AETHRA : Echoes Of The Forgotten

The beginning actually looked quite promising, but as I progressed, I started losing interest because there was too much dialogue and very little actual gameplay.

I don't think having a lot of narrative is necessarily a problem. The real issue is how it's integrated into the experience.

The mystery and dark atmosphere of the introduction caught my attention and made me interested in the game. However, once I gained control of my character, there was a noticeable contrast between that darker opening and the much warmer, almost childish atmosphere of the actual gameplay.

That change, combined with the excessive dialogue, made it harder for me to stay interested.

The quest objectives were clear, especially thanks to the panel below the HUD that showed me what I needed to do next.

However, the story was a different matter. As I mentioned before, there was so much dialogue that I sometimes lost track of what was happening in the narrative. It wasn't that the story was necessarily confusing, but the amount of information made it difficult to stay focused on it at times.

Yes, I noticed some localisation issues. I was playing in English, but not everything was translated, especially certain signs and interactive dialogue elements.

I also had problems with gamepad support. The controls felt quite uncomfortable, and not every interaction seemed properly configured to work with a controller.

Yes, the attacks and skills were easy enough to understand and use. I didn't have any problems figuring out how they worked.

However, the combat itself felt quite clunky and could definitely benefit from smoother animations and more responsive controls.

I enjoyed the exploration and especially the musical minigame. That was honestly my favourite part, haha. I wasn't expecting to find something like that, and it was a pleasant surprise.

What I enjoyed the least was spending time in the town and having so much dialogue with almost every NPC.

I don't think being able to interact with everyone is a bad thing, but I believe the information needs to be delivered more gradually. When most interactions are just long sections of text, the experience can become boring and repetitive.

First, the combat needs to feel smoother and more responsive. The attacks and skills are understandable, but using them doesn't feel particularly fluid.

Second, I think the narrative needs to be better integrated into the gameplay. Having to completely stop what I'm doing just to open a dialogue window and read through text breaks the immersion quite often. It would feel much more natural if some of that information could be delivered while I'm moving or interacting with the world, instead of constantly interrupting the gameplay.

Third, the controls need significant improvements. The keyboard layout feels uncomfortable, with some functions too close together while others are awkwardly far from the movement keys. It doesn't feel particularly intuitive.

Gamepad support also needs to be properly implemented. If someone chooses to play with a controller, they should be able to navigate menus, interact with objects and play the game comfortably without running into control limitations.