Review: Sword Coast Legends

It's hard to believe, but the last decent role-playing game for Dungeons & Dragons was Neverwinter Nights 2, released already in 2006 year. Well, do not consider a decent misunderstanding called Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, happened four years ago! Sword Coast Legends  was designed to fill a vexing gap, and for this, Wizards of the Coast attracted killer forces - industry veterans from Digital Extremes , who made the first Unreal, and Dan Taj (Dan Tudge), the head of development and producer of Dragon Age: Origins. And on the whole, they coped with their task - although not without some reservations ...Sword Coast Legends is built according to the rules of the modern fifth edition of D & D. That is, it's a classic party CRPG where the game constantly throws an invisible die, checking a bunch of parameters and making saving throws, battles are allowed at any time to pause, and you can hang for two hours just above the character creation screen. Five races, six classes, seven branches of abilities for each class, the opportunity to choose subrass, biography, world view (yes, the most "chaotic-good", "neutral-evil", etc.) and even the character's voice - there is something to break his head.

Initially, one hero is available, but in the story campaign, teammates will join him, and you will have to personally develop them, equip and personally choose who to take with you to the next assignment (the squad is designed for four). Together they have to fight, communicate, carry out numerous quests and explore the intricate catacombs, tombs, drains and ruins. Plus travel on the global map of Faer in and communication with the inhabitants of the coastal city of Luskan, mired in crime and smuggling. 





However, the quality of the "extensive and complex story campaign", which was promised by the authors of Sword Coast Legends , first raises doubts. It seems that the dialogues and quests were written not by Dan Tajand the company, and novice lovers with the help of a built-in game editor. "Hi! What happened? Let me help! - Help me find a brother / sister / lost goods. Bring mushrooms / collect samples of mucus! "- to Dragon Age: Origins here as before the moon. 

Mates seem boring and stereotyped, and their obsession with repeating the same phrase every ten seconds brings literally to white heat. The same thing I want to say about the inconvenient camera, which must be constantly moved and rotated.

However, things are gradually improving. First, a spiral of non-trivial intrigue twists: our heroes have nightmares, where demons speak to them, and soon they are pursued by hunters of evil. Friends and comrades are killed before our very eyes, the native guild is burnt to the ground, and it is unclear who we really are. 

Secondly, there are more interesting quests. In Luskan, for example, you will have to conduct several investigations, steal a wooden leg from the homeless and even wake the sleeping beauty. Mates begin to share intimate details from their personal lives and ask for help - one of them, for example, ran away from home and now is afraid to communicate with their mother, and through the fault of another, the inhabitants of their native village were killed.

In dialogues, it is increasingly possible to use different parameters to somehow influence the interlocutor. And we periodically get to the choice - which way to get to a closed city, work for a smuggler, substitute an innocent person, or not, and so on. 


The story is resolved both alone and in the company of three other players. You can also arrange a joint trip through the dungeon. But it's much more interesting to take advantage of the unique chance that Sword Coast legends  provides , and take on the role of the Dungeon Master, that is, the lead in a certain scenario.

There are several options. It is most interesting to create your own module in a fairly convenient and understandable editor (a full-fledged campaign or just one dungeon - the choice is not limited) and invite others to try it out. You can download another's module (and they already have a pond a dozen!) And try yourself as a Master there. Or become a leader in a quick match, that is, in a march through the dungeon. 

Anyway, the sensations will be very unusual: you set traps in real time, launch different monsters, invent something, and then the players evaluate how much they were interesting and difficult for you. 

Accordingly, you are free to try yourself as a "guinea pig" and participate in an adventure led by some Master of Dungeons, for example, from Warsaw.

Rate:7/10

Thanks for reading:)