I stumbled upon SKALD while searching for small indie RPGs released recently. You know, to explore and chill. The pixel art caught my eye, and the screenshots gave me nostalgic Lands of Lore vibes. Boy, did I love Lands of Lore! The affordable price tag sealed the deal for me.

To my surprise, SKALD was far from a retro game and delivered a vibrant gameplay experience, a compelling story, and an astonishing atmosphere. Seriously, it felt like I struck gold. It's the kind of game that other titles should aspire to emulate.

SKALD is a classic party-based RPG with a partially open world. The player travels through various locations, completes quests, and defeats enemies. Occasionally, they solve puzzles and interact with NPCs. It might sound like a standard genre experience, but the execution sets this game apart from the rest in its genre.

🟢 Surprisingly Modern Gameplay
Don’t let the retro cover fool you! Beneath it lies a lively and modern gameplay loop, with solid character progression, an interesting magic system, and a remarkable combat tempo. With each level-up, you can genuinely feel the progression and strength of your characters.

Combat, in particular, is one of SKALD's strongest points. It’s fast-paced and challenging at times, but not teeth-grindingly difficult, at least on Normal difficulty. No foe is a threat to a well-built party here — unless they’re elemental slimes, of course…

Exploration is no less engaging than other gameplay aspects. Despite the simplistic visuals, locations are filled with secrets, loot, and lore tidbits. Remarkably, throughout my ~20-hour playthrough, I never felt the urge to rush through any location.

🟢 Top-Notch Writing
The premise is pretty simple: the daughter of some minor lord goes missing on a distant archipelago of a fantasy kingdom. The protagonist is tasked with retrieving her, whether for money, recognition, or an old friendship. However, things don’t go well: a sea monster sinks your ship, and something strange and sinister is afoot on the islands.

A familiar story, right? SKALD shines in its details: the plot takes several unexpected yet pleasantly predictable turns; text descriptions and dialogues are carefully crafted, avoiding information overload; the world’s stories and mysteries are perfectly balanced to maintain intrigue. Also, the game repeatedly proves that you don’t need an extensive biography to fall in love with its characters.

The person behind SKALD has been running fantastic TTRPG sessions for years, I’m convinced of this!

🟢 The Ending to Remember
I must mention that SKALD has a sudden and incredibly bold ending that took me by surprise. It’s not what you’d expect from a simple, classic adventure's conclusion. Well, maybe Lovecraft, but certainly not Giger. It was delightful!

Honestly, I sincerely hope the creator has many more stories up their sleeve. Stories of this world, or somehow connected to it. I want to know how the events of Against the Black Priory will impact the setting. Will they even, at all?

🟢 Summertime Eeriness
The game’s vibe is cozy, melancholic... and eerie! The developer masterfully builds suspense and horror using all available tools: narrative, locations, illustrations, and music — all creating a truly enchanting atmosphere that sticks with you for a long time.

Perfect for these warm summer evenings!

🟡 Excessive Combat, Sometimes
The sheer number of combat encounters the player can experience in the latter half of the game can frustrate sometimes. It’s my only minor gripe with this game. The story intensifies, and you’re eager to uncover all the chilling secrets of these barren lands… but then your party gets ambushed by dogs. Or crabs. Or slimes.

Defeating them isn’t challenging, and I understand the purpose: to trade resources for some precious experience… Still, I found myself shamelessly avoiding all optional battles towards the end of the game.