Pendula Swing - The Complete Journey Reviews

With the caveat that there are still a number of typos, bugs (vanishing wedding ring, infinite money exploit) and the occasional crash to desktop, there's a lot of heart and charm in this adventure game. Worth it for fans of the genre who want to see what a post-swords-and-sorcery fantasy society could look like.

I do not usually write reviews, but in this case I will make an exception. This game, put simply, has some of the most heart I have ever encountered in a story driven game. It is not for everybody though. If fighting, gaining xp or pwning your way up through fast paced challenges is your jam, this isn't for you. If you enjoy a powerful story that explores "being different" from most games in the genre, then by all means, don't miss this gem. It is pretty slow paced, but thoroughly enjoyable. Most tasks in the game are pretty straightforward as long as you use your curiosity to look at everything and talk to everyone. The idea here is not difficulty, but soaking the story and atmosphere - which is helped by a lovely soundtrack. A lot of tasks are optional to complete the game - although you will get achievements for a lot of them - and there are a lot of cute details that don't serve a particular purpose other than simple enjoyment. The game has a pretty decent play time - it took me about 7 hours to complete it the first time. I guess you could speedrun it in under 2 hours, but IMHO it would defeat the purpose. Many subplots can take different turns depending on your choices, so there is some level of replayability there. There are a few minor bugs and typos here and there, but nothing that affects gameplay. The game's quality has come a long way since the "episodes" versions when it was still in development. All in all, hats off to Valiant for what was a very ambitious project and thanks for hours of enjoyment! A lot of scenes brought various shades of smiles to my face.

confesso que comprei esse sem esperar muita coisa e acabou sendo uma surpresa maravilhosa pois fiquei MUITO entretida!

A pretty cool point & click adventure game set in a 1920s style/prohibition-era fantasy world. You play as a dwarven hero from the middle ages who fought against a powerful magical foe and saved the world so to speak, but then went into retirement shortly after and have been a hermit ever since. Now your axe is stolen and you have to go back out into the world to find it, witnessing the industrial revolution and how much the world left you behind.

A very underrated and charming gem of a game. The story is basically what happens after the big fantasy adventure. The main character is a retired adventurer who settles down on an island with her wife. The game takes place about a few hundred years after that and the world has changed a lot. The writing is very well done and provides a unique take in the fantasy genre. Great characters, fun writing, and an interesting world to explore. And so much to do in see so the world is utilized very well. My only issue with the game is the controls/pathfinding is a bit clunky at times. Still highly recommend the game. It definitely deserves more attention.

This was an interesting little game about what comes after the "happily ever after". You play as a dwarven adventurer who (with a party of friends) slew a great beast several hundred years ago, and has since settled down with the party's healer. Your wife has passed away before the game begins, and you are living on a remote island with your war relics and your talking cat. Then one day, your magic axe (yes, the one used to slay the beast) gets stolen, and in order to find it you need to re-enter society, and in so doing see the ramifications of your actions from centuries before. I really enjoyed the story overall, and most of the side quests and characters were fun. The game is in an isometric style like an old-school RPG, and you have the ability to buy clothes/hairstyles/beards for your character at some locations in town and then see them on your sprite. You can also have a significant number of pets following you around (I think at the height of my pet collecting I had a talking cat, 3 chickens, a sentient rat, a talking crab and a hedgehog. They don't really do anything though (except the ones that can talk) except kind of obstruct your character's pathfinding and look cute. There are also several romance options (I found 3 m/f and 2 f/f options) but the romance path I played was pretty bland. The art looks great, with unique looking characters and locations, and the music is nice (especially the song at the speakeasy). The characters are "voiced" but it's just an Animal Crossing-esque burbling sound, not surprising for the price. I liked that there were multiple solutions to many of the puzzles and lots of chances to express your character's opinion. I did find a few quests were buggy for me (I would have quests to talk to people but they wouldn't have anything to say if I tried to talk to them) but nothing game-breaking. You can continue your quests after the ending, until you choose to sleep in your bed, which gives you a slide show epilogue about how some of your friends are doing and ends that save. I found the epilogue kind of underwhelming and it was weird to me which characters got mentioned in it, but it was fine. There's no manual save unfortunately, so if you want to try out other choices or romances, you will have to play it a second time. Overall I am satisfied with my playthrough and really enjoyed my time with this game.

Great atmosphere in this cosy exploration of the highs and lows of a fictional fantasy town inspired by the 20s New York. The gameplay is standard RPG quests, where every second character you meet have errends for you to run. But it rarely gets repetetive since the core of this game is getting to know people and scenery, and the quests take you there. Interestingly, you do not play as the standard RPG blank slate, but rather as a well known adventurer and hero who has gone down in history for killing orcs and goblins - something that can be a bit awkward now when you all try to get along in the big city. Elven flappers, goblin agitators, dwarven mechanics, orc singers and human tradesmen. This game has it all!

First off, this is by far the most effortlessly diverse narrative I have ever encountered in a game. The diversity doesn't feel forced - it's just there. And it is just so, [i]so[/i] refreshing. Unfortunately, I did encounter a few bugs that meant I couldn't finish a few side errands (which irked me, since I was invested in all of the little side stories), and I couldn't romance anyone fully, which was a bummer. I also feel like the main story ended a bit early for me, but that's just because I enjoyed the world and the story so much, I wish it could have gone on longer. This world truly has the potential to host many more hours of exploration and adventure. This game is, however, a self-contained narrative, and [b]not every game has to be 60+ hours long[/b] - I do really love this game for what it is, "short" as it may be. I'm especially impressed with how the narrative manages to bring up modern day social issues that pertain to our world and speak on them quite eloquently and without moralizing. This game made me think, which is always a huge plus for me. In short, I really hope to see more games from this studio in the same vein as [i][b]Pendula Swing[/b][/i]. I actually can't believe it hasn't gotten more press; I will be nagging everyone I know to give it a shot.

Don't buy this. Glitches (some of which have been known about for years without being resolved), and no ability to save your game or have separate saves to protect against glitches. There is a reason that one of the two guides on steam is about how to save your game. I like the idea, and I think I would enjoy the game if it weren't for the frequent glitches. Like quests disappearing and having no way to continue the story, or conversations being unobtainable if you previously left the conversation before asking everything. Or, the issue I just encountered after 4hrs of playtime, keys disappearing from your inventory. Meaning I can't get into the apartment where certain items are placed. This issue with keys has been known about for TWO YEARS. And they still have not fixed it.

I bought this game purely out of love for the fact that it mixed my two favorite things: Fantasy and 1920s. Tl;dr: This game is worth buying at full price for the world building. If you're reading this, you may be considering buying the complete journey or you've already bought the episodes and are considering getting the key for this (you definitely should btw). [b]I'm the former, having bought this game only yesterday[/b] . I found this game after I was browsing steam and decided that it was my style. The whole game is an actual RPG wherein you play as a dwarf who had her axe stolen. That, in itself, spurs the main quest of the series and brings you to the lovely city filled with orcs, elves, goblins, humans, and dwarves. One gripe I had was the fact that my character moved too fast for my screen, which I believe, is a problem for my old pc but that doesn't change the fact that even with my laggy pc, I was able to enjoy the game to the fullest. Now you may be looking at my hours and asking, "What? She's only played 3.6 hours at this time". Well, there are a lot of things to explore in this game that made those 3 hours worth every penny spent. For one as someone who loves reading up on lore, this game does not fail to give you that. Some characters that you speak to will reveal facts about their own cultures and perspectives on certain situations in the game. In some cases, looking at certain objects will give you a glimpse of what life is like for others. This game does not fail to make you wanna explore good 'ol 1920s. From the soundtrack to the characters, it makes you wish that you were able to experience a life like it. However, while the game certainly plays into my own desires, it also highlights the nitty-gritty that makes you thankful that you're not living in it. Quests are aplenty. Stories are abound.