DISCLAIMER
I played the game in Standard mode because I have neither a VR headset nor a PC powerful enough to run games in VR Mode. Now that’s out of the way…
Developer: Repulse
Genre: Action RPG
Reviewed version: 0.83b
Censored: No
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows, macOS
Language: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Bulgarian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (Simplified)
I discovered this game last year when I was taking a look at the adult section of Itch.io. While I didn't play it back then, it looked good enough to catch my curiosity, to the point I kept an eye on the project and the updates it got from time to time. Learning about their Kickstarter campaign gave me the final push to give it a shot, and it surprised me in a good way.
Pros
Beautiful and polished graphics
Solid gameplay
The story is decent.
Good soundtrack and voice acting
Cons
There’s some lag when you move between sections of a big map
Plot before “PLOT”
The game puts the player in the shoes of Darick, a young swordsman who tries to become a knight with next to no success. His life, however, takes a 180º turn when the empire’s soldiers raid his village while they search for a girl, and he decides to help said girl get away from there after finding her by chance, unaware that there’s more to her than meets the eye. It does a good job of introducing the main characters and setting up the conflict, though it ends in a massive cliffhanger as any prologue would do.
High-quality eye candy
I’m impressed by the quality of the game’s graphics; they are great. Both the characters and backgrounds are very polished and good-looking, to the point it felt like I was playing a high-budget 3D game. Moreover, the art style gives it a touch of originality since most indie 3D games of this kind either use Daz3D or Koikatsu models.
The adult content is nicely done too. Most of the few scenes in the game have a lot of teasing and seeing girls get down and dirty, but there are also some sex scenes in it—including one in which the player has to pick the correct pace and movements to climax. Also, they all take place close to the end of the game, so you can almost consider them a reward for finishing it.
Slash your way to victory!
Gameplay-wise is solid. It adds some variety to the usual mechanics you usually find in ARPGs, like having to aim when casting spells as if it were a shooter game. Moreover, the game encourages you to approach enemies carefully and use as many spells as you can instead of going after them as if you were the second coming of Leeroy Jenkins. Some enemies don’t flinch when you hit them, making it easier for you to lose when you’re fighting more than one of them at the same time if you’re not careful.
Furthermore, you unlock the Experimental Room once you finish the prologue. There you can take a look at the upcoming features, scenes that weren’t included in the game, new outfits for the characters, and test the new weapons and game mechanics that’ll be introduced in the future.
Pleasing to the ears
The soundtrack is decent and does a good job of building up the atmosphere of the game. The songs are also varied, ranging from lighthearted tracks for the calmer parts of the game to ominous songs for tense moments and dungeon exploring. The voice acting is alright too. The voices fit the characters, and the actors made them feel alive.
Performance & Issues
The game runs smoothly despite how demanding it is. The FPS is consistent all the time, even when the CPU and GPU loads are at about 90%. I had some lag at times when I went inside tunnels or moved from one hallway to the other in the Experimental Room, though.
Verdict: Very good
Iragon: Prologue needs some tweaks here and there, but it has the potential to become a great game. If you’re looking for an action RPG with some spicy bits on the side and you have a spare hour, then give this game a go. You won’t regret it.