Dungeon of Naheulbeuk, what memories pronouncing this title! The afternoons spent on my bed or my PC listening to mp3s... I hadn't had the opportunity to play the game when it was released. So when the Back to the Futon DLC came out, I took that opportunity to jump into it. Released in September 2020, the game is developed by Artefacts Studio, a French studio based in Villeurbanne. I will divide the preview into two parts. A first that will talk about the base game because I didn't want to go into the DLC before discovering the game. In truth it's wrong, I just read it wrong and I understood that you had to have already finished the game basic :p. The second part will therefore be on the DLC itself. We're going there together ? On to adventure, companions!
So here I am for my first game on the game. Before starting, there are a few settings to choose from. There are four different difficulty modes ranging from easiest to hardest: Captivating Tale, Tavern Ballad, Epic Move, and Gzor's Nightmare. I opted for a walk in a tavern. In fact, I want to enjoy the story as much as possible without worrying too much about the fights. Then I have to select whether or not I redo the tutorial. Then decide if the characteristics of your characters will be chosen automatically each time you level up. You can also opt to play iron man mode in which any death will be final. And finally you will define the voice of the storyteller: female or male.
It's over, so it's time for me and my companions to go on an adventure. As its name suggests, we find ourselves in the dungeon of Naheulbeuk where we will have to look for the twelfth statuette of Gladeulfeurha. The beginning of the game explains to us, with the tutorial, how our adventure will be. We are therefore dealing with the entire original team: the ranger, the dwarf, the elf, the barbarian, the ogre, the thief and the witch. The thief will be very useful to us, because he will thwart the many traps. On the other hand, you will be much slower to move. The ogre meanwhile can destroy doors that will give you access to chests. The tutorial continues and here I am faced with my first fighter.
I warn you right away, the game does not invent anything. It's classic turn-based strategic combat. You move your characters square by square and you use your skills to defeat your opponents. You can also interact with the environment by, for example, blowing up barrels of gunpowder. There is a notion of rolling dice backwards which allows you to succeed or not with your attacks. At the beginning of the game, I find the system frustrating, because we often fail. But I admit that hearing the characters laugh at each other softens my pain a little. Additionally, a 'bad luck' bar has been added to help you out. Four tiers fill up as you fail. With these levels, you can restore life to your characters or to the whole team or even teleport a character. At the end of the fight, your characters gain experience and items. You can also heal your characters with potions or bandages.
The game thus leads us to carry out main and secondary quests that advance the story. The secondary quests are not displayed on the map, you will have to talk to the NPCs present in the dungeon to unlock them. Like any good RPG, you will have equipment to provide to your characters. You will get them either at the end of the fights or by buying them from the vendors. Equipment as well as leveling up will increase your stats. These are like in all RPGs: skill, strength, constitution, intelligence, courage and charisma. With each level up, you also earn points which will unlock skills unique to each character.
So, we are ready to embark on an adventure in the dungeon of Naheulbeuk. I won't go any further because I'll let you discover the game if you haven't. I haven't finished it yet because, as I said in the intro, I read it wrong at the start and you can definitely start the DLC even if you haven't finished the game. and equipment of our characters will just be chosen randomly. So off I go for the Back to the Futon DLC!
Back to the Futon, I think the title does not leave you indifferent... Well you are not mistaken! You will go back to the past. The Dungeons Fund has arrested us and offers us to win our freedom by returning to the past to find out what happened. The DLC adds 4 new chapters, there are 8 in the original game. It also adds new items and skills and you can upgrade your characters up to level 16. You will either love chickens or hate them! And get ready to fight Dlul, the god of sleep.
Conclusion
Well, we're not going to lie to you, and I'll say it again, the game doesn't reinvent anything. However, I think it does the job well. Apart from the start where I struggled with the dice system which clearly gave me a tantrum. When we go a little further and the characteristics increase, I was less frustrated. On the other hand, when I arrived on the DLC, I hardly had any more problem. A few failures, but nothing insurmountable.
On the other hand, what a pleasure to find this completely crazy team, to soak up the universe created by John Lang! If you like this universe, I can only advise you to play this game.
On an adventure, companions, I set off towards the horizon. I might have done better to stay at home, the future will tell… ;)
