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Dreary, ominous, and delightfully puzzling.

  • UPRC
  • 10/31/2021 09:47 PM
  • 732 views
Deluge is Riggy2k3's latest endeavour in RPG Maker, and I can safely say that it is most certainly his absolute best even though I've never seen his previous works (finished or not) - Deluge is just that good.

Graphics
Deluge uses at least 90% RTP graphics with a few nicely original looking sprites and system graphics thrown in for good measure. Dialogue windows do away with the system set textures entirely and are instead represented by translucent black speech boxes. The RTP that is here is mostly unaltered, but there's a decent amount that has been recoloured or darkened to fit with the game's tone and it all works brilliantly in the game's favour.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Deluge mostly revolves around completing simple puzzles and defeating enemies in a very straight forward version of RPG Maker 2003's default battle system. The gameplay in Deluge isn't innovative and doesn't strive to do anything terribly new, but what it does do is expertly executed by a man who claims to have no released full games under his belt.

Much of the game is spent solving puzzles in the small village of Figaro. This involves going from house to house looking for keys, but also determining how to pacify inhabitants that you come across and how to locate the evil minions that you have to defeat to ultimately move onto the final big baddie of the game.

The default battle system doesn't do anything too new, but Riggy2k3 set it up in a way that is really enjoyable to play with. There is no "attack" command, and the skills you have in battle are largely dependent on who or what you are fighting. For instance, when you run into a panicked villager who wants you out of their home, a "pacify" skill will be added to your arsenal that you can use to try and deter them from fighting you. You also pick up a cool summon ability that lets you add zombies to your party mid-battle to help you out. The summon ability? Essential! You'll find out why!

Story
Pretty straight forward, but I won't give away the bulk of it since you discover it from playing. The gist of the story? A scary grim reaper has ventured to the village of Figaro where he has risen several skeletons from the dead and has tasked them with eradicating the entirety of the village's population. You are one of those skeletons, and you are awarded sentience by your master before he sends you off on your way. The path that your skeleton takes is pretty interesting as he discovers memories of his past life and ultimately decides to forge his own path that may or may not coincide with his master's bidding.

The story in Deluge isn't super deep, but it is very well written and the overall narrative is excellently crafted.

Sound
This game has amazing sound! The music in the game is all original and super fitting (and it's not ALL creepy/scary as you'd expect), and every track fits into each given scene very well.

The sound direction though, that is where this game really shines. There are so many unnerving moans, whispers, and ambient environmental sounds throughout this game that are placed PERFECTLY. No sound is mismatched with any given scene, and the ambient stuff is all tremendously atmospheric and immersive. Riggy2k3 definitely has an ear for sound direction and it shows marvelously in Deluge.

Atmosphere
The general atmosphere and vibe in the village of Figaro is dark, dreary, eerie, mysterious, ominous, and so many more things. I feel like I covered this enough with the visuals and sound, and I don't really want to ramble and repeat myself. The atmosphere in this game, with the sort of emotion it will evoke in players, is extremely engaging and immersive.

Overall
Riggy2k3 says that this is his first finished game. I call him a liar because this game is amazing. It only takes you somewhere between two to three hours to complete, but I easily could have played a full length game like this that sees you go on a larger overall quest to stand up against the evil entity who raised you from your grave. Deluge is awesome, and if you've got a few bucks that you're willing to part with, it is absolutely worth grabbing and giving a play through. Well done, Riggy!

Posts

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Very good review. I heard many good things before, but nothing specific about the game and what it is about. I am also happy to seen that's not extremely long but... first game? Really?
I'll play it soon, I am sold!
author=TheRpgmakerAddict
I'll play it soon, I am sold!

Looking forward to hearing what you think! :) This is my first real project, but I've been toying with RPG Maker 2003 since RPGAdvocate first translated it way back. I've put together all sorts of unfinished projects since then, but this is the first time I've developed a real narrative!

Thank you UPRC for the stellar review - means a lot coming from you!
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