Skara - The Blade Remains Reviews

This game could be fun for a arena battle with friends ....if co-op it looks like you would be in a arena with friends against others. The only problem im having is no one is hosting a match yet and i hosted one and waited a while and there's nothing to do unless people are joined in a match to fight. The graphics and character control is really talented artist with alot of potiential. With what's available on this game i don't agree with the price if it was 1/4th of the price and each arena was a $5 add on that might make sense. But I bought a $20 game and no one to play with me or to battle. I give this a recommend though because I think these guys are onto something good though. I like the graphics and gameplay. It is early access so i'll keep it a recommend for now and see how it goes.

**1/7/18 updated review** im able to load now but there is nobody.... not even bots... has massive potential but just dead... i cant recommend a game i cant load...or play **update**Feb.18,2017* since the update i have been able to load the game and play the tutorial... feels like a cheaper version of for honor...but this is my formulated opinion.. it however does have potential to be MUCH better, the only reason i rate is not recommended..i do come across a fatal error, then game freezes to a point i have to open Task Manager to shut it down ... if the stability is fixed ...maybe...til then try it if you may... graphically.. it Def could be better... imo and this is on max settings... im only referring to character models.. not the environments... they are beautif

Decent game(play), aswell as nice looking graphics the only downside as of now is the lack of online players. Though generally I can recommend this game. Spread the word, suggest this game to your friends & lets make this game popular !

Honestly, this doesn't really feel good. Battles just feel like flailing attacks around until something happen and all the specials feel really cool and strategic until you learn that once you're locked on they'll pretty much always hit regardless. That chain pull axe move, that leap move and a few others just kinda happen. Then you get the damage and it's mostly up to your own incompetence whether or not you can kill your opponent right then and there. I did some single duels and learned that this game feels super not great in a 1 v 1 scenario. Again, if your character can chain attacks together you should have the round free. Abilities are neat but none seeming to matter at all for doing anything else other than damage or getting you the hit. I think the worst part was when I waited for a minute and a half to get a 3 v 3 game going. Then it started and I'm so excited. Then I notice that everyone except me is a bot and everyone dies in the trap in the middle of the stage anyway because the bots are dumb... I'm not immedietly taken with the game. No offense if the developers are reading this, but go play for honor. You guys really need some of that game feel to make this work.

Love it, just my kind of game to sit down and get all the aggression from the day out. High quality experience, especially fun to watch people fall into the lava. The bots are entertaining but fighting real people really makes this game everything you could hope for. 10/10

This game is rough. Very rough. I only knew it existed because I was sent an email by the developer to play it. The controls are clunky, and it doesn't feel that hits even register against opponents. The art style is bland, as it clearly uses default UE4 assets, so little to no work has been put in on that front. And to say that this is ‘Souls-like’. Laughable. In terms of actual gameplay, there’s hardly anything to do. No one seems to be actually be online, so I as soon as loaded the game up I joined a match… Well, I waited five minutes and got a match against ALL bots. No players. I then proceeded to last thirty seconds before my character got stuck in mid-air during a dodge animation, and then was immediately killed by a bot. Don’t play it, don’t invest money into its microtransactions (oh yes, they’re here!) and if I were the developer, I would pull this game from steam and work on it until it was actually IN a playable state, with content and fewer bugs.

Never got to play it. Everytime I tried, a "Fatal error occured". The best part was, it wouldn't even close when this happened, so I had to go into task manager and shut it down from there everytime. I also noticed that the customization, while being very limited, is also so glitchy I couldn't even click everything there either. All and all, the game could be fun for all I know, but the fact that EVERYTHING I tried to interact with didn't work, I'd say it sucks

Edit 2020: what happened :'( I am very excited for this game. Obviously, as it is early access, purchasing the game at this stage isn't for everyone. However, I enjoy seeing the updates as they come and playing them as soon as possible to get a feel of where the game is going. I heard about Skara a few weeks ago and cannot wait to bring all my friends in to play it when it's more stable :) The graphics are beautiful and what they seem to have in mind keeps me excited for updates. TL;DR, It's early access, buying it now will mean you're getting it before it's "finished". If you don't want to go ahead and buy, add it to your wishlist and follow it and check back every so often!

[h1]Introduction[/h1] I believe this isn't my first review, although it certainly feels like it. Please forgive me if the following review is somewhat disjointed or disorganized in its structure. I would also like to tell you to take both my review and other reviews of this (and any game) with a pinch of salt. What I've written here are, of course, my own opinions. If this game interests you at all after reading this review, you should try it and form your own opinion on it! [b]Skara - The Blade Remains[/b] is a multiplayer online team-based battle arena (or perhaps I should call it a fighting game?) with controls and gameplay similar to that of Lords of the Fallen or Dark Souls. You could call it a MOBA with the exceptions of the usual towers and minions that are commonly associated with those kind of games - this is all about the fighting. It is being developed by an independant group (in Spain if I'm not mistaken). It is currently in open alpha testing at the time of this review. [h1]So what makes this game good?[/h1] To be perfectly honest, I went into this game with a clean mind. I had read many of the negative (and positive) reviews and so I decided it would be better to form my own opinion. I was quite surprised by the game, though. Skara has a lot of good elements going for it. While it is not [b]that[/b] uncommon to find a third-person MOBA today, I think Skara is one of the only ones that actually has all of its emphasis on the fighting. If you've played a Souls game or something like Dragon's Dogma, you'll get the controls down pretty quickly. Other than your usual WASD-movement controls, your player character has a normal attack and a special attack which they can freely mix into combo attacks. Your character also has a defensive move (for instance, one character can block and another one can counter an attack with the right timing) and the ability to dodge (rolling, stepping or dashing depending on character) which gives you some frames of invincibility. It gives you all the tools necessary for enjoyable (if not a little clunky) intensive fights. Apart from your basic moves, each of the character types have access to three "Signs", or abilities, unique to them. These can be all from throwing your shield while setting it on fire like a pyromaniac Captain America, or placing a trap that encases your enemy (or even yourself or your allies!) in ice so they can't move. These Signs add a lot of versatility to your character and really opens up for interesting tactics, especially during group fights. Skara has two game modes currently, with a third one planned for release soon: A 1v1 duel mode and a 3v3 last man standing mode. The third game mode coming out is a 5v5 domination mode. I actually found it very interesting for a game like this to include a duel mode to begin with, and as such it was the first mode I ever played. The biggest thing that Skara has going for it is how player-driven its development is. Players can post their suggestions and ideas for lore and even character designs and game features, and it is very important that they do so as well. A major part of how the game is played today is because of the feedback the game has received since the beginning of its development. At the time of writing this review, the developers are quickly and happily responding to queries and suggestions on the Steam discussion forums all the time, which is quite impressive. Another large part of Skara is its lore, which does take the player-driven development into account. The previous highest-ranking players were placed as part of the game's lore, for instance. There's a lot to read and a lot to add to the lore, and I don't want to spoil it for you in case you decide to try the game out for yourself, so I think that's all I'll write about it. The game currently has a shop where you can pay real currency to buy cosmetics (and only cosmetics, no pay to win here) for the different characters. The reason I bring this up in this section is because, at least in my opinion, the majority of the cosmetics look [b]really good[/b]! I've already spent some money on pimping out my two favorite characters! The graphics overall look very nice and really portrays the overall kind of grim atmosphere. [h1]And what makes this game bad?[/h1] It really depends on your own tastes. As I mentioned, at the time of this writing the game is in open alpha, so there is a lack of content. The duel mode has one map, a frozen little island in the middle of the sea, and the last mand standing mode also only has one map, the lava coliseum. Currently, there are only 4 (with a 5th in the "Coming Soon-making) character types to play with, and even while they are very different from each other, there are indeed only 4. There are bugs, of course. When me and a friend tried to add each other to our friends list or party the first time, it just didn't work - we had to restart the game first. Ever since it [b]has[/b] worked though, and when I posted about it on the forums I got a quick reply from one of the developers too. The game is also not very optimized, which is a common thing for an early build, but still might put you off a little if you aren't expecting it. It doesn't slow down dramatically or anything like that, but it can have the occasional stuttering. The matchmaking also seems a bit weird. Even though me and my friend queued up for dueling at the same time, it took the game ~40 seconds of searching for a match before we got to play. It's not a long time, but it is quite strange that it works like that. If you queue up and the game can't find another player, it will pit you against bots until a player takes its/their place. On a final note, I do wish there were more diverse sound effects in the game. The ones that are in are not bad or stock by any means, but how the sound of a spear blade penetrating your flesh is the same sound as a massive pick made out of bone or a curved sword in eastern style is beyond me! It's not gamebreaking though and I imagine this is something that will change as the game develops further. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] [b]Skara - The Blade Remains[/b] is a fun game. Fighting other players, especially in last man standing, is a blast and every fight feels different. It is not a perfect game as it lacks content (it is in alpha, after all) but the content it currently has is quite enjoyable. It has been said many times before, but this game has a lot of good potential (and so far it is not being wasted one bit). The only thing Skara really suffers from is a lack of players, and I can't stress that enough - if the game had more active players, it would likely be the one of the games I've invested the most hours in ever on my steam account, haha. [b]Gameplay[/b] - 7/10 [b]Audio[/b] - 7/10 [b]Graphics[/b] - 8/10 [b]Story (Lore)[/b] - 6/10 I definitely recommend giving this game a try, especially with friends. Thank you for reading!

A game that is far from beeing finished,yet it still is already very entertaining and has a lot of potential. Positive: -The combat system is similiar to dark souls,you can target a opponent,do dodge rolls/sidesteps,use fast or heavy attacks... There are also different skills to use,depending on the race that you want to play as. -No pay to win,just purely cosmetical items. -If you do well on the ranking list,you can be included in the games ever evolving story. -The developers are trying their best to listen to the players and host,,play with the devs''events or talk with you on discord. -Nice community. Negative: -Very small playerbase at the moment. -Bugs are not exactly rare. -Badly optimized. -Not many game modes(only 1vs1 and a 3vs3 last team standing). The game is still in a very early state,so bugs and a small playerbase isnt uncommon. The rest will hopefully get fixed/added too. At least the devs are very active and searching the contact with the community,so i have no reason to doubt them for now. If youre unsure about the game,i sugest that you take a look at the discord channel and ask away.