The Age of Decadence

The setting spellbound me to the point where I had to explore every nook and cranny of the world to extract the last possible iota of storytelling. The writing for this game is controversial but I find it amusingly sarcastic, witty, short and to the point. A very refreshing change of pace from the wall of text RPGs we are used to, these days.

It can, at times, feel like a puzzle game, more so than an RPG, but that is only if you attempt a hybrid playthrough where your every interaction needs to be preempted to extract the maximum amount of XP. If you pick a character concept, and stay faithful to it, you will have an easy time. Once you start becoming intimate with the encounters, the game will reward you for straying off the beaten path, and even 'losing' will sometimes open new, unexpected doors.

It's really crazy to think that such a gem was made possible on a shoestring budget.

A good game with a bad combat. Great rpg. 9 "oh, there was a trap, time to reload" out of 10.

Really gripping setting and story even if the mechanics are a bit rough

good

Can't seem to get into it, though it looks like it's right up my alley. Not sure what gives

Wide as a puddle, deep as an ocean

This game is good, but very niche.
The gameplay and graphics are pretty meh, but the story and choice + consequences here are unmatched.
There are a ton of secrets/stories that you can only experience by committing to a style of playthrough and going all in. You simply can't do everything at once and are punished heavily if you try to split your skills up. This makes the different playthroughs feel different but unfortunately also means you can't be particularly creative with playstyle. You pick a thing and invest 100% of your points into that things and that's it. Diplomacy based playthroughs also have the issue of not really requiring much thought. Kinda similar to New Vegas where you can just blindly pick whatever choice requires high skill and know you will succeed and get the outcome you want.
Ultimately worth a playthrough for those interested in a more hardcore/niche style of CRPG.

Use a build guide, check the youtube channel Warlockracy if you want a simple one, get the build then go in blind. It a good game but like stalker be ready on the quick save key and realize you can't do everything from the word go.

I would not call this an RPG, it's more like a puzzle game designed to look like an RPG. Contrary to the sales pitch, your choices only matter in that they will result in your death, again and again, until you make the correct choice as determined by the devs/writers. Even most basic combat scenarios are puzzles that, again result in your inevitable death until you figure out that one perfect sequences of actions that will allow you to survive. Repeat for every combat and social encounter in the game, up to and including the endgame. You can make it all the way to the end of the story only to realize you have no path to actually complete the game, your only option is to die because you did not build your character to the perfect specifications throughout each step of the way. The phrase "dead end simulator" is absolutely spot on.

Also the worldbuilding and story are nice in concept, but ultimately just not up to the quality of many other RPGs out there when it comes to the actual unfolding of the story, the writing, just the execution of it all is underwhelming.

FYI all my playtime was through GOG.

Dead end simulator. It's not hard: you'll just fail because it's unfair and most options will screw you.

While it sometimes feels a little clunky by modern standards, I enjoyed the game, mainly because I like old school cRPGs and I enjoy using speech skills in RPGs in general. This game is definitely not for everyone, and combat should be avoided as much as possible! Still, if you like a unique setting and a substantial challenge in an unforgiving universe, you'll enjoy this! It's clear the developers put a lot of thought and effort into it and I look forward to seeing what they release next!

Difficult, but fun.

As mentioned in other reviews, this is a game that pushes you to min-max or just outright cheat to succeed. You do not get anywhere near the required skill points needed to make any kind of build "workable". If you are an Assassin that focus more on combat (more on that later) to even have a basic survival chance when everything inevitably boils down to a fight because you failed a sneak / impersonate check, you will find that even having 5 or 6 points in dodge on Teros equals to reliably being hit 2 or 3 out of 5 times. Which wouldn't be that bad you might guess, except Teros is the tutorial town, 6 points is indeed a lot at that time, you're fighting 3 armored enemies, you have no DR whatsoever and your dagger + poison combo cannot even finish the first one before you're put to the ground.

Other people mentioned that the most and only important choice is at character creation and they're absolutely 100% right. There is just an illusion of choice in this game where everything will depend on your starter stats and then you're forcefully railroaded to play the game in a very specific way to have a chance at success. For example, on the second town, playing with the Boatmen's guild the first mission is to infiltrate the Thieves' Guild lair. So, the character you're going with on the mission proposes to disguise yourselves as beggars and get in. You ask "Is disguising the only way?" or something among those lines, and he replies "it's the easiest, but do whatever". Ok great, so I can force my way in with combat (the stat choice I made for my character), but assaulting the lair is not an option, you're forced to impersonate your way in (which of course failed). Ok, no problem, I have my character build for this, piece of cake ... except the game removes your armor + helmet + shield because you were forced to disguise in the first place. And mind you this particular character was not a dodge character rather than a block one, since at the end of Teros for the assassin's quest line you get an armor + helmet + shield that has 0 sneak penalty, 0 thc penalty, 12 DR+, 60 something hardness ... so why is dodge even an option if apparently no matter how many points you invest into it you're still going to be constantly hit?

Unfortunately I'm past the play hours to refund this game so I'm stuck with it, but please be mindful of this before making a purchase.

This game has a very interesting setting wich contributes greatly to it's story and the many choices it asks you to make. The combat is good but unforgiving, don't expect to demolish every enemies from the get go, though it is very satisfying when you finally make it through difficult battles. I wholeheartedly recommend the game.

5/10

Old fashioned CRPG. Combat is very simple compared to POE or Divinity, but there is a lot to master. Graphics are bare boned but story is excellent, would recommend to anyone who enjoys turn based combat with an engaging story!

A unique experience that changed the way I look at the entire CRPG genre, that being said, unique also means that it might not be for everyone so be sure to check the demo

Super replayable CRPG made with lots of passion from the devs.

It's ok. Pretty easy to get railroaded into a 100% speech or combat based character, depending on how you distribute your skill points. If you put more points into civil skills (eg. persuasion, streetwise), it will be damn near impossible for you to ever win any fight, thus you will always have to end up "choosing" the option that avoids any conflict if you want to finish the game. Essentially, you will be making the most important choices in character creation and once you are out of it your fate is sealed and choice becomes more of an illusion.

This isn't a case of choices being 100% bull$hit like in a telltale game however, they still matter, but they only matter as far as what background and build you choose. During actual gameplay, most branches become unviable due to you having 0% chance of either winning the fight or passing the skill check during dialogue.

Really great CRPG game with dark atmosphere thx to Iron Tower studio for work!

Wonderful breadth of choice chains and actually well-written NPCs with motivations that make sense. It's a bit janky, but pretty reliable. Loved it. Definitely worth replaying for the variety.
Absolutely recommend.
NOTE: Turn your Lighting setting to LOW on modern machines to get rid of the flickering

These devs are some of the best devs in the business.
Updates, fair prices and near full transparency with their fans. Very rare these days.
If you havent played one of their games, you should. Their next game is going to be the creme de la creme so its best you learn the playstyle for these types of turn-based strategy rpgs asap. :)

Age of Decadence is a somewhat short c-rpg game developed by Iron Tower Studio. This roman themed game has an incredible number of branching quests related to the guilds and a good number of side quests. This one was made to be difficult, offering mostly unfair fights until you max out your stats. To finish this game you need to study builds and min/max your character or you may lock yourself from completion. The game offers stats plus a point skill system similar to Fallout, but here you must be very efficient. Forums advise that the character creation is the biggest choice you will make. Once made, you have to commit to that path, and no amount of effort will amend your choice since xp is limited. If you waste points, it’s over. Can be frustrating to play a game with fear of ruining your future. Your skill allocation is everything at any moment. I advise you to “bank skill points” to be used in a specific situation. That sounds ridiculous and incredible metagaming, but after tests it seems that the game was made to be played in this manner. You just don’t know when you will need to raise certain skills to be able to progress a certain path. A flawed design, you shouldn’t have to force your player to hold skill points because the game presents options that are nigh impossible to bypass unless you know them already. The story is simply amazing. Unfortunately that is the only true positive remark I see. There are many paragraphs of lore about the world, factions, and the supernatural. All very well built and coherent, but to access any of that you need to lean heavily into the correct build for the correct moment, mostly Int and Lore, facing many locked dialogs before a reload. Content-wise this is where the game shines. You can spend a long time searching and savoring texts. The combat mechanic, when not impossible, is fun but repetitive with certain variability, allowing you to change types of damage and strength of damage for each different enemy and using some positioning to improve your odds during each turn. Unfortunately, the efficiency rule limits you to a single weapon. As the game itself makes it clear, combat is not advisable. You are constantly outnumbered, the hp is limited (or not), the weapons have only simple upgrades, and death comes frequently. I believe crit plus dagger is the best combination because they ignore armor. You can also go through most of the game with dialog only, but that will reduce the game to a visual novel. The game constantly sells the image of a ruined world. Everything is in a miserable state and there is no hope for the future. You are to be inserted in this world of misery and try to make the best of it. The poverty and harsh environment goes along with the post apocalyptic scenario, following you at every moment. But, contradictory to its own theme, in your character sheet, descriptions, and many texts are littered with comedy quips and puns. A very discordant element that cracks the solidity of the gameplay. Another personal nitpick is the bothersome durability. Something always removed by modders. An obnoxious decision that shouldn’t be in a game with so many imposed limitations. When a game is known for being difficult, rarely is it because the developers knew what they were doing. Balancing difficulty with frustration is a hard task, sprinkle that with limited upgrades, limited enemies, limited money, no possibility to grind xp, and you have a herculean task in front of you. Despite its superior writing, Age of Decadence fails the genre of difficult games, not being able to avoid the traps of unreasonable mechanics that insert negative numbers just for the sake of forcing the difficult tag. It’s an unfortunate result of developers having a vision but not being able to implement it, ruining its rare setting. I wish Iron Tower would have given the player more options to solve the dilemmas, not through paths that one can only follow if you put the correct number in the correct stat during the first ten minutes of gameplay. At some point in development you remove so much of the fun for the sake of difficulty that your result is just frustration.

good

I love Roman Post-Apocalyptic RPG that let me to kill god or become one

Not a huge fan of the gameplay, but love the world and story. Iron Tower deserves mores support

Old school rpg with good worldbuilding taking place in a believable universe. Multiple distinct starting backgrounds for player character that provide good replayability. Combat is mediocre but it doesn't have to be a huge path of your playthrough as the game lets you play a PC who is not a murderhobo. Overall Age of Decadence is an excellent example of a quality indie RPG.

Amazing, the difficulty is very difficult, but man is it rewarding to progress.
I spend about 45 hours on the game with vivid memories, I might even reinstall and do another run through now that I am thinking about it

Feels really good to conquer a problem that you couldn't before.

For example, I go into a house with a couple thieves that stole a 100 coins from me. I initiate a fight them, but it turns out there is a third thief that traps me in the house in a 1v3 situation. The thieves surround me, and I die. I go to the blacksmith and exchange my bronze armor for iron armor. I do a couple other side quests and increase my body count. Once again, I enter the house with the three thieves. I move so that all 3 thieves are in front of me. 2 of the thieves switch to range attacks, while 1 attacks me at melee range. I easily block all the range attacks and kill the melee enemy in a few turns. 1 thief down. One of the ranged thieves runs out of arrows and pulls out a sword to attack me. He dodges most of my attacks and procs bleed damage on most of his hits. I aim for his legs. He can no longer dodge me. 2 thieves down. The last ranged thief is unarmored and misses most of her attacks. 3 thieves down. I recover my 100 coins and loot their bodies for all they are worth.

tldr 10 Maadoran slum super ganks out of 10

This is an excellent rpg if you take the time to understand the systems with which the game operates. Otherwise it is an insufferable shit show where if you try to rush through, you get your guts rearranged by some random gangsters hiding in an alleyway every other loading screen. Patience is the key to figuring this game out.

A few tips:
- Don't waste stat points in charisma, its useless most of the time.
- save often, especially before making any sort of choice.
- you don't have to spend your skill points all at once.If you fail an important check, reload and invest points into the skill to pass.
- if you plan to kill people, invest in 1 weapon skill, and either dodge or block but not both. ALWAYS LEVEL THE DEFENSIVE SKILL YOU CHOOSE MORE OFTEN THAN ATTACK, it will make gank fights less painful.
- if you're a fighter, invest in the crafting skill and learn how crafting works. Good gear makes a significant difference.

I like it. It's got it's faults but there is plenty of good things that over shadow them. Give it a go for yourself. I highly recommend looking up a Guide.

After 2 months and 100% - absolutely amazing. The setting is incredibly gripping and the faction campaigns are well worth multiple playthroughs. I was completely hooked the moment I realized the game is complex enough as to have both a way to finish the game without a single fight or kill, as well as room for a headhunting spacemarine run.

Seems like a meaty RPG.

A worthwhile gem that merits your attention. Incredible character build customisation and engrossing combat in a fascinating world. Highly recommended!

This game is a RPG in it's purest form. Nothing but character ability determines the consequences of your decisions. Learning how to build the character and exactly how & when to distribute your skill points feels very rewarding. I only regret waiting to play this game for as long as I did.

Can be unforgiving - trial and error needed but the greatest and most playable story ever told. 6 years and nearly 600 hours later I still love this world. Makes me sad that games of this kind won’t be made again in the future

One of my favourite RPG.
A feeling of playing a classic gem everytime.

A fabulous game for fully applying build optimization, hidden nooks well worth the dedicated build it takes to explore them and a lore that's brilliantly delivered. This game is merciless and challenging, but makes each success satisfying and immersive.

Awesome RPG

Игра в своём роде уникальная. Сюжет - гениальный. Главная задача игры - воспользоваться моментом политической нестабильности, чтобы урвать себе как можно больше денег и власти, при этом не умерев. Действия игры происходят в стране, всё ешё находящейся в упадке после великой войны, произошедшей несколько сотен лет назад, в которой большая часть населения умерла, технический прогресс откатился, и большая часть местности стала еле пригодной для обитания. В игре есть большая вариативность, на каждый квест есть по нескольку вариантов решения, возможность выбрать которые зависит от характеристик игрока. Есть 7 фракций, что каждая пытается у остальных вырвать власть и деньги тем или иным способом. Внутри сюжета каждой фракции есть множество разветвлений сюжета и можно в разные моменты предать свою фракцию и примкнуть к другой, получив в замен ненависть своей изначальной фракции, что может быть фатальной, если ты не воин-убийца, так что надо с этим быть осторожным. Основных два способа решения всех происшествий в игре два: бой или разговор. Если ты будешь играть за боевого персонажа, то можно заработать много денег, грабя и убивая людей, но только ты скорее всего будешь как просто исполнитель чужих приказов и планов, не способный повлиять на важные политичесские решения. Если же играть за разговорного персонажа, то можно ловко манипулировать людьми, без боя разводя их на деньги и информацию, влиять на важных политических фигур, но при этом нужно следить за своими словами, потому что если тебе не получится кого-то убедить, то он с тобой начнёт драться, а ты не воин, тебя в армию по проблемам здоровья не взяли, тебе драться нельзя, и по этому тебя убьют. Самые умные могут попробывать совмещать умение разговаривать с умением драться, но тебе очков прокачки не хватит всё подряд нормально прокачать, из-за чего нужно точно распланировать как каждое очко когда и во что вставлять, что можно сделать только если ты уже все проверки наперёд сдаешь, так что это вариант для бывалых (ну либо можно по гайду игру проходить).
Боёвка в игре прикольная. Есть множество видов оружия и вариантов ударов, а так же различные зелья, бомбы и сетки, что в разные моменты полезны. То правда в том, что тактика для почти каждого боя одна и та же, так что ты в начале игры себе выбираешь из массы вариантов какой-то один, прокачиваешься в него и играешь только через него.
Для разговоров есть множество различных навыков и они все в разные моменты полезны. Знать, какой и когда нужен будет - наперёд нельзя, так что, если решил играть через разговоры, то стоит выбрать 3-4 навыка как основные и прокачивать их поровну, а остальные не трогать, ибо тогда можешь не успеть основной поднять до того пока понадобиться. Либо можно пытаться как можно больше проверок пройти, путём того чтобы копить очки и прокачиваться только тогда, когда ты проверку провалишь. А ещё можно сразу по гайду качаться, там вот прям максимум тогда всего достигнешь.
Есть множество концовок, что зависят от выбранной фракции и действий по ходу игры. Мир интересный. первосажы интересные. Узнавать историю событий минувших дней, результат которых отражается в текушее время - очень увлекательно.
Если вы не боитесь графики, чтения букв и прохождения методом проб, ошибок и перезагрузок, то вы сможите погрузится в невероятную историю этой игры.
И в конце можно либо убить либо не убить либо стать рабом пришельца из другого мира, что жажадет всех поработить, но их вообще двое и можно убить одного для другого, но лушее вообще обоих ибо они людей едят ну это вообще что такое.
Хорошая игра, в общем.

Really liked this one. Most people who gave it a bad review should've read the "Read before buying" section they put up.

is good game posting a review to help the devs

amazing

Still unbeaten to this day for replay ability. You can play the story for 5-10 different angles and discover some minor or major piece of the story every time. A masterpiece.

One of my favorites

A modern classic for players who enjoy serious RPGs and aren't afraid of brutal, challenging combat.

Definitely shows its age, but if you like old school rpgs this is for you.

Had a blast, loved the story and combat, even through the seemingly BS fights. Game changes a lot and one character can't do it all (well.. i couldn't at least) but i enjoyed playing different characters and tackling challenges differently.

I don't like how mutually exclusive everything in this game is, which, to be fair, they disclosed quite well- so that's on me.
You'd have to do multiple play throughs just to see less than half of the content in this game.

But, all that aside, I do like the game- and I do like the developer.

Really really enjoy this game!

The various narrative endings are very fun. And the lore is great.