Eschalon: Book III Reviews
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We have rounded up a batch of, all things considered, mostly positive reviews for Basilisk Games' latest, Eschalon: Book III, which concludes their turn-based RPG trilogy.
RPGWatch, 4/5.
So, in summary I found this third adventure in the land of Eschalon enjoyable, fun and rather addictive. It was always just let me finish this current map, but I wonder, what's awaiting me if I cross over to the next one. I really found it hard to stop playing. Sure the graphics aren't earth shattering, but neither is the price. I certainly found them more than adequate. One tip, be sure to take the Cartography skill if you want the use of a mini-map. Level 2 should suffice.
If you played either (or both) of the first 2 games in the series, then You won't want to miss this one. I actually enjoyed it more than Book 2. Unfortunately, Book 1 was so long ago I don't remember it well enough to make a comparison. It's a delightful little gem which shouldn't be missed by anyone who enjoys Old School gameplay with turn based combat.
Strategy Informer, 6.0/10.
Eschalon: Book 3 is an RPG that defeated me entirely. It may be that I have to hand in my badge and my D6 after making that admission. Memories of my crackpot custom party finally defeating Wizardry 8 or traversing the lands of Avernum and being granted access to the Tower of the Magi are sullied now. Eschalon: Book 3 is for masochists, statisticians and the truly hardcore - those made of sterner stuff than I. It's not a game I can recommend to anyone, but I can't truly tell you that it does not get better, such was my failure. If you've played the previous games in the series, you may fare better and perhaps Book 3 will be the final chapter of a journey you started back in 2007 if so I wish you luck. But for me it was an exercise in humiliation, battered to death by flies and blobs of assorted colour, as kitten-kidnapping bandits shattered my resolve.
RealGamerNewz, 9.7/10.
The Final Verdict for Eschalon: Book III is don't skip this one. RPG veterans will be pleased with the fresh experience, somewhat familiar gameplay, and extensively prepared final product allows the player to worry about just enjoying the game rather than dealing with bugs or design oversight. Escahlon: Book III is a game which players can sink tons of time into. If making characters in a Roguelike RPG that feels high tech, polished, and yet almost Retro at the same time sounds interesting to you then you should buy this game right now.
Pros and newcomers to the genre alike should experience Eschalon: Book III for the no-holds-barred, hardcore experience of the role playing game genre's most core elements presented with modern and retro presentation combined.
Digital Hippos, 3/5.
While Eschalon: Book 3 is a great example of old school RPGs, I'm afraid you just can't take paris out of the girl. We've become too attached to our modern day features, like Auto-Save. Fast paced game play has all but replaced slow deliberate thoughtful action. Instead of one man(or woman) standing up against the tyranny of evil, whole mobs must gather against foes to bloated to be real. Eschalon: Book 3 stands tall and provides it one brand of entertainment, but falls just short of the mark.
Softpedia, 8.0/10.
Eschalon: Book III is certainly a worthy iteration of the old-school role-playing game design paradigm, with its seamless turn-based to seemingly real-time gameplay, its rich lore and generally good dialogue writing, its pen-and-paper-inspired character progression system, and its unforgiving difficulty.
Although it has some pitfalls, such as being linear while at the same time having you aimlessly wander around, the cumbersome interface and punishing difficulty, it's a game that offers many hours of fun exploration and a rewarding and deep gameplay experience.
