Four Realms Preview

If there was one word I would describe Four Realms with, it would be intriguing. The game, from one-man development team Hugebot, is fresh into the Early Access system. It promises action, strategy and RPG elements all rolled into one and to some extent it achieves its goals.

The game takes place in a fantasy world populated by various animals. The land is under siege from something called the Wild Magic, which is perverting the countryside and turning its inhabitants mad. You take on the role of a Warden charged with uniting four kingdoms together to save them from the impending doom.

First things first, Four Realms has a striking visual style. It reminds me somewhat of the old RPG games on DOS, with pixel-based backdrops, details and characters. That being said, the graphics won’t be the thing that attracts people - they are largely rudimentary at this development stage, without great flashes of quality.

The game takes place on a 2D plane and incorporates elements of platforming and puzzling that challenges the player to get around. There will be obstacles that need to be overcome using your Warden’s spells - like using fire to melt ice blocks and summoning small creatures to squeeze into narrow passages. There is a surprising and satisfying amount of depth to the actions the player can perform, something masked by the game’s graphical simplicity.

There are a lot of these puzzles to navigate and a lot of spells to master. I often found myself confused as to which to use though, as the game’s tutorial left a little something to be desired. There are a number of quests and zones, which are generated in a web from your starting position not unlike the star map in FTL: Faster Than Light. Each area leads you further towards your goal and completing them lands you resources for more powerful spells and companions.

The developer seems to have created Four Realms with an emergent narrative in mind - hoping the player will craft out their own stories as they go along to add to the gameplay experience. Although there are plenty of opportunities, I often found myself disconnected from the game at times, not least due to some performance issues that left it stuttering on less than 20 frames per second.

Some areas of Four Realms definitely need more work. At the time of writing, all speech in the game appears in a text box not unlike one you might create using Microsoft Word. These boxes float around unnaturally and generally kill off any immersion that may have been created. The performance issues (which become more prevalent as you summon more allies) also hamper any real attempts at getting into the meat of the game.

Four Realms is, at least, behind supported by a very active developer. Every player’s needs are addressed and Hugebot has been very active in getting back to people playing the game. It’s evident that the game is still early on in its journey, but with the right performance tweaks and a little extra TLC Four Realms will certainly be a game to check out.