Celestian Tales: Old North Review
Celestian Tales: Old North takes place in a heavily theocratic society in an old-fashioned land, where law breakers are met with swift persecution. Six individuals from different backgrounds all yearn to become knights for different reasons, like helping the poor or proving their worth in the eyes of another.
While going through their squire training, they must face the ever present threat of the World Enders, an invading barbaric tribe from the north that seek to wipe out the human populace. Separate in their endeavors, a key event unites them to face this lurking malevolence.
Thus kicks off one of the more fascinating aspects of Celestian Tales - it offers players a way to view the events of the plot from six different perspectives. Each of the playable characters has their own story to tell, and while it mostly acts as a wrapper around the overarching narrative, there are still some surprising revelations that can be made.
The game does a good job in not letting you learn too much about the other members of your party, instead urging one to experience the story through their eyes. That said, it still comes down to whether someone would want to go through mostly the same game more than once. There's not much replayability beyond that as progress doesn't carry over.
Sadly, the story feels incomplete. There are certain locations around the map that are shown but are simply not accessible. Even in the starting area there are multiple sections that are blocked off, removing any sense of a vibrant world that one can get lost in.
The climax is abrupt and confusing. There are several loose ends present that are never resolved, raising more questions than answers, and is sure to leave a lot of players feeling confused on how the events play out. And even when something does end, it happens far too conveniently to feel satisfying.
It is difficult to say whether the developer simply ran out of budget and needed to rush the title out the door or there are plans for a sequel (not a fan when a game is designed that way). Either way, it proves detrimental to the overall experience.
The combat in Celestian Tales takes a little getting used to. There’s no mana pool, instead utilizing a stamina bar that can be recovered through defending, attacking, transferring, or via the use of certain items.
Each player begins a battle with a set amount of stamina that can be adjusted through the equipment that they wear and passive skills that have been learned.
The overall difficulty curve of the game is fair and balanced once you get a couple hours in. Your entire party levels at the same time which is very convenient. Stamina and health are recovered between each encounter so one can quickly grind out levels without having to worry about resource management. I feel like more RPGs should employ this mechanic as it avoids the annoying routine of post-battle clean-up.
The biggest praise I can give the game is the amazing soundtrack. I went into this expecting something ripped from a royalty-free library, but the OST is full of original music of not just solid quality but also quantity. Most of the areas of the adventure have their own distinct track, with plenty of effort put into creating a sound that fits the mood of the story.
The art direction is also commendable. The character portraits are beautiful, and the 8-directional sprites are well-made. I won’t say the game stands out too much from its peers, but when it's on point, I found myself smiling as I took it all in.
Celestian Tales: Old North is ultimately a game that falls short of the mark. While it all looks and sounds good, there are just too many problems with the way it presents its story. There is a heavy reliance on backtracking, and there are some important events that are brought up once and never addressed again.
The game felt like it was cut short, and that could be due to the Kickstarter budget that they had at their disposal. Despite all of that, this is still a solid effort from Ekuator Games, and I would really like them to take another stab at this genre - if only to listen to that wonderful music once again.