Barony

I waited until i beat the game until i posted a review. It took a whole 90 hours. This game is very fun and also makes you rage but it has sooooo much replayability and its challenge makes it fun. There is only one bug and I would recommend this game to anyone that wants a challenge and/or likes roguelikes.

This game is FAR more fun than I originally thought it would be. I struggled to get anywhere at first, but I am now getting the hang of it and love this game. I highly recommend trying the CLERIC as a starting class for newbies. You begin with healing potions and a scroll that can summon monster allies who stay with you, alleviating a some early game stress.

A remarkable experience. If Daggerfall was remade, modern, into a roguelike framework. This is such a comform game for me.

Keeping this simple:
The graphics are as you can see above.
The game play loop is quite fun and engaging, if not infuriating at times.

The enemies seem quite good at tracking you early game as though you killed their entire family.
The companions are all brain dead. Summons, recruits, or domination doesn't matter.
It feels like leading a horse to water but the horse is missing 90% of its brain and doesn't understand it has legs, a mouth, or a need to survive.

Cute, hell down right adorable.
Love the pixel art
It’s simple dungeon crawler
It’s fun & pretty difficult

Nethack in 3d, need I say more? well im gonna anyway. did a top notch job for the game, but microtranscations are a downer. Games great, jump scares to the lewt grind. skills progress as you use them and if your fairly smart and lucky you can have DOZENS of minions willing or not to go and die for your pleasure while you stay behind the front collecting items. classes are limited, but if you survive long enough you all blend into a kind of "i can do about everything" class. the workshop has some good things, but one half doesnt work and the other is based off of microtransaction items so its nearly completely worthless.
Are you willing to risk life and limb for gold and power? if so prepare to check into Barony, but you might never leave again.

This game is much better than it looks, good dungeon crawl mechanics, decent interface, solid single and multiplayer options. Loot goblin and speedrunner adequate, plenty of classes, races, enemies, and variety content. Minecraftish levels with an rpg settings, an average full run can take 1-5 hours, very replayable.

One of very few games I've played lately that I'm willing to call a roguelike. But you are descending a dungeon, there's an item identification meta, a BUC system, foocubi, etc. At first the gameplay made me think more of a 3D take on Gauntlet, but the constant references like the scroll names being from Hack/NetHack, and the aforementioned features really do give me a roguelike vibe after all. It also helps that you spend a lot of time dying.

Overall, I find this game quite fun, and the difficulty becomes a lot more tolerable with the large amount of tweakable settings, and the up-to-four player multiplayer.

Excellent game with fantastic replayability. I would put this in the same level and category as Binding of Isaac, a very fun experience with many ways to exploit the system or challenge yourself for new runs. More amusing with friends but also enjoyable solo.

Amazing. One of the best action roguelikes that I ever played. Really liked vampire conjurer gameplay.

This game is very chaotic and unpredictable all the time! its so much fun in solo play and in multiplayer! its a must play game!

picking a class.
sees anarchist
long range. fun
magick. more fun
tinkering. sounds fun
plays the class a lot
after hours realizes its arcanist and not anarchist
proceeds to ignore that and keep calling it anarchist

Barony is the closest thing I can imagine to a dungeon crawling sim. If the average person grabbed some gear and set off for adventure the outcome would measure up to early play. You are wildly underpowered, aimless and starving. Everything wants to kill you. Boulder...

That said. Even though I'm in a constant state of anxiety and frustration, it's the most fun I've had with a game in a long time. Solid mechanics, lore, randomly generated for freshness. Wild that it's so old.

Initial impressions after playing with some randoms in this game: This game is amazingly fun. It is brutal and difficult. I have laughed so much at my deaths for how silly they are and the soundtrack is good. I picked up the DLC because of the additional classes/races. I can't wait for my friends to pick this up! (nobody really wants to have people on their lobbies so be sure to have some friends to play this game with beforehand.)

Barony stays fresh with every play-through being different. You can start out as a Monk, but end up as a powerful wizard with a powerful punch. You could start out as a Wizard, but use turrets and recruited allies to do the work for you.
The boxy graphics may turn some people off, but its not as noticeable in game. There is definitely a learning curve. You will learn the most about this game by dying and not repeating those mistakes.

goated game, if you don't like it at first just get good. (as much of a joke as that is you will have a more fun time the more you keep playing and learning the complexities of the game so just give it a chance)

I genuinely don't know how this game isn't more popular and I can't find another game like it. The progression is fun, it takes time to get max skill, but the benefits are genuinely a blast to have. The rouge-like system makes the game very challenging, and it takes some time to get used to the mechanics and tricks to the game which to me is the most fun part about it.

If you like abusing magic systems, getting crushed by random boulders and good dungeon crawlers, barony will have you strapped for 3 hours straight.

must play. the way it is built makes it feel like a board game, but with much more immersion

Fun Game! So many different strats both to make the game harder and to make the game easier! I highly recommend this game!

this game is crack 2: the sequel to crack. an incredibly addictive game play loop, fun game play, great variety and replayability. the amount of class race combinations makes for very unique runs.

I love that this game never takes itself serious but at the same time will humble you quickly. The game has a very harsh learning curve but makes it feel rewarding when mastering your choice of combat style. There is so much more to this game that I didn't realize like hidden areas, puzzles, legendary weapons and even hidden bosses. The game is great with friends but don't think that you will just breeze through the game cause you will die a lot. Also fuck boulders.

It's a game about playing meat and exploring a meatgrinder, and it is horribly fun. Can't really think of another game quite like it; your 5 hour long run can end in an instant over a brief lapse in judgment or just bad RNG, and it's hard not to come back for more.

Better with friends as all things are but still a blast solo. Game is also still being updated after all these years and it oozes the dev team's love for it. Can't recommed this enough to anyone looking to play a brutal dungeon crawler that'll keep them on edge for hours on end.

Barony's best enjoyed for the journey, and accept that winning a run isn't the norm, at least starting out. There's a ton of mechanics and systems that, while optional for a baseline consistent playstyle, give you a lot to sink your teeth into.

Barony's early game is pretty brutal, as this game's progression philosophy is pretty much that you become more consistently able to make mistakes as you go. Levelling makes your health higher, you find armor, you probably get some healing resources, etc. Starting out you don't have those, and you're very encouraged to pick fights early on so you can level to get all that leeway later. I very often die within the Mines, the first general area of the game (Due in part to the Gnomish Mine secret area that is very fun to tackle but is crawling with lightning-staff gnomes. Magic attacks are very lethal in this game, so it's a tightrope walk in there)

That being said, this game's got a lot going on under the hood for how skills work and what makes them progress and how you can make the most of things. You don't have to grind up skills super hard to succeed, but if you go at it with the right mindset knowing how to optimize raising stuff like Blocking skill, Stealth, Magic, etc. can be very satisfying in the short term. Honestly knowing how to make use of hidden areas for good loot to get advantages down the line probably make a bigger difference than grinding skills but I'm personally the kind of guy that likes to watch the number go up, so it meshes well for me.

Class and gameplay variety is very good. You've got solid baselines like the Warrior or Cleric who start with good armor, shield, and health to lay off a lot of pressure on making mistakes, or the Healer who while lacking armor and such has the most reliable heal spell out the gate. But you're out there for the sauce, stuff like the Rogue encourages getting in big meaty strikes and making the most of the game's movement mechanics with stealth, or the Sexton, with some of the cheesiest spells like Open, Sleep, and Chakram throwables you can ricochet off corners. Sexton lets you get away with some nonsense, but as usual, not suited for armor. Can't get hit a lot, so make those tools count. The Merchant, especially when you learn just how many shops exist and how much gold you can muster if you go down the right channels, can just absolutely load you with stuff. But you need to know how to turn your coins, and the most useful stuff are complicated mechanics in their own right, like the Alchemy and Tinkering systems.

So again, fun's in the journey. Goof around and have fun with the game's systems. Shooting for the end is a reasonable goal of course but it's a long term one. There's a lot to enjoy just playing the game for itself, whether or not you make it very far. I really like learning a game and taking full advantage of everything there is. There's a lot of content in that regard.

I have THOUSANDS of hours of time on Steam. This is the first game I've stopped to write a serious review for. I have two clear takeaways:

1.) This game is meant for a particular kind of player. If you're that guy, you'll love it. If not, it will be excruciating. The game is meant to be played with constant vigilance. Incoming damage is serious, with healing being relatively slow and rare. Particularly if you are not on a caster class. Certain enemies and traps can one-shot you. Enemy resistances and weaknesses are substantial. What this all adds up to is a resource management "metagame."

You could run up on a skeleton with a sword and shield and you will win the fight. But because it takes half as much damage from swords than maces, you'll take much more "chip" damage in the process, disadvantaging you in future fights unless you have a healing spell or item.

Knowledge and planning are far, far more important than skill. And you need to abuse all of the mechanics available to your class/gear set. I'm not fighting a troll on my unarmored ninja. But I can knock the torches off the wall and sneak by in the dark. Or I could send a companion on a heroic, absolutely totally necessary, sacrifice.

It will take hours to learn the mechanics well enough to reliably get to the later "floors" or biomes. And even then, bad luck with the procedural generation can put you in especially tough situations. You will face the first few floors dozens of times while learning, but I promise it's worth it. Why?


2.) This is clearly a labor of love. I come back to this game from time to time to find out there's been an update adding QoL features or even free content. What really tipped me to write this review was the introduction of a bestiary. One thing that drove me away from the game time and time again was needing to have the wiki up in the browser. Were rats vulnerable to swords or maces? If I mix water and acid, does that heal or explode? I was constantly pausing, tabbing out, reading, then coming back to play. They must have agreed this was annoying at Turning Wheel because they added a bestiary and potion recipe book to the game for quick reference.

Ten years into the life of a $20 game. They did not have to do it. They certainly didn't have to do it in a free update adding destructible environments and more loot. But they care about perfecting the game. And I gotta' support that.

MOST UNDERRATED GAME EVER. so much depth for a game i originally thought was just a simple rouge-like dungeon crawler. this has so many mechanics and simple design choices that make me come crawling back to it no matter how many times i die or lose disinterest. there is a certain charm that comes with a game with the calibre of detail this has. that will not let me say a bad word about this game. is it hard? YES. is it so complicated you wont understand without multiple hours to get the basic details? YES. but is it the most satisfying and unprecedentedly deep game i've had the joy of finding? YES ABSOLUTELY. just try it. if you don't get hooked in two hours, oh well. you gave it a go. but don't blame me when you also get a craving for it and come crawling back

*Finds scroll to remove curse*
*The scroll itself its cursed*
*dies from eating rotten rat meat*
10/10

This game is a bunch of fun. The skill system, traps, and enemies are the perfect blend of D&D inspired world-building and the creators' own inspired flair. The classes are varied and interesting, each offering a unique gameplay experience. While I did not pay much attention to the story itself, the dialogue is pretty interesting and the final bossfight was thoroughly challenging. I appreciate how the developers thought about how all of their components interact, especially involving the monster charming system and succubi in general. I have a personal vendetta with the person who suggested boulder traps, they have ended many a promising run, but they are disablable and it is most definitely skill issue. Overall, 10/10 game, tons of content and great with friends.

Fucking love it, it's difficult as fuck.

Helluva good time, D&D fans will love this

This game will really treat you like a level 1, but you level up fairly quickly (if you're good lol)

Pretty difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier! Best played with friends but a fun little game. A fun callback to early dungeon crawler rpgs. Recommended.

Got very far into a run with the best loot yet,
got locked up by a boulder trap with no way out,
10/10 game, would recommend.

It's fine. I had a lot of fun at first when everything was new and unknown, but soon after I started to feel like a lot of the mechanics are too shallow.

Melee combat is boring because all the enemy types seem to attack with the same cadence, so fights are mostly block > attack, repeat. Or if you're the stealthy type, it's more like sneak attack > turn and run > crouch 10 meters away until they lose aggro, repeat. Magic is more fun and varied, but mana regen is very slow and potions are few and far between. There's also not really a vertical axis for combat, so every ranged attack shoots in a straight line in front of you. This means no enemy weakspots and very simplified aiming. You can't even attack bats that are perched on the ceiling.

The idea of enemy resistances sounds engaging, but in reality if you're a sword user, you're not bringing along maces for the occasional skeleton, because your sword skill is at level 50+ and your mace skill is at 0.

The level designs lack variety and are too predictable in their "secrets". Level 2's secret area only ever takes you to the Gnomish Mines, level 3's secret area only ever takes you to Minetown, etc. And the prefabs around each floor don't seem to have any varieties. If you come upon monsters locked behind gates with spike traps underneath their feet, you can bet that the left lever will trigger the spikes and the right lever will open the gates, every time.

The class list looks like there's a lot of options, but some of them have too much overlap in my opinion. There's not enough to distinguish some of the more basic classes. The DLC classes on the other hand feel very unique and interesting.

There's also some annoying design decisions. Hotbar management is such a pain. The game never repopulates your hotbar the same way you had it set up before, which is especially apparent when playing someone like mechanist who's constantly having to throw out their turrets, then pick them all up when it's time to move. So there's no way to use muscle memory to quickly select items unless you're okay with reordering your hotbars every time you drop or lose some of your items.

Items sold by shops aren't always appraised, meaning you can't see their stats until you buy the item. Why would I want to waste my limited gold on an item that might be useless?

Alchemy sounded like a fun mechanic, but potions and empty bottles (the reagents you need to brew new potions) are so few and far between. And then you need to consume and blend your existing potions to find out what combinations produce what results, so you're just whittling down your already low supply. Which wouldn't be a big deal if you find a shopkeeper to buy potions from, but sometimes a run will just refuse to give you the right type of shopkeeper.

The swimming skill is pretty pointless. You're rarely in water and rarely need to swim for long. Some people argue that it's great to AFK in water to level it up because it levels up all your attributes for free. But AFKing isn't playing the game. The skill should just be removed or reworked.

Basically I think the game is worth a full playthrough, but beyond that it doesn't have enough replayability for me. I would also only recommend this game if you have friends to play with. Solo is alright but it feels like the game was designed around the co-op experience.

My Rating: 2/5

I had lost my intrest in gaming for a long time now, got bored of every game after a couple of hours.
This game brought me back completley! this is truly a hidden gem!
Even at the full price it's a steal! Buy this game and spread the word!

How is this 90% positive?
There is basically no depth to combat. Barely any unique items you just keep getting the same 3 things.
Playing solo is even worse as you will always be missing some important stuff like literally any sustain unless you have healing.
It's also missing every Quality of Life feature every other modern game has.

A very good classic dungeon crawler with a few issues with its game design, namely its incredibly slow health regeneration (this may raise some eyebrows depending on how long you've played this game, and yes I am aware of the assist items, but hear me out).

The core gameplay loop is solid: collect loot, kill monsters, raise skills, level up. There's enough variety in skills and magic and weapons that every class feels unique, even those that are quite similar in starting equipment. The scarcity of powerful items makes every decision count, and the somewhat unique encumbrance mechanics mean you need to balance carrying duplicate equipment with the speed to be able to escape a bad situation. The hunger system adds a good bit of urgency to your actions, without being a nuisance. Generally speaking you will only die from hunger if you've made some sort of horrible planning mistake or left the previous level unprepared, which I think is good, as it means exploration is rewarding.

The game's tutorials are deceptively hard, in fact I might argue some of their final 'test' sections are MORE difficult than anything you'll encounter in an actual game. This is probably by design- it sets the player's expectations for the difficulty high, then lets them off easy (albeit only slightly).

The game rewards patience and good planning. Unfortunately, the patience aspect is also one of its biggest flaws. There is very limited non-magical healing in Barony, and even the magical healing is fairly scarce outside of a few classes which start with it. This means your main source of healing is health regeneration, which is very, very slow. The issue with this is that it is incredibly slow, which makes sense for providing an incentive for players to play it safe, but it also means that successful runs will often spend around 30 minutes standing still, occasionally eating, just to regenerate their health enough for another bit of combat, which doesn't add to the difficulty as much as the tedium. Granted, you don't HAVE to do this, and one of the assist items provides regeneration after eating, but most assist items aren't really worth losing an equipment slot for, and waiting for regeneration harms the experience somewhat.

This is worst on some of the DLC monster races. Skeletons do not have to eat but have EVEN SLOWER regeneration, and Automatons have standard regeneration but INCREDIBLY fast hunger drain (they are able to eat random loot and scrap, but not food, so abundant food and lack of loot becomes a much larger problem).

This could potentially be solved by adding some sort of ability which allows the player to speed up their regeneration as well as their hunger drain. Other games with scarcer healing like (and yes this is a weird example) Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, or even traditional roguelikes, often include a 'wait until healed' button. As Barony is real-time rather than turn-based, this can't be perfectly replicated, but I also think the scenario of defending an ally while they 'hibernate' for health would be an interesting dynamic. While enemies do wander in Barony, they really don't wander enough for camping to be invalidated as a mechanic currently, so I see no issue with allowing some sort of hunger-consuming hibernation, even if it's a little dubious lore-wise.

Alternatively, regen could be sped up outside of combat like in modern RPGs, but I wouldn't suggest this personally as it would just make the game easier rather than less tedious, and Barony prides itself on its difficulty. (Speeding up hunger as well outside of combat would be a problem too as it would ruin the moments of peace sorting through loot, which I also find to be an important part of the game.)

That said, if you have a lot of time, want to play a class with healing magic or easy access potions, or are willing to find a spot to hole up in the dungeons to hole up in for upwards of 10 minutes, then this issue is moot, and Barony is an exceptional game. Even if you dislike that mechanic though, I still think Barony is pretty fun to play overall and worth a recommendation especially if it's on sale.

In 12 hours, I have only just completed the tutorials. And it's still one of the coolest games I've played in years. The closest thing to a real old fashioned D&D dungeon crawl I've experienced in a video game.

I actually really like this game, but when I quit it told me to give it a salty review - and who am I to contradict a loading menu tip?
Tastes nice on chips, liberally add to pasta water and ensure a rolling boil before adding the dry pasta.
This has been my salty review.

DUE WARNING this game is long each run takes hours but on the bright side youll likely not notice because your too busy falling over laughing because your friend died to 37 different boulders that came out of nowhere

A really good game. The story is simple. The game is difficult, but really fun.
In singleplayer: must plan every move to make sure you are not getting yourself killed.
In multiplayer: with randoms is important the communication and coordination (to not kill each other by mistake). With friends so much better in terms of everything (and you can laugh when you die each run).

I recommend it to everyone! It is an underrated game!

I haven't been playing for very long, 67 hours at the time of writing this and the game is great. I just beat the second boss (I don't quite know if there's more cause the credits rolled) being the arch mages using the conjurer and I enjoyed it. I do feel like the game isn't very hard if you explore each floor well and you know a bit of what your doing especially with lots of followers. Along with that is it isn't a long game, so maybe they could make it a bit harder to even out the loot. There's a couple tiers of weapons and armour, and there's a good bit of enemies too. One thing I wish they did was maybe randomize some of the floors that are in the same section because they feel pretty repetitive with them being the same. Otherwise I liked the game a ton as I have already said and I recommened you get it, but maybe hold off on the dlc's until you tried it cause you might get bored with this pretty quite and they cost a bit.

Goated game, please keep pumping content in this, it's amazing.

This game is super fun totaly recomend it (not being forced a gun point rn)

The game is addicting, challenging, fun...especially co-op (even PvP if one desires), &, at many times, simply brutal. As games, per this genre, go...I rank it a 10/10.

extremely fun, and ALOT of content and replayability, FOR CHEAP

Fantastic game. It is best with friends because solo can be unforgiving most of the time. Solo is absolutely good and still playable its just harder.
Combat is simple but effective with in depth stats for each enemy available in the compendium.
The game is complete as is but still looks as if the devs are adding and polishing because it's clearly their "baby" and they keep wanting it to be better.
If you like Dark and Darker but want something less pvp and more dungeons focused with friends it's a very good option.
if the game feels too tough it comes with a workshop there are mods available for those who want to explore more options whether it's more classes drops or something else.
Honestly I wish I had found this game when it was released cause It would have been up my ally 8 years ago. Definatly a labor of love and highly recommend if you are looking for games that are easy to run on almost any computer.

Im fairly new to the whole rouge-like genre. I’ve only played a handful of them but this is by far my favorite one. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like much. The graphics are basic (but beautiful!) and the price tag is low. You wouldn’t think this much content and depth would be included. I’m not really a fan of difficult games but something about this game just keeps dragging me back in for just one more run. But that one more run turns into 5. Then 10. Then 20. The amount of depth in this one is surprising and the lore is really cool too (read the books!).

This one is a no brainer. Get it. You won’t regret it……… until you strangle yourself with a cursed necklace 😅

Overall pretty fun game, But it does have a mighty challenge. If you don't mind that, it's for sure worth a buy.

0) This game is kino, I want more. 8.5/10. GO BUY IT, if it's on sale GO BUY IT MORE.
1) Gameplay loop is 7/10
2) ambiance is 10/10
3) multiplayer is 7/10
4) cost/perf is 9/10

1) Gameplay loop
a) the good:
Lots of variety and heavily customiseable, class system works well and doesn't pidgeonhole you. Enemy variety is enough, without new biome entirely scrapping past enemies either. Some RNG involved but some permanent elements as well.
There is one alternative boss and an alternative harder area, maybe we'll see more of it with further updates.
Controls are intuitive and inoffensive.
b) the bad
Permanent elements are too railroadey (fixed maps, only predetermined artifacts) and give no alternative choice so a lack of player agency. Magic is always good and you have nothing to gain by not using it, not offering the possibility to sacrifice it for betterment in melee or range. Inventory management is a bitch and is never really fun. Luck is a bit too involved with some outcomes, heavily favouring some gameplays over others.
Also the early game determines too much whether your run is going to be good or not. A successful gnome's mine almost always means a successful run, and once you get out of the haunted castle you've basically won the game, all that is left is menial labor.

2) ambiance
Only good here, BGM is serviceable, ultima underworld enjoyers will revel in this game too, the worldbuilding makes sense and stands out enough to be its own thing. No need for better graphics, and yet it's none of that fake "retro" shit where everything is made ugly/blocky/pixelated on purpose, Barony is visually exactly where it needs to be.

3) multiplayer
a) the good
Lag isn't an issue even with 250+ ping people from across the world. XP on kill means not stepping on each other's toes. Shared resources means planing is involved (and makes alternative resources using races more viable too). When you die you don't just sit on your ass but can be helpful as a ghost (moving items, opening door, slowing and pushing back enemies, scouting). From 1 to 4 players instead of a set number.
b) the bad
No mid join-in, setting up a game means dealing with a lot of options that are unintuitive, communications are limited (chat log shared with all events). All in all, it's problems that stem from the game trying to be too much of a roguelike rather than being fun first and foremost. Also multiplayer means that many people managing their inventory thus the downtime due to menial tasks is increased.

4) cost/perf
a) the good
Lots of update and new content (added monsters, added equipment, added levels, added spells) for free. Good at full price, a steal at half-price. Buy Buy Buy.
b) the bad
DLC requires achievements to fully unlock content, some achievement locked behind DLC (personally idgaf but you might if you're a loser)

All in all this game is super good.
I am keenly waiting for an eventual Barony 2; I don't want something different from the same dev, I want a bigger and better barony, something closer to an RPG than a roguelike.

Fun because it is so difficult. Tad expensive so I'd wait for a sale, but definitely fun. I don't have much time in this, but just make sure your items aren't cursed and that you distant yourself and use the shadows.

Really fun game with high replayability and challenge. more fun with friends but still fun to play solo.

A great dungeon crawler with the mechanics of games like shattered pixel dungeon with (older)elderscrolls adjacent combat, up to 4 player co-op(with couch co-op!) with many toggles to change settings to your liking, its a bit much at first but its a blast, could not recommend more!