Nostalgia. I think nostalgia is quite overrated at this stage in gaming, but sometimes a project gives me such a blast of positive nostalgia that it is unreal, and this is the case with our subject today.

SKALD: Against the Black Priory was published by RawFury and developed by High North Studios. It will be the same for everyone who has ever played Ultima 5, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to get to that point later. For now, I want to talk about the relevant information so you can decide whether this game is for you. We start with the graphics.

The game's graphics specifically emulate the old computer era, even down to the color palette. Why am I saying that in the old computer era? Because, very specifically, this is closer to something you'd find on a Commodore or Amiga. I know Amiga was a trademark of commodore but bear with me here. More so than something you'd find on an IBM PC back in the day. Even the trailer alerts us to this, showing some kid entering a cartridge with SKALD: Against the Black Priory into his Commodore 64, so there is a fundamental connection for this kind of nostalgia, a through line throughout the entire game. What can I say about the graphics? It is something that I dearly love and miss, probably for a very long time. I'm very prone to nostalgic feelings sometimes. Especially when it's something I enjoyed back in the day or have fun memories of, you have to take kind of what I say with a grain of SKALD, but I think the graphics or the art, let's say, the art style because the graphics, I don't think we are talking about fidelity here. We are talking about the beautiful art style here. I love it, no matter if you have these tremendous still images that portray a scene that is currently going on or something that alerts you to the cosmic horror that SKALD is so fond of describing. It is very moody, tense, and atmospheric and nails what it sets out to do so much. I cannot tell you how beautiful and sometimes how grim and dark this game gets with the portrayal of the darkness. It wants to exude.

I would claim that at some points, the game leans a bit too heavily into dark themes and comes off as edgy more than mature, but that's part and parcel of the package because sometimes games aren't mature. Sometimes, they are just juvenile, and I like having an edge in my video games. I will not have it any other way. This also shows in the graphics. For example, during combat, you are going to destroy the enemy. A few gruesome fates await your enemy portrait in very low-fidelity pixel graphics, and I love it. I love it so much, going from the graphics to the gameplay. This is where the most modern stuff happened in terms of combat. This game is a modern-day turn-based RPG that is really thoughtful and put together, and you have a lot of options during combat because you also have a variety of classes. Nine, to be exact, and a variety of backgrounds, so you already have a lot of combination possibilities during the character creation. You also accumulate a party during gameplay. Hence, you have six character slots overall, one for yourself and five for additional party members, so the party's composition will also do a lot for you regarding gameplay.

That isn't to say that combat is very central. You actually can avoid most of the combat as far as I've played the game, and you can also just go in and just ♥♥♥♥ the ♥♥♥♥ out; you can use stealth, you can use diplomacy, and the game gives you ample options to just role play actually and this is what I very much appreciate about it. You can do various things, for example, if you arrive in the central city. Three factions control it, and you can either outplay the three factions or walk up to the leaders and kill them in combat. So, player choice and options are always good, but how does the actual combat work well? You have the turn-based combat that every RPG has these days. Mostly, it's decided by dice roll. The dice rolls mainly come into effect when you attack a cast spell; obviously, you have a set number of movement points. For example, where you move around, you have one attack per round and special skills. You can cast spells. There is a variety of stuff you can do, and it gives you many options on how to approach combat. So even in a battle where you're not outgunned and outnumbered, if you play strategically, you can turn the tide in your favor. You have to do it cleverly.

As for the story, this is where I could ruffle some feathers. I'm still determining. I love the story itself. Don't get me wrong, it is very well written, super exciting, and one of the better cosmic horror stories I've experienced lately. There is a lot of craftsmanship here, but this sometimes feels legal. It is a distinct quasi-remake of Ultima 5, not that there is anything wrong with that because the game wears its inspiration on its sleeve, especially in the story; you feel this kind of inspiration because what SKALD does is it lifts the plot beads from Ultima 5 and transports it into its tale.

However, it does well when it lifts these to story beats. It always puts its spin on it, makes you feel nice and cozy, and you think, hey, I know this, but then it throws your ball, and something completely unexpected happens, so as much as it takes inspiration from Ultima 4. It also does its own thing, so this is good. I am just pointing out, hey, if you've played Ultima 5 in the past, you might get some déja vus, and then more often than not, the déja vu turns out to be, hey, that is not how that played out in any case.

Do I recommend SKALD: Against the Black Priory? Yes, I do. It is one of my favorite RPG releases in the last two years, if not even in the top three. I put it next to Balder Gate 3 and 40K Rogue Trader, and that is a tall order because I still love those games. I love SKALD just as much, so if you want a blast from the past and some good old nostalgia but with some modernization, it is a cosmic horror spin, and then the SKALD is for you. Skald: Against the Black, Priory captures the spirit of your favorite old-school RPGs while serving up deep sidequests and memorable lore, but its combat and progression systems eventually run into trouble, and its overarching narrative never entirely takes off. It's out now on Steam, and it is glorious.

Nostalgia. I think nostalgia is quite overrated at this stage in gaming, but sometimes a project gives me such a blast of positive nostalgia that it is unreal, and this is the case with our subject today. SKALD: Against the Black Priory was published by RawFury and developed by High North Studios. It will be the same for everyone who has ever played Ultima 5, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to get to that point later. For now, I want to talk about the relevant information so you can decide whether this game is for you. We start with the graphics. The game's graphics specifically emulate the old computer era, even down to the color palette. Why am I saying that in the old computer era? Because, very specifically, this is closer to something you'd find on a Commodore or Amiga. I know Amiga was a trademark of commodore but bear with me here. More so than something you'd find on an IBM PC back in the day. Even the trailer alerts us to this, showing some kid entering a cartridge with SKALD: Against the Black Priory into his Commodore 64, so there is a fundamental connection for this kind of nostalgia, a through line throughout the entire game. What can I say about the graphics? It is something that I dearly love and miss, probably for a very long time. I'm very prone to nostalgic feelings sometimes. Especially when it's something I enjoyed back in the day or have fun memories of, you have to take kind of what I say with a grain of SKALD, but I think the graphics or the art, let's say, the art style because the graphics, I don't think we are talking about fidelity here. We are talking about the beautiful art style here. I love it, no matter if you have these tremendous still images that portray a scene that is currently going on or something that alerts you to the cosmic horror that SKALD is so fond of describing. It is very moody, tense, and atmospheric and nails what it sets out to do so much. I cannot tell you how beautiful and sometimes how grim and dark this game gets with the portrayal of the darkness. It wants to exude. I would claim that at some points, the game leans a bit too heavily into dark themes and comes off as edgy more than mature, but that's part and parcel of the package because sometimes games aren't mature. Sometimes, they are just juvenile, and I like having an edge in my video games. I will not have it any other way. This also shows in the graphics. For example, during combat, you are going to destroy the enemy. A few gruesome fates await your enemy portrait in very low-fidelity pixel graphics, and I love it. I love it so much, going from the graphics to the gameplay. This is where the most modern stuff happened in terms of combat. This game is a modern-day turn-based RPG that is really thoughtful and put together, and you have a lot of options during combat because you also have a variety of classes. Nine, to be exact, and a variety of backgrounds, so you already have a lot of combination possibilities during the character creation. You also accumulate a party during gameplay. Hence, you have six character slots overall, one for yourself and five for additional party members, so the party's composition will also do a lot for you regarding gameplay. That isn't to say that combat is very central. You actually can avoid most of the combat as far as I've played the game, and you can also just go in and just fuck the shit out; you can use stealth, you can use diplomacy, and the game gives you ample options to just role play actually and this is what I very much appreciate about it. You can do various things, for example, if you arrive in the central city. Three factions control it, and you can either outplay the three factions or walk up to the leaders and kill them in combat. So, player choice and options are always good, but how does the actual combat work well? You have the turn-based combat that every RPG has these days. Mostly, it's decided by dice roll. The dice rolls mainly come into effect when you attack a cast spell; obviously, you have a set number of movement points. For example, where you move around, you have one attack per round and special skills. You can cast spells. There is a variety of stuff you can do, and it gives you many options on how to approach combat. So even in a battle where you're not outgunned and outnumbered, if you play strategically, you can turn the tide in your favor. You have to do it cleverly. As for the story, this is where I could ruffle some feathers. I'm still determining. I love the story itself. Don't get me wrong, it is very well written, super exciting, and one of the better cosmic horror stories I've experienced lately. There is a lot of craftsmanship here, but this sometimes feels legal. It is a distinct quasi-remake of Ultima 5, not that there is anything wrong with that because the game wears its inspiration on its sleeve, especially in the story; you feel this kind of inspiration because what SKALD does is it lifts the plot beads from Ultima 5 and transports it into its tale. However, it does well when it lifts these to story beats. It always puts its spin on it, makes you feel nice and cozy, and you think, hey, I know this, but then it throws your ball, and something completely unexpected happens, so as much as it takes inspiration from Ultima 4. It also does its own thing, so this is good. I am just pointing out, hey, if you've played Ultima 5 in the past, you might get some déja vus, and then more often than not, the déja vu turns out to be, hey, that is not how that played out in any case. Do I recommend SKALD: Against the Black Priory? Yes, I do. It is one of my favorite RPG releases in the last two years, if not even in the top three. I put it next to Balder Gate 3 and 40K Rogue Trader, and that is a tall order because I still love those games. I love SKALD just as much, so if you want a blast from the past and some good old nostalgia but with some modernization, it is a cosmic horror spin, and then the SKALD is for you. Skald: Against the Black, Priory captures the spirit of your favorite old-school RPGs while serving up deep sidequests and memorable lore, but its combat and progression systems eventually run into trouble, and its overarching narrative never entirely takes off. It's out now on Steam, and it is glorious.