Overview
I found out about Homage while reading a thread. I saw the images and was perplexed at how this guy's game had a review score of 4, so I went to download the game to findout whether it was just a sham.


Story
The story started out rather slow, and the overall plot wasn't that tremendously special. It did however have good side plots to it. The characters seemed to have their own separate personalities, which I can't always say for most RPGs. I feel there was some seriously wasted potential when it came to the plot. 7/10

Gameplay
This was the best aspect of Homage. The gameplay is not traditional. Rather, you are put onto a map to battle enemies live. The best part is you use controls on your keyboard to conjure up spells to attack the enemies. Or you can cast a tactical spell, like a shield or health draining spell, and even a shield that protects you from normally unavoidable enemy attacks. The boss fights are both challenging and fun; each boss has its own unique strategy and attack patterns. When leveling up, you get to choose between upgrading your attack power, health, or spell restoration. But after beating a boss, you also get to pick a brand new spell to learn; you can choose 1 of 3, and the next time you get to choose between 3 completely new spells. This makes for excellent playback value. Speaking of which, after beating the game, you are able to play it on hard mode; you keep all your spells from the last game and face much tougher enemies. The gameplay is innovative, so much so that my words alone can't describe it. 10/10

Visuals
The mapping was bare but never tried biting off more than it could chew. Excluding mapping, the graphics for this game drew mixed feelings from me. The sprites seemed made by a custom sprite generator in a few cases, most notably the main character. Other times there were default sprites used and they never look quite as good. The portraits were custom made for a few of the main cast, with enough quality. The menu graphics were an absolute embarrassment for a good game like Homage. The windows weren't default but they looked nearly identical. The mapping and sprites get a pass from me, the menus do not. 7/10

Music
There was nothing remotely memorable. The good news is, that while the developer did use default musical soundtracks, he at least had the brains to reconfigure the playing speeds. It was a good philosophical choice, saving him from getting a lower music rating. The playing experience would've been better with custom music choices. 6/10

Final
This honestly beat my expectations. The developer is seriously terrible at promoting his work, so I doubt his game will catch fire as a popular download. The gameplay was great though. Just for that reason, everyone needs to give Homage a shot. 8/10