The RPG Codex reviewed Roadwarden:

New beginnings...

Role-playing games come in a lot of flavors, but as someone who plays them quite a bit, I can't help but feel that the genre has been distilled down to several formulas, and most new offerings are mere refinements of one of these. You have your tactical party-based RPGs, your open-world action RPGs, your jRPGs, and a few other variations. There is nothing wrong with that per se, as great games utilizing these formulas still pop up from time to time, but for an RPG veteran, things can seem stale after a while. But that makes it all the more exciting when occasionally, an RPG comes out that is quite different from anything else out there. An RPG like Roadwarden.

This game was released in September of 2022 by a small Polish company called Moral Anxiety Studio. It is a very text-heavy RPG in the style of a visual novel, somewhat similar to Disco Elysium in some ways, but different in others. As you play, the screen is split into three sections, the visual section on the left, the dialogue section in the middle, and the stats/options section on the right. The visual section shows you some charmingly drawn 2D graphics, contextual to whatever is going on at that moment. It could be the view of the village you are visiting at this time, or of some houses/inns, or a person or object that you are looking at. The dialogue section contains large blocks of text that you have to read through, and the options from which you can choose in order to interact with the world. The section on the right shows you your stats and menu options. It's all designed very cleanly and intuitively.

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The final word...

A typical playthrough of Roadwarden will likely take 30-40 hours, and during this time, because of the constraints mentioned above, you will not be able to do everything. But if you play well, you might be able to complete most of the missions that you receive, and feel good about the conclusion of your two main quests. As the game goes on, and your world map becomes more and more filled in with the settlements and roads and other points of interest that you found, you will likely feel a great sense of satisfaction, just like I did, of exploring a challenging and atmospheric world where your actions really made some kind of a difference. The game is also replayable because not everything can be done in one playthrough, but it might be a good idea to wait some time between sessions, since so much of the game is tied to the exploration and in-game lore. In conclusion, in a time when many RPGs are stale rehashes of the same old formulas, the developers of Roadwarden brought in a breath of fresh air and in the opinion of yours truly, created a modern classic.

Soola spotted the final update of Roadwarden:

The Final Update

It's been a fantastic journey!
Dear Travelers,

It’s been two years since Roadwarden’s release. I can’t believe that over this time my humble game passed 3000 reviews on Steam - I’m honored to know that my stories keep reaching new ears.

For this anniversary I prepared a final bug-fixing patch. Nothing too large - most of the addressed issues were either typos or misplaced lines of text, like when the game used to display almost identical paragraphs in Creeks, or it put a “0” in the journal instead of a summary of one of the quests.

The other fixes include, but are not excluded to:

• When discussing the job, Photios now mentions correctly that he wants you to approach him right after dawn, instead of dusk,
• The healing ritual (available to mages only) now works as intended when you pay for rest in Gale Rocks,
• Foggy got slightly more responsive when asking her about one of the tribes,
• It’s now more clear that one of the dialogue options makes you abandon the “Missing Hunters” quest.
• All of these issues were kindly pointed out to me by the players. Thank you so much.

While it’s possible that, in the future, Roadwarden will receive some sort of a hotfix, right now I believe that this is the final version of the game and Roadwarden will not receive any new content.

I’m aware that every now and then some players encounter a bug related to drivers, operating system, or code processing that makes either launching or running the game impossible. I’m so sorry to read about these cases, and I tried my best to fix these issues, though I don’t have the capabilities to eliminate them properly. I’m sorry.

[...]

The text-based RPG Roadwarden is very successful - tweet:

Thank you for giving Roadwarden a chance. Thank you. x100 000.

The Scarlett Seeker checked out Roadwarden:

Roadwarden | Indie RPG Adventure

Eurogamer has reviewed the text-based RPG Roadwarden:

Roadwarden review - one of the finest historical fantasies you'll play

Beating paths.

A beautifully structured, rich and thoughtful adventure with gentle but decisive RPG elements.

You spend a lot of your time in Roadwarden tracing the footsteps of the previous roadwarden - a man named Asterion sent, like you, into a swampy, forested peninsula to safeguard the paths against beasts and the elements, tend to a handful of villages, and assess the region's resources on behalf of a merchant guild back in the big city. Asterion haunts the peninsula much like the protagonist’s identity in Disco Elysium - a game with which Roadwarden has much in common, for all its Robin Hobb-esque historical fantasy backdrop. He exists now as a trail of unkept promises, deliveries not made, conversations unfinished and grand plans that seemingly went nowhere.

I admit, when I started the game I felt a little contemptuous of him. Roadwarden's setting is hardly gigantic – dredged map node by node from the fog of war, it consists of a single road looping a dense, watchful wilderness – and many of the problems you encounter seem trifling. A monk awaits a package of fine quills. A couple of foragers need help lassoing and subduing a massive, flightless bird. A carpenter wants you to shore up a ford. This isn't Dragon Age or Skyrim, but a deceptively sleepy choose-your-own adventure with deceptively delicate RPG appendages, its locations consisting of terse yet evocative descriptions and nested dialogue choices, beautiful eight-colour isometric dioramas and a soundtrack of animal sounds and melancholy guitar. 

[...]

The text-based RPG Roadwarden will be released today:

Who or what is a Roadwarden?
You are a Roadwarden, a brave stranger putting their life in danger to make a difference in a grim fantasy world. While most people would never risk a solitary journey through the wilder parts of the land, you willingly accept the struggle. You guard travellers, connect isolated villages, support merchants, and repel attacking creatures, bandits, or even undead.

What's the story about?
A powerful merchant guild has called on your services, sending you on a journey into the unknown planes of a mysterious peninsula in the hopes to expand the guild’s influence even further. You are meant to explore this place and gather as much information as possible to reveal the secrets surrounding the area. It’s a dangerous task, but an equally respectable one.
Other then that, your character will pursue a unique goal selected by you, such as wealth or fame. But do you have the courage to meet all the requirements that define a roadwarden?

How to play?
Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG that uses isometric pixel art and combines mechanics borrowed from RPGs, Visual Novels, adventure games, and interactive fiction, such as inventory puzzles, dialogue choices, character abilities and progression, hit points. simple survival mechanics. or quests restricted by in-game time.

Explore and change the world!
Discover the secrets and face the vast challenges of a hostile fantasy world – inevitably unveiling its uniquely fierce lore.

Grow with the challenge!
Create your own background, abilities, beliefs, and personality to shape your very own future as a roadwarden.

Classical attitude!
Prepare yourself for an adventurous journey, either as a warrior, mage, or scholar and define your character‘s attitudes, like friendly, playful or intimidating, during interactions with NPCs.

Get lost in conversation!
Immerse yourself in profound dialogues and sidequests with dozens of NPCs to gain their trust and support.

Mysteries unfold!
Use your savvy and be witty when investigating and drawing your conclusions to understand the true nature of this world.

Overcome your weaknesses!
The world is full of dangers and nobody can be trusted. Be the roadwarden you want to be and find your path to success against all odds! 

Rock Paper Shotgun has reviewed the upcoming text-based RPG Roadwarden:

Roadwarden review: a beautifully written visit to a mystery-filled peninsula

With a very good horse

I keep thinking about Roadwarden like a tourist city that I visited for not quite long enough. Sure, I saw the main sights and had a great time soaking in the ambiance, but I know that I missed so many hidden gems. I want to go back and explore, maybe this time with a local guide who knows its secrets.

At its most basic, Roadwarden is a text-based RPG. You play as the titular roadwarden, who sets out from the city to investigate an unmapped peninsula with little more than their horse for company. Your goal as set by the people who sent you is to investigate the region and report your findings in preparation for the expansion of trade guilds in the area. But you can also set your own goal, shaping your character’s approach from the start in a way that helps with roleplaying a particular kind of adventurer throughout. And once you get to that adventuring, dozens of sidequests open up covering everything from gathering fruit to curing the plague.

[...]

But at the same time, if that fan wiki were available, I would want to avoid it, at least for my first playthrough. So much of what I enjoyed about Roadwarden was its unknowability. You’re a traveller in the peninsula for a little over a month, and it reflects that. You can’t fix every problem, you can’t make everyone happy, and you can’t know everything there is to know. Instead, you take in as much of it as you can, try to improve people’s lots slightly, and leave with a journal full of questions and sense memories.

I Dream of Indie Games reviewed the upcoming Roadwarden:

Roadwarden Review - I Dream of Indie Games

Greetings Indie Warriors and welcome to our review of Roadwarden on Steam/PC! Roadwarden is a text-based adventure game from developer Moral Anxiety Studio and publisher Assemble Entertainment.

Couchpotato interviewed Aureus, the developer of Roadwarden.

Link to article

Morale Anxiety Studio and Assemble Entertainment shared a new trailer for Roadwarden. The game will be released on September 8. A demo is available now on Steam:

Roadwarden gets Release date! - New Trailer and new Demo on Steam available now!

Roadwarden will be released September 8, 2022! - New Trailer and new Demo now available here on Steam!

Roadwarden, our illustrated text-based RPG by indie dev Moral Anxiety Studio is hitting the old dusty trail on September 8, 2022, coming to Steam with support on Windows PC, Mac, and Linux.

Today, Roadwarden’s release date announcement is accompanied by an all-new trailer and an official demo now available on Steam.

Roadwarden merges elements of high fantasy and medieval adventure and is punctuated by a distinct isometric pixel art style. Combining mechanics borrowed from RPGs, visual novels, and interactive fiction, Roadwarden tells the tale of an explorer hired by a powerful merchant guild, tasked with journeying to a mysterious peninsula to spread the guild’s influence. With over 40 hours of gameplay, dialogue choices that branch into hundreds of thousands of text lines, and progressively upgradable character abilities, Roadwarden is a truly epic and unique adventure experience where no two playthroughs are alike. 

[...]

Thanks Redgyph!

The Visual Novel / Text Adventure Roadwarden will be released in September. Follow the devs here at RPGWatch:

Roadwarden

Who or what is a Roadwarden?
You are a Roadwarden, a brave stranger putting their life in danger to make a difference in a grim fantasy world. While most people would never risk a solitary journey through the wilder parts of the land, you willingly accept the struggle. You guard travellers, connect isolated villages, support merchants, and repel attacking creatures, bandits, or even undead.

What's the story about?
A powerful merchant guild has called on your services, sending you on a journey into the unknown planes of a mysterious peninsula in the hopes to expand the guild’s influence even further. You are meant to explore this place and gather as much information as possible to reveal the secrets surrounding the area. It’s a dangerous task, but an equally respectable one.
Other then that, your character will pursue a unique goal selected by you, such as wealth or fame. But do you have the courage to meet all the requirements that define a roadwarden?

How to play?
Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG that uses isometric pixel art and combines mechanics borrowed from RPGs, Visual Novels, adventure games, and interactive fiction, such as inventory puzzles, dialogue choices, character abilities and progression, hit points. simple survival mechanics. or quests restricted by in-game time.

Explore and change the world!
Discover the secrets and face the vast challenges of a hostile fantasy world – inevitably unveiling its uniquely fierce lore.

Grow with the challenge!
Create your own background, abilities, beliefs, and personality to shape your very own future as a roadwarden.

Classical attitude!
Prepare yourself for an adventurous journey, either as a warrior, mage, or scholar and define your character‘s attitudes, like friendly, playful or intimidating, during interactions with NPCs.

Get lost in conversation!
Immerse yourself in profound dialogues and sidequests with dozens of NPCs to gain their trust and support.

Mysteries unfold!
Use your savvy and be witty when investigating and drawing your conclusions to understand the true nature of this world.

Overcome your weaknesses!
The world is full of dangers and nobody can be trusted. Be the roadwarden you want to be and find your path to success against all odds!