Dear readers, we must talk about a new indie title that I can’t wait to review. Consider that I’m writing this piece from my hospital bed after undergoing surgery, so you can imagine the excitement that’s dragging me (I’m not being ironic, I’m serious!).
Roadwarden is a gem. At its core, it’s one of the most original RPGs I’ve seen recently, freely inspired by old text-based role-playing games—or (and here you’ll find my deepest respect if you’ve ever played them) old book games. The title from Moral Anxiety Studio represents the antithesis of today’s game production philosophy, which prioritises eye-candy over substance. Roadwarden, in fact, has modest graphical ambitions (the interface is pixelated and limited to a modest, pleasing colour palette), many images depicting the locations where the adventure unfolds, but few animations that compose it. The story, by contrast, is incredibly immersive, and the writers truly deserve my professional admiration. Clear, the game is in English (it’s still not available in Italian, and who knows if it ever will be), but anyone who navigates the international language with ease will appreciate the detailed descriptions of environments, characters, and circumstances. Even the most “useless” narrative segments are meticulously written with a stylistically excellent prose.
What is the game about? You are a "Roadwarden" (who would have thought it, eh?!), essentially a road guardian. A sort of Jon Snow for the roads rather than the wall. You have been tasked by the capital (?) of a specific region of the continent, where you find yourself, to make its roads safe and to unify the villages and outposts present into a single network (kingdom?), secure from dangers and free of obstacles for merchant caravans. The Roadwarden’s mission is made difficult not only by the wild conditions of the region, but also by the presence of monsters on the roads, strange plagues, and dark magic... which I won’t spoil further for you. There is another mystery to uncover: what happened to your predecessor?
The adventure is packed with interesting conversations, intelligence tests, and tricks, and I can assure you that for 10,99€ (current price on Steam, one month after official release) you’ll be glued to the screen for a decent amount of time, trying to give your best within the time allotted to complete your mission (40 days in-game for the normal difficulty level). And if you can’t make it? Well, you start over and try alternative paths.
The game mechanics include dialogue choices that will in some way or another alter how various characters interact with you, as well as many other interactive elements, for which you must write your answer to riddles or precisely what or who you are looking for. Fights are more than anything else tests of wit and can be resolved in one way or another depending on your equipment, your background traits, or your status.
Travel and actions will cause the passage of time, forcing you to come to terms with planning your activities, which turns out to be difficult, given the scarcity of certain resources (local currency, items, food, etc.). There’s a sort of tutorial that explains some of the mechanics as you progress through the story, but honestly, there are a couple of mechanics that I fully understood only too late, so I can’t give an “optimisation” score of excellent.
In a nutshell: Put everything aside and play Roadwarden (which, among other things, is one of the few titles also available for macOS and Linux). You’ll have my respect.
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