Into the Emberlands preview
In the video game world, heartwarming, sweet and cute games have become very popular in the last few years. As you know, many people who play games now need to relax in different ways than killing people with guns. Into the Emberlands, developed by Tiny Roar and released as an Early Access game by Daedalic Entertainment , is the latest example of those heart-warming games. However, the only thing about this game is not that it is sweet and relaxing, don’t worry .
Into the Emberlands is actually a survival and exploration game. Of course, it also contains many “rogue like” elements. Our goal is to save the homes of cute creatures called Knack in a world threatened by a dark and gloomy miasma. Our name in the game is Light Bearer, and with the light we have, we can fight against miasma, find lost creatures, and reconstruct the village using the materials we collect.
The world presented in Into the Emberlands is procedurally generated. This is one of the biggest sources of the “rogue like” structure of the game. Exploring this ever-expanding and changing world never repeats itself. Meanwhile, of course, we collect materials and creatures for our village. Of course, there are threats in the game; We encounter different creatures within the miasma and we may have to fight with them in order to continue our lives.
Since our enemies in Into the Emberlands will constantly improve, when we return to our village, we can get help from the creatures there and they can improve our equipment. This way, we can go much further in our next run and collect more creatures and materials. So there is a classic “rogue like” logic. If you have played a similar type of game, I think you know more or less what you will encounter in this game.
Into the Emberlands is sold for 4 USD, with a special pricing for our country, and in return for this price, you constantly explore the surroundings of your village. As I said before, this environment develops procedurally. In these areas, you need to use your equipment wisely and find the missing creatures. At the same time, there is a minimal level of resource management in the game. None of these mechanics bother you, they are all very relaxing.
Developing and expanding your village means you can go farther or be easier on your next adventure. The game is available on a daily basis. So, you go on adventures every day, and when you’re done, you end the day and move on to the next day. If you want, you can transfer your resources to the next day for larger improvements or support the candle in the center of your village that should never go out.
I have to say that I don’t know what happens when you die in Into the Emberlands; I haven’t died yet in the game and I didn’t want to die on purpose just to see it. In this respect, the game is a bit on the easy side. So, you probably won’t die very often, which is the logic of the game anyway. If you were going to die and struggle all the time, we wouldn’t consider this game among the other sweet and cute, heart-warming and comforting games.
However, of course, Into the Emberlands does not offer a perfect experience. As a game that has just started the Early Access process, it has many shortcomings, especially on the quality of life front. So, even simple actions like throwing items on the ground are still missing. Also, the camera controls do not feel very healthy or high quality. There are also a few minor bugs in the game, but none of these directly affect your gameplay or progress. At least I didn’t encounter such an error.
Into the Emberlands is a game exactly as advertised, and it’s hard not to recommend it. Here we have a cute management-oriented “rogue like” game where you will face limited resources and enemies. What I like most about the game is that movement is a clever mechanic. It’s like an old-school game where moving from frame to frame consumes some kind of fuel. In this game we consume light instead of fuel and once it goes out the game is over.
Some upgrades stay with you when your light goes out, but you need to think carefully about every step you take. Even the smallest mistake can cost you dearly. Even so, time is totally on your side. You can take as much time as you want to plan your next journey to the miasma, and the art direction makes the game a pleasure to look at. I just wish there were better graphics options. Looking at the game sometimes feels very confusing.
For example, navigating the main village isn’t as easy as I think it should be right now, and you can’t move the camera more freely to more easily make out the buildings in front of you. The visual design doesn’t help this either. However, it’s clear that the developers have managed to deliver a game that not only looks great, but also plays great. I can’t wait to see future updates and what the finished experience is like in the full release.
You may feel like I’m saying Into the Emberlands isn’t like other relaxing games. Some similar games focus too much on the comfort part and not the gameplay part, and this in itself is not a bad thing, but this game I reviewed; It strikes a great balance between being a game, being challenging, being cute, and being art. Therefore, if you like the genre and like what you see, I can easily recommend this game to you.