Regardless of what medium we are talking about, in addition to high-budget productions using the latest technology and the most distinguished casts, we will find many that were created for years “in the basement” by enthusiasts who did not earn any money during the entire creation period. This applies equally to films, series, books and video games.
Of course, just as the amount of money itself is not the measure of a masterpiece, the fact that a work of art is created by an enthusiast is not a guarantee that we will get an interesting final product. Sometimes, though an inconspicuous game at first glancea movie or a series, can completely engage the recipient. I recently experienced something like this after beating the colossus that is Dragon Age: Veilguard, when I picked it up an inconspicuous game called Mirthwood.
Mirthwood. A fresh approach to an age-old genre
It is worth noting at the beginning that Mirthwood is a bit of a mishmash of genres. On the one hand, we have the features of a classic RPG in which we create our own character, acquire equipment, develop statistics, and complete tasks. However, very quickly elements typical of survival games come to the surface, including health and energy management and taking care of proper nutrition. All this is sprinkled with a bit of crafting, allowing you to create a variety of items, but also to beautify your farm.
We start the game in a small village, where we learn the basics of the game, but the action quickly gains momentum. During the night, our village is invaded and our family and friends are murdered. Our only chance of survival is to get on a ship that is heading towards another, unexplored continent.
He is already waiting for us there mysterious masked figurewhich offers us an old abandoned farm. As you can guess, he doesn’t do it solely out of the goodness of his heart. It quickly turns out that the series of events that led to our appearance on the continent was not accidental at all, but we ourselves are an important part of a larger puzzle. The continent itself is also not ordinary. There are many secrets to discover, places to explore, raw materials to obtain, and people to talk to. From now on, what we do depends only on us.
The graphic design also deserves recognition here. We move around hand-drawn locationsand each of them could be considered a real masterpiece. Additionally, the creators offer real diversity – from a small-town idyll, through barren wastelands, to dangerous caves and swamps. All this is accompanied by soothing music that can speed you up in moments of danger. The audiovisual setting in this game is a real masterpiece and a real departure from high-budget games created on one hoof.
In Mirthwood you can be whoever you want
Extremely important in Mirthwood has elements of a life simulator. Even the masked figure informs us that even though he needs our help, it is ultimately up to us what we will do. And the game offers so many activities at the beginning that you don’t really know what to try first. However, we are still on our own, so regardless of the path we choose, it is worth ensuring self-sufficiency. We can buy food, obtain it by hunting animals, plant seeds and harvest crops, and in the later phase of the game, purchase livestock. Yes, if we want, then the game can turn into a farmer’s simulator for us. This is also facilitated by the presence of seasons. Each of them lasts exactly 30 days and affects what plants we will be able to plant.
The proximity of a small town helps, where we can buy many useful things, including the previously mentioned seeds, but also tools and building diagrams. We will find throughout the game as well lots of independent characters and you can talk to each of them, and building relationships with them is an extensive system and a mini-game in itself. During the conversation, we choose actions and topics, and our interlocutor reacts depending on his character and current mood. The more someone likes us, the easier it is to build further relationships, both friendly and romantic. If we want, we can become the best comedian on the continent or a famous lover and heartbreaker.
However, if we decide to pursue the main plot and our main activity is fighting, the game will encourage us to take up other activities anyway. Managing your health is very difficult at first. Without good equipment, we deal ridiculously little damage, and even a rat can be dangerous. Life potions are rare at first, and sleeping one night does not regenerate all your health. So you have to do it well balance between exploration and everyday life.
The combat system itself is quite interesting here. The enemies are tough and hit hard, but we are not completely defenseless. Each of them has two attack types – light and heavy. The first one can be blocked, and the second one must be avoided. However, the distance and speed of each varies depending on the opponent. We will fight a large but slow bear differently than a lively werewolf. What’s more, the fight here takes place only in the X planeso at the beginning a good solution is to run down or up and shoot stronger opponents with a bow.
Mirthwood is open to everyone
The world in the game is really large and open to us, so on the first day we can go wherever we want. In practice, however, there are several mechanics that stop us from doing this. Of course, the first one is strong opponents. However, they are not the only ones stopping our progress. Prices and availability of raw materials are also the main inhibiting factor.
To upgrade the tools, we will need a lot of iron, but it is not easy to obtain. There are plenty of dangers waiting for us in swamps and caves. We also need iron from Grom to upgrade at least one tool, and the ores regenerate only after a few days. That’s why it happened to me play with the thought “just one more redhead”and then I didn’t finish until a few hours later. Each upgrade requires an appropriate blueprint, and these aren’t cheap either. Therefore, it is worth thinking about creating a solid source of income.
In my case, planting a mass of grapes that I harvested regularly worked perfectly. This way I could ferment it and then turn it into red wine, which is worth quite a lot.
It’s not perfect, but it’s still worth it
Currently, the ratings on Steam are “mostly positive”, but shortly after the premiere they were “mixed”, which surprised me personally. I was then a few hours into the game and was completely enchanted by it. Negative comments were mainly related to bugs. I must admit that I didn’t understand it at first, because for the first dozen or so hours I didn’t come across any. However, the more I played and pushed the main plot, the more often the game turned off by itself. The biggest problem I had was leaving one of the other worlds (yes, we can visit several other dimensions in the game), which was necessary to continue the game.
However, I managed to somehow circumvent this. I first completed other tasks related to this mission and then somehow it worked. Overall, I spent over 30 hours in the game. During this time, I literally tackled every activity and task, although I admit that I did not complete all of them. However, I think so I will return to Mirthwood in the futureespecially since the creators announced regular updates. The game costs PLN 70 on Steam and is definitely worth the price.
Source: antyweb.pl
