LONG LIVE REALMS OF ARKANIA

Most of the highly rated reviews about this game cover its flaws in an appropriate manner, especially the state in which it was released and the inherent limitations, flaws, and shortcomings of the core Pen & Paper RPG system behind it.

I’m writing this review just to stress a particular point: after several years of its release – and a long road of patches and DLCs – Blade of Destiny can provide an incredibly unique gaming experience.

Granted, this doesn’t negate the fact that you’ll have to master a learning curve quite different from most RPG games. Especially if you never played the original from the 90s. That alone is probably the number one factor why most people don’t give Realms of Arkania a fair shot.

The most benevolent critics will call it ‘an acquired taste at best’ or ‘not for everyone’. They’re not wrong. But if you can put yourself to the task and power through, you will experience a very particular brand of immersion. Something that I honestly never felt playing any other RPG in more than 30 years of gaming.

Blade of Destiny, in the state it is now, can offer a level of freedom, party customization and micro-managing that, after learning the ropes, feels unmatched. It’s a similar feeling of breaking the difficulty barrier in Dark Souls or UnderRail.

If you can take my word for it and apply yourself, the experience will be more than worth it. Realms of Arkania is one of the most unique franchises in gaming history, almost in a category of its own, and this remake, in the end, managed to elevate and secure its place in the RPG cosmos.