Hey Mortym! Skald dev here! I've been a big fan of your work for a long time and you've been a constant companion on my side monitor during the making of Skald. Needless to say, it's pretty huge to have you cover the game and I really hope you dig in once we launch 🤩 Thank you so much and have an amazing day!
@@Yoni123 hi there Electro Duck and thank you for the kind words :-) I'm working on the game alone but Ihave freelancers helping with some of the assets such as music and some of the more complex art assets. I did a pair of interviews with the CEO of my publisher where we discuss the origin story quite a bit (I'll try to poste the link below). Thanks again and good luck! th-cam.com/video/aD1Fr9ZnOVU/w-d-xo.html
Hmm I started watching the video with 0 expectations and by the end I was interested. Thank you again for covering games such as this one. It's one of the things that make your channel stand out
I played the demo and was blown away by how much I liked this game. If you have any hesitation to play this due to the graphics I urge you to still give it a chance. The game has an incredibly immersive and exciting setting that walks the line between fantasy and horror in just the right way. Such a good game - it immediately jumped up on my list of most anticipated games of 2023
Glad you are giving this one some attention. I felt like it didn't really get any before. Though the issue with the font is not something I have had issue with. Though then again, I am quite used to pixelated games.
I've played a bit of this. Something about it just makes it seem like it will be a lot of fun. The combat mechanics weren't obvious, though, and it took me a minute to figure out what I was supposed to do. I'm glad you showcased this. It'll probably need all the publicity it can get.
I LOVE retro RPGs. This one somewhat reminds me of Champions of Krynn and the rest of the Gold Box classics. Skald looks and sound promising. I hope the devs will stay true to their vision and deliver a good product. I couldn't care less about visuals as long as the rest of the title is solid, RPG mechanics most of all. Thanks for brief look at this game, it's on my radar now.
I get hyped for games really rarely but this is one I am really looking fowards to. I have played both the demo and prologue and absolutely loved both despite their raw state. The writing is stellar, the gameplay is snappy and especially the combat is fast paced which makes it really enjoyable unlike most other turn based systems which feel slow, sluggish and where youre forced to just sit there and wait as tons of mobs make their turns having to watch the same animations again and again and again making combat more of an frustration and something you are forced to endure than something which one actually enjoys. Not only that but I absolutely love the DOS style graphics of the game. For longest of time weve had games in style of NES and SNES and other old game consoles but the style of DOS games has been, sadly, ignored despite having huge ammount of charm and inherent beauty despite it's crudenes, something which can, as Skald shows, be leveraged with updated game mechanics and interface. Simply put, I can't wait for the full release. edit: as for the font, I personally had no issues reading it but I can see how it can cause issues for some people.
*The graphics sorta' remind me of the first few **_Ultima_** games from Origin Systems back in the 80's... Very cool! 😎👍 But I agree that they should offer more legible fonts..., at least as an option...*
I'm following this game for some years on Steam, the Lovecraftian tone combines with the visual style, hope it turns out good. Another retro game I'm following is Call of Saregnar, it's supposed to be like Betrayal at Krondor, but since I didn't play this one it reminds me of Might & Magic VI.
Whoa! I've looked into Skald before and remember thinking that I was really happy about the font choice because pixel fonts can be tricky to read, but this one was great! Kind of blows my mind that two people can parse an image in such opposite ways, huh.
Outdoors looks very Ultima V. Looking forward to this releasing. I truly hope they fix the fonts it's a big part of why I never made it off the ship. Huge clear monitor with my glasses on I should not have been squinting.
Played an early demo and was instantly immersed by the tight gameplay and atmosphere. It felt super polished for an indie done mostly by one dev, which goes to show his level of competence. Since then, the game has gotten a publisher, a budget, and a lot of love poured into it. It's gonna be awesome.
I'll always get into these sorta games. Retro RPGs made today is the equivalent of the OSR stuff. BTW Mort, you should definitely check out Caves of Qud.
Mortym, You should check out the old Dark Sun SSI RPGs. Not sure if you're actually able to get them to run nowadays, but they were pretty fun Way back in the day. All of those old SSI D&D games were a staple in early gaming. Like I said I don't know if you can emulate them or get them to run on modern systems, or if they're even available, but it could provide something interesting to cover.
I remember playing the first Dark Sun and not being able to continue the game. I prresume it was some kind of bug. I even followed a guide to make sure I did things correctly and I still couldn't progress.
Great video, I hadn't heard of this game before and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it. Just curious, have you played or are you considering playing Nox Archaist? It's a retro-looking RPG that I've had on my GOG wishlist for a long time, just haven't quite gotten around to picking it up. I'd be curious to hear your impressions, if you should have any.
I remember a pc rpg game a long time ago called Exile, there was like 3 of them if i remember. I have literally never seen anything about it, but i loved those games way back then. This just reminded me of it some reason.
Since youve been bothered a lot about this and finally covered it, I will ask whether or not you plan to cover Spiderweb Software's crpgs such as Avernum and Geneforge? They have been at it for decades, released a lot of games but have almost no coverage. It would be neat that they'd gain some more visibility :)
Yo I watch your stuff but the game title brought me here cause I listen to a band named Skald in Veum, which is a Swedish Black (unblack) metal band and wondered if this had Swedish origins.
I can appreciate the sort of aesthetic they're going for here. I'm just not sure it works for a long, complex, contemporary RPG. It's just too taxing for modern gamers to parse what's happening with all the highly pixelized backgrounds. It's like staring at one of those magic eye puzzles. 🤷♂ If you had trouble with Disco Elysium, this one is gonna do wonders for you. lol
Seems to be an interesting game however, the map is way to hard to look at and the pixelated characters on it blend into far too much to be easily noticeable.
Ok, i'm gonna be a little mean here. I understand indie developpers dont have the budget to invest in huge 3d engines or even 2d graphics, but i'm sure modern era has tons of tools to produce much better images than these. I understand some ppl like the retro feeling, but i dont get it when it becomes the main focus of a new game. If its a way to save some budget, then well ok, good. But this is not the mean to an end, but the end itselft. I hope i make sense.
I personally love the retro style and it is what drew me into the game. I love the atmosphere it creates along with the fact that currently most of the game is playable purely with keyboard. The fact that the writing is stellar is just cherry on top alongside with the fact that the combat is fast and snappy, something that most turn based games dont manage forcing you to watch for minutes on end as generic mob 4535 runs somewhere or does generic attack number 304304.
@@hhdhpublic I think that having a retro style is perfectly fine and valid, but you have to understand that we don't play on 640x480 monitors anymore, so those graphics are blown out of whack. When I think of something like Vampire Survivors, that's also exceedingly retro, but it's also a lot more crisp and ultimately easier to look at. Remember: Just because you don't get a headache when looking at it, doesn't mean others won't. It's kind of hard to pin down - when I replay Settlers II, I'm fine, but Warcraft III is a PITA. Some things just translate well to finer resolutions and I feel that Skald is one of those. "Retro" doesn't just mean content over graphics, it means making something feel like from another era while avoiding the parts of the era that were wrong.
@@DrZaius3141 This is a thing where one cannot make an objective argument on whether the style chosen is good or bad since it is a taste thing but I will say this much. Yes, it is blown out of proportion and I enjoy it exactly as it is. A lot of the old dos games I played back in the day were, even on the smaller monitors, blown out of proportion and looked quite whacky. That is part of the charm for me. While you are right in that the idea is to avoid the parts of the era that were wrong it still boils down to taste and what every person feels was wrong with said era. For me the blown out proportions weren't one of those things.
Mortym is getting into retrogaming ? Wait... I'm still a bit puzzled at the choice of replicating completely an old style that was limited by technical capabilities at the time. Do the devs of these indie games think the devs/artists of the 80's wanted their characters to look like stick figures and their colors to be limited to a dozen ? Or is it because nostalgia is the number one selling point for a lot of indies ? It always seems like either cynical, or sincere but self-defeating : "no point in innovating, it will never be better than stuff from my childhood". Well at least it knows its intended audience and you know what you're getting into if you buy.
Hey Mortym! Skald dev here! I've been a big fan of your work for a long time and you've been a constant companion on my side monitor during the making of Skald. Needless to say, it's pretty huge to have you cover the game and I really hope you dig in once we launch 🤩 Thank you so much and have an amazing day!
Looking forward to it!
this looks amazing. brings me back to my childhood, sitting at my PC having an adventure with my pals. Also, I liked the font..
@@FisherSmurf glad you like what you're seeing! Feel free to give the demo a spin🤩
@@Yoni123 hi there Electro Duck and thank you for the kind words :-) I'm working on the game alone but Ihave freelancers helping with some of the assets such as music and some of the more complex art assets. I did a pair of interviews with the CEO of my publisher where we discuss the origin story quite a bit (I'll try to poste the link below). Thanks again and good luck! th-cam.com/video/aD1Fr9ZnOVU/w-d-xo.html
Hmm I started watching the video with 0 expectations and by the end I was interested. Thank you again for covering games such as this one. It's one of the things that make your channel stand out
Interesting and thanks for the heads-up. That beginning gave me D:OS2 vibes with the ship and kraken.
I played the demo and was blown away by how much I liked this game. If you have any hesitation to play this due to the graphics I urge you to still give it a chance. The game has an incredibly immersive and exciting setting that walks the line between fantasy and horror in just the right way. Such a good game - it immediately jumped up on my list of most anticipated games of 2023
Me too. I can't understand why I am so hooked on this. I really enjoyed the demo. Maybe it's nostalgia. Man, I'm old
Loved the font, and the artistic choices in general. Had it installed for a while, thanks for covering it, hope the folks making it do well.
I agree with Mort the font should be more legible and that wouldn't be a hard thing to change.
Wasn’t expecting a Deathdealer reference. Pleasant surprise to hear someone else know about it
Yeah I used to read a lot in highschool, found most of them in a public library
Glad you are giving this one some attention. I felt like it didn't really get any before.
Though the issue with the font is not something I have had issue with. Though then again, I am quite used to pixelated games.
Very cool. This seems right up my alley. Added it to my wishlist.
I've played a bit of this. Something about it just makes it seem like it will be a lot of fun. The combat mechanics weren't obvious, though, and it took me a minute to figure out what I was supposed to do. I'm glad you showcased this. It'll probably need all the publicity it can get.
I LOVE retro RPGs. This one somewhat reminds me of Champions of Krynn and the rest of the Gold Box classics. Skald looks and sound promising. I hope the devs will stay true to their vision and deliver a good product. I couldn't care less about visuals as long as the rest of the title is solid, RPG mechanics most of all. Thanks for brief look at this game, it's on my radar now.
Steam RPG sale is making me spend so much money xD
Can't wait to check out WotR finally.
Nice vid as always!
Looks pretty promising.
I get hyped for games really rarely but this is one I am really looking fowards to. I have played both the demo and prologue and absolutely loved both despite their raw state. The writing is stellar, the gameplay is snappy and especially the combat is fast paced which makes it really enjoyable unlike most other turn based systems which feel slow, sluggish and where youre forced to just sit there and wait as tons of mobs make their turns having to watch the same animations again and again and again making combat more of an frustration and something you are forced to endure than something which one actually enjoys. Not only that but I absolutely love the DOS style graphics of the game. For longest of time weve had games in style of NES and SNES and other old game consoles but the style of DOS games has been, sadly, ignored despite having huge ammount of charm and inherent beauty despite it's crudenes, something which can, as Skald shows, be leveraged with updated game mechanics and interface.
Simply put, I can't wait for the full release.
edit: as for the font, I personally had no issues reading it but I can see how it can cause issues for some people.
*The graphics sorta' remind me of the first few **_Ultima_** games from Origin Systems back in the 80's... Very cool! 😎👍 But I agree that they should offer more legible fonts..., at least as an option...*
Heyo Mortym! Once again, you piqued my interest concerning a game of which I was unware. Thanks for all the hardwork friend!
Love the c64 retro look. I'll definitely check this one out! :D
Thematically, and aesthetically it reminds a lot of Odallus, which was awesome.
I really like the look of this. I never played a cRPG like this before, but I'm willing to have a go at it!
You got me at lovecraft! Good show sir🙂
I'd like to hear your thoughts on games like Geneforge or Avernum and other Spiderweb Software games.
I played the demo as well and I loved the game, it reminds me a lot of eye of the beholder but in a top down view which is fascinating!
I'm following this game for some years on Steam, the Lovecraftian tone combines with the visual style, hope it turns out good. Another retro game I'm following is Call of Saregnar, it's supposed to be like Betrayal at Krondor, but since I didn't play this one it reminds me of Might & Magic VI.
reminds me of some old Ultima series games. Mainly like IV/V. Ultima V was my first PC game. Some of my best memories.
Whoa! I've looked into Skald before and remember thinking that I was really happy about the font choice because pixel fonts can be tricky to read, but this one was great! Kind of blows my mind that two people can parse an image in such opposite ways, huh.
Outdoors looks very Ultima V.
Looking forward to this releasing.
I truly hope they fix the fonts it's a big part of why I never made it off the ship.
Huge clear monitor with my glasses on I should not have been squinting.
I think it's the same font as the old SSI Dark Sun games. I'm surprised it's causing people trouble to read, but it's clearly not Arial or TNR.
The font is fine. The outside colours though... oof.
I have the demo on My steam! And it's wishlisted. Nice pick 👍 edit: the font reminded me of Ultima 6
Played an early demo and was instantly immersed by the tight gameplay and atmosphere. It felt super polished for an indie done mostly by one dev, which goes to show his level of competence. Since then, the game has gotten a publisher, a budget, and a lot of love poured into it. It's gonna be awesome.
Looks really interesting thanks for showing it off
+1 to font options
I'll always get into these sorta games. Retro RPGs made today is the equivalent of the OSR stuff.
BTW Mort, you should definitely check out Caves of Qud.
Really looking forward to this one for sure
Onward to 200k. All glory to the algorithm.
Hell yeah been keeping an eye on this one. Also Call of Saregnar for more Daggerfall vibes
I'm all about this, this looks insane
Mortym,
You should check out the old Dark Sun SSI RPGs. Not sure if you're actually able to get them to run nowadays, but they were pretty fun
Way back in the day. All of those old SSI D&D games were a staple in early gaming. Like I said I don't know if you can emulate them or get them to run on modern systems, or if they're even available, but it could provide something interesting to cover.
I remember playing the first Dark Sun and not being able to continue the game. I prresume it was some kind of bug. I even followed a guide to make sure I did things correctly and I still couldn't progress.
Great video, I hadn't heard of this game before and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it. Just curious, have you played or are you considering playing Nox Archaist? It's a retro-looking RPG that I've had on my GOG wishlist for a long time, just haven't quite gotten around to picking it up. I'd be curious to hear your impressions, if you should have any.
I haven't, no
Already wishlisted it, luckily enough
I remember a pc rpg game a long time ago called Exile, there was like 3 of them if i remember. I have literally never seen anything about it, but i loved those games way back then. This just reminded me of it some reason.
Ohhh this will look amazing on the fw900
Since youve been bothered a lot about this and finally covered it, I will ask whether or not you plan to cover Spiderweb Software's crpgs such as Avernum and Geneforge? They have been at it for decades, released a lot of games but have almost no coverage. It would be neat that they'd gain some more visibility :)
I almost certainly will at some point
I'm down to try it when it comes out, I grew up with RPGs during MSDOS and NES era.
I love RPGs, especially retro.
Oh yeah that font definitely needs to be changed. I do love retro RPGs so I’ll wishlist this! Thank you!
i really hope they finally release it
Interesting. I'll watch this one after it's released.
Man, they really got the look right. If someone told me this was released in the late 80's/early 90's, I'd believe them.
That font is awesome
This pleases me.
Have you played the banner saga series?
Not yet
Oh I’m all over this one
What is the name of the book series you mentioned?
Here you go: www.goodreads.com/series/56258-frank-frazetta-s-death-dealer
@@MortismalGaming ah frazetta, right in. They worth a read?
@@edneragnarok I really enjoyed them, Plague of Knives was my favorite.
Are you going to be checking this out again now that its released?
Yes
I can read that font with no problem.
When I see the title I immediately want to growl out Skoll!
Wow, I thought I was the only one that read the Deathdealer series of novels in the 80s.
I read them in the 2000s but yeah lol
Yo I watch your stuff but the game title brought me here cause I listen to a band named Skald in Veum, which is a Swedish Black (unblack) metal band and wondered if this had Swedish origins.
I can appreciate the sort of aesthetic they're going for here. I'm just not sure it works for a long, complex, contemporary RPG. It's just too taxing for modern gamers to parse what's happening with all the highly pixelized backgrounds. It's like staring at one of those magic eye puzzles. 🤷♂
If you had trouble with Disco Elysium, this one is gonna do wonders for you. lol
This looks interesting..
Mortismal, speaking of pixel RPGs, I recommend you check a game called Kandria.
Morti for president
Hi Mort, any chance you're interested in covering Shadow Tactics anytime soon?
Not anytime soon
I'm surprised you have not rated Tales of Maj'ael yet.
free comment.
Seems to be an interesting game however, the map is way to hard to look at and the pixelated characters on it blend into far too much to be easily noticeable.
Not a fan of the color of brown that they have chosen for the menus and such
I have dyslexia and this font is impossible to read!
Woah no one slept either
I was awake waiting for the video haha
Ok, i'm gonna be a little mean here.
I understand indie developpers dont have the budget to invest in huge 3d engines or even 2d graphics, but i'm sure modern era has tons of tools to produce much better images than these.
I understand some ppl like the retro feeling, but i dont get it when it becomes the main focus of a new game. If its a way to save some budget, then well ok, good. But this is not the mean to an end, but the end itselft.
I hope i make sense.
I personally love the retro style and it is what drew me into the game. I love the atmosphere it creates along with the fact that currently most of the game is playable purely with keyboard. The fact that the writing is stellar is just cherry on top alongside with the fact that the combat is fast and snappy, something that most turn based games dont manage forcing you to watch for minutes on end as generic mob 4535 runs somewhere or does generic attack number 304304.
It's probably just the type of game the developer wanted to make... And many of us appreciate it
@@hhdhpublic I think that having a retro style is perfectly fine and valid, but you have to understand that we don't play on 640x480 monitors anymore, so those graphics are blown out of whack. When I think of something like Vampire Survivors, that's also exceedingly retro, but it's also a lot more crisp and ultimately easier to look at. Remember: Just because you don't get a headache when looking at it, doesn't mean others won't.
It's kind of hard to pin down - when I replay Settlers II, I'm fine, but Warcraft III is a PITA. Some things just translate well to finer resolutions and I feel that Skald is one of those. "Retro" doesn't just mean content over graphics, it means making something feel like from another era while avoiding the parts of the era that were wrong.
@@DrZaius3141 This is a thing where one cannot make an objective argument on whether the style chosen is good or bad since it is a taste thing but I will say this much. Yes, it is blown out of proportion and I enjoy it exactly as it is. A lot of the old dos games I played back in the day were, even on the smaller monitors, blown out of proportion and looked quite whacky. That is part of the charm for me. While you are right in that the idea is to avoid the parts of the era that were wrong it still boils down to taste and what every person feels was wrong with said era. For me the blown out proportions weren't one of those things.
Mortym is getting into retrogaming ? Wait...
I'm still a bit puzzled at the choice of replicating completely an old style that was limited by technical capabilities at the time. Do the devs of these indie games think the devs/artists of the 80's wanted their characters to look like stick figures and their colors to be limited to a dozen ?
Or is it because nostalgia is the number one selling point for a lot of indies ? It always seems like either cynical, or sincere but self-defeating : "no point in innovating, it will never be better than stuff from my childhood".
Well at least it knows its intended audience and you know what you're getting into if you buy.
the graphic are too old for me, I prefer BG/IWD style graphic.
Looks very interesting!
reminds me a little bit of the Ultima series.