Review Game Journey to the West Free Download
Game PC Journey to the West Free Download released by TENOKE. Divinity Chronicles: Journey to the West is a roguelike deckbuilder inspired by the classic Chinese novel.
Story
You play as a reincarnated monkey who once challenged the gods and was punished for it. Now, you have a chance to redeem yourself and reclaim your lost kingdom. The story is rich with mythology, humor, and adventure. You will meet many colorful characters and face various challenges along the way. The story is not the main focus of the game, but it adds a lot of flavor and charm to the gameplay. There are also optional events that offer more insights into the world and its lore.
Battles
The battles are turn-based and card-driven. You have a hand of cards that you can play using Energy, and then you end your turn and let the enemies act. You can see what the enemies are planning to do next, so you can strategize accordingly. You also have a party of up to four companions who have their own abilities and cards. Some companions act after you, some act when certain conditions are met. They also add their cards to your deck, which you can use anytime you draw them.
The game has various mechanics involving buffs, debuffs, relics, skills, and powers. They are not very original, but they are well-designed and balanced. If you have played other deckbuilders before, you will find them familiar and easy to learn.
One of the highlights of the game is the character system. Each character has a unique mechanic that changes how they play. For example, the monkey has a weapon that he can upgrade during combat, and he can also grow in size and strength, transforming his single-target attacks into area-of-effect ones. These mechanics make each character fun and distinct.
Deckbuilder
You can choose one of three cards after a battle to be added to your deck. You can also buy new cards, remove or upgrade them. It’s like in every other deckbuilder basically. One special thing: You can get cards from enemies with items or certain abilities and they will even be added to your deck permanently. A pretty cool feature.
Companions also have cards. Usually, they start with one card and get new ones whenever they level up. I found no way to remove certain cards from them yet (well, you can remove a whole companion and all his cards are gone then) and this sucks because some cards are rather unnecessary if you go for a specific strategy.
A run
Consists of three stages (yet – more will be added during early access). Each stage has around 15 happenings. It ranges from normal battles to elite battles. You can also find yourself in events, at the merchant, in the camp, or find treasures.
After every stage you and your companions level up, resulting in more HP. Your companions also get a new card and you get a skill point which you can then spend in a pretty small skill”tree”.
There are also dozens of different relics and items to spice things up even more.
Meta Progression
After winning a run you will unlock new trait levels to make the game harder in total. You also get a score for every run which will result in you climbing the leaderboard. That’s about it. I know roguelikes typically don’t have a meta progression but since roguelikes (and -lites) got big, every developer handles it a bit differently.
The Good
- Addictive Gameplay: The game is highly addictive, with a “just one more” feeling that hooks players. It strikes a balance between being easy to learn and challenging to master.
- Unique Character Abilities: While the game doesn’t introduce entirely new mechanics, the diverse abilities of the characters add depth and variety to the gameplay experience.
The Bad
- Balance Issues: Some cards appear to be unbalanced compared to others, with certain cards being either too weak or too strong. The overall difficulty level may feel too easy, even for casual players, especially if they have experience with deckbuilders.
- Lack of Speed Options: While the game’s pace is not slow, the absence of different speed options is a missed opportunity. Including adjustable speed settings would enhance the game’s accessibility and accommodate various player preferences.
- Inability to Remove Companion Cards: Unfortunately, there is no way to selectively remove specific cards added by companions, limiting strategic customization options.
- Cluttered and Unattractive UI: The user interface (UI) design suffers from a cluttered and unappealing visual presentation, which may negatively impact the overall user experience.
Conclusion
Divinity Chronicles: Journey to the West – TENOKE is a well-designed and enjoyable roguelike deckbuilder, although it may not pose much of a challenge for experienced players. It is one of the many games in this genre, but it distinguishes itself with some original (not novel!) features: Companions and the mechanics related to the main characters.
TITLE: Journey to the West SKIDROW
GENRE: Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy
DEVELOPER: Z Studio
PUBLISHER: ParasGames
Game Size : 2.2 Gb