Gedonia Review Summary

A charming, replayable open world packed with rewarding secrets and varied builds, though clunky, rough gameplay and poor voice acting hold it back.

Extensive open world: The open world is large, diverse, and filled with content to discover. Players appreciate the freedom and variety it offers.

High build variety and replayability: The game offers numerous build options across different classes and playstyles. This variety significantly enhances replayability.

Rewarding exploration: Exploration is frequently rewarded with points of interest, secrets, and loot. Players find exploring the world genuinely fun and engaging.

Fun and charming gameplay: Players consistently describe the game as fun, charming, and enjoyable. The core gameplay loop is well-received and keeps players engaged.

Pleasant and colorful graphics: The graphics are frequently praised for being colorful, clear, and immersive. The visual style contributes positively to the overall experience.

Clunky and rough gameplay: The overall gameplay feels unpolished and clunky, with many rough edges. Combat and controls are often described as unpleasant and janky.

Poor voice acting quality: Voice acting is widely criticized as terrible, lackluster, or below average. Many players note it detracts from the experience.

Numerous bugs and glitches: Players frequently encounter a wide variety of bugs, ranging from minor to game-breaking. Many reviews emphasize that bugs are everywhere and need urgent fixing.

Weak and short main story: The main narrative is often described as weak, short, and poorly written. Characters are underdeveloped and the plot leaves unanswered questions.

Unfinished and unpolished game: Many players feel the game is unfinished and lacks polish, describing it as cobbled together or a janky mess.

Open-world RPG core: The game is widely described as an open-world RPG with exploration, quests, dungeons, and bosses. Freedom of choice and a large medieval world are frequently mentioned.

Deep skill tree system: Multiple skill trees allow for extensive customization, including respec options. Trees cover various abilities such as dual wield, bow, magic types, and attributes like agility, strength, charisma, and magic.

Main and side quests: The game includes a main storyline and numerous side quests. Players can pursue story-driven quests alongside optional content.

Quests with multiple solutions: Quests offer multiple completion paths and outcomes based on player choices. Some solutions depend on stats chosen during character creation, enhancing replayability.

Extensive exploration mechanics: Exploration is a central aspect, featuring a large open world with themed dungeons, uncharted territory, loot, and secrets. Non-linear quest choices and side quests similar to Skyrim are noted.

Poor optimization overall: Many reviewers criticize the game's optimization as terrible, citing unstable performance, stutters, and high hardware demands relative to visual output. Some mention the Unity engine and solo development as contributing factors.

Long loading times reported: Players frequently complain about excessive loading times, ranging from 30 seconds to over 3-4 minutes, even on SSDs. Some note objects take minutes to load initially.

Steam Deck performance issues: The game runs poorly on Steam Deck, with reports of freezes, blocking progress, and general unplayability despite the label. Users call for optimization specifically for Steam Deck.

Cutscene framerate drops: Cutscenes suffer from severe framerate drops, often falling to 15 FPS from 60. Some also report cutscenes hanging or failing.

Asset pop-in and LOD issues: Players notice severe asset pop-in and empty landscapes due to poorly configured LOD, with objects and textures appearing only after loading. After major transitions, everything is invisible initially.

Good value for money: Players frequently mention the game is worth every cent and offers great value for the price.

Worth full price: Multiple reviewers consider the game worth buying at full price, with some calling it a steal.

Recommended for RPG fans: The game is highly recommended for fans of RPGs, especially old-school or traditional ones.

Generally recommended: Many reviewers give a positive recommendation, calling it a great game.

Worth buying on sale: Several reviewers recommend purchasing the game especially when discounted.

Community fair range: $8.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 64.0h.

Story completion: 2.0h.

Endgame: 10.0h.

Players often find Gedonia immediately engaging through its open-world progression and combat, but many report that mid-game combat repetition and late-game balance make it less fun over time.

Nostalgic Old-School MMO Explorer: Quests through open-world zones, wanders off the main path, and explores for hidden discoveries. Motivation: Reliving the feel of classic MMORPG adventure in a single-player open world. Stance: buy.

Build-Crafting Tinkerer: Plans builds, tries mage or hybrid approaches, and replays for branching choices. Motivation: Experimenting with flexible builds and character systems. Stance: buy.

Jank-Tolerant Solo-Dev Supporter: Overlooks rough controls, bugs, and uneven polish to enjoy the game’s heart and ambition. Motivation: Supporting an ambitious solo-developed RPG and appreciating its passion. Stance: buy.

The Windows 8-11GB VRAM cohort reports animation performance dropping to roughly 20–30 FPS while the surrounding world remains at 60 FPS or higher, and the included review is not recommended.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: negative. Reported animations run at about 20–30 FPS while world rendering stays at 60 FPS or higher, with a non-recommended review.

Steam Deck: The audit finds that the Steam Deck experience is marred by direct compatibility and progression problems: users report the game is not playable on Deck, that it can freeze on an unresponsive page, and that the Deck label is misleading. Controller support feedback is mixed, with both praise and warnings that full controller support is overstated. Positive controller impressions do not offset the progression-blocking Deck reports.

Solo developer project: Many reviewers note the game is developed by a single person, often on a shoestring budget. This is a defining characteristic of the game.

Sequel available or planned: A sequel, Gedonia 2, has been released or is in development, with some reviewers anticipating it.

Compared to single-player WoW: The game is often compared to World of Warcraft as a single-player experience, evoking nostalgia for solo play.

Low price and deep discounts: The game is frequently sold at a low price point and often purchased at deep discounts, such as 90% off.

Early Access status: Some reviewers mention the game is in Early Access, while others note it is out of Early Access but still feels unfinished.