Info about Fates of Ort:

Official game description:
Fates of Ort is a retro inspired fantasy RPG with a focus on strategic action and a story driven by your decisions. It is a tale of sacrifice and difficult choices, in a world under threat of annihilation by the avaricious force of Consumption magic.  
Magic is powerful, but it is not free. Every spell you cast requires a little bit of your life energy to spark it. Cast enough spells and you will extinguish your very soul. This means you need to be strategic when fighting, balancing the cost of magic with the risk of taking damage from your enemies.  
How each spell manifests in the world depends on what divine power you choose to combine it with. For example, the Evoke Force spell will cause the ground to erupt with a series of sharp ice crystals, summon a thunderous lightning strike, or barrage the ground with a meteor shower – all depending on what the spell is combined with.  
Use the magic spells at your disposal to defeat the demons spilling out from the underworld. In Ort, time is frozen whenever you stand still. This means you have the opportunity to plan your attacks and be strategic.  
Like any RPG, you will be slaying enemies to collect loot and experience. The items you pick up will improve your magical abilities, though some come with curses... As you level up, you will learn additional magic spells to use against your enemies.  
Ort is varied and expansive, an open world for you to explore. Choose the order of the quests you pursue, or just explore to meet new characters. The final battle is available whenever you choose, but... Are you strong enough?  
Play as a novice mage, forced to take on the responsibility of saving the world and those that are important to you. Quests can be completed to gain access to new areas, save and unlock allies, gain items and powers, and more. Replays are encouraged because small decisions can have permanent and significant consequences, leading to different game outcomes.  
*   Learn and use 12 magic spells, and combine them with the three elements for different effects  
*   Time stops when you stand still - take advantage of this to plan your attacks  
*   Use your life energy to weave spells - be strategic in your fighting  
*   Explore various biomes around the world of Ort and meet a diverse set of characters  
*   Atmospheric soundtrack composed by Chris Gray  
*   Pursue truly optional quest lines, and make difficult choices between which characters to save  
*   Save the world, or rule it as a force of evil
Games that inspired Fates of Ort
--------------------------------
Diablo 2, Morrowind, Chrono Trigger, Fallout, Eschalon Book

Release date: Mar 31, 2020

Categories: Action RPG, Open-World Exploration, Multiple Endings, Time-based Mechanics, Resource Management, Character Progression, Choice-based Narrative, Retro


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence shows a split in community sentiment. One reviewer believes the game is underpriced at $12.50, implying a higher fair value, while another finds the current $14.99 too high. A third states the game is worth more than its price. This suggests a fair range between $10 and $20, with the current price near the middle.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 30.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Game completion is supported by two explicit 30-hour playthrough claims and one 15-20 hour estimate, indicating a typical full playthrough takes around 30 hours. The quote about beating the game without visiting 60% of locations suggests a shorter completion time but provides no specific hours, so it does not alter the 30-hour figure. No evidence provides a distinct story-only completion time, session length, or endgame hours, so those metrics remain null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Fates of Ort has a slow, confusing early game that becomes engaging once players level up and unlock a range of abilities, typically around level 4-5. Players who endure the initial ramp-up are rewarded with a compelling story and satisfying combat.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Reaching level 4-5 and having a range of abilities to combo
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: feeling lost due to overarching quests; slow pacing; limited abilities early; boring dialogue; combat feels shallow; lack of progression sense
  - Unlock drivers: leveling up to 4-5; unlocking quick travel points; gaining a range of abilities to combo; unlocking new areas; finding progression through exploration
  - Conditions: willingness to endure early ramp-up; patience with slow pacing; reaching level 4-5; unlocking abilities; not attempting 100% completion; engaging with the game's pacing
- Player Archetypes:
  - Old-School RPG Purist (buy)
    - Motivation: Nostalgia and appreciation for classic RPG design
    - Playstyle: Thorough exploration, quest completion, and appreciation of retro art and atmosphere
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: fan of old school RPGs
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Tactical Combat Tactician (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastery of the time-stop combat system and tactical dodging
    - Playstyle: Methodical, uses time-stop to plan moves, weaves through spells, prioritizes avoiding damage
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: RuneScape; Superhot
  - Casual Chill Explorer (buy)
    - Motivation: Relaxation and stress-free exploration
    - Playstyle: Casual, explores at own pace, doesn't stress about death, enjoys story and ambient music
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: casual gamer
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Choice-Driven Roleplayer (buy)
    - Motivation: Narrative agency and roleplaying through choices
    - Playstyle: Makes deliberate choices, explores quests thoroughly, may replay to see different outcomes
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Zelda


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:
- Game is fun and charming (weight 0.34): Players consistently describe the game as fun, cool, unique, and charming, making it enjoyable for casual playthroughs. The gameplay is fresh and engaging, contributing to an overall positive experience.
- Soundtrack is excellent (weight 0.27): The soundtrack is consistently praised for being good, excellent, and featuring some really good tunes. Music enhances the overall atmosphere and enjoyment of the game.
- Excellent indie RPG execution (weight 0.16): The game is considered an excellent indie RPG, well-executed and among the best RPGs players have experienced. It delivers a solid RPG experience with depth and polish.
- Multiple endings and side quests (weight 0.14): The game features a few endings and fun side quests that can be handled in different ways. This adds to the replayability and variety of the experience.

Common complaints:
- UI and controls are problematic (weight 0.44): The UI is often unhelpful, with poor keyboard shortcuts, imprecise quest markers, and awkward spell selection. Controls can be asinine, and the inventory is only accessible at certain points, hindering gameplay.
- Spells are unbalanced and overpowered (weight 0.34): Certain spells, like mind control and sleep/explosion combos, are extremely powerful and can trivialize combat. This leads to a lack of challenge and makes other spells feel useless.
- Technical issues and bugs are frequent (weight 0.34): Many reviewers experienced crashes, graphical glitches, and performance problems. These technical issues, including black screens and unresponsive bosses, significantly detract from the experience.
- Progression and character development are lacking (weight 0.34): Character progression is minimal, with only one ability choice per level and no skill points or RPG upgrades. Equipment feels useless and loot is unremarkable, leading to a lack of meaningful growth.
- Quests lack information and direction (weight 0.32): Quests often lack crucial information, leading to confusion and frustration. Players can get lost or lock themselves out of quests, and the open structure can result in a lack of direction.
- Game is boring and repetitive (weight 0.31): Multiple reviewers found the game boring and repetitive, with gameplay becoming tedious after a few hours. The lack of variety and engaging content made the experience feel like a chore.
- Story is generic and unimpressive (weight 0.29): The story is often described as generic, tropey, and not engaging, with a disjointed plot and a villain's exposition dump. Characters are paper-thin and the narrative fails to create urgency.
- Game is too easy and lacks challenge (weight 0.28): The game is generally too easy, with normal enemies posing no threat and combat being simple. This leads to a lack of engagement and makes the game feel one-sided.
- Game feels unpolished and dated (weight 0.24): The experience doesn't feel fully polished, with rough edges and a lack of quality of life features. The game feels behind the times and like a flash game, not worth the price.
- Audio and visuals are subpar (weight 0.21): The music is bad or poorly looped, and the art is weak with a soft color palette. Graphical issues like blurriness and stretched widescreen further detract from the presentation.
- Movement and travel are slow and tedious (weight 0.2): Character movement is excruciatingly slow, and travel feels tedious even with teleportation. This makes exploration and backtracking frustrating, especially in large environments.
- Loot and rewards are unsatisfying (weight 0.2): Loot is often minor number upgrades or randomly generated, with no exciting items. Chests sometimes require payment, and equipment feels useless, making rewards not worth the effort.
- Ending is punishing and unfair (weight 0.13): The final boss requires beating a series of bosses in a row, and dying means restarting all of them. This makes the ending feel punishing and unfair, with an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion.

Gameplay feedback:
- Time-stop mechanic core (weight 0.54): A defining feature is that time stops when the player stands still, and only moves when the player moves. This tactical time mechanic is central to gameplay and strategy.
- Open world exploration emphasized (weight 0.49): The game is repeatedly described as an open world with extensive exploration and player-driven progression. Players can freely discover various locations and biomes, making exploration a core mechanic.
- RPG genre and elements (weight 0.38): Reviewers consistently identify the game as an RPG, with some noting it as an action RPG or a hybrid with roguelike elements. The RPG foundation is central to the game's identity.
- Multiple quest solutions (weight 0.27): Quests are designed with multiple solutions and consequences, often intertwining with each other. This non-linear quest design encourages experimentation and replayability.
- Health as spell cost (weight 0.27): Casting spells costs health instead of mana, and the cost increases with repeated use of the same spell. This creates a risk-reward dynamic where health management is crucial.
- Spell variety and creativity (weight 0.26): The game offers a wide array of spells that can be used creatively, with mechanics encouraging players to utilize the entire spell list. This adds depth to combat and problem-solving.
- Choices affect world (weight 0.21): The game is heavily choice-driven, with decisions that have various consequences and can change the world. This emphasizes player agency and meaningful decision-making.
- Unique battle system (weight 0.17): The combat system is noted as unique, with a simultaneous turn-based mechanic. This sets it apart from typical RPG combat and adds strategic depth.
- Lore and worldbuilding (weight 0.09): The game has rich lore to discover, with a story and world that players can delve into. This adds depth to the exploration and RPG experience.
- Multiple exploration paths (weight 0.09): There are many paths to explore, some of which are morally ambiguous. This variety in routes enhances the open-world feel and player choice.

Performance notes:
- Technical issues on macOS (weight 0.06): The game has severe technical problems on macOS, as reported in Cluster 1. This indicates platform-specific instability that may require dedicated fixes.
- Crashes with many enemies or NPCs (weight 0.06): The game crashes when there are a lot of enemies or NPCs in a place, as reported in Cluster 6. This suggests performance issues under heavy load, possibly due to AI or rendering limitations.
- Graphical glitches on save load (weight 0.06): Reviewers experienced graphical glitches when loading a save, as noted in Cluster 2. This can disrupt the player's experience and may be related to rendering or memory management.
- Graphical issues with fullscreen and blur (weight 0.06): Walls flash when stretched to fullscreen resolution, and the game looks blurry even in windowed mode, as per Cluster 8. These visual bugs can detract from the experience and need addressing.
- Loading screen crashes (weight 0.06): Occasional crashes occur on loading screens, as mentioned in Cluster 3. This can prevent players from progressing and is a common stability issue.
- Black screen bug (weight 0.06): A black screen bug occurred on two occasions, as noted in Cluster 9. This is a serious issue that can make the game unplayable temporarily.
- Needs optimization (weight 0.05): The game requires a little bit of optimization, as mentioned in Cluster 7. This is a general call for performance improvements to ensure smoother gameplay.

Recommendations:
- Game is worth the price (weight 0.31): Multiple reviewers emphasize that the game provides excellent value for money, with some stating it is worth every penny and even more. The content and experience justify the cost, making it a worthwhile purchase.
- Highly recommended overall (weight 0.31): A significant number of reviewers strongly recommend the game, using phrases like 'definitely recommend' and 'wholeheartedly recommend.' This indicates a broad consensus that the game is enjoyable and worth playing.
- Play first playthrough blind (weight 0.05): A reviewer recommends going through the first playthrough without guides or spoilers, emphasizing the value of discovery and personal choice.

Other player notes:
- Good playtime length (weight 0.14): The game provides over 20 hours of playtime, with some reviewers noting 15-20 hours to complete. This substantial length adds to the game's value and replayability.
- Developer support (weight 0.12): The developer is responsive and helpful, quickly addressing bug reports and assisting players with issues. This level of support is appreciated by the community.
- Runs on low-end PCs (weight 0.1): The game has very low system requirements, making it accessible to players with potato PCs. This is a positive for many users who cannot run high-end games.
- Hidden gem quality (weight 0.1): Several reviewers describe the game as overlooked or a hidden gem that deserves more attention. Despite its quality, it lacks widespread recognition, which players find unfortunate.
- Suitable for teens (weight 0.09): The game is appropriate for teens and adults, making it accessible to a wide audience. This broad suitability is a positive aspect for many players.

Emotions:
- Enjoyment (weight 0.26): Players found the game highly enjoyable due to its unique mechanics, such as the time-stopping and health-cost spell system, which added strategic depth to combat. The open world, exploration, pixel art, writing, and lore were also praised, making the experience rewarding and fun. Overall, the game was seen as a hidden gem with a charming style and engaging content.
- Frustration (weight 0.18): Frustration stemmed from several issues, including poor UI and control schemes, graphical glitches, and frequent crashes. Players also complained about slow movement, repetitive combat, lack of map markers, and frustrating backtracking. The final boss requiring a series of fights without checkpoints and the inability to access certain areas due to earlier choices added to the frustration.
- Appreciation (weight 0.09): Players appreciated the game's unique time-based mechanic and thoughtful design, noting that it does many things entirely unique and nails them on the first try. The game was described as a hidden gem with surprising depth, original story and setting, and excellent soundtrack. The choice within the first 10 minutes with staggering consequences and the overall value for the price were also highlighted.
- Disappointment (weight 0.09): Disappointment arose from minor bugs, lack of polish, and the inability to access certain areas due to earlier choices. Some players found the game boring despite its polished look, and the ending ruined the experience for some. The music was described as dreadful, and the game was seen as repetitive, lacking cohesion, and not worth the price.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.05): Satisfaction came from the game delivering on its promises, with a perfect combat system and satisfying, addictive combat that rewards patience. The time-stopping mechanic and health-cost magic system worked well, providing a satisfying experience. Players found the game hard to pin down but all of what it presents is good, especially the satisfying dodging through magical missiles.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Excitement was driven by the fresh and exciting combat mechanics, with spells making players feel like a force of nature. The unique time-stopping mechanic and well-written story and dialogue kept gameplay engaging. Players also looked forward to more from the developer, praising the graphics, story, and music.
- Love (weight 0.04): Players loved the game for its deep gameplay and intricate story, along with cool mechanics and a neat array of spells. The exploration of different locations and the movement system were also highlights. Overall, the game was loved all the way through.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Boredom was caused by the game being boring and playing like a chore, with simple combat and a lot of boring content to get through. The dialogue was also described as boring and uninteresting, contributing to the overall lack of engagement.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia was evoked by the game making players feel like a kid again, with characters that mean a lot to them. The game also brought back good old day vibes of Sega Genesis RPGs and gave warm fuzzy nostalgia for old CRPGs.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise came from the unexpected polished production and the well-implemented unique concept of time stopping. Players did not expect such a high level of quality from the game.
- Praise (weight 0.01): Praise was given for the mechanics that kept the game fresh and for being one of the better old school RPGs played in a long time. The great music and quest design with decisions that actually matter were also commended.
- Pleasure (weight 0.01): Pleasure was derived from the amazing HP management gameplay and the overall discovery of the game being a real pleasure. The unique mechanics contributed to a satisfying experience.
- Fun (weight 0.01): The game was described as incredibly fun, providing a highly enjoyable experience for players.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration was expressed for the polished RPG with a very unique battle mechanic and the incredibly well-rounded experience that emphasizes combat, skills, worldbuilding, and writing.
- Curiosity (weight 0.01): Curiosity was sparked by the game allowing players to click on random things and still progress, encouraging exploration and experimentation.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger was directed at the game not being worth the asking price, leading to dissatisfaction with the value proposition.
- Shock (weight 0.01): Shock was expressed at the low number of reviews considering the quality on offer, indicating that the game deserves more attention.
- Investment (weight 0.01): Investment was shown by the reviewer being motivated to go back and complete all side quests, indicating a high level of engagement with the game.
- Dislike (weight 0.01): Dislike was directed at the loot-based drops with randomized stats on equipment, which was a specific gameplay element that did not appeal to the reviewer.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness was felt because the reviewer likes games like this but the game lacks basic quality of life features, detracting from the overall experience.}