RPGFan has reviewed the the action RPG Shattered – Tale of the Forgotten King:

Shattered – Tale of the Forgotten King

The release of Demon’s Souls in 2009 has become a very clear dividing line in video game history. Its success spawned a new genre that has sparked the imaginations of many a developer, including the folks behind Shattered – Tale of the Forgotten King. Successfully Kickstarted in December 2016, this game came out of Early Access on Steam in February 2021 — a testament to developer Redlock Studio‘s dedication to finishing the journey. I’ve got very limited experience with the genre, but something about this game made me feel like it might be a good time to change that.

In Shattered – Tale of the Forgotten King, you play as a nameless “Wanderer,” traveling a world that has been torn apart during an effort to overthrow a God-king…or something. There’s very little story to be had during most of the game, and what you get is intentionally mysterious. Unfortunately, the story comes so infrequently and in such small bites that the mystery never gets much resolution unless you keep notes for yourself outside of the game or have a much better memory for unconnected names and details than I do.

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The one upside of exploring this world over and over is that it is gorgeous. There is a large overworld connecting a handful of equally large “dungeons,” all of which are very different from each other, and most of which include at least one spot where you can just stop and look down over an amazing landscape. Enemies are frequent in the dungeons, but the overworld is mostly devoid of opponents, save points, or information about what you should be doing. You simply slog through the directionless landscape, hoping to find a path to something that looks like somewhere you should be going.

The overworld is also a very quiet place, only punctuated by the sounds of your occasional combat, but the dungeons all have good music that fits the locations well. Although there may not be a lot of different pieces on the soundtrack, I’d still happily listen to it despite my frustrations with the gameplay.

I really wanted to like Shattered – Tale of the Forgotten King, and there are definitely aspects of this game that are praiseworthy, but it wore me down through the constant repetition of fighting the same enemies with the same tactics and the frequent feeling of not knowing where exactly I was or where I was supposed to go. I’m sure there’s more to discover than I did by the time I found my way to a bad ending and the closing credits, but I don’t think I’ll be able to bring myself to dive back in and uncover it.

Score: 65/100

The Souls-like RPG Shattered - Tale of the Forgotten King has been released today:

Shattered - Tale of the Forgotten King Official Release Trailer

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Dive in a dark science-fantasy tale, fight your way through the ruins and recover your memory. Welcome to Hypnos, dear Wanderer…

Shattered - Tale of the Forgotten King is now available as a Steam Early Access title.

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Put on the Wanderer's coat and explore strange worlds adrift within the void. Retrace the fall of an entire civilization through the testimonies of its rare survivors in Shattered - Tale of the Forgotten King, an adventure game mixing exploration and boss fight.

Between dreamy exploration and epic battles

In the world of Hypnos, a wide continent scattered with huge fortresses and cities in ruins is yours to roam. Switch between 2.5D and 3D phases and dive into the story of a forgotten universe where fierce opponents await. To reach victory, precision in your movements and observation of your enemies will be vital. Are you ready, Wanderer?

Features:

• Several zones to explore: A semi-open world in which you can walk several paths. You can choose the one that suits you. Or choose to discover new ones.
• Terrible bosses to fight: Observe them and learn to anticipate their moves. The timing of your assaults and parries will be crucial to your victory.
• Constant progression: May it be by crushing enemies or discovering new areas, you'll have the possibility of making the Wanderer evolve. Will you choose to level up, buy new equipment or purchase more lore items to learn everything about Hypnos?

« I had travelled through forgotten paths for days, weeks and months to reach the Thousand-Door Palace. A place where only silence reigned now. Where the wind had stopped and the tides retreated with the Great Rift. The great Departure.

And here stood before me this towering beauty of onyx and obsidian - the divine home where once echoed every whisper of the world. So vast that the greatest city of any kingdom would only be an anteroom in comparison. Peculiar green lights shone from inside the building, pulsating though the circular openings in the floating columns. The lost reverberations of an empty throne...

And here I was, bathed in my mist of past and future memories, standing in this mythical place that remained, still. The only location anyone in Hypnos could have found with no map or compass back when the King still reigned.

And I Remember the Silence In My Soul.
The Bitter Raindrops In the Wind. »

Thanks Farflame!