Desert scavenger Amon soon finds himself in his life's adventure when he crosses paths with a most peculiar creature back home in Zaber. Join Amon and other remarkable heroes in this turn-based fantasy RPG, on an unforgettable journey across the world of Umbra; a mysterious, beautiful but harsh planet that stopped spinning thousands of cycles ago. With a unique set of customisable characters, all with their own personalities and journeys of self-discovery, you will scavenge, explore and fight your way from the everlasting day-side and into the darkness of perpetual night. To save Umbra you must unlock its secrets, expose the shadows, and defeat a growing evil beyond your wildest imagination...!

Earthlock is a wonderfully realised retro Japanese style RPG offering from Snowcastle Games. The original core game was first released for the Xbox One in 2016 under the title Earthlock: Festival of Magic and at one point it was offered free as a Games with Gold title. This rerelease contains the main game as well as all of the DLCs. So, if you don't already own it, it's well worth getting hold of.

The game is an open world offering, where you can wander around the map visiting places of interest. Out in the wild are numerous creatures and beasties which can be fought as well as plants and vegetation that can be collected. The good thing about the roaming creatures is that you can see them (unlike a lot of games in this genre) so you can swiftly avoid them if you don't want to engage them in a fight. This is a godsend when you're trying to complete a quest and are simply navigating the wilderness in order to get from A to B.

As you meet characters throughout the game there is the opportunity to complete tasks for them - which come with rewards including items, money and XP. A big part of the game is wandering around the environment as you travel to other cities.

Combat is pretty straight forward. You can choose from a number of stances that allow you to use certain skills. So you may be able to use your gun or a special skill that could see you stealing from your enemy. As you progress through the game you encounter new allies who can help you in both your quests as well as battles.

As you progress through the game you'll be able to add abilities to your character to make your battles easier against some of the tougher beasties in your way.

This really is a game that rewards players who like to explore every area of the map and stopping and talking to every character they meet. It's also a game that rewards those willing to put in the hours. The characters are engaging and the story, which slowly unfolds, keeps you plodding forward.

The only real issue I had, and this isn't too much of a problem, is that it tends to suffer from camera issues when you're exploring the environment. This can be a problem when you're near an enemy and are trying to avoid them... but if you stay away from the edges of the gaming area then you shouldn't encounter this problem too often.

Overall this is an engaging and fun RPG game that will keep you playing for quite some time.

9

Nick Smithson