Info about Chronicon:

Official game description:
Story
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What happens in a world where the last evil lies dead, the last quest is completed, and the last chest has been opened?  
In this world, the long-dead Heroes of Old are forever remembered and honored through a great magical device. This device, known only as the Chronicon, is capable of opening a portal into the memories – the very souls – of the Heroes of Old. Each year, a handful men and women are given the great honor to re-live the old tales.  
And this year, you have been chosen…  
**Note:** _Trailer footage and screenshots are of high level characters with decent equipment. Expect a slower pace at first._
Game Features
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*   5 large and varied acts with each their own storyline to play through  
*   4 unique classes: The Templar, Berserker, Warden, and Warlock  
*   Procedurally generated dungeons and areas – each playthrough is different  
*   Local co-op up to 4 players (same machine, requires 1 Xbox 360/one controller per additional player)  
*   Remote Play Together fully supported  
*   Over 400 unique+ items with designed special powers  
*   Over 700 items with randomized enchants & qualities, build-changing powers, and powerful set items!  
*   Over 900 skills, abilities, and perks to learn and improve  
*   Infinite character progression via endless Mastery ranks  
*   Hardcore mode  
*   Deep crafting - Enchant, Gem, Empower, and inscribe your equipment with Runes!  
*   Endgame content including randomized dungeons, bosses, and endgame-only crafting mechanics  
*   Full Xbox 360/one controller support (optional)

Release date: 21 Aug, 2020

Categories: Action RPG, Procedural Generation, Cooperative Multiplayer, Character Progression, Player Customization, Crafting, Endgame Content


- 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:
- Highly Fun & Addictive ARPG (weight 0.99): Players consistently find the game incredibly fun, addictive, and engaging, often leading to long playtimes. Many consider it a 'hidden gem' or a 'masterpiece' for its genre, especially given its affordable price point, offering excellent value.
- Strong ARPG Design & QoL (weight 0.63): The game is frequently praised for effectively combining the strengths of popular ARPGs (like Diablo, PoE, Grim Dawn) while avoiding their weaknesses. It offers robust quality-of-life features such as rebindable keys, adjustable difficulty, and continuous progression, setting a high standard for the genre.
- Deep Character Build Freedom (weight 0.46): Players love the vast and flexible character customization options, with many unique skill trees, subclasses, and powerful gear synergies. The game encourages experimentation and allows players to easily create and optimize diverse builds without penalty.
- Satisfying Endgame Grind (weight 0.38): The endgame content is a major highlight, offering hundreds of hours of satisfying grind for completionists and casual players alike. It provides clear progression and ample opportunities for build experimentation, making the continuous play loop highly addictive.
- Rewarding Loot & Filters (weight 0.34): The game provides an abundance of loot with frequent and fair drops, leading to satisfying 'lootsplosions'. Players highly appreciate the customizable loot filters and auto-loot features, which streamline item management and make finding upgrades effortless.
- Easy Respecs & Crafting (weight 0.27): The ability to freely respec skills and masteries allows for extensive build experimentation without fear of penalty. Coupled with a convenient enchantment and transformation system, players can easily customize and upgrade their gear, enhancing overall build flexibility.
- Strong Indie Dev & Art (weight 0.17): Players commend the small development team (often a single person) for creating a high-quality, feature-rich game with no microtransactions and active communication. The pixel art style is generally well-received, contributing to the game's charm despite initial impressions.

Common complaints:
- Tedious & Repetitive Gameplay (weight 0.4): Many players found the core gameplay loop, characterized by constant walking and stop-to-attack mechanics, to be boring, monotonous, and grindy. The lack of depth, uninspired quest design, and absence of interesting enemy mechanics contributed to a feeling of chore-like progression, especially in the later stages and post-game.
- Unappealing Pixel Graphics & Visuals (weight 0.26): Players frequently criticized the pixel art style for being ugly, rough, and lacking clarity, particularly on larger screens. The game's overall visual presentation, including unimpressive character models and equipment that doesn't change character appearance, was often described as generic, flat, and visually unappealing, deterring many.
- Clunky UI & Inventory Management (weight 0.22): The user interface was widely criticized for being cluttered, awkward, ugly, and difficult to navigate, with issues like blurry text and poor scaling. Inventory management was a pain due to small space that quickly fills up, overwhelming amounts of loot, and inadequate filters, making it tedious to sort and manage items.
- Unsatisfying Skill & Combat Mechanics (weight 0.2): The skill system was seen as unbalanced, lacking depth, and offering minor, unimpactful upgrades. A major complaint was the inability to cast skills or attack while moving, leading to a 'stop-and-go' combat rhythm that felt clunky and frustrating. Additionally, many reported a lack of satisfying hit feedback, making combat feel less impactful.
- Problematic Loot Drop System (weight 0.08): The game suffered from an excessive amount of loot drops, often providing the same items, items for other classes, or common items that quickly became useless. This, combined with inadequate loot filters lacking crucial sorting options, made sifting through items overwhelming and undermined the joy of finding new gear.
- Unplayable on Steam Deck (weight 0.08): The game is poorly optimized for Steam Deck, leading to a very bad experience and often rendering it unplayable. Specific bugs include unresponsive back/select buttons and the inability to open inventory in dungeons, severely hindering gameplay on the handheld device.
- Missing Online Multiplayer (weight 0.07): A significant number of players expressed disappointment and concern over the complete absence of online multiplayer. This limitation was seen as a major drawback, preventing friends from connecting and enjoying the game together.
- Eye Strain from Visual Effects (weight 0.04): Players frequently reported experiencing eye strain after playing for extended periods, specifically attributing it to bright skills, special effects, and overall visual chaos on screen. This issue made continuous grinding uncomfortable for many.

Gameplay feedback:
- Classic Pixel ARPG Experience (weight 0.18): The game is widely recognized as a 'Diablo-like' 2D isometric ARPG, drawing comparisons to Diablo 2 and Path of Exile. It features a distinct pixel art style, combining traditional hack-and-slash gameplay with modern ARPG elements.
- Dynamic Difficulty & Tiered Rewards (weight 0.13): Players can adjust difficulty on the fly across 5 stages, from Casual to Legendary, with higher difficulties providing better item drops and applying enemy buffs/player debuffs. This system integrates directly with item rarity, as True Legendary items are exclusive to the highest difficulty at max level.
- Extensive Playtime & Content (weight 0.1): Players report significant playtime, with many spending 30-100+ hours on a single character, exploring the main campaign, side quests, and reaching endgame content. The campaign itself is estimated to take 12-20 hours, indicating substantial initial content.
- Procedurally Generated Dungeons (weight 0.07): The game features procedurally generated dungeons for both campaign and endless post-story content. This ensures variety in exploration and high-end challenges, supporting the core ARPG loop.
- Local Co-op Availability (weight 0.06): The game supports local co-op on one PC, allowing players to experience the dungeon-crawling action together. While some feedback mentions only LAN or no multiplayer, the consensus indicates local co-op is a feature.
- Flexible Keybinding Options (weight 0.05): The game offers highly customizable keybindings, including the ability to bind multiple skills to a single key. This quality-of-life feature allows players to tailor their control scheme for preferred playstyles, such as 'one-key map clearing.'
- Multi-Act Campaign Structure (weight 0.05): The main story campaign is structured across 5 acts, with 4 acts currently released. This provides a narrative progression and distinct zones for players to explore before diving into the extensive endgame.

Performance notes:
- Runs well on diverse hardware (weight 0.09): The game is highly optimized with low system requirements, allowing it to run smoothly on a wide variety of hardware, from modern gaming rigs to older machines and even laptops with integrated graphics. Users often describe it as capable of running "on a potato." While generally stable, some minor performance issues might arise if the game isn't using a dedicated GPU.
- Lag affects multiplayer and skills (weight 0.03): Players frequently experience lag, particularly during multiplayer sessions, where it can render the game unplayable, especially with certain internet connections like Starlink. Additionally, noticeable lag occurs when using specific effect-heavy skills and combat combos.

Recommendations:
- Highly recommended, especially on sale (weight 0.38): Many players strongly recommend the game, often emphasizing its excellent value, particularly when purchased during a sale. It is viewed as a solid, enjoyable experience worth trying, with some even stating it's worth the full price. This sentiment is widespread, highlighting the game's overall positive reception and accessibility.
- DLCs, especially Ancient Beasts, recommended (weight 0.07): Players frequently recommend purchasing the game's DLCs, with a particular emphasis on the 'Ancient Beasts' DLC, which is noted for significantly expanding the endgame experience. Many suggest acquiring the complete edition, ideally on sale, to gain access to all content from the outset.
- Optimize settings for comfort (weight 0.05): Practical advice includes using a controller for a smoother experience and enabling specific in-game settings like 'Display Enemy Healthbars' and 'Floating Text & Numbers' for improved clarity and comfort. Utilizing a dedicated GPU instead of integrated graphics is also suggested for optimal performance.
- Suitable for grind-focused players (weight 0.02): The game is explicitly recommended for players who enjoy extensive grinding as a core gameplay loop and are comfortable with its pixel art graphics. It caters well to those seeking a game where progression is driven by repetitive gameplay and loot acquisition.
- Beware of addictiveness, repetitive maps (weight 0.02): Players issue warnings that the game can be highly addictive, potentially consuming a lot of time for dedicated players. Some feedback also notes that the game's mapping can feel boring or repetitive after extended play sessions.

Other player notes:
- High demand for new content (weight 0.21): Players frequently express a strong desire for sequels, ongoing DLC, new classes, and continued updates. This indicates high engagement and a long-term interest in the game's future, with many returning for updates or even legitimizing previously pirated copies.
- Request for online multiplayer (weight 0.15): Many players are actively requesting online co-op features, moving beyond the current hotseat option. This suggests an opportunity to expand the social aspect of the game and cater to player preferences for shared experiences with friends.
- Accessible and generally positive (weight 0.07): The game is perceived as simple, accessible even without understanding English, and generally acceptable despite not being as sophisticated as AAA titles. Its pixel art style did not deter 'pixel-haters,' indicating broad appeal for its core mechanics.
- Endgame grind is polarizing (weight 0.05): Feedback indicates that while some players appreciate the grinding aspect, others find the late-game grind excessive. This suggests a potential area for refinement in progression systems to balance challenge with player enjoyment.
- Improve loot filtering (weight 0.03): The current loot filter is considered basic, leading to suggestions for more advanced features like true legendary filters or item lock systems. Enhancing this could significantly improve the quality of life and inventory management for players.
- Optimize for Steam Deck (weight 0.03): There's a clear desire for better Steam Deck optimization, with players linking potential DLC purchases to improved performance on the platform. Achieving 'Steam Deck Verified' status is seen as a significant positive for portability.
- Specific skill animation feedback (weight 0.03): Players have offered detailed suggestions for improving specific skill animations, such as replacing Berserker ice-type motions or making non-attack skills cast instantly. These show deep player engagement and a desire for visual polish.
- Roguelike market is saturated (weight 0.03): Some players believe the roguelike survivor genre is oversaturated, suggesting developers pivot to other genres due to 'aesthetic fatigue.' While not a direct critique of this game, it's a market observation worth noting for future strategic direction.
- Refund requested (limited feedback) (weight 0.01): One instance of a refund request was noted, but specific reasons for the refund were not provided within the cluster. This point is based on limited and low-quality feedback.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.29): Players feel satisfied due to the game's high quality, fun, and addictive ARPG gameplay, often comparing it favorably to Diablo 2 or other genre titans. This satisfaction stems from its deep build variety, extensive content, rewarding grinding and loot systems, and player-friendly quality-of-life features like free respeccing and good controller support, all offered at a great value.
- Excitement (weight 0.13): Excitement is generated by the game's addictive grind-focused gameplay, deep build customization, and the strong power fantasy it offers, especially when achieving powerful synergies. Players are also excited by the game's perceived high quality, often seeing it as a superior alternative to other ARPGs, and anticipate future content or the thrill of infinite endgame progression.
- Disappointment (weight 0.11): Disappointment primarily arises from the game's visual presentation, with many finding the pixel graphics rough or dated, and a lack of visual character customization. Other sources include technical issues like crashes or save file loss, perceived insufficient or repetitive endgame content, and the absence of features like online multiplayer or a deeper story, leading to the game not meeting expectations for some players.
- Frustration (weight 0.11): Frustration is largely driven by core combat mechanics, specifically the inability to move while casting or attacking, which many find restrictive and lacking kinetic combat. Significant UI/UX issues, such as cluttered interfaces, eye strain from small fonts, and awkward inventory management, also contribute to player annoyance. Technical problems like critical save data loss bugs and late-game performance issues further exacerbate frustration.
- Joy (weight 0.05): Players experience joy from the game's inherently fun and addictive gameplay loop, particularly its satisfying grinding mechanics and character progression. The ability to create rich, customized builds and achieve an overpowered state contributes significantly to this feeling. Playing with friends in local co-op also enhances the overall enjoyable and relaxing experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Enjoyment comes from the game's engaging core gameplay loop, which includes satisfying combat, looting, and grinding. The extensive build customization options and the variety of classes contribute to a continuously fun experience, especially as players delve deeper into the game and pursue their preferred character builds.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Appreciation is directed towards the game's exceptional design and the developer's dedication, especially considering it was largely created by a solo developer. Players value the mechanical depth, quality-of-life features like flexible respeccing and convenient difficulty adjustment, and the overall user-friendly design that makes for an unhindered farming and build experimentation experience.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Admiration is primarily focused on the solo developer's remarkable achievement in creating such a deep, comprehensive, and high-quality ARPG. Players are impressed by the game's design philosophy, its ability to provide an experience comparable to or even surpassing AAA titles, and the developer's evident understanding of grinder games and player-centric design.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom stems from the game's perceived high repetitiveness and a lack of fresh content over extended playtime. Players also experience disengagement due to overly generous loot, static character visuals, and sometimes a low difficulty that removes the challenge, making the gameplay feel monotonous.
- Addiction (weight 0.01): Addiction arises from the game's highly engaging systems, particularly its combat and equipment mechanics, which compel players to continue playing and replaying. The satisfying progression loop contributes to a strong desire to keep playing, often leading to extensive, uninterrupted sessions.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Players express a strong desire for specific improvements and additional features, including a more modern UI and inventory system, online multiplayer capabilities, and further quality-of-life enhancements. There's also a clear wish for more DLC content, better character aesthetics, and the removal of cast animations for non-attack skills.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope is focused on the game's future, with players expressing a desire for continued development, including new DLC and the addition of online multiplayer. There's also hope for technical improvements, such as a fix for critical bugs like character disappearance, and the potential for a mobile port.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion is often caused by visual clutter on the screen, making it difficult to discern what is happening during gameplay. Players also report confusion regarding game progression, such as not knowing where to go or how to find objective-critical items, and sometimes conflicting feelings about their own engagement with the game.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Relief comes from the game offering solutions to common ARPG pain points, such as affordable town portals and effective loot filters that mitigate inventory management woes. Players also feel relief from the game's more forgiving design compared to the harsh balance or complex build optimization found in other, more frustrating ARPGs.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is primarily triggered by severe technical issues like critical data loss. Players also express anger over poorly designed UI elements, inadequate loot filters, and graphical issues, as well as strong negative reactions to specific core mechanics or map designs they find frustrating or intentionally malicious.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia is evoked by the game's strong resemblance to classic ARPGs like Diablo 2, fulfilling a desire for that particular gameplay experience. It also stems from reminiscent feelings of classic shared-screen gaming, connecting players to past gaming experiences.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement is a direct result of the game's addictive qualities, compelling players to invest significant amounts of time into playing and experiencing its core loops.
- Eagerness (weight 0.01): Eagerness reflects a strong desire for the game's future expansion, including wishes for new content, improved features, additional classes, DLCs, or even a direct sequel, indicating a strong positive outlook on the game's potential.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise occurs when the game exceeds initial low expectations, revealing unexpected depth in its customization and replayability. Players are also surprised by discovering specific gameplay aspects, such as bullet-hell elements, or experiencing a significant change in enjoyment upon replaying the game.
- Fun (weight 0.01): The fundamental enjoyment of the game stems from its core hack-and-slash combat mechanics. Players find the genre itself, and specifically the combat within the game, to be inherently fun and engaging.}