There are games that put you in the right place, with a colorful story and top-notch stakes (save the world ... the universe ... the GALAXY ... and your house ?!) like preventing the extermination of such and such a population or even saving your life in the face of the extraterrestrial threat ... But here, no! You will play as a team of thirsty people who no longer have a radish and who need cash ... Heavy, very, very heavy!
Graphics
The game is not what you might call a technological revolution in graphics. Let's be clear, the game is not bad for all that ... The graphics lend themselves particularly well to this kind of game, a dungeon crawler, and offers us an old-school immersion. The floor decorations change approximately every 4-5 levels but you always keep this feeling of being lost in the dungeon all the time. The various enemies and the rare bosses - six in number - are nice. As for the hammer / ax / sword / dagger attacks, although they have a basic animation, they are effective and clear. Spells have a nice little animation for spellcasters.
Soundtrack
The above, not much to say. The music is good and allows a good immersion. However, you will need to cut it for some sound puzzles, which is a bit of a shame. Big advantage, however, is that a playlist will allow you to change songs directly in the menu.
History
As said in the intro to this preview, the story fits on a postage stamp. You lost your money at the tavern drinking and feasting all night long ... and you need cash to continue your favorite activity ... Good thing !! A mysterious old man ("Coucou Perceval ...!") Offers you golden information: a tower full of treasures. You don't need more to go and risk it.
Character creation
When creating a character, you can choose between 8 very different classes to form your team of 4 adventurers. As for your character's avatar, this one is purely aesthetic.
The classes :
- Warrior: one of the classes that allows you to "tank" a minimum during your journey. Adept at all kinds of weapons and shields, it can be extremely useful if you ever decide that tanks, in the end ... it might be a good idea.
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Level 1: Weapon +1, shield block (⅕ to block)
Level 2 : Constitution + 1
Level 3: Chance to hit (1/7 X 1.2)
Level 4 : Force + 1
Level 5 : Constitution + 1
Level 6: Critical Chance (1/7 X 1.5)
Level 7: Arms + 1
Level 8 : Force + 1
Level 9 : Constitution + 1
Level 10 : Coup fatal (1/7 X 2)
- Paladin: second tank class in the game. Adept at hammers, he has the ability to heal, which makes him a hybrid class that should not be overlooked. A good alternative to the warrior.
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Level 1: Hammer +1, block shield (⅕ to block)
Level 2: Healing
Level 3 : Constitution + 1
Level 4 : Force + 1
Level 5: Group Heal, Hammer +1
Level 6: Critical Chance with a Hammer (1/7 X 1.5)
Level 7 : Constitution + 1
Level 8 : Force + 1
Level 9: Fatal blow with a hammer (1/7 X 2)
Level 10: Hammer +1
- Priest: essential class to keep your companions alive, and in the worst case, to bring them back from the Hereafter. A healing spell in one hand, a hammer in the other ... A good way to pray.
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Level 1: Healing
Level 2: Hammer +1
Level 3: Cure the poison
Level 4 : Intelligence + 1
Level 5: Group healing
Level 6: Hammer +1
Level 7: Resurrection
Level 8 : Intelligence + 1
Level 9 : Constitution + 1
Level 10: Hammer +1
- Thief: a class that is also very useful with its "detection" side. The thief grants you detection of traps and other secret passages which are announced with the phrase "Something is out of place". It can lead you to a treasure, a draw, or more simply, in front of a hidden enemy. Little more: he will be able to carry a weapon in each hand as soon as the 'Ambidexterity' talent is unlocked.
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Level 1: Dagger + 1, Detection (¾ to discover traps and secrets, +1 INT + 5%)
Level 2: Dexterity +1
Level 3: Ambidexterity (Off hand attack time X 1.3)
Level 4 : Force + 1
Level 5: Dagger +1
Level 6: Critical Chance with a Dagger (1/7 X 1.5)
Level 7: Dexterity +1
Level 8 : Force + 1
Level 9: Dagger +1
Level 10: Fatal blow with a dagger (1/7 X 2)
- Archer: fighter mainly from a distance, he nevertheless masters swords. The archer will be able to cut through your enemies before they even approach. Class of damage par excellence, it is not to be neglected.
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Level 1: Bow Damage * 1.5
Level 2: Bow + 1, Sword + 1
Level 3: Chance to hit (1/7 X 1.2)
Level 4: Dexterity +1
Level 5 : Constitution + 1
Level 6: Critical Chance (1/7 X 1.5)
Level 7 : Force + 1
Level 8: Bow + 1, Sword + 1
Level 9: Dexterity +1
Level 10: Thunderous Arrows (Bow Damage * 1.3)
- Elementalist: a real magic Swiss army knife. Ignite your enemies, poison them, freeze them in place, inflict heavy damage on them, like the archer, before they even get on you ... this is a very good damage class and control.
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Level 1: Powder of Fire
Level 2: Poison Powder
Level 3: Ice powder
Level 4 : Intelligence + 1
Level 5 : Boule d'arcane
Level 6: Fireball
Level 7: Earth Ball
Level 8: Ice ball
Level 9: Poison Ball
Level 10 : Intelligence + 1
- Barbarian: Aka. the ambidextrous slicer. He can carry (at level 3) two weapons and will use them to slice, smash or pierce any enemy that gets in his way. A barbarian what ...
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Level 1: Ax +1, Berserk (Health -40% Strength +3), Chance to hit (1/7 X 1.2)
Level 2 : Force + 1
Level 3: Ambidexterity (Off hand attack time X 1.3)
Level 4 : Constitution + 1
Level 5: Dexterity +1
Level 6: Critical Chance (1/7 X 1.5)
Level 7: Ax +1
Level 8 : Force + 1
Level 9 : Constitution + 1
Level 10 : Coup fatal
- Monk: the only class that will not need to equip itself with any sword, mace or various weapons. The gods have made weapons of massive destruction with his hands. Besides his damage, he has dodge skills and a good build.
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Level 1 : Ambidextrie
Level 2: Double hits (1/7 double attack)
Level 3 : Force + 1
Level 4: Constitution +1, Shadow Dodge (¼ dodge)
Level 5 : Poing de fer
Level 6: Dexterity +1
Level 7: Multiple hits (1/7 triple attack)
Level 8 : Constitution + 1
Level 9: Dexterity +1, Titanium Fist
Level 10: Strength +1, Rain of Blows (???)
It should be noted that enemies tend to primarily hit your companions who are melee, which is very important to know when composing a team.
gameplay
The gameplay of this game is quite classic. You advance in a first person view in a dungeon where no benchmarks - or almost - will help you to find your way in this maze that is the tower. Without the map, I think you could go around for hours without realizing that the exit is that dark room you just passed for the 286th time. At the beginning, the floors are not huge and the enemies hardly dangerous ... you will find yourself quite quickly against creatures not necessarily friendly ... (none to tell the truth ...) who are angry with your physical integrity. The real-time combat will also often make you act in an emergency and neglect a heal, a spell, and ... you die miserably while the creature thinks: "The adventurers ... It was better before .. . ".
The equipment is mostly found in little nooks and crannies and in secret passages. Without it, you'll never last long, and the rare healing and mana potions won't help you if you don't do enough damage to bosses who took their Ovomaltine well this morning.
To get out of a floor, you will sometimes also have to solve more or less tough puzzles, but nothing insurmountable.
- Tip: You can rest (sleep) in order to regain life and mana by pressing the "Zzz" button at the top right of the character sheet.
- Tip²: You can exchange items by dragging it onto another character's portrait.
Summary
Heroes of the Monkey Tavern is an independent game that wanted to get closer to the great classics of the genre. Nice music, simplistic but effective gameplay, a classic team choice, but also effective, a progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression">progression through the floors with its share of surprises. So yes, I agree, many might find the game too "classically old-school" ... but precisely, this game claims to be a homecoming, drawing inspiration from the foundations of the genre. And he succeeded on this point, as on others besides. So, neophytes or nostalgic, if you like "dungeon crawlers", Heroes of the Monkey Tavern could be worth a detour. For the others, I think you should take a little look at the gameplay videos to get a better idea and who knows ... buy it?
Small bonus
- Gameplay video (provided by the publisher) of the first floor:
- Manual (in English), explaining how to modify the video configuration, but also the controls. Without this, playing will sometimes be complicated: the keys being, by default, for a qwerty keyboard, and the change via the shortcut (Alt + Shift) not always working.
And here is the non-exhaustive list of advice / reminders given during the sleep phases:
Tips for beginners
