Knights of the Chalice

Take a good look at that screenshot, really lean in there and soak up the 90s aesthetics. Knights of the Chalice plays like a mix of Ultima 6 and Pools of Darkness, both classic games from the <brief internet investigation> very early 90s (1990 and 1991 respectively).

Ultima 6 (via Wikimedia)

Pools of Darkness (via MobyGames)

KotC is a relatively simple game on the surface, a veneer of simplicity layered over a fairly complex implementation of the DnD 3.5 ruleset. On the downside, there are only a handful of classes you can choose from and the party size is limited to 4. The array of weapons, armours, and spells (especially the spells) make up for any lack of classes though.

I imagine the visuals turn a lot of people away when they come to consider purchasing. Personally, I love way the it looks and feels, though perhaps that's me reveling in nostalgia, The pixel art, isometric viewpoint is a style I really love, so delightfully retro, harking back to Amiga games I owned in the 1990s. The UI is serviceable though clunky (I'll get back to that in a moment). None of this is a problem for me as I've never been one to worry too much about visual or UI, so long as the core game is a cracker. To answer that unstated question, let's consider the real meat and potatoes of the game - combat.

Combat is triggered whenever your party wanders close enough to a trigger-able area or a group of bad guys. Most encounters are tied to a particular area and wandering monsters are few and far between. Once triggered, the game shifts from real-time movement to turn-based. There are a heap of combat options from the ruleset and careful tactical thought must be given to the placement of heroes and the use of their abilities as these do not refresh until the party reaches a camp to rest. Having a spell-less wizard at the end of a dungeon when facing up to the big bad boss guy pretty much forces you to reload an older save. There are a few encounters I had to run through a dozen of times to get right, even with spelled up wizards and healthy fighters. Wands, wands are your friends. Craft them. (I'm not going into weapon, wand, scroll etc crafting, just know that it exists). So you move your heroes around one at a time, using up movement and actions to accomplish something - it's a tried and true system that works here as well as it works in something like Divinity: Original Sin. You'll chop, cast, run, heal, and cackle with glee as your ice storm devastates an entire room of gnolls. One nice touch is loot after battles. If the enemy carried or wore it, it drops for you to collect. Sorting through the cheap junk to choose only the best to keep (or more regularly, sell) is both fun and a bit of chore due to limited inventory sizes.

Quick note about the ruleset, it's all very well documented in-game and easily accessed per item. By this I mean it's only a single click to look up info on a weapon, how a spell works, what an effect or attribute is and how it affects your overall build. This makes a potentially complex and obtuse game very accessible (though you'll spend the first couple of hours reading a lot of info, or perhaps this was just me).

What about the parts that don't work so well? To begin, with let's hit on the mechanic that gets more knickers in a knot than a wave pool set on maximum - camps. I understand the hate, they frustrate me too, but I also get their function. You can only rest and regain spells and hitpoints when you're at a designated camp spot (a little fireplace), and they're few and far between sometimes. Thing is, camps force you to plan ahead and fight smart rather than barreling in, spells a-blazing, letting your tanks take the hits and not giving a shit. They make you think several battles ahead. In the early game they make things REALLY difficult, sure. With just four heroes and a handful of hit points between them, you're going to get pummeled on the regular. Just be liberal with your use of the save option and don't lose heart, things get (slightly) easier. I grew to admire how camps actually enhanced my gameplay rather than limited it, forcing me to re-consider that fireball in case I needed it later, and making me plan ahead with wands and scrolls rather than just the spells I might have memorised.

Back to the UI then. The interface is workable but clunky. You'll go back and forth between various screens to achieve even the simplest tasks. If I'm being honest, the UI is probably the only part of the game I'd scrap and rework. I can't think of any other part of the game that frustrated me as much as having to re-organise inventories. I know I'm doing negatives here, but the breadth of shortcut keys is a real win. The game is completely playable with just a keyboard (I think, I can't recall any part that relied on a mouse to work). For commands. each is nicely highlighted with the key letter being a different colour, and the excellent in-game help provides a nice run-down of some of the more obscure but useful keys.

Finally, quests are generic fantasy stuff. Slavers are bad, go here and fight orcs, kill a dragon, stab your way to glory through an entire army. If you're looking for a compelling story arc, look elsewhere. KotC boils down to choosing a location, going there, killing everything in satisfying ways, looting the place to hell, heading back to the castle to pawn your loot, resting, and talking shit with the wizard. If that gameplay loop sounds like fun, I happen to agree with you. If you're still not convinced, try the demo and make up your own mind.

VERDICT: An excellent turn based fantasy RPG. Light on the story and characters, but heavy on the underlying ruleset, tactical combat, and retro feels.

Final Word: An excellent turn based RPG, well worth the money. Don't let the retro looks or UI put you off.

(game link) (original website)