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Betrayer (17th century FPS from Ex-Monolith devs)

Cyberarmy

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Divinity: Original Sin 2
What are the thieves, I wonder? I always saw "The thief has escaped," pop up when one of the floating skulls would get away, but their circumstances make be think they're some other enemy type that I never even caught.

They are just standart wraiths that give some money upon death. They always come back when you reset the bell. You can use stealth tactics to kill them easly, they won't run away if they can't see/feel you.
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
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Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
:necro:

Reason #1: It got updated to version 1.4, introducting little spiders that crop up from boxes and scuttle towar-AHHGETAWAYGETOFFGETOFF!!!

Reason #2: So far this is the only game (besides Broforce which technically isn't out yet) that is a contender for GOTY for 2014.

I'm playing b/w and I just reached the Sentry Post.
 

RRRrrr

Arcane
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The game was nice, too bad there isn't much to discuss about it.
 

agentorange

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Codex 2012
The game was nice, too bad there isn't much to discuss about it.
Can you write a short text on how it play, the good and bad?

Colonial America with supernatural elements is a very original setting for an FPS, or games in general for that matter. The weapons are satisfying in their handling, with good sound effects and animations; enemies are also not bullets sponges. Combat is quite tense, because you cannot take a lot of hits either, so it pays to plan out your attacks and be conservative with your ammo. Atmosphere is well realized, with a real sense of loneliness and mystery. And the story is intriguing and effectively minimal.

The bad parts are that a lot of the interesting concepts are used repeatedly with no variety and end up getting very tedious. Side quests could have been cool, but sadly they all fit into a pattern of 2 types; the idea of tracking your objective by sound is also cool, but it just devolves into running in the direction that makes the sounds grow louder, rather than using sounds as part of your strategy (like listening for guard footsteps in Thief).

The way it is I actually wish the game was about an hour shorter.
 

RRRrrr

Arcane
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Just like agentorange said, the game had some very original concepts and ideas but didn't do much with them. The story was too minimal for my taste and there was too little character interaction, there were no memorable characters besides the Red Maiden (not only were the other characters uninteresting and too similar but they also used the same models). The game was simply a shooter with secrets and nothing more.

That being said, the weapons were done well and reloading was part of the combat tactics, which made the fights quite dense. Apart from 3 or 4 more challenging fights there was nothing interesting, though-the enemies were easy to kill and could be handled in large numbers once you understood how combat works. Boss fights would have been nice but there were just generic enemies. Every area was almost the same and the novelty wares off pretty fast since you do the same thing in each of them.

So, the game's pros are also its cons. There were nice concepts (ringing the bells changes the world, different enemies during the day and the night, sneaking was done well), the setting was intriguing and the combat system was fun (challenging and the beginning...then not so much). At the same time you do the same in each area, there aren't any harder enemies and there are too few enemy types and sneaking had little use besides ambushing. The setting, while intriguing, was not used as much as it could and even though there weren't any voiced dialogues there wasn't much dialogue in the game. The story was not memorable and the characters were almost non-existent.

As for the weapons-I think that the musket did too little damage compared to the other weapons. It would have been best if it was the most powerful weapon to make up for its slow reloading speed but instead it was as powerful as the pistol and a worse alternative than the crossbow. The bow, on the other hand, was too fast and did too much damage per second thanks to its fast reloading, ending up as the most powerful weapon in the game imo (and you could collect the arrows which was also helpful). They definitely could have balanced the weapons better and they should have included some more powerful enemies and bosses. The potential of the combat system was wasted this way, but it was still fun nevertheless.
 
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DalekFlay

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Reason #2: So far this is the only game (besides Broforce which technically isn't out yet) that is a contender for GOTY for 2014.

screen568x568.jpeg


:troll:
 

Admiral jimbob

gay as all hell
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Sep 29, 2009
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truck stops and toilet stalls
Wasteland 2
bought this because Darth Roxor and Unkillable Cat are gentlemen of good taste
played the game and now less convinced about this statement

Really wanted to like it a lot more than I did, but ultimately have to agree with agentorange

The bones and systems for a really good game are there but they're not fleshed out at all, enemies are dumb as shit and have two modes - stand/wander around aimlessly or charge in a straight line towards you - combat feels good but gets tiresome before the end, and as has been pointed out, the weirdness and intriguing shit becomes routine all too quickly. My reaction on entering a new area (out of a whole 7) in a game like this shouldn't be to sigh, start spamming my Listen button and wander around half-heartedly picking up clues and punching savages in the face, happy to lose health in the knowledge that there'll be a healing barrel just over *there* next to my next objective anyway.

The novel systems quickly wear out their welcome, the great atmosphere and art direction are spoiled halfway through by every area looking identical and doing the same thing (and fighting the same enemies, even) in each, and all you're left with is a slow-paced "exploration" shooter where there's no real incentive to explore instead of just following the spooky noises to the next objective, all the while shooting one of four uninteresting enemies with one of three or four interesting-ish weapons.
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
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Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
Yeah, looking back at this with hindsight is weird. At first this game completely grips you, luring you in through the first area and leaving you wanting for more.

Then you enter the second area... and it's almost a carbon-copy of the first. Same objectives, same gameplay elements, very few changes or new additions. The novelty wears off really quick.

It's a goddamn shame, that's what it is.
 

Grim Monk

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Nov 7, 2011
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1,217
Finished the Betrayer yesterday.
Max graphics caused problems on my i3 2100/550 Ti, but the game worked fine (and look great) on medium.
Played on max AI difficulty, but didn't use "drop items on death" feature.

This game has a "independent character" as opposed to the "mass produced" vibe sadly present in a lot of titles.
The Dev Team tried to "do their own thing" and it shows.

Really like the use of 17th century and early fire arms, an area tragically neglected in video games.

(Dev's should try making a "Solomon Kane" game.)


It has its weakness, I'd have liked a bit more combat variety.

Would have been awesome to have more (and smarter) "Weapon using Soldier" type Enemies.
Possibly well entrenched in a fortress, which you would have to take out in well planned stealth assault...

Also I never was able to stealth the Natives, couldn't find them even knowing the approximate location where they spawn.

Puzzles need more variety then simple scavenger hunt/purge corruption.

Would have been awesome if it had a system where you have to actually try to unravel the spirits backstory.
They should lie and mislead, forcing you to latch onto inconsistencies, puzzle out the meaning of the evidence, and confront the with your own conclusions, .
A multiple choice Dialog system where you could and wrong, complicating or blocking off the investigation, or being tricked down the wrong path.


Overall a great first effort from "Blackpowder Games" (far more inspired than what present day "Monolith" has produced).
Hopefully they will build only upward from this solid start...
 
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Metro

Arcane
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Aug 27, 2009
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27,792
Got it as bundle fodder. Was bored after two or three hours. Too sterile and dead. It's like an FPS Dark Souls without the interesting combat or enemies.
 

Phage

Arcane
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Jan 10, 2010
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Also got it in likely the same bundle as Metro. Thoughts pretty much mirror his, except I wouldn't insult Dark Souls by comparing this to that. This game has an interesting premise, but aside from that is flat out bad.
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
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Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
Good to hear.

I took some time back in yesteryear to try to get a grip on things within the game, and found...

...that the girl you meet early on is the lynchpin for everything. It's her pain and her (perverted) sence of justice that keeps everything and everyone trapped in this limbo state that you get thrown into.

No, there doesn't seem to be a way out. :(

I stand by my previous statement(s): This is a game that easily grips people, but has a really hard time holding on to them.
 

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