on each level, where you can regain all health, and resurrect evt. dead characters. But be careful : The pool only works once - so a priest is almost a must to have in your party. 10. The skills works just like they should do. Choose an intelligent rogue, and you will find secrets. Choose to be dexterous, and you will be able to dodge , Strength to add fatal blows - whatever you choose, the skills works perfectly! I have yet to try and play a Barbarian, but I have tried every other character. 12. Achievements and Cards ! 13. Fun to replay , to try out different characters, and to try and get all the achievements . 14. No actual story to talk of , but you get to be a Hero - and that`s a good thing, of course ;) So to the minuses : 1. The game is a bit short . Some say 5 hours ! - But if you are anything like me, and like to examine every nook and corner - it should last 10 - 11 hours. Happy Gaming :)

I received Heroes of the Monkey Tavern in a bundle. Like the tags say, it's a fundamental, lightweight, old-school, grid based, dungeon (actually 10 level tower) crawler from 2016. Some explorers (like me) will find it fun and creative. However, if traditional games like Eye of the Beholder and recent games like the Grimrocks don't interest you, skip it. In fact, this should be considered as a truly basic version of an RPG game. Details follow. ** Game Play: You manage four characters: Warrior, Spellcasters (e.g. Priest), Thief, etc. Once you start a real-time encounter (battle), you click on the armed weapon or the spell to cast. The graphics on the title page are representative. You must decide what type of eligible weapon, equipment, or spell to activate. Players that despise pixel-hunting MUST socially distance themselves from this game. ** Four Attributes: Strength, Dex, Intel, and Vitality. Mana/Health gradually recharges. In fact, completely so by "sleeping" anytime/anywhere with absolutely no penalty (!), but you can also drink potions, potentially cast healing spells, and occasionally find restoration fountains. **Goals: Explore, kill monsters, gain XP, find loot, resolve traps/puzzles, navigate mazes, flip levers, find keys, open secret passageways. Rinse wash repeat. ** Advancement: With experience, your team levels and gains predefined enhancements. The classes have traditional limitations where your Elementalist can't wear plate mail. The gear has +/- attributes (speed, increased armor, etc.) ** PLEASE NOTE: HoMT should be mainly be considered by relaxed, casual gamers. Not very sophisticated, but that's part of the charm, IMO. ....(a) Within each class, there is NO flexibility whatsoever in skill pathways - meaning you cannot customize or pick your bonuses as you gain XP levels. ...(b) Typical class limitations apply. For example: Although Priests and Paladins can cast healing spells, Warriors can't learn to cast anything. ....(c) NO currency, merchants, minigames, teleportation, allies beyond your team, manual character upgrades, character replacements, or temporary buffs. Before I left a dungeon level, I tended to compare my own map to a Steam guide/map. That way, I played independently with maximum challenge -- but also managed to feed my compulsions to explore completely and to equip myself optimally. Also, I was able to pixel hunt at an acceptable rate without the guilt of missed opportunity. Can any respectable RPG player sleep...