Tag Deck 13

Drova Forsaken Kin is an Action-Roleplaying Game that takes the player to an otherworldly place where they must adapt to survive.

From Deck 13 and Just2D, Drova Forsaken Kin a pixel art styled action roleplaying game that takes you to an otherworldly place by travelling through a fog/mist with the aid of an ancient creature. Once arriving your companion has been killed by some sort of monster, seems to be the same that brough you to the new land.

The game started as an overly ambitious dream where a group of designers decided to form a studio. That dream was to build an open world roleplaying game as their first game, starting as students. Soon after they found their publisher and about three years after creation, the game was released. That alone makes for a great story and I must give serious props to the team. Not only did they shoot for the stars but they did it on their own terms and didn’t compromise along the way.

Inspired by Gothic and other classic roleplaying games of the last few decades, the game follows your own custom character as you wander the world of Drova, helping people and defeating monsters and wildlife along the way. Most of the creatures can not only kill you but if you fight them too soon you’ll find yourself outmatched and likely dead. My first impression of the game was that it gave definite Baldur’s Gate vibes, the original, not the new one that recently released. I loved Baldur’s Gate and the original sequel. The vibes continued as the game gives you most of the instructions through just playing and trying things or through dialogue options.

I found the game to be on the difficult side, if you’re like me and rush into danger without being careful, but not so much that it detracted from the game. The visuals rather refined for pixel art and the controls felt natural. Overall I found the game enjoyable and a worthy choice for the next time I feel the need to play an old school RPG.

Argonwood and Deck 13’s latest title for consoles is Rising Lords that features turn-based medieval combat.

Rising Lords is the newest title from Argonwood, published by Deck 13 and is a strategy game based on the dark ages in a made up land and uses some unique resource management mechanics. Players perform multiple actions across a single turn like moving peasants to perform tasks, build your army or march them to war. You may even come across random events like a bear attacking a town where the only defenses are those same peasants.

The art style reminds me very much of Inkulinati with a nearly identical character design, pulling from obvious medieval influences. As the game progresses you change focuses from resource gathering to warmongering. Gameplay feels like a blend of several popular tabletop games like Settlers of Catan, BattleLore and Kings & Things, mixing their styles into a overall experience that focuses on paving their own way. The user interface was clearly build having computers in mind but thanks to the turn-based nature of the game it is still manageable.

The art style of the game felt right for the game where the controls felts a little tough to identify where to click next at times. Despite the controls I found the game to quite ingenious and enjoyable. With the customization options and richness in gameplay it will be a hit among strategy fans for sure.