Arx Fatalis - 21 Year Late Review

arcs Fatalis is a firstperson action RPG released in 2002 by Arcane Studios for the PC and Xbox wow Arcane Studios would go on to release games such as dark Messi of Might and Magic and Dishonored two of my favorite games and absolute Classics but how does their initial foray into video games hold up over 20 years later and why do I even care to review it well Lord knows I have the time and after my Dark Messiah video a few people suggested I tackle Ark Fatalis I remember seeing it advertised back in the day and back then I wasn't reading magazines about video games so I just wasn't clued in as to what it was it slipped by my radar if I'm being honest it's probably because at that age I saw the Box sitting right beside it on the Shelf spell force and for some reason decided I really felt like some realtime strategy the expansion packs to spell Force were published by Joe wood Productions by the way the same publisher for arxs Fatalis see how I tied that little joke together there in a neat little Loop little bit of gaming history but enough of that onto the gameplay and how the game presents itself and because this game is 20 years old there's just going to be open spoilers all the way through the game opens with this fantastic cut scene of a man who sets the scene for us the world has gone to [ __ ] the sun is dead and the surface is dark we get this beautiful panning artwork paired with a very cinematic cut scene and the figure delivering the monologue is given Center Stage just as he is about to warn the player of what's coming he's stabbed in the back by a scaven this is genius having the intro Exposition cut off by the very forces he's trying to warn us about despite the alert looking guards get this door broken down the scaven escapes by doing some mad acrobatics and crushing up a lumbridge Teleport Rune and with that we're presented with ARX Fatalis character creator the UI for this is predictably dated but with a bit of patience and reading it's easy to work work out what does what you have your basic character attributes then you have your skills like stealth technical skills casting close combat these are all self-explanatory but there's also skills like intuition which helps you find hidden objects and secret passages as well as making you a better Trader for the best deals possible at first I did try to use the quick generation button thinking it had some archetypes to get me started but no it seemingly dumps the stats randomly without any explanation or option to influence this after reset these stats I build a more melee focused character with a bit of technical Savvy there are also some face options harrowing Xbox eara face options I went with the default Daniel on completion my character is unceremoniously dumped into a goblin prison cell and our first task is to escape a fellow prisoner encourages me to figure a way out and the game says I can talk to him by double clicking on him in either Mouse look or cursor mode with that let's get the bad right out of the way way Arc Fatalis is janky it's about as janky as D booy's freewheeler your ability to interact with the world is both comprehensive and convoluted looking at something and pressing F uses it equips it or eats it shift clicking something under your Crosshair puts it directly into your bag while clicking on it will let you drag and move it around the world sounds simple right no we just getting started hold on you have four modes of user interface the basic Mouse look mode which lets you navigate and interact with the world your combat mode activated by hitting tab this red is your weapon and allows you to attack your casting mode which is basically how you cast runes more on that later and finally your mouse interface mode this lets you move around with limited capability but mostly exists so you can click on UI elements see your inventory inspect things Etc it is finicky to say the least and I fumbled on these systems far longer than I have any other UI in an RPG G the combat and casting mode are simple enough but the interactive modes are awkward eventually you will get into the system but even then it's not smooth I feel they wanted this to be as immersive as possible so you're always in the game world and it's ambitious to say the least given this was 2002 the level of complexity is impressive but it's also going to slow players down purely because of the way it's implemented I'm going to go in depth into all these systems but I just wanted to say I had problems right from from the start hell I was barely out of the prison cell when while fighting a spider my game froze and my character rubber banded and then the game woke up again with me in a wet pit that I could not escape from after fiddling about with a game for almost an hour getting it ready for recording I was less than happy to get stuck in ambiguous green liquid not a good start I decided to fiddle a bit more with the game settings and I get it a bit more stable than before and I restart from the beginning this time much better after a daring Escape I grab a bone from the floor and use it to take down the goblin guard so let's talk about the combat it looks clunky and simple from the get-go but if you stick with it you can begin to see there is more to it than that you can just Spam left click but that isn't the best way to approach combat similar to DMM there are directional attacks if you hold left click you ready an attack to be released and depending on your current motion the attack will be different forward uses an overhead smash backward creates a stabbing motion the old CHP chop and left or right result in side swipes each one of these attacks serves different purposes and fit well with their movement the overhead smash is very aggressive and requires you to be closer so you'll be moving forward anyway whereas the retreating stab feels like it has a bit more range and it's a more cautious attack fitting with backing off it's also very precise unlike the side swipes which fit nicely with the strafing also like you're dancing while requiring far less aim and precision because you're swiping your sword across the entire screen one thing I will note is that side stepping takes priority over back stepping so if you move away diagonally you won't do a frust you'll do a swipe if it was like a dated or prototype version of dark Messi of Might and Magic and I actually enjoy it you need to be patient with it though it takes a bit of time to get used to and it's slower paced but it works well and for the ERA this is a great directional based attack system you'll see enemies wind up their own attacks in the same way you do but there's no real way to block or Dodge these hits all you can do is bait them to attack and move out of the way in time it's acceptable but not great there are equipable Shields but as I said no active blocking system they work purely as a defensive stat boost which makes me a little sad but it's 2002 they did amazing for the time as far as I'm concerned with this system speaking of equipment there is a pleer of it to be found weapons and armor may have skill requirements and most of it will break event encouraging you to pick stuff up and use it until you need to replace it you can repair items but only to a point I can add and prove them any further a breaking point if you will you can equip anything right from the world or from your inventory simply by using it or dragging it onto your character pain in the journal inventory inventory now so far so good I'm liking the basic questing at this point running around the goblin prison I find a fellow captive named pulsus turns out the Goblins locked up one of their own for posting rude me in the Discord I free psus as I too have been ostracized for such a crime later I find him knocking back a drink and he helps me Forge some official documents I am now a gem Trader hark goblins and see my shiny Wares because of my new official standing they let me into the goblin caves they don't attack me I feel like I'm making progress as a fake gem Trader so when I ask a goblin to open the path to the castle for me imagine my disappointment when he says no gem trading today when I ask why he simply responds trolls on strike no gem trade today the trolls are on strike of course they are and this is my problem how well I run around for a bit before I begin exploring these beautiful crystalline caves while there I Venture into a webbed den and find a larger spider than before now up until this point combat has been a cakewalk I attack I pull back I attack again not getting hit has been easy to manage but also it hasn't been too punishing when I do get hit even the little spiders only did a weak point attack then this guy takes out about 40% of my HP and then again I [ __ ] leg it smashing rat ribs and fish into my mouth while I run I run straight into a rat which normally wouldn't be a problem but while I fumble through my bags looking for a poison antidote before my last few health points tick over it's an added concern to say the least I managed to find the antidote and slam back a life potion okay there's no messing about this time take out the rat and then time to dance the dance of the spider I discover that overhead strikes are no good I have to get too close for that sideways strikes work well especially with the large leg presence I'm just about getting into the Rhythm when I fail to judge just how close I am to the spider unlike Dark Messiah there are some enemies that you just aren't ready for yet I make my way back around and take on some more spiders cooking the rat ribs as I go this time around I save and decide to tackle him again purely by accident instead of hitting tab I hit one and cast a spell that I guess got from picking up a scroll I press it again and instead of a blue projectile I cast Levitate by pure dumb luck I've managed to master a flight no way that spider can reach me up here I decide to leave him until later speaking of magic let's discuss the casting system the magic of arcs is both absolutely fantastic but difficult to master how so well it's all based around Rune casting along your journey through the caves you'll find runes when you use these runes they'll be added to your spell book once you know all the runes in an incantation that incantation will be unlocked in your spell book I really like this system you don't learn spells per se you learn the Spell components and then just work the rest out for yourself you can click on each Rune as well to see how to draw it properly yes I said draw because you have to draw each Rune by hand every time you cast the spell if you've ever played a video game before you can probably see where this could be a problem because how the hell are you supposed to draw a complex chain of runes quickly while in the middle of a fight the answer is with patience and practice I found that the more complicated spells required standing still but eventually with time you can begin to pump fbls while on the move I don't mind a magic system with a bit of Mastery and if that isn't your thing there is also a spell slot system by holding shift while you're casting you can store up to fre spells for later use spells cast in this manner will still use well Mana but only when you actually cast them them not when you save them this is good what's bad is that the recognition for these symbols ranges from absurdly reliable to ridiculously bad even without the threat of impending death causing you to draw in a rush sometimes runes just fail to recognize especially when they're similar to other runes I've read that your DPI can affect this as well so you or boys will have a nightmare doing this like I even know what an or is I really hope this is just a system that hasn't aged well with new resolutions or something because the Spells themselves are great you can also find lots of Scrolls throughout the game and when you use these they'll automatically dump a spell into your quick slots whether you know the prerequisite runes or not some spell Scrolls help you progress through the game and some will trap you inside a room because when you levitate you can't move downwards whatsoever so I accidentally set off the levitate spell again because of course I did and I move around the room waiting for it to wear off only it doesn't end I keep floating and I can't leave because the exit staircase goes downwards that's the opposite to floating finally I figure it out hitting four will end an active spell I was trapped in there longer than I care to admit the variety of spells does not disappoint at all you can create Shields raise walls of fire that take out groups of enemies raise Undead move objects with your mind or summon chickens there is also the enchant spell which allows you to imbue weapons with the properties of items that is fantastic what a great way to let the player make a mundane weapon their own I've always wanted a deeper spellcasting system than games usually offer I love magic and I feel like this is such a good attempt at a hard spellcasting system what's that Captain clerck burn the people no that would be wrong can't do that the enemy variety is about on par with Dark Messiah you have your humanoids regular dudes trolls rat men but the primary enemy I found to be goblins and rats oh [ __ ] lots and lots of rats the Goblins are predictably boring to fight but the scaven are [ __ ] awesome they throw poison daggers at you back flip into a cloak like the gem Hadar I'm fairly sure they take your gold too if you get too close to them at one point I was fighting one and it was honestly an experience that I don't think another game has done quite so well he attacks me Dodges vanishes reappears and throws a poison knife at me then [ __ ] off again eventually he gives me the slip I look everywhere for this rat boy and I cannot find him he's taken the Money and Run what's up [ __ ] finally an enemy that doesn't beat the player by killing them an enemy that beats the player by escaping alive there are cultist spellcasters who I really struggled to deal with when they gang up as they can heal and buff themselves I ended up luring them one at a time into a deaf Corridor these cultist just keep bottles of human blood lying around in their kitchen working area that's pretty [ __ ] up guess I'll take every one of them like a normal person liches are another impressive enemy these guys can summon zombies and they cast a whole load of spells look at this they're ripping holes in reality throwing blue lightning bolts poison clouds I'm in the middle of fighting one where my screen goes blue and the game freezes I've been paralyzed then I hear the zombie hitting me in the back I die love it the zombies themselves will keep getting back up unless you impale a wooden steak into them honestly there's enough residual stuff in the game to make me think vampires were a planned enemy and they just didn't make it in so the Stak killing mechanic was tied to zombies instead whatever the truth I like that there is an additional step to taking them down but the little [ __ ] as cool as the Lich encounters are they suffer from the old bullet sponge syndrome genuinely these are some of the worst sponges I've ever seen in my life Fireballs sword swipes they just soak it all up eventually I grow bored and just stand on top of the sarcophagy where they can't hit me I'm not going to bash the general AI because the game is 20 years old it does an okay job and enemies flee to get help and try to surround you its ability to kill you is impressive for its time but as bosses go they are as [ __ ] in arcs as they are in Dark Messiah and the final boss he looks amazing you can see the merging of man and otherworldly old deity but do yourself a favor and consider just reaching him the end of the game it's that bad unless you're magic spec you're just not going to have a good time because he sucks you into a mega Vortex summons [ __ ] demons and drains all your health how did I do it with a heavy melee character easy I ran around the corner and kept stabbing him until he ran out of mana and then this yep final boss of the game this goes goes on see this pause here this is me taking a moment to adjust my underwear okay that's better back to the boss then there we go the level design is deceptively simple at first glance there's a lot going on in arcs rather than having a linear series of spaces moving from one to the next you move up and down as you descend and Ascend through the levels of a Cave System this is all Amplified by the fact that every floor has a labin find quality to it you can easily get turned around or lost in these places it really feels like the levels were both carved into the Rock but also built around existing Caverns the levels are designed with backtracking in mind in fact going down deeper into the caves to circumvent obstacles on your current level is part of the main quest you'll be going up and down but it doesn't feel like busy work because the pacing makes sure there's always some element of exploration at play you're retreading old ground while while exploring something new the game will also let you explore and find other Pathways reach places you're clearly not supposed to be some guards will at least give you fair warnings excuse me you're not allowed to walk in these parts in some cases what is the most honest warning I've ever heard in a video game you're not allow I'll give you three seconds to get out of here if you don't I'll Attack you there's a really neat fast travel system to navigate between the levels so you don't get bored trekking the same caves over and over on your travels you come across portal structures and will soon be taught how to activate them by snake Mage once you find a deactivated portal simply casting the spell in front of it will turn it on and you'll be able to navigate to any portal you've already activated I really like this system you can't go anywhere you haven't already been there's a little mechanic to activate each point and it's completely free from uis and Maps if this was a Skyrim mod immersive would be in the title there's a minor problem however the spell the snake Mage teaches you doesn't go into your Spellbook it is simply written in your journal in text form as in the runes are never shown to you you only get the phonetic component of the spell Mega spacium I checked every single Rune in my book to see which was which there was no reason this fast travel spell shouldn't have gone in your Journal spell book I I I can't believe it's happening again it's happening again what is it with fast travel lastly on traversing the world going up and down at staircases requires you to stop switch to Mouse interface mode and click the flashing staircase icon to initiate the transition I cannot imagine what went through their heads for this the game has area transitions in other places where you move past a threshold and it loads you into another part of the level why they decided to make moving through levels require a clickable button is a true mystery and in a game that feels like a massive attempt to be as immersive as 2002 would let it this is so video gamey it's unreal there are also puzzles to solve and some of them are relatively straightforward but satisfying the first one is to explore a little repair a mechanism with some rope and ride the elevator up to the top you also need to press down two pressure plates to do this and the game shows you this by having rocks already on one of the plates you can figure out from this that placing rocks on the other pressure plate will keep it down this is a really good visual tutorial and it's too bad most of the game is explained to you via text scroll at the top of the screen compared to this and unfortunately some of the puzzles are [ __ ] I won't lie I turned to a walkr going to soft spoil the least [ __ ] one now and it's early on Veterans of this game are probably thinking it's the four-digit code under the bed right no no no no no I always check under the bed you always check beneath the bed for secret codes ammo and I mean whatever else you might find under that bed what are you doing but the key under the [ __ ] pillow no way there is no way I would have known to check for that the only hint the game gives you about this is that this Goblin is the Quarter Master and he says it's his room this me home but he also clearly shares his toilet with other goblins and the fact that there's a [ __ ] bunk bed in there as well means he doesn't sleep in that room alone so is it his room or a Barracks which is it Arcane anyway who rattled your cage right while we're talking about Keys nearly every key key is labeled a little metal key only a few are named this feels oh so immersive but all it really does is means you easily forget what keys you've tried and for fear of needing one again later you stop throwing any away so you try every key you have in reverse order on every single door it's [ __ ] obnoxious now I discovered it very late but Maria sells a key ring blesser I wish she' told me about this when I visited her shop this will consolidate all your keys and make life much simpler but honestly this should have been in the player bags the moment they start the game but back to puzzles there are some absolutely Stellar moments let me paint a picture for you a slow approach to an ominous room a figure cuts through the shadow the statue of a woman bearing a grin both welcoming and wicked in her hand sits an empty bowl and a memory flares the bottles of blood yes now that is what I'm talking about that clink as the PK Cullis opens is overwhelmingly satisfying no it's not a hard puzzle but it isn't convoluted this is good design striking visuals that instantly let the player's brain do the Grim mathematics to work it out blood goes in bowl and no I don't know why the stone statue has nipples that could cut glass I noticed them too there is a very basic hunger system but I never experienced hunger as I wolf down cheese to replenish my health you can't eat raw food in AR fatalist the [ __ ] bass is [ __ ] raw but fortunately cooking is as simple as dropping raw food from your inventory next to a fire sauce and watching it cook boy there is even basic crafting like combining flour and water to make dough that you can also bake into bread hell if you find a rolling pin and some apples you can turn out apple pies just like ma used to make and finish with a can of soda if you find a peso and mortar you can grind up herbs and stuff that dust in bottles to make potions you can do this from your inventory by double clicking and combining or using items on Real World objects like alchemical Stills in fact I recommend you get your object knowledge skill up just so you can make health potions like a real Alchemist a real Alchemist a real Alchemist a real Alchemist now it might have sounded that I've just ripped on a whole bunch of systems in arcs so let me just make it abundantly clear the core gameplay of Arc the combat the spellcasting the RPG elements the exploration the questing all of these things are not only solid they're probably a little ahead of their time the other stuff like a dodgy inventory poor journal entries and esoterically designed [ __ ] puzzles these are minor complaints and most of these will be forgotten within a few minutes the game play is dated but mechanically impressive and fun if a little rough around the edges and now I'm going to tell you about the shittest part of the gameplay experience around three quarters through the game the main city of arcs will be invaded by yers gray people with d armor you dare fight a dunmer now they hit amazingly hard run amazingly fast and have massive Health PS but they are really hard of hearing so this is a cool balance because even with my low stealth skill I am able to sneak around the city and distract them I like this even if it's forc stealth it isn't difficult and it doesn't outstay its welcome so where does it go wrong there's a lot of things a Tre hadn't quite done the way we did them and that's why we did them you have to enter the castle and immediately as soon as you enter there is a yilda walking straight at you there is nowhere to hide no dark corners and because it's separate cell you can't walk out and wait for him to pass I tried to fight these guys I really did using the secret and overpowered harm spell and still I just died so fast I read online that magic is the only reliable way to kill kill them that just [ __ ] sucks man because it means your melee your stealth and your range combat is just worthless trash you can't even get past them in the tight corridors they're just needlessly strong fast and tanky this is an overwhelming challenge this is just [ __ ] stealing past with invisibility potions is how I got through this segment practicing with secret switches so I know exactly what to do and when to do it like a really [ __ ] version of blood money but when you do get past them what's waiting for you a pristine set of their armor and two-handed sword look at that full plate the master works all you can't go wrong okay you know what forgiven ARX forgiven forgiven because after this you reach that point where you feel powerful where ratman assassins flee before you and your Enchanted Greatsword you stand toe to- Toe with a giant worm fighting it back through the tunnel to create a path for yourself and the creativity of the enemy and level design shines once again and when you are finally prepared to fight the yers taking them on with their own armor that's so satisfying it's so good to finally smack them down and watch them just explode in shame outstanding I feel I've been a bit critical so I want to wrap up gam playay on a real positive because there is something I want to draw special attention to that I absolutely love and that is the Crypt I've already talked about the bow puzzle but I have to talk about the entire Crypt because it is phenomenal it's truly a haunting area to play through the undead the traps the door slamming shut as you try to enter a room or Worse sealing you inside but as you go deeper more and more Undead denisons rise and stumble through the corridors from tomb to tomb the pacing is so good all building up to a ghostly encounter a puzzle involving runes you've been finding along the way your prize awaits you beyond this strange Subterranean Cathedral and upon your escape the Lich who calls this place home makes his appearance it's a harrowing place and a wonderful combination of gameplay and level design I think that's what I would say about arxs Fatalis gameplay in separate parts it's janky dated and a little frustrating but when it works it all works together the piece is fit and the combat becomes tense the magic flies the game feels like a real Adventure just every now and then you will struggle to like light a [ __ ] candle okay let's move on to the story and characters I want to talk about the World building first because it's the strongest contender in this category the setting is immediately established for us ex's son was dying to survive the dropping temperatures the denisons of exhausta were forced to retreat underground the people of arcs chose to migrate into an old Dwarven mine below the surface men goblins trolls dwarves all put aside their past differences to work together then once they were down there they turned PVP back on and started killing each other again the surface of the world is now a dark Frozen Wasteland Untouched by the sun in countless years all life is Subterranean whether it's started that way or not I love this I am a massive fan of subterranean worlds civilizations anything that either evolved or migrated underground as a kid I must have watched Journey to the Center of the Earth about about 20 times I love the book but there was something about seeing these things that just captivated my imagination and arcs delivers on the idea that Civilization now lives entirely underground and the further down you go the more ancient and well-developed the societies but also the more dangerous the caves become add to that there is a guild of Travelers who are trained hardened individuals capable of traversing the Overland these are the only people who can regularly travel the Wast and survive they're called upon to f Goods information and communicat between Subterranean cities the way the game reinforces this law is immense there are air shafts dotted throughout the caverns to bring in bable air book explanations for how there is verdant Greenery in some places some people have Windows filled with paintings of the outside world as it used to be climbing the castle staircase leads to the observatory which is of course an insulated room with a hole in the ceiling the ice barely being kept at Bay by the warmth from within ARS face tus creates wonderful stories visually very early on from the moment we leave the goblin prison by showing us the aftermath of an attack on the human Outpost it's torn asunder and we find a Survivor he asks us to talk to The Outpost captain and return with help leaving him we move past the bodies and reach the captain who sends us towards arcs proper on our way out we pass the first Guardsman dead well he won't be wanting this cheese now will he right next to all this destruction and Mayhem is of course a quaint little Tavern called the yellow tulip built into the cave wall the owner seems friendly enough you know handsome I wouldn't mind helping you relax but I really prefer men with a bigger purse o okay I can take a hint but I do cycle through her dialogue until I think I've exhausted it and then think what the hell I'll take a drink after I figure out how to drag gold onto her face she serves me a beer and after I drink it I try just on the off chance to talk to her again do you know that this place dates back to when there was still a sun in the sky and we lived above ground but was called the Yellow Rose then funny isn't it how cool is that when you're a paying customer she gives you some meaningful dialogue and a little backstory for this corner of arcs in the caves I find two brothers who have set up some sort of archaeology dig site meets halfway house shop and the dialogue for these two genuinely made me laugh my brother may be able to help you I'm far too busy I'm very busy please speak to my brother the World building and incidental characters are really nice I appreciate that it's easy to put a lot of weight into your big characters and forget the little people trolls are kind-hearted but relatively low IQ snake women on the other hand are smart but secretive and as we all know there are three archetypes of goblins the Quark type who love schemes shinies and money the bloodthirsty party type who are maliciously violent but funny and then well type three I get excited just thinking about it Arc Fatalis falls into the malicious but funny archetype while blending in a love for gems oh wait sorry there's four types of goblins back to visual storytelling for a moment longer at one point when returning to your room in the castle you find a chicken with its head severed and a cultist symbol painted on the wall in blood this comes around the time you arrest a cultist within the ranks of the kingdom it serves as a message to let you know you didn't get them all they're everywhere in the Dwarven mines we follow a tunnel and if you look closely you can see scratches and blood marks on the rock it leads to a Dwarven kitchen where something clearly broke through the exterior wall and massacred everyone inside the music shifts and we're told the entire story in a matter of seconds something killed all the dwarves then bam the creature returns and begins to chase you through the corridors perfect visual storytelling setup and satisfactory payoff that leads into gameplay on to the main quest now and it's oh it's functional but I am sad to say Falls incredibly short compared to the World building it starts interesting don't get me wrong but in a fashion very similar to Dark Messiah it's largely there to propel you through the game a meteor fell around the same time the sun began to wne but no ordinary meteor a conduit for the malevolent being Akbar who then begins to raise a cult to free himself from the noden a realm where higher beings reside what role do you play in all this that's for you to find out it sounds good doesn't it unfortunately pretty quickly every cut scene becomes our Exposition just spouting a load of words and backstory about what's happening and what we have to do to stop arar and the end of the world tell me that you have destroyed the source of evil once and for all no I was unable to destroy the meteor then we talk about why our plan didn't work and that we suspected all along it wouldn't work because of a reason we could have brought up earlier I was afraid this might happen yet somehow it's the only thing we didn't bring up despite having already talked about everything [ __ ] else despite very clearly establishing why destroying the meteor would stop the return of arbar after destroying the meteor I have destroyed the meteor in the temple of akba I am afraid that this will not be enough to stop akba from coming to ARS that isoss that meteor was his energy Channel somehow arbar returned it's just a level of [ __ ] [ __ ] [ __ ] so here's what we have to do next and yeah I start to drift off and think about things that make me happy my brain drifts off like a sailboat get some rest nice relaxing sailboat get some rest try not to dream about tying me up Champion oh oh cut scene's over and look this is a big deal because they're not plot complications or twists one of the elements of a classic narrative is where a plan goes wrong or backfires nothing radiation levels increasing 8% 10% but to just be told oh it didn't work because of [ __ ] is about as satisfying as it sounds at one point it's decided we need a weapon capable of slaying a god of rening the Flesh of Akbar personally and for once the Royal Sage or whatever doesn't have all the answers so what does he suggest no such we weapon exists you must have one forged for this specific purpose there is a book called the theory of the Ultimate Weapon the theory of the Ultimate Weapon that's the name of the book I mean not some Latin [ __ ] not something a little more esoteric or fun just the theory of the Ultimate Weapon well you're never going to lose that one in the shelves at least but you see what I'm saying I hope your character the am shagar has lost his memory at the start of the game who am I what am I and it's somewhat appropriate that they're a blank slate because they have very little personality which is a shame when compared to a lot of the incidental characters who have lots of personality the main characters are never really given much room to shine outside of just spouting what we need to do to stop arbar of note there is King luner who gets some emotional moments more if you follow the side quests Alia the leader of the rebels gets the Classic this is my burden and she shares the same strength of character as her parents the snake mommy Superior sorry Mother Superior sorry script error has a secretive and Superior air to her she's clearly playing her own game and brings not only a cool character but Intrigue to the main story in fact I really like the so-called good ending for the game because for them it's very Bittersweet and it's the first time they sound ejected sisters Let Us return our race is done dying out and we have nothing left to do here the other snake woman in the library is good as well and it's just occurred to me someone watching this might think I don't know the name for their race and no that's not the case they are just called snake women not Naga not vipers not Yan not Yan y two sugars no I can't leave that in at first I heard an NPC complaining about the snake women and I thought it was more worldbuilding and meant as a racial slight but no they're just called snake women it doesn't help that much of the dialogue feels stilted like someone wrote it down without reading it this is ridiculous I'm just talking about the script here I'll touch on the actual quality of the voice acting later but it really feels like flat lemonade in places Ergo we get all the liquid we need to understand the story but none of the bubbles to make us give a [ __ ] however part of the main Quest does involve slipping wine into the goblin Chef's cake mix so it gives the Goblin King an upset tummy forcing him to run to the toilet so you can assault him with questions that's that's a good Quest design and some of the dialogue is just absolutely phenomenal here's the protagonist asking someone why he became a cult member colar what brought you to work for the IDS and Des serbus when I got out of jail it seemed like a good idea I joined a cult because it seemed like a good idea at the time is the realest [ __ ] I've ever heard if a cult is pitching the sun returning to Arc and cool robes you throwing in some ories maybe apple pies you got a good thing going then the bottles of blood come out next there's mind control and sacrifices the FBI Start parking Vans outside your chain link fence all cults sound fun at the start that's how they get you that's how they get your subscription a much more interesting plot of Court Intrigue or murder and betrayal does eventually surface towards the end of the game that part of the story I did really enjoy there's a whole section about the King's Daughter being kidnapped secret orders the Queen's murder what exactly do the snake women have over the royal family why do they suddenly not care about the Priceless Relic you return to them it highlights dark Freds in the world of arcs and eventually leads to Bittersweet resolutions no matter what you choose you're left with the thought that no matter what their political struggles or personal stories they're all still down there in the caves in the dark I love that there are very few side quests in fact most of them are more like bonus objectives like robbing the bank giving a goblin The cookbook the side quests that are there are simple and for the time decent finding the friendly troll grew a birthday present is a highlight because the dialogue is funny and it's Charming to go around finding his friend and asking what he'd like for his birthday the reward isn't some amazing weapon but an amulet that marks she was a friend of the trolls then there's Shany the kid who openly admits to wandering down the caves and into the spooky catacombs guess what she gets kidnapped for a Sacrifice by the local cult well what a [ __ ] shocker who would have fought wandering off into an underground Crypt was a bad idea I delve into the caves and try and save her waiting for the cultist to arrive and I get there too late to discover a demon has been summoned I decide to try again and this time I floor it burning the cultist and running straight into the secret chamber I get there this time and there's no demon I do stop the summoning but she's still dead well I tried I may not have helped much by laying the sacrificial tools out on the altar before they got there but I definitely tried my main gripe about the side quests is there is very little Direction given as to where to go it's all right for the birthday gift Quest because it's a fun keep your eyes open sort of Affair but for the girl who is about to be sacrificed to summon a demon the only clue as to her location is that she once traveled four levels down so if we assume she did that again then we can assume they got kidnapped down on level four I believe in coincidence inces but that doesn't necessarily mean the cultist alter is on level four do you see what I'm saying it's a coincidence that both these things happen on level four but I don't trust coincidences it's a doesn't hold your hand Quest but in a less than satisfying way I'm going on about this because the idea that wandering around aimlessly until you stumble onto something is not everyone's cup of tea a little handholding is nice when I look at the writing the dialogue and the quest I can't be too harsh you can feel that there was such ambition and vision for a grand sweeping storyline involving Royal Intrigue maneuvering factions both major and minor otherworldly forces cultist infiltrators heavenscent Guardians and weapons to slay gods in a way this story has it all and yet the execution is like someone writing their first draft it's Charming if awkward but it's got those breakout moments that are memorable that transcend awful l and descriptions of Power Systems that rival the cheesiest of Saturday morning TV and these moments they make it worth listening to but now we move on to the Sound and Music let's do music first because much like Dark Messiah the soundtrack of arcs is fairly short preferring largely ambient sounds the few times there is music however it used a great effect all of the music in arcs sounds strange a little surreal it helps reinforce the feeling that the world has moved under round and it's changed it not for the better listen to The Tavern music from the yellow tulip it's not quite right is it the music of the capital city of arks doesn't sound heroic or stately despite being a Bastion of humanity it's Moody ominous oppressive they're trapped down here even the human Outpost has an accompanying theme that just makes you feel both in awe and uncomfortable the theme of the black beast chasing you throughout the Dwarven forges fills you with suspense while the sacred dagger music carries the weight of order and secrecy for the time the score is impressive it doesn't really have any standout pieces but while you're immersed in the world it's fantastic the sound design is really where the game shines audibly first of all the impact sounds from weapons are all well done and you'll hear different sounds depending on whether you strike flesh or stone every magical spell is accompanied by a satisfying casting sound just entering the casting mode begins a ritual like hum and each Rune is spoken aloud as you cast the spell sound effects are of course varied and range from the mundane but crackling sound of a fireball or a lightning strike to the stranger Arcane noise of a draining barrier the enemy sounds are just fantastic the typical Goblin and troll grunts are there but when you start to drift into the more Supernatural enemies that's where the sound design really begins to grip you again I have to draw towards the Crypt and the undead enemies the zombes low grown calling you to join them is a very different cry to the traditional brainless Undead The Haunting cries of the Lich ooze their power and arrogance the final boss makes no sound at all even when you hit him with a sword 50 times the greatest achievement I think though is the wonderful Ambience rather than describe it I'll just play a little [Music] bit you feel as though you're in a Subterranean World The Familiar is there the Ribbit of frog a trickle of water but the sound of wind being transported down through air shafts is strangely artificial as it should be arcs fatalist has some of the best Ambience sound you'll find the voice acting is a real mixed bag some of the deliveries are so good go away sticky human of particular not is Frank Mitchell as king lunier who manages to pull off his Regal position even when the lines are just so bad Cheryl rabinovitz is good as Alia but I really think she Kate lman and Kim Crocker deserve attention for their fantastic snake women characters it's not easy to put that much hissing into your dialogue and still have it taken seriously as well as sound good my personal favorite however has to be George Leo who takes on a whole host of voices various trolls ghosts and my favorite character in the entire game Goblin friend pulsus he brings the mischievous little Goblin to life and sets him apart from the other generic goblins however some of the voice actor just Falls flat utterly flat Carlo you must take responsibility for your crime my God where did you find that and I'm not sure if it's misdirection or recutting recordings but a lot of the player character lines just feel completely out of tone part of me wonders if for a lot of this actors were just reading right off the script but a lot of the voice actors have also done no other work that I can tell so it's likely they just got whoever they could to voice these characters and for 2002 [ __ ] it that's acceptable when you have most of the dialogue performed by some solid actors for all of the elements of gameplay that try so hard to immerse you into the world I found the most immersive thing to be the sounds of arcs truly fantastic I think graphics are a really boring thing to judge a game on so I'm doing visuals and spectacle and that's how dazzling and interesting it is to me within the style of the game however if there is one predominant visual bug that stands out throughout the entire game I'm going to have to mention mention it I don't know what triggers it I don't know why it only happens in some places and some camera angles but polygons have a tendency to Shear into the Horizon creating this tearing effect it's like someone's pinched part of the model and pulled it all the way off camera it happens throughout the game and gets worse in cutcenes when the camera starts to spin this may have been because I'm running it in the far future of 2023 Beyond this I encountered a few visual glitches but nothing out of ordinary for the era okay now that that's out of the way onto the good stuff the game looks good even today simple but detailed and where detail can only do so much they make use of as much variety as they can despite being entirely underground no two levels look completely alike rather than just having a few generic cave textures there are so many different kinds of rock to look at as you get further down it's a geologist's dream the cavern environs range from Bright Frost dusted layers mysterious crystalling Caverns bubbling magma poles and fungal forests the gooey worm tunnel even the mines have their own flavor to them that sets them apart from the other areas it would have been so easy to fall into the Trap of boring reused cave textures but they knew that by setting the game underground they absolutely had to provide a variety of environs that kept the player engaged visually the caves in ARX Fatalis are truly a spectacle when you're not wandering through caves you might be exploring the settlements built into them each one clearly representing the culture that lives there humans have done their best to replicate their lives above ground showing adaptability but Nostalgia a trait that surfaces repeatedly when playing through the main story the Dwarven level has a mining and Industrial look to it with plated tunnels and metal Workshops the snake women have their own almost futuristic architecture further reinforcing them as a race of wizards Scholars and thinkers and goblins just build for function they don't care how it looks but look how even here the walls have lots of errant bricks that give the wall depth as we walk through them rarely will you find just massive stretches of flat walls in this game I'm sad to say we never see a rapman settlement there are lots of rat men in the fungal Forest but I don't think they live there given they wear really nice jackets that don't fit the environment also there are loads of hanging bodies down there between these horrible and alien mushrooms is just a very creepy Vibe the whole game has that dark Fred running for it it is a grim world to be living in down there blood and violence is prominent the cultist temple is littered with bleeding wrapped bodies and viscera the sacrifice pit is uncomfortably red the creature design is nice but extremely repetitive every single Goblin looks the same same with hobgoblins if there is variation I didn't notice it however that doesn't detract from the fact that the designs stand out and each one is instantly recognizable the Grim stare of the yilda is especially memorable when paired with their powerful looking armor the rat men have this wonderful assassin look to them the ice dragon is of particular note so many animated Limbs and details for a game this old speaking of there's decent facial animation for 2002 now it's not great but it gets the job done and the main quest NPCs don't look half bad before I finish I have to gush about the Crypt again showing off this classic Gothic architecture with stonor gargoyles and columns holes of dark gray stone clasped in Shadows with features illuminated hauntingly in torch light the stained glass and Rays of light only add to that feeling of a fallen Gothic Cathedral deep within the bowels of the earth and as you go deeper the walls change the style grows older gone are the walls of tombs replaced by walls of bone the Crypt beneath the Crypt sand and eroded tiles denote a different era of civilization that existed here the sheer variety of environments show the creativity at play here they help bring the underground world to life okay it's summary time and I'm starting with the negatives because I want to end on a positive note first firstly bugs now visual bugs aside I encountered quite a strange stuttering issue on killing enemies I would occasionally freeze up and if I was still moving at the time of death I would either end up 10 m ahead or behind my starting position when the game started again one time I killed a spider so hard I ended up on the floor above me want a poor man's sprint button quick save while moving forward and you'll zip ahead at Breakneck speed while the game saves your data not a joke you can use this to get around quickly now the other negatives while some of the puzzles are straightforward there are others that are needlessly convoluted and occasionally even the straightforward ones have clues that don't really line up with the solutions at least not for me this is one of those outings where there's no shame in Consulting a guide when you get stuck while I like the game play every aspect of this game has aged relatively poorly you're going to need patience and lots of it if you want to try this out not [ __ ] on the game for 2002 it is actually pretty phenomenal but it's 21 years later and it shows I don't say this lightly I love older games otherwise I wouldn't make these videos but I have to be totally honest this is the first game I've played making these reviews that made me think holy [ __ ] I may be too late for this one so can I recommend ARX Fatalis not really but not because it isn't a good game it is a good game it has those wonderful moments of visual Splendor of Adventure and exploration of humor and horror it's a game that was truly ahead of its time let down by systems that just have hav't aged well if you want to experience a part of gaming history then I say it doesn't hurt to try but I can't recommend it casually again to be clear not because it isn't a good game but I'm glad I finally played it and I enjoyed my time with it so make of that what you will arcan would take the best of this and put it into Dark Messiah a game that after playing Arc feels like they streamlined a little too much but ultimately that is the game I prefer they later go on to make other games like oh um now it says here that 70% of the original Studio were gone by this point well guess they're not really Arcane anymore in 2017 after prey released the studio founder Raphael colantonio would step down looks like one of my favorite little Studios got eaten up by a big developer and for a time it was going good it was going really good but it's like the man said times change AAA gaming took over and big companies often needed to do things that were financially viable rather than financially viable and they'd often remain completely toned deaf to their paying customers there are still developers out there who are playing a risky game and getting the love they deserve there are still developers out there that hear what their player base says and actually listen to them and for every company that outright murders their own creation there's a company that resurrects theirs with love and passion now why am I rambling about this because this is actually a really good time to be playing video games AAA gaming is finally [ __ ] dying she's As Dead As disco and quirky fun stuff like ARX Fatalis imperfect but wonderfully crafted with heart and passion these things are making a comeback and I really think that if anyone can get back on the right track it's Arcane Studios and I hope the original team members are doing well wherever they are now ARS Fatalis is regularly on sale on GG I'm not an affiliate or sponsored I'm contractually obligated to say that I'm just saying that it's usually on there for under £2 that's probably about $3 and if you can get it for less than that oh man it's worth a go and it's a sign of better times times where it was cool to try new stuff to be ambitious to risk dodgy systems for the sake of a deeper game and to give snake women needlessly big boobs Better Days [Music] yeah

Channel: Really Late Reviews

Views: 62,976

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Id: ekWNH8Uo0wo

Length: 54min 11sec (3251 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 16 2023