The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard Review Summary

A charming tale with memorable characters and engaging lore, but plagued by frequent crashes, clunky controls, and a poor combat system.

Game is charming and enjoyable overall.: Many describe the game as charming, enjoyable, a swashbuckling delight, and a masterpiece, with a fun concept and a sense of adventure that holds up despite its age.

Valuable for Elder Scrolls lore fans.: The game is seen as seminal for Elder Scrolls lore, introducing many world-building elements like the Dwemer, second era, and Hammerfell, and is recommended for fans who want to explore the series' history.

Story and lore are engaging.: Many players find the lore and story surprisingly interesting, particularly the focus on Hammerfell and Redguard lore, with a focused narrative and personal stakes that stand out from other Elder Scrolls games.

Characters are memorable and unique.: Reviews frequently mention the unique, memorable characters with great personality, especially the protagonist Cyrus, who has motivation and a sarcastic tone, and the thespian talent in the observatory.

Atmosphere and setting are praised.: Players enjoy the pirate/swashbuckling aesthetic, the lively city of Port Hunding, and the beautiful atmosphere of Hammerfell, with many noting it is comfy, charming, and visually appealing despite its age.

Frequent crashes and bugs: Players report frequent crashes, often during specific actions like looting bodies or interacting with objects, with some occurring every few hours or even constantly. This is accompanied by general bugginess and game-breaking glitches.

Poor combat system: The combat system is criticized as clunky, outdated, sluggish, and unenjoyable, with awkward mechanics and a lack of responsiveness. Some players find it random or without incentive due to no stats or experience points.

Clunky and dated controls: Controls are described as clunky, finicky, and dated, with issues including delayed responses, imprecise platforming, and a buggy double jump. This affects both general movement and platforming sections.

No character progression: The game lacks a leveling system, character advancement, magic, or upgrades, which reduces long-term engagement and makes combat feel like a formality.

Action-adventure with platforming: The game is primarily an action-adventure title that includes platforming and puzzle-solving elements, distinguishing it from traditional RPGs.

Swordplay and exploration focus: The gameplay emphasizes real-time sword combat with parrying and exploration of diverse environments like towns and caves.

Technical issues and bugs: The game has several technical problems, including crashes when jumping or picking up items, save limit issues, and rough graphics.

Classic game style: As a spin-off title with a classic feel, it offers a compact, linear experience with some non-linear quest options.

Play as Redguard Cyrus: Players control a fixed protagonist, Cyrus, a Redguard mercenary searching for his sister, which makes the story linear.

Frequent crashes on actions: The game crashes frequently, especially on the Steam version, during specific actions like picking up items, looting, examining, or interacting with objects. Many users report hard crashes that require tedious solutions or compatibility tweaks.

Modern PC compatibility issues: The game has severe compatibility issues on modern PCs, often requiring DOSBox emulation, file fixes, or compatibility mode (Windows 95, admin, disable fullscreen optimizations). The GOG version runs slowly or inconsistently, while some users report smooth performance via DOSBox.

Game-breaking bugs: Game-breaking bugs appear unexpectedly, requiring frequent saving and tedious workarounds. Some users describe the game as completely broken or heavily bugged, with issues that corrupt saves or force restarts.

Low FPS and stutters: Players experience low frame rates, often dropping to 8-18 FPS, with stutters during reloading or menu navigation. The performance is described as infuriatingly bad, making the game nearly unplayable on modern systems.

Minor UI and settings bugs: Minor bugs include issues with skipping the intro cutscene and volume settings not working properly. These are less critical but affect user experience.

Recommended only for Elder Scrolls fans: A significant number of reviews suggest this game is only for dedicated Elder Scrolls enthusiasts who are interested in lore, story, or the series' history. Non-fans are advised to skip it.

Mixed conditional recommendations: Many reviews give recommendations with caveats, such as 'only on sale', 'with patience', 'for hardcore fans', or 'for lore enthusiasts'. The recommendation often depends on the player's tolerance for jank.

Technical issues and crashes: Many reviews mention bugs, keyboard issues, crashes, and general jankiness. Players advise saving frequently, using console commands, or reading crash guides.

Strongly not recommended by many: Several reviews advise against playing this game, calling it a waste of time, trash, or not worth even for free. Negative sentiment is high among some players.

Lore and story are highlights: Several reviews praise the game's narrative, lore, and story, recommending it for players interested in Elder Scrolls lore. Some say it's worth playing just for the story.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 15.0h.

Session length: 1.5h.

The game has substantial mechanical jank and high early friction (controls, platforming, bugs, repetition), but some players report it becomes enjoyable once they push through those issues.

Friction: tank style controls; bad platforming; repetitive and simplistic combat; game-breaking bugs requiring tedious workarounds; slog-like dungeons; repetitive music.

Unlock drivers: tolerating the jank (controls, bugs, repetition); possibly finding the sarcastic tone and lack of tutorial intriguing (niche appeal).

Lore-Seeking TES Historian: Tolerates technical issues, focuses on dialogue and story, explores dungeons for lore, saves frequently, uses workarounds for bugs. Motivation: To experience foundational TES lore and witness the evolution of the series. Stance: sale.

Retro Adventure Purist: Solves puzzles, explores dungeons, values voice acting and dialogue, may use emulation or alternate versions to get a stable experience. Motivation: To enjoy a well-crafted, linear puzzle-adventure game with a unique late-90s aesthetic. Stance: deep sale.

Bug-Burdened Lore Hunter: Uses file explorer hacks, copies save files, employs console commands, saves obsessively, may switch to GOG or DOS emulator. Motivation: To experience the game's story and historical importance despite a broken technical state. Stance: no buy.

Linux and Proton: No Linux/Proton-specific feedback was present in the provided reviews. All comments were generic (soundtrack complaints, general performance/crash issues without mention of Linux, Proton, SteamOS, or native Linux). Therefore, there is no evidence of Linux compatibility friction.

GOG version stable: The GOG version of the game is reported to be stable, indicating a reliable experience for players on that platform.

Ukrainian localization added: A Ukrainian localization has been recently created by a community member, expanding accessibility for Ukrainian-speaking players.