Athenian Rhapsody was offered by Nico Papalia / High Hat Studios for assessment. Thanks!
When you checked out Athenian Rhapsody and considered Undertale, you are not alone. It reeks of the same artwork model, with nice humor pushed all through character designs, dialog, and gameplay, and it feels overwhelmingly distinctive. It is laborious to not make comparisons with all of the similarities they share. One might even suppose this may very well be a “ripoff” of the breakout hit, however do not let this idiot you. Athenian Rhapsody is full of attraction, hilarious moments, an excellent gameplay loop, and a really distinctive function that units it aside from others within the style, making it effectively value your time.
Athenian Rhapsody oozes with attraction the second you begin the sport. The very first thing you do is take a quiz the place it’s a must to reply a slew of questions like how you’d react if a trainer accused you of dishonest on an examination or your favourite snack or what sort of object you’d be for those who weren’t human. You realize, the standard questions, after which you’re plopped down into Athens. The world has gotten grasping and feels the will to farm EXP, which comes from killing others, and meaning hurting others. Not everybody feels this fashion although, lots of people need to return to the previous methods of simply being mates with everybody. And that is the place you are available in.
The story shines via the loopy characters, bizarre situations, and hilarious conversations you’ll have. I fondly recall a number of my random conversations with folks all through the world, like Giga Franklin attempting to wow the group of clowns, a random man inviting me to deliver a pal to eat dinner, a satan named Horatio telling me his spouse left him, and a random standing cat that’s asking me who drank their “oinjuice.” There are such a lot of totally different enemies and conditions to get into, and all of them really feel fulfilling and entertaining.
This is likely one of the few video games the place I needed to cease and discuss to everybody I may. Seeing what everybody would say was intriguing and hilarious, and I used to be all right here for it. The occasions all through the sport have been all fascinating to a point, however what makes them really feel much more distinctive is how your playthroughs are recorded.
Athenian Rhapsody information your playthrough and saves it as a “Rhapsody,” which will be considered anytime. You possibly can see precisely how your playthrough went and each determination, motion, and occasion. There’s sufficient selection in order that no two Rhapsodies are alike, and you may share them with mates to see how they performed the sport. However additionally, you will be capable to mix them to create new Rhapsodies, which may make them extra thrilling and sophisticated, entry particular timed in-game occasion adventures, and extra. I’ve by no means seen a recreation with a mechanic like this, and whereas I did not get to discover it deeply, I really like the idea and stay up for testing it out extra after I share my Rhapsody with mates.
The gameplay is similar to video games like Earthbound and Undertale, however with the humor and weirdness cranked up considerably increased. You run all over the world, speaking to folks, preventing people, and secrets and techniques to find. The fight is similar to Undertale, the place you’ll be able to select to combat or befriend, and when the enemy is attacking, you’ll play a mini-game to keep away from their assault. The mini-games are very distinctive throughout all of the characters you’ll be able to combat, so no two enemies really feel the identical. And sure, the sport does have a number of endings, relying on what you do all through.
I really like that the sport does not have a definitive path, both. It feels very open concerning the choices you may make, which companions you need to take with you, and what occasions you need to observe via with and set off. This makes the entire Rhapsody system really feel much more significant since what you do is logged fully.
Now, I’ve some minor points, like restricted backpack house and a few mini-games being extraordinarily tough, however these are minor (and you may activate “Chill Mode” to ease up on a few of these). And to high all of it off, it is good for taking part in on the Steam Deck.
Athenian Rhapsody – Steam Deck Efficiency
There is not a lot to be mentioned about Athenian Rhapsody on the Steam Deck because it runs flawlessly! Simply booting into the sport, we’ll get 60 FPS and a 6W – 7W battery drain, supplying you with the utmost battery life you may get whereas enjoying a recreation! I am unable to say far more, nevertheless it’s an ideal expertise.
Accessibility
As for the settings, effectively, there actually aren’t many, however you do not want many to start with. You possibly can activate “Chill Mode” to make battles simpler; there is a assist space the place when you have a selected query listed, it will provide you with some data and a method to toggle auto working, menu sound results, and for those who present your armor on the participant.
The sport does not technically help 16:10 resolutions, however the recreation will stretch to cowl the highest and backside bars. There shall be black bars on the left and proper facet although, as a result of side ratio it makes use of, nevertheless it is not distracting. There are cloud saves and controller help. There aren’t any HDR settings.
Conclusion
At PAX East 2023 and 2024, I bought to fulfill the developer, Nico Papalia, and discuss to him loads about Athenian Rhapsody. It was one among my favourite video games on the occasion, and it is fantastic seeing the way it has turned out. The characters, world, and story are hilarious and have turned me into somebody who seeks out every particular person to see what they are saying. The gameplay is similar to Undertale, which is not a foul factor, and whereas it is not good, the problems are minor when in comparison with simply how fantastic the sport is.
As for taking part in on the Steam Deck, it’s good. It runs at 60 FPS, drains at 7W max, and provides us virtually the utmost battery life the Deck probably may. If you’re a fan of Earthbound, Undertale, or simply desire a comedic recreation, this can be a must-have so as to add to your libraries, and I extremely suggest it!
Our assessment is predicated on the PC model of this recreation.
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