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Critical Forge’s “Forged of Blood” is a fantasy themed and turned-based RPG game, much in the same vein of “Sword Legacy Omen“, or even “Warhammer : Chaosbane“. Anyways, I think you get the idea.

So let’s move on to the actual game itself shall we? So, as I was saying. The game kicks-off with you taking on a band of warriors, as you need to take back what has been stolen from you.

After that, you are in charge of your (and your group’s) faith, fame and fortune on the battlefield.

This is the first screen that you meet once you boot-up “Forged of Blood”. To be exact, it’s the game’s menu screen (it’s nothing fancy really, but it gets the job done so to speak).

I would also like to mention that just like the aforementioned “Omen” game, “Forged of Blood” also features a sort of visual novel section between battles. However, in “Forged of Blood” it’s rather primitive, and at one point crashed the game…

forged of blood a nice bit of detail in the scenery

There is a nice bit of detail to be found in the scenery (as seen in the picture). Lovely indeed.

Gameplay-wise, “Forged of Blood” is pretty much like most RPG games out there. Simply put, you have a given number of characters which are used to carry out your objectives. Each character takes it in turn to move and, optionally attack an enemy.

forged of blood the spell crafting screen

Say hello to the game’s rather complex spell-crafting screen.

Once done, the computer-controlled enemy AI do the same. Each side takes it in turns to move and attack until either side as won. So far, “Forged of Blood” is pretty much the same as any other given RPG title out there (for good and bad).

There are quite a few different environments to explore and experience in “Forged of Blood”.

So does “Forged of Blood” do anything different at all? No, not really. I mean, whilst there are both close combat and ranged weaponry, as well as magic (which affects an area and not a character). So there isn’t really all that much which separate this game from all the others.

forged of blood the visual novel side of the game

The “visual novel” side is basic. Other than that, the text could do with being a bit larger too.

Movement is simple enough in the game. As you’re effectively shown how much energy it takes to move to a particular spot, and once done.

You may have enough energy left to attack someone else, and once you’ve run out of energy. It’s simply time for you to move onto the next character in-line.

Some of the game’s side quests can also involve fighting against native creatures.

Other than that, characters can swap weapons, but that takes up a turn. Attacking works in the same way as moving and your selected character will either cause damage to a selected enemy or miss.

This is the map screen of “Forged of Blood”, and I for one find it to be rather cool-looking. However, a down-side to it would be that it’s background has a tendency to flicker from time to time.

As for voice acting and whatnot. Well, the game’s characters say a short and repetitive phrase before moving or attacking, which are more amusing than they should be really.

Even so, one thing that this game does have is very nicely animated graphics (although that is mainly confined to the backgrounds).

“Forged of blood” is very visually appealing for most of the time (especially the backgrounds are very nicely made).

Here’s a fair warning though. Whilst all the characters are nicely drawn, and move very well (it’s nice to see them jump up and down obstacles). You can’t help feeling that more effort was put into the scenery.

However, thanks to the adjustable movement speeds. You don’t have to watch all the animation to complete a turn, which can be handy.

I find it to be a good thing that you can accelerate the speed of the turns in the game (not everyone has the needed patience to just sit around and wait between the turns…).

It’s also worth pointing out that each character has traits that can be upgraded. Weapons and magic can also be upgraded, and swapped around as you see fit. However, whilst there are two slots for main and secondary weapons, you generally can’t dual-weld.

So most of the time the second slot for each weapon is left empty. It’s also not always obvious which weapons are allowed in which weapon slots either.

There are a lot of things that could have been better in “Forged of blood”, and plenty of things that are in need of improvements. For starter. The game is a bit buggy, and the map background flickers from time to time. So I truly hope that it’s something that’s going to be addressed and solved as soon as possible.

Upgrades are simple enough to do though, but only become active once you okay them, which means if you flit between characters without activating them. So you have to re-do it when you move back to the starting character…

At the end of the day though. “Forged of Blood” is a nice looking fantasy turn-based RPG that could have been so much more if it hadn’t been for a handful of down sides.

Furthermore “Forged of Blood” also struggle to stand out from the RPG crowd with no doubt. Even so, “Forged of Blood” is still worth giving a try if you’re into fantasy turn-based RPG’s as there are a lot of fun to be had nevertheless.

Pros:
+ Graphics, especially the backgrounds are nice.
+ Not lacking in statistics and information.
+ Turns can be sped up if needed.
+ Music and sound are okay.

Cons:
– Bit buggy – crashed to desktop during the “visual novel” part.
– Map background flashes.
– Speech is nice to have, but gets repetitive.
– Perhaps the inventory/spell casting screens could be a bit more intuitive.
– Expensive.
– The game’s text parts are pretty darn small in font size.

Gameplay: 3/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound and music: 3/5
Controls: 3/5
Replay value: 3/5
Story: 4/5

tgg grade 3 out of 5

Verdict: 3/5
Aside from the rather complicated inventory system and the somewhat fantasy setting, “Forged Of Blood” got very really little to differentiate itself from earlier released turn-based games….

So just like so many other titles before “Forged Of Blood”. The graphics are nice and things work. So it’s neither bad nor great, and doesn’t have enough to make it really stand out.

Even so, “Forged Of Blood” might still be worthy of your time and money if you’re into fantasy-themed turn-based RPGs.

Title: Forged Of Blood
Developer: Critical Forge
Format: PC
Genre: Turn-based fantasy role-playing
Resolution: User-defined
Release date: 2019-08-01
Difficulty: User-defined
Spent time: + 2 hours
Average grade internationally: N/A Gamerankings.com
PEGI age rating: +12
Price: 26.90 Euros via Steam