Info about Siege of Avalon: Anthology:

Official game description:
Just outside the gates of Avalon, a 12 years war realizes its climax, the uneasy alliance of seven western kingdoms created the Citadel of Avalon as a mighty fortress. But in the last eight months, the Citadel has become a city of refugees, a city under siege. The Sha'ahoul, under the banner of the Shaman Warlord Mithras, are waging a genocidal war against the Citadel. Take on the role of the Hero in a richly detailed world filled with hundreds of unique NPC\`s, monsters ripped from ancient lore, and invading nomadic hordes.  
BUILD YOUR OWN CHARACTER
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Play as a fighter, scout, or mage, and choose from hundreds of pieces of weaponry and armor to customize your character's appearance and abilities. Learn different skills and spells to try various play styles. Add members to your Party or drop them as you advance through the game.
PLAYED ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?
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Dive into the story of deception, treachery, and heroism through rich dialogues and in-game tomes. The game was designed with the idea of being a new type of book that gives a feeling of full immersion into its fantasy world.
FULL ANTHOLOGY
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Get immediate access to the full game. Chapters one, two, and six lead you through the main story, while third, fourth and fifth chapters present the expansions that allow you to delve even further into the lore and adventures.
IT'S BEEN 20 YEARS. WILL IT RUN?
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We are happy to bring back to life the "Siege of Avalon: Anthology". The game received its portion of technical care and now runs on modern operating systems without any extra shenanigans. The story, visuals, and gameplay are untouched - with all its charm and flaws. Enjoy playing the game on Windows 7 or later, improved stability and widescreen support.
OPEN-SOURCE
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For all the years since the original release, Siege of Avalon had an incredible community around it. Once developers made the game's source code available, many fans put their time and efforts to ensure the game lives. We also want to contribute to the open-source movement. You can now find our fork of the Siege of Avalon source code, along with all the enhancements made by our team, on our GitHub page. Simply search for SNEG-DEV/siege-of-avalon to access it. We want to thank each and every member of the community for their incredible support over the years.

Release date: 8 Apr, 2021

Categories: Action RPG, Single-player Story, Character Customization, Character Progression, Inventory Management, Exploration


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Engaging Story & Rich Lore (weight 0.99): Players consistently praise the game's strong narrative, deep lore, and engaging quests. The story is described as well-written, captivating, and central to the game's appeal, providing a rich and immersive RPG experience.
- Strong Nostalgic Appeal (weight 0.83): For many, the game evokes strong feelings of nostalgia, often linked to childhood memories. The re-release allows players to revisit a beloved title, and its aged-but-charming graphics and music contribute to this nostalgic appeal.
- Modern System Compatibility & Fixes (weight 0.47): The Steam re-release significantly improves the game's technical performance on modern systems. Players appreciate the native support for higher resolutions (HD/Full HD) and the resolution of long-standing bugs, making the game much more stable and accessible.
- Classic Underrated RPG Gem (weight 0.44): The game is widely regarded as a classic and an underrated gem within the isometric RPG genre. Many players consider it a must-play for fans of old-school CRPGs, highlighting its enduring quality and unique charm.
- Immersive World & Atmosphere (weight 0.37): The game excels in world-building, creating a unique and immersive fantasy setting distinct from typical D&D influences. Players appreciate the detailed environments, atmospheric design, and the sense of adventure it provides.
- Innovative Inventory & Gear System (weight 0.19): The inventory and character customization systems are highly praised, particularly the innovative layered clothing and armor system. This allows for visual variety and strategic depth, with equipped items visibly impacting the character.
- Well-Written NPCs & Dialogues (weight 0.14): The game features exceptionally well-written NPCs with unique and evolving dialogues that react to in-game events. This attention to detail in character writing and dialogue significantly enhances immersion and replayability.
- Excellent Atmospheric Music (weight 0.08): The game's soundtrack is consistently praised for being atmospheric, high-quality, and contributing significantly to the overall mood and nostalgic experience. The music is considered a strong point of the game.
- Accessible & Enjoyable Gameplay (weight 0.08): The game is generally considered easy to play, especially for certain classes like the mage. While combat can offer some challenge, the overall gameplay experience is described as enjoyable and accessible.

Common complaints:
- Critical Technical Issues (weight 0.48): Players frequently encounter severe technical issues, including constant crashes, black screens, and game-breaking bugs that prevent progress or cause data loss. Many of these are old, unaddressed bugs, indicating a lack of polish in the re-release.
- Dated Design & Mechanics (weight 0.43): The game's age is a significant factor, leading to dated graphics, clunky mechanics, and a general lack of modern conveniences like fast travel or voice acting. This makes the game feel slow and less action-oriented compared to contemporary RPGs, potentially disappointing new players.
- Problematic Companion AI (weight 0.26): Companion AI is consistently poor, making allies more of a hindrance than a help. They exhibit frustrating behaviors like blocking movement, not attacking, and suffering from friendly fire, which can lead to accidental party member deaths.
- Unbalanced Difficulty Spikes (weight 0.16): The game suffers from inconsistent difficulty, with sudden spikes and unbalanced enemy scaling that can make leveling feel pointless. This leads to frustrating encounters, particularly in later chapters, where players can be instantly killed or find the final boss anticlimactic.
- Flawed Loot & Economy (weight 0.14): The looting and economy system is flawed; money quickly becomes irrelevant as there are few valuable items to purchase. Players also report inventory bugs, such as items scattering chaotically, which detracts from the gameplay experience.

Gameplay feedback:
- Extensive Reading and Lore (weight 0.49): The game is heavily text-based, requiring extensive reading of dialogues, journal entries, and lore. Players must pay close attention to narrative details and explore thoroughly to progress, as there are no quest markers or hand-holding features.
- Old-School Isometric RPG (weight 0.36): Siege of Avalon is an old-school isometric CRPG, reminiscent of 90s titles like Baldur's Gate and Ultima. It is story-driven and does not feature an open world or action RPG mechanics like Diablo.
- No Hand-Holding, Player Deduction (weight 0.31): The game provides minimal hand-holding, lacking quest markers or interaction highlights. Players must actively talk to all NPCs, explore every area, and rely on their own deduction to uncover quests and progress the story.
- Class System and Combat (weight 0.27): Players choose from three core classes: Fighter, Scout, or Mage, each offering distinct playstyles. Combat is real-time and relatively simple, involving clicking enemies and utilizing class-specific abilities like stealth or spells.
- Chapter and Class Structure (weight 0.26): The game is structured into six chapters, with three mandatory and three optional class-specific chapters (3, 4, 5). While initial class choice influences specific training and quests, all classes can complete all chapters.
- Companion System Mechanics (weight 0.26): The game allows up to four companions, an increase from the original two. Companions level up automatically and cannot be customized, but they can be equipped with gear. Their AI can be problematic, leading to frequent deaths.
- Story-Driven Progression (weight 0.22): The game is heavily focused on its story, dialogues, and atmosphere, offering a decent duration of 10-15 hours. Character progression is significant, allowing the protagonist to rise in rank and power throughout the narrative.
- Training Point Progression (weight 0.13): Character progression is managed through 'training points' earned from quests and combat. These points are used to improve skills, attributes, or engage in special training with NPCs, requiring careful distribution.
- Siege Setting and Premise (weight 0.12): The game's setting revolves around an ongoing siege of the fortress Avalon. Players begin as a newcomer, gradually rising in rank and assisting in the defense against the besieging army while uncovering internal threats.
- Accessible Difficulty (weight 0.12): The game is not overly difficult, especially with frequent saving, and features relatively simple mechanics. While it doesn't hold the player's hand, the initial chapters are straightforward in terms of objectives.
- In-Game Fast Travel (weight 0.11): A fast travel system is available within the Avalon fortress, allowing players to quickly move between discovered sections via an interactive map, which aids in navigation within the besieged castle.
- Looting System (weight 0.07): Looting is a significant aspect of gameplay, with useful items, including the best gear, found on fallen enemies and in chests. Players can pick up all goods from defeated foes.
- Dated Graphics and Gameplay (weight 0.06): The game's graphics and overall gameplay feel are considered dated, even from its original release, which can be a barrier for players accustomed to modern titles.

Performance notes:
- Smooth installation and performance (weight 0.13): Players report that the game installs easily and runs well on modern operating systems and hardware without significant issues. This indicates good compatibility for a re-release.
- Aged graphics still charming (weight 0.09): Despite its age, players find the game's graphics to be well-preserved and aesthetically pleasing. They note that the visual style has aged gracefully and still holds charm.
- Convenient auto-save feature (weight 0.03): The game features an auto-save function that triggers after each new screen. This is a convenient feature for players, preventing significant loss of progress.
- Great music (weight 0.03): The game's music is consistently praised by players. This suggests a high-quality and enjoyable soundtrack that enhances the game experience.
- Poor ultrawide monitor support (weight 0.03): Players with ultrawide monitors report that the game must be played in windowed mode at a specific 1280x720 resolution. This indicates a lack of proper ultrawide support.
- Alt-tabbing lowers resolution (weight 0.02): Players noted that alt-tabbing out of the game can cause the resolution to decrease upon returning. This is a minor but noticeable technical inconvenience.
- No multi-monitor cursor lock (weight 0.02): There is no cursor lock feature when playing on multi-monitor setups. This can lead to the mouse cursor moving off the game screen.
- Missing V-Sync option (weight 0.02): The game lacks V-Sync support, which can lead to screen tearing for some players. This is a common modern display feature that is missing.
- Area maps lack zoom (weight 0.02): Players are unable to zoom out on the area maps. This limitation can make navigation less convenient, especially in larger areas.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended Classic RPG (weight 0.78): The game is highly recommended, especially for fans of classic isometric RPGs and those seeking a nostalgic experience. Its strong story and world-building are particular highlights, making it worth the investment of time.
- Significant Technical Issues (weight 0.17): Despite its classic appeal, the game suffers from significant technical issues and bugs, particularly with AI and followers. This makes it difficult to recommend to new players or those expecting a polished experience, especially on certain operating systems.
- Strong Nostalgia Appeal (weight 0.12): The game primarily appeals to players driven by nostalgia for older titles. New players who haven't experienced it before may find it less engaging due to its age and limitations.
- Consider Purchasing on Sale (weight 0.07): While generally recommended, some players suggest waiting for a discount before purchasing, especially for new players who might be cautious about its dated aspects.
- Community Patch and Frequent Saves (weight 0.05): Players strongly advise downloading the community patch (version 1.09) to improve the game experience. Additionally, frequent permanent saves are recommended to mitigate potential issues.
- Appreciation for Re-release (weight 0.03): Players express gratitude to the developers or community for re-releasing this classic CRPG on Steam, allowing new and old fans to experience it.
- Request for Chinese Subtitles (weight 0.02): There is a request for the addition of Chinese subtitles to improve accessibility for a wider audience.

Other player notes:
- Rich world and compelling plot (weight 0.14): The game features a well-maintained medieval atmosphere, a plot rich with betrayals, and impressive, detailed world-building. The setting, including a lived-in castle and a citadel siege, along with well-developed enemy factions and interesting quests, contributes to a compelling narrative that might appeal to fans of complex fantasy stories.
- Excellent music and atmosphere (weight 0.13): Players consistently praise the game's audio, specifically its music and soundtracks, for enhancing the atmosphere and overall experience. The quality of the music is highlighted as a significant positive.
- Tagline perfectly describes game (weight 0.11): The game's tagline, 'Play any good books lately?', is frequently mentioned as an accurate and fitting description of the game's narrative-driven and immersive experience, emphasizing its strong storytelling.
- Episodic release history (weight 0.08): The game's original release model as an episodic title with a free first chapter is noted. Its later availability on physical media is also mentioned, highlighting its historical distribution methods.
- Strong nostalgic appeal (weight 0.07): Many players experience a strong sense of nostalgia when playing, often comparing it to classic games like Diablo 2. The visual style also contributes to this charming, old-school feel.
- Language change fixes bugs (weight 0.07): Some players experienced bugs, but found that changing the game's language to English resolved the issues. This suggests a potential workaround for technical problems.
- Steam release and localization (weight 0.07): Players express happiness and surprise at finding the game available on Steam, especially noting its rare full Spanish localization, which is a significant positive for non-English speaking players.
- Desire for sequel (weight 0.05): Players express a desire to re-immerse themselves in the game and hope for a proper sequel to continue its story and expand its world, indicating strong engagement and interest in its lore.
- Fantastic art style (weight 0.05): The game's art style is highly praised, with specific mention of its resemblance to classic AD&D 1st Edition book covers and cool art found within the game's diary, contributing to its unique visual identity.
- Diablo-like atmosphere (weight 0.05): The game's atmosphere draws comparisons to the first Diablo, indicating a similar dark fantasy or immersive setting. However, some players find it less engaging than Diablo 2.
- Game feels forgotten (weight 0.04): Some players perceive the game as forgotten or obsolete, raising questions about its future and the publisher's plans for it. This suggests a concern about its current relevance.
- Appreciation for developers (weight 0.04): Players express gratitude and affection towards the developers, indicating a positive sentiment and appreciation for their work on the game.
- Frequent saving recommended (weight 0.03): Players advise frequent saving and game backups due to potential bugs, suggesting that technical issues can disrupt gameplay and require preventative measures.
- In-game shortcuts available (weight 0.02): Players are advised to press F1 in-game to access shortcuts, indicating that the game provides in-game help for controls and features.
- Appeals to niche audience (weight 0.02): The game is characterized as being for 'geeks,' suggesting it appeals to a niche audience that appreciates its specific genre, mechanics, or depth.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.28): Players express satisfaction primarily due to the game's strong narrative, immersive world-building, and well-implemented RPG mechanics. The ability to play the game on modern hardware without significant technical issues also contributes to a positive experience, alongside effective combat strategies and character progression.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.22): Nostalgia is a strong emotion driven by players revisiting a classic RPG from their childhood or youth. The game's re-release on platforms like Steam or GOG often triggers these memories, allowing players to relive past gameplay experiences and appreciate its old-school charm.
- Frustration (weight 0.16): Frustration stems from a variety of technical issues, including frequent game crashes, difficulty getting the game to run, and numerous unfixed bugs. Gameplay mechanics such as clunky controls, problematic companion AI, and difficulty spikes also contribute significantly to player frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.05): Disappointment arises when the game fails to meet player expectations, often due to its age, technical issues, or perceived lack of modern quality-of-life features. Specific issues like an anticlimactic ending, missing UI components, or game-breaking bugs that force players to abandon their progress contribute to this feeling.
- Joy (weight 0.05): Joy is experienced by players who find the game consistently engaging and captivating, particularly with its story, music, and combat. The re-release of the game on modern platforms with improved resolution and playability also brings joy to long-time fans.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Appreciation is directed towards community developers for their efforts in improving the game and fixing bugs, as well as for the game's well-crafted writing, unique mechanics, and successful preservation of its old-school RPG design. Players value the game's underrated status and strong narrative.
- Engagement (weight 0.03): Engagement is primarily driven by the game's rich and coherent story, immersive atmosphere, and captivating lore. Players feel hooked by the narrative, finding the plot and puzzles interesting and compelling.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Excitement is generated by the discovery of the game, especially its long-awaited release on platforms like Steam. The anticipation of experiencing its story and overall gameplay contributes to this emotion.
- Surprise (weight 0.03): Surprise occurs when players rediscover a beloved childhood game on Steam or encounter unexpected game mechanics, such as the combat system or the game's lack of modern hand-holding. The renewed version of the game can also be a source of pleasant surprise.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Enjoyment comes from the overall RPG experience, including overcoming challenges, appreciating the game's atmosphere, and witnessing character growth. Players find enjoyment in the game's quality despite any minor flaws.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance is caused by minor issues such as a broken achievement or repetitive music, which detract slightly from the overall experience without being game-breaking.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is felt for the game's well-executed plot twists and its overall soulful and engaging nature, even when technical flaws are present. Players appreciate the depth and quality of the narrative.
- Gratitude (weight 0.01): Gratitude is expressed for the game being added to Steam and for the developers' efforts in creating and improving the new version. Players appreciate the accessibility and continued support for the game.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game is evident in players' strong positive feelings towards its re-release, playability, and overall quality and features. This emotion signifies a deep affection for the game.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Relief is experienced when players find a workaround for a bug or when a significant bug is officially fixed, allowing them to continue their gameplay without hindrance.
- Anger (weight 0): Anger is a strong negative emotion caused by critical technical issues, such as the game freezing the entire PC, which severely disrupts the player's experience.
- Obsession (weight 0): Obsession is driven by the game's captivating storytelling, indicating a deep immersion and strong desire to continue engaging with the narrative.
- Neutrality (weight 0): Neutrality reflects a balanced perspective, where players acknowledge both the positive and negative aspects of the game without leaning strongly towards one emotion.
- Fun (weight 0): Fun is a general positive feeling derived from simply enjoying the game and its various elements.
- Fascination (weight 0): Fascination is a sense of deep interest and captivation, often stemming from a long-standing connection to the game, such as discovering it many years ago.}