[LPC] Game Review: Unsealed

I’ve been reviewing Liberated Pixel Cup Games. This is one of 48 Games.

Disclaimer: Since this was my game entry, this review was written by Michael Kummer, one of the game devs of Learn2D. Thanks Michael!

Unsealed: Whispers of Wisdom (An Action RPG) [Game Entry] [Github Repository] [Game Website]

Nushio put together a remarkably fun, amusing, well packaged, and easy to run Java game. The first time I played it I got addicted to the battle mode and accidentally skipped the story mode which comprises the majority of the game.

There are currently 3 distinct chapters which tell a story that drives your progress as Lidia the Spellweaver. She unseals magical penguins who preside over the land as a guardians. Yes, that’s right, you heard me, penguins (Linux). I thought it was hilarious too. The game is full of puns and references to Linux.

The story component is fairly extensive and is a great motivation to continue the game. It did seem strange (at first) that the character moves on her own accord. However, he pulled off quite nicely and I’d now prefer it that way, except it’s a tad slow. It made me rethink freeroaming games that just throw you into a world and tell you to figure it out. Rather, I had no questions about what I had to do except continue reading this interesting and hilarious tale. It plays a bit more like an interactive novel where you get to be the hero during the action scenes.

The first battle is a bout with snakes and is really difficult! I died many times trying to get accustomed to the controls and then a few more. Luckily, he’s kind enough to just let you restart the battle from where you left off. I will say that, in general the battles are too hard. However that’s kind of a good thing. It’s very much a skill based game and it’s the right level of difficulty for most gamers. It’d be disappointing if it were too easy.

I’ve never seen this battle system before and as far as I can tell it is completely new. It’s impossible to be cheap in it and use poor programming to your advantage. This guy knew what he was doing. This battle system is very entertaining. It combines a turn based feel with real time play and good controls. The current game has 3×3 battle grids but larger ones are possible.

There was a LOT of the LPC art in this game. They even made their own stuff! The only LPC art that I didn’t see, didn’t belong in this type of game. Apparently, there was a good deal of art that nearly made it to the deadline but was left out. It definitely had the full retro feel music and all. This was a good team: 1 developer, 3 artists, 1 mapper.

There are plans to continue development and it may soon be coming to Android! The simplistic controls make it a great game to play on a mobile.

This is a great project and I look forward to continued development. I suspect that this entry has a very good chance of winning the LPC coding challenge but only time will tell!