Some games try and do simple things and end up creating something special in the process. And sometimes the opposite occurs and we get a game that tries to be special but falls short and this is where the Action RPG Batora: Lost Haven, from Stormind Games, ends up. It is a game that tries to be great but just cannot pull it off with a result that has hints of what could have been.
To start off, Batora: Lost Have’s Action RPG elements are extremely lacklustre and practically nonexistent, with the game ending up a generic action game that happens to have a level system and some stat increases. It would be far more accurate to call this a linear level-based action game with objectives and simplistic puzzles. That would be fine as a game on its own if it was not for the combat that just drags everything down.
This is a combat-focused game and uses a polarity swap mechanic that sees you go into a mental form to use ranged attacks against purple enemies, or a physical form that uses melee attacks against orange enemies. The combat is incredibly repetitive and while both forms have a dodge and will gain new abilities throughout the game, it never feels like it is anything special. The problem is just how clunky and frustrating the combat is, with an annoying and basic nature that feels like it wants to be doing more but just cannot pull it off and ends up just doing the bare minimum instead.
It is not just the combat that is a problem as the puzzles are so mundane and simple that they feel insulting at times. The upgrade mechanic that allows you to equip different runes to gain power should have been a great way to bring in RPG elements but even this is flawed. You will gain Defender or Conqueror points from your moral choices in the game, but that is a deeply flawed system and ends up not making a real difference in the gameplay and being held down by the story in the end. Batora: Lost Haven tried to make up for this with its story, but this was laughable at best. The dialogue was hammy and funny for the wrong reasons, irritating at times, and had no weight to it whatsoever. The characters just act like idiots who got in their way and I ended up recalling the eight deadly words because I did not care what happened to these characters.
Batora: Lost Haven tries to make the story full of deep moral choices but even this does not work since the choices are not compelling and the consequences are poorly realized. Part of this is due to how characters will act one way until you perform an action and then suddenly act like they were written by a different person who was unaware of what the previous writer had planned. Another problem is that the game tries to make the choices have weight but just fumbles the ball when it comes to showing consequences and cannot figure things out.
Ultimately. Batora: Lost Haven tried to elevate its gameplay with some neat ideas, but just could not make the final product work. This is a failure of an action RPG and the combat just does not work as an action game either, with a laughably bad story. Just avoid this one.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
