Re:Legend (Computer)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): September 6, 2022
- Release Date (EU): September 6, 2022
- Publisher: 505 Games
- Developer: Magnus Games Studio
- Genres: Co-op simulation RPG, monster-taming, action
Game Features:
After launching as a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 and spending some years in Early Access, RPG title Re:Legend from Malaysia-based indie studio Magnus Games Studio is now available to play in its entirety on PC (console launch is also planned for a future release). The story starts off when your character, the forever relatable blank slate of the castaway, ends up on the shore of Vokka island. Upon recovery in the hospital and discovering your surroundings, the island turns out to be full of surprises with anthropomorphic inhabitants, mythical creatures called Magnus and ghosts! But there’s also an evil force lurking in the land and your memories to recover… It’s now up to you to explore the island and solve its mysteries.
Re:Legend’s plot might sound familiar, if not generic; and it does share similar overarching themes with other RPG titles. However, the setting stands on its own as it is a mashup of elements from different titles packaged in a cute, chibi art style. You won’t only explore Vokka island but will need to survive on it. Early on, you’ll be housed in an abandoned farm which you can tend after: growing crops, preparing meals and selling your surplus. You’ll also be able to organise your house’s interior, go fishing to populate your pond and craft new equipment for when you venture out.
When you do venture out, you will be able to do so with your tameable Magnus which you can mount and which can also assist you in combat in varying areas ranging from underwater sections to dark caves. Combat plays out in real time against varied, environment-themed enemies and is coupled with the standard JRPG mechanics such as a skill tree, consumables and equipment. Re:Legend also supports up to 4 player co-op that adds a layer of fun (and assistance) to those battles.
Outside of farming and combat, you’ll be able to mingle with the inhabitants of Vokka, engage in conversation, participate in local events and increase your affinity with them. There’s even a marriage system should a particular villager catch your eye! Oh, and did I mention that, on top of exploring on foot or on the back of your Magnus, you can swim too? Yes you can!
I was positively surprised by how feature rich this indie RPG title is. Its blend of exploration, farming, combat, farming and monster taming plays well together. And the chibi aesthetics adds a wholesome vibe to the package.
However, packing all these features comes with the related info dump at the outset. Tutorials are accessible from the menu but the mechanics can easily feel overwhelming.
On top of the exploration, resource scavenging, farming and monster taming, there's a day/night cycle to bear in mind. You’ll need to sleep early to recover stamina as performing actions, whether it’s to chop down a tree or engage in combat, use up your stamina’s SP gauge.
Even if I tend to prefer dynamic, real-time combat over turn-based ones, the latter might have made for a better feature in Re:Legend considering its controls. In particular, consumables are cumbersome to use as they need to be equipped from the menu, selected from your tools menu (while in battle) and then consumed by pressing X. It’s a lot of extra steps that could have been avoided by simply enabling the consumption of items from the menu itself. Alternatively, this could have been remedied with a turn-based system to make the process less stressful (and it does get stressful in the heat of combat and you’re running low on health). In this way, the controls don’t feel that well optimised for real-time combat.
Sure, this does add to the challenge but it comes with a considerable learning curve as such controls aren’t very common in RPGs. Ultimately, I found such an approach to not be very convenient but there is an old school vibe that could appeal to some.
Also old school is the tiresome need to grind. I came across this quite early on, when encountering the first boss fight. The latter was unexpectedly tough and I had to resort to levelling up and boosting my skills by facing weaker opponents instead. The first boss’ challenge caught me unawares, especially given the cutesy, innocent look of the game.
In addition, respawning at the hospital after every defeat can get testing, especially at the beginning when you are still learning the ropes. When you do respawn, your health and SP aren’t fully replenished either, so you either have to pay for that or sleep at your house to refill these gauges. During the opening segments, this leads to some need to backtrack and breaks the flow of a challenging boss battle. Luckily, fast travel points do unlock later that helps remedy the backtracking.
Somewhat related is a not very ideal way to revive your Magnus in battle. You need to keep holding A while next to it but this takes time and your enemies won’t wait for you to complete the action. This often results in a defeat and respawning at the hospital until you’ve levelled up enough to proceed.
Combined with the iffy controls, the challenge didn’t feel too balanced to me. However, this did make me be more cautious during my playthrough. I’ve been paying better attention at properly levelling up, crafting the right equipment and preparing health restoring meals to bring on my ventures in Vokka. The challenging combat is also a way to entice co-op which can make battles more approachable.
Considering that Re:Legend is the debut title by Magnus Games Studios, it does show potential from the developers. It’s surprisingly feature-rich and has a decent interplay of the elements it borrowed from other titles; and even if, for better or worse, it has an old-school touch to it. As an indie RPG though, it might be worth checking if you’re not put off by the challenge and accompanying need to grind and don't mind something new that yet bears numerous features (including not the very best those from RPGs of yesteryear).
Re:Legend - PC Release Trailer
Verdict
- Surprisingly feature rich
- Tame you own Magnus and bring it to battle!
- Chibi art style
- Co-op mode adds a layer of fun and assistance to challenge
- Need to grind
- Controls can be iffy during combats
- Unbalanced challenge
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