Highborn Reviews

This game is well worth the 10$ regular price, but don't expect deep complex gameplay. It's funny, in a sort of juvenile way, but it knows to stick it in it's own craw sometimes and got a laugh or two out of me anyway. You won't spend hours and hours playing this -- and the game would be well served by a skirmish/random map mode, maybe a wider multiplayer mode, bringing it into line with games like Age of Wonders or Heroes of Might and Magic. Then again, don't take that to mean this game is like that -- it's much, much simpler, and significantly more deterministic. I spent 8 hours on the campaign, only a few foolish losses which frustratingly had me re-do the whole mission, I would say my experience is average and you can expect 8-10 depending on how strategically you think. All in all, I await the forthcoming chapter 2, however, it better be fucking cheap, I don't care to be nickel-and-dimed every time I want new content. I'd pay a dollar or two, but preferably they'd be free, maybe with alternate stories costing a few dollars. Overall, weak accept on merits, but beware the DLC disease.

Great Game - Great Value - Get the DLC. If anything this game is way under-priced! It's one of those gems that I search Steam for. It's also a good beginner's intro to RPG style games, especially the spell casting and weighing whether or not to attack usiing brute force or spells. It can even be surprisingly difficult at times but well worth the challenge. The humor is funny too. Another great Intro RPG aspect is that you get to play a lot of different characters with different strengths and weaknesses, with all the usual archetypes like Warrior, Cleric, Mage (although they don't name them as such.) And the AI can be surprisingly clever, such as changing tactics after a save and reload. (And it is the kind of game that makes you want to see what else the Developer has made.) I'll wait a year or so and play the game again when I've largely forgotten. Good times!

Well, i can't recommend this game. It's not that it is bad. The graphics are ok, the sound too. The gameplay is a bit like final fantasy tactic, but the tactics are waaay easier and too simple, the story is dull and i don't know, i just find it boring to play. I tried to put some hours into it thinking it gets better later, but i could not get farter than a few hours before i was through. I don't think i'll get back to it again, too many other really fun games to play!

While the game isn't particularly challenging, it is a fun experience. The humor is the reason to get the game, or if you need a more casual experience than something like Might and Magic.

It's not a game, so much as a really long tutorial with no real challenge or fun. Also, the base game has achievements you can't unlock, without purchasing DLC content.

Oh, you're interested in buying this? Just don't. I normally give games a little longer to improve, but it was clearly going nowhere good. Play a free version of snake on your phone rather than this. Stare at a wall and analyse the paint instead.

Highborn is a turn-based strategy game with old-style rules and wacky-stupid kind of humor. There's a lot of references to the pop culture and the characters break the fourth wall all the time. The rules (and AI) are simple: you attack and then enemy retaliates if not dead or petrified. There are infinite amount of retaliations. Towers shoot any enemy attacking your troops in their area and also help when you attack. Enemy does not remember where you were last round, so you can always hide in the forest (or go invisible as Trillian) without a large chance of discovery, though sometimes enemy somewhat randomly goes there or hits Trillian anyway while moving and "discovers" you. There are troops and then there are disposable troops that respawn from keeps, mage towers and such. Like expected you are not allowed to lose hero units who are also better than the rest and have a couple of very useful special skills. There are also 6 different spells that both you and your opponent can use, acquired through capturing monoliths scattered within the levels. AI is not very smart as it is easy to fool someone who doesn't remember enemies going into the forest, but as a snack-type strategy game this one is fine. There's no multiplayer, so don't expect too much replay value. You may complete each level on a higher difficulty level though, meaning more and stronger enemy troops. The level-based special achievements are a nice touch as well. Do not expect your mind to be blown (except by the puns) but it's a fine game akin to a snack. Do expect to grow to hate some of the characters though because they can be irritating.

I've had this game sitting in my library for about 10 years, and I finally decided to play it. I'm glad I did. It may be old, but it's a lot of fun to play. I ended up buying all 3 chapters because I enjoyed it so much. The scenarios are interesting to play, the characters are unique, and the humor is goofy. The jokes either made me smile or roll my eyes at the corniness. This game definitely does not take itself too seriously, and occasionally makes fun of itself. I found the normal difficulty level to be too easy, so I had to play everything on hard for the right challenge. The graphics may not be the latest and fanciest compared to the latest games out there, but they're certainly good enough. I did encounter a couple annoying bugs. There are a couple scenarios where critical units disappear when I saved the game and reloaded later, making it impossible to finish the level. This was solved by restarting the level, but it was a bummer to have to play it over again. I recommend finishing each level in one sitting, which generally takes no more than a couple hours. At the current price, this game is well worth the money, so there's little to lose in trying it out.

I put this game right in the middle of "yes" or "no", because it depends on how much you like SRPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics. If you've played Grotesque Tactics, this game is quite similar but even more simplified, with no leveling up or inventory management. Also, wow, the "humor" is even worse - if you can believe that. It's not quite as buggy as GT is/was, but there are still some technical problems with it. On the larger maps, the framerate starts to crawl because of the number of units, I suspect because the game isn't quite optimized. There's no music during gameplay, and the sound design leaves a lot to be desired (though I did get a chuckle when I heard the wilhelm scream). Graphics are quite bland, barely passable. That said, it does scratch the itch a bit just like Grotesque Tactics did. If you've played through Final Fantasy Tactics enough times to really look for something else, you could find worse. If you're a hardcore turn-based tactics fan who likes a lot of depth to their strategy, this game doesn't have it. If you like something light on the tone and challenge, or can get this game really cheap, then give it a look.

Overall this is a fun game. It's short, easy to play and fun to play through the first time. It has little replay value aside from some of the harder achievements, and one or two of them are actually quite brutal to get. The controls are fairly simple and there's not many spells or abilities to worry about. Some of the sounds effects will make you want to kill something I admit... looking at you Floyd. The game has a few AI issues like abusing hiding in trees and some strange targeting issues but for the most part the AI is easy enough to figure out and outplay. Don't go looking into this thinking you're going to get some amazing in depth Starcarft or Europa Universalis. You're not. You're going to get a cute light-hearted fun little time waster.