Truth in Advertising: You get to Forge Lanterns
Lantern Forge is exactly the kind of game that sneaks up on me. It's got Depths of Peril levels of hidden complexity, and while it might seem like a casual game at first, this one took up a surprising amount of building energy for something with such a childlike interface.
At first you'll be doing the traditional scrounging for materials (sticks/stones/logs) and progression up the standard Stone -> Copper -> Iron chain that's been popular for some years now. It won't be long, however, until the depth of the crafting engine becomes notable. It can take a little while to get used to the requirements, but very soon you'll be bootstrapping your way up an enjoyable chain with several different and well-implemented crafting chains, including Tailoring, Smithing, Woodworking, Cooking, Jewelcraft, Enchanting, and Alchemy.
LF really shines when it comes to organizing and hoarding. If you love a good OCD sort-fest this game has it all, shiny gems, appealing ores and ingots in a variety of metals. You can spend plenty of time just enchanting the 'Perfect' set of gear, and the standard Blizzard-style enchantment gradation will be familiar to anyone who's played a CRPG in the last 15 years.
Crafting's a methodical and enjoyable process, with many different kinds of Wood, Cloth, and so forth, but the game really comes alive when the farming gets going. I don't enjoy Farmville much, but this game made it feel natural to clear and till land. With the added fun of battling the Hunger and Sleep mechanics, this game comes out to a well balanced hybrid of several important styles, well-delivered and fun for even a jaded veteran of a thousand games. Newcomers to the genre can expect an enjoyably paced experience that provides lots of sandbox freedom without being overwhelming.
The Survival/Sandbox aspect is mitigated strongly by a trading/commerce game that's quite fun to play. I enjoyed bringing in bumper crops of Carrots and Pumpkins early in the game to purchase ores that were located underground in more dangerous areas. For non-violent players it's remarkably easy to advance simply by Crafting and Farming, though the ease of gaining loot from the dungeons will eventually drive anyone to goblin-hunting.
The dungeons are massive and of course fully procedural. The game's not infinite but the amount of space is more than should ever really be needed for a single player game. You have ~100 levels of dungeon to explore (and build in, if you wish), as well as an expansive overland map. The resource distribution is well thought out and you neither speed through the levels nor find yourself overly delayed by any need for rare materials. Ultimately it was the smooth progression between the equipment tiers that I found most enjoyable about this game.
The Character Creation system certainly created replayability for me. I went with a Magic User at first, and then restarted to try a Crafter-Adventurer. There's some depth to the combinatorial system and I would enjoy making a whole new character even now. I'd love to see this expanded on, there's a lot of potential to Lantern Forge's character development and it creates for versatility in gameplay without overmuch complexity in selection, making the game accessible to players with different levels of prior RPG experience.
The Game's a great deal on steam at only $10, and if you play games to decompress it's a perfect buy. The idyllic little town created during the natural progression of the game is quite friendly. The game's also a great way to introduce younger gamers to standard systems, without subjecting them to unreasonable challenges or frustrating mechanics.
You can find Lantern Forge at any of these fine locations:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/314380/
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If you like RPG games and enjoy game design please check out the experimental MMORPG Brunelleschi: Age of Architects , Thanks for reading!
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