Fallen Legion: Revenants Review – INITIAL INTRIGUE, QUICK DISSAPOINTMENT
Fallen Legion: Revenants is a side-scrolling action RPG with strategy elements and was created by developer Yummy Yummy Tummy Inc… awesome name!! It kicks off by introducing you to one of the main characters, Rowena. She used to be the chancellor of Welkin Castle and was then executed by Ivor for treason. However, her iron will to save her son keeps her tied to the world as a Revenant. You are then introduced to the other main character, Lucien. He is a crafty politician and steward who’s planning a coup to overthrow the Tyrant, Ivor. Over the course of the game, Rowena and Lucien work together to battle the powerful warden of Welkin Castle.
From the very beginning, Fallen Legion: Revenants really draws you in with its intriguing playstyle and RPG elements. Like learning about the different Exemplars you can play as. Investigating the castle which acts as your hub-like area. Studying the different Archeus and Master abilities and analysing the various enemies you’ll face in battle. However, after this initial intrigue starts to wear off, the proceedings take a sudden, drastic turn for the worse.
Gameplay (Battles)
Even though I found it interesting at first, the formula stays the exact same 13 hours in. It doesn’t evolve or build. Very early on, it became very apparent that you can play by either systematically using your Exemplars to continuously take out the enemy, or you can just sit there with your thumb over the three attack buttons and literally button-mash your way through. There are no bad consequences.
This takes a lot of the enjoyment out of Fallen Legion: Revenants, as there are absolutely no penalties whatsoever. Yes, you can use different exemplars to exploit weaknesses. However, when you spam the attack buttons you can just casually cast a healing spell with Rowena, depleting only 1 of her 4 mana bars. Since it is so easy to earn mana back, you can consistently button-mash, then quickly heal when the party’s in danger. You’ll hardly ever fully deplete the mana bar.
Gameplay (Castle Area)
The other part of the gameplay involves controlling Lucien in the castle, either in between battles or sometimes even halfway through them. In between battles, the castle acts kind of like a hub area. I liked the thought behind this, especially with the oracle you can talk to, who lets you change settings, go back in time and save the game. Although again, like the rest of the game, the hub itself is quite minimal. There are only 4 rooms: the Main Hall, Library, Chapel and Warehouse. Each area has a couple of NPC’s to interact with, except I honestly wouldn’t suggest continuously talking to them. As they just have the exact same dialogue every, single time you speak with them, until the chapter changes.
Even though I found it interesting at first, the formula stays the exact same 13 hours in.
The one interesting aspect of the gameplay is how well they join these two different parts. Halfway through battles, you are regularly taken back to Lucien in the castle to investigate for information, convince other people to vote with you, or to do something sly and sneaky. This in turn can impact not only what happens to Lucien later on in the story, but also how Rowena fares too. Not to mention that it is sometimes deceptively hard to complete everything needed within the time allotted. To be frank, this part of the gameplay is surprisingly pretty great.
At the same time, because of how much Fallen Legion: Revenants is centered on combat and how easy it is to win, there’s hardly any drive left from the player to delve deeper into the complexity of its mechanics. Plus, because of the repeated dialogue, the only options Lucien has in the castle are to change the Archeus, or mastery ability, and then continue onto the next battle. This means that most of the gameplay is just hours of pointless button-mashing.
Boss Battles
On the other hand, the boss battles are ok. Some bosses are just stronger versions of normal enemies. However, there are a couple that actually tests you out a little more than usual. Like this whale. Which was an absolute pain in the…….. Well never mind. This boss fight is initially one of the harder ones early on until you find out exactly what you need to do. And once you eventually work it out, you’ll end up smacking yourself in the head for how easy the boss really is.
With the way the story works and the way that they have set up the different endings, this ultimately leads the game to lean heavily on the replayability factor in trying to find new endings.
Narrative
Now in regards to the narrative, the story itself is actually alright. It follows Rowena and Lucien quite closely and weaves in between the two of them seamlessly. Also, as mentioned earlier, depending on which decisions you make throughout the game, this will determine what happens later. It’s all done very well and led to me finishing a storyline relatively quickly. Meaning I could return to the oracle and start over to find a new ending. However, that is where the real problem lies.
With the way the story works and the way that they have set up the different endings, this ultimately leads the game to lean heavily on the replayability factor in trying to find new endings. Because of this, the experience quickly felt rather redundant. What ends up happening is that the story pushes you to keep replaying and find alternate endings. While the gameplay just stagnates, making it a real slog to get through. That being said, there are two aspects of this title where the developers really showed off their skills, the art style and music.
Art Style and Music
The art style just works for this type of side-scrolling RPG. I thought everything was very well designed, especially with the still images. All the characters and Exemplars are easy on the eyes and each character has their own unique look to them. The backgrounds are visually striking and all work in tandem with this Revenant’s overall tone. Keeping it consistent, while also adding slight new details here and there to help spice up the visuals. The music also just spoke to what was happening in the game. Whether you were in the castle or out in the deep, dark woods. It did a great job of backing up what you saw, improving the overall atmosphere and further immersing the player in the world of Fallen Legion: Revenants.
Now look, before you blast me in the comments, I understand that there are some dedicated fans of this franchise. However, when I can casually sit in a chair and win battle after battle without even having to look at the screen, then there is definitely something wrong. Getting through 13 hours of this game was tiresome, with every battle feeling the exact same, almost every time. However, it wasn’t a complete dud all around, as there are some redeeming aspects to be found along the way… Just don’t hold your breath.
When I can casually sit in a chair and win battle after battle without even having to look at the screen, then there is definitely something wrong.
Decision
Only give this title a shot if you’re a fan of the series. I think those who enjoy the Fallen Legion franchise will appreciate this game as much as the previous ones. The story is well written and the decisions do matter. The art style is on point and the music is catchy. However, for someone who is new to this franchise, I would say… stay away. Although you may find aspects of this title fun and enjoyable, the majority of Revenants is mainly just the button-mashy battles. Because of the repetitiveness, it very quickly becomes a major disappointment.
Reviewed By Dillon Van Der Putten
Playable
Yes, Fallen Legion: Revenants does a good job in all departments apart from the gameplay. The art style, music, story. All have been done rather well with the Music being the best part of this game. However, whenever a game has deplorable gameplay it will always have a significant impact on the feel of the game. And when the gameplay takes up the majority of your playtime, it’s kind of hard to ignore.
This game was reviewed using a download code provided by NIS America. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.
Pingback: It Takes Two Review - THE BEST CO-OP GAME? | The Beta Network