At first glance, Songs of Skydale appears to be a typical action RPG and, to some extent, that impression is true. The player is a stranger who arrives in the Kingdom of Skydale with hopes of beginning a new life. Straight away, the player is involved in various events and quests. As the game progresses, the player faces different characters, items, enemies, dungeons, and puzzles.
Although Songs of Skydale has typical action RPG elements, the game is distinctive from the other RPG or adventure games. Songs of Skydale is a passion project – it is a game by a player for players. The most important idea of the game is to give the player a sense of adventure without too much hand-holding. For this reason, some typical player aids have been removed. For example, Songs of Skydale does not have a quick save possibility, quest markers, or GPS-style maps. The game can be saved only in certain locations in inhabited and safe areas. Outside the inhabited areas, there is always a risk of dying, so it is better to be prepared because the player cannot rely on quick save.
Navigation is done solely with paper maps. As a developer, my opinion is that GPS-style maps are a very effective way to kill the sense of adventure, especially in games with relatively small worlds. Paper maps will give the player motivation to wander around and discover interesting quests or even hidden gold.
The combat in Songs of Skydale is fast and skill-based. Fast combat means the player can move and attack at the same time. The combat can feel difficult sometimes but it is not unfair. Correctly timed attacks, blocks, dodges, and spells are the keys to success. The game has multiple enemies with different attributes. Some enemies are fast and weak. Some enemies are slow and strong. No matter what enemy the player is facing, there is always a proper way to deal with them. Sometimes it is better to use spells and sometimes a basic attack combined with a block skill will do the trick.
The graphics of the game are designed to be distinctive. Songs of Skydale emphasizes realism in detail in the graphics. This means different objects (buildings, trees, characters, etc.) are carefully detailed with a realistic scale.
For first time players, Songs of Skydale will take effort, but eventually, the player will grow accustomed to the combat style and the game will give the player an interesting, quest-filled world to explore!
KEY FEATURES
Action RPG
Open world
Hack-and-slash style combat
Game Time: 6–15 hours
19 different quests
11 different dungeons
54 different items
13 passive skills
4 spells
Paper maps
Saves: Only in specific locations; no quick save
Source: The Developer Website.