Void Pyramid - FREE Oddball Ancient Egyptian Sci-Fi RPG-lite

[ASFTSN]

Anyone on here played through this appealing little micro-game by A.Hagen? 

It's sort of like a Link's Awakening dungeon crawl with combat that's like the absolute bare bones of a Final Fantasy/Pokemon JRPG, but the setting stands out in that it seems to be an alternate timeline where the Ancient Egyptians developed space travel, robotics, cloning, etc.  Sort of like a cute version of the front cover to Iron Maiden's Powerslave.

Story-wise you're banished by the tyrannical Prime Pharoah to life imprisonment in a deep space pyramid prison and have to explore/battle your way out.  The setting is very unique and actually the little snippets of information you'll read are surprisingly enough, quite atmospheric and even a little eerie in places. 



Combat is boneheadedly simple (Three options - either attack, use a one-use weapon that hits twice, or heal yourself back to full) but due to the fact it's over and done with in normally 1-2 rounds doesn't get tiresome.  There's some bosses, but almost all of them are optional, and once you're tooled up enough to beat them they'll normally be a walkover (except for one which I'll let you find yourselves).



Your 6 attributes are divided into two subgroups, first lot (Life, Attack, Defense) used in combat, and second lot (Brawn, Wits, Agility) used to negotiate hazards, characters and obstacles around the pyramid.  You can normally take different approaches to many obstacles.  Stats are mostly increased by spending the money ('Deben') you'll find by ransacking the dungeon and killing stuff. 

There's 45 evocatively described treasures you'll need to get for a perfect game scattered around the pyramid too (I was missing five of the bastards when I finished my first playthrough) some of which interact with other game elements once you've got them, some of which just depend on you have very sharp eyes or winning particular combats.

Graphics are as you can see the sort of retro-ugly that will drive you into a rage if you're someone that gets your pants in a twist about that sort of thing, but I thought it was easy enough on the eyes, and the choices of colours are strange pastels that suit the theme very well.  Music is a handful of themes that are enjoyable if repetitive and help with the atmosphere, and sound effects are a cut above what the graphics might suggest.   

I tend to require some grit and flexibility to my CRPG play so surprised myself by really enjoying this.  Plus - it's totally free.  5ish odd hours very pleasantly spent I'd say.  Several different endings too.  Download either on Steam or from the creator's website for the game here. 

And of course comes with the added embarrassment potential of your partner or colleague reading this over your shoulder:





 

[ASFTSN]

None of yez given this a go?  HtB, as the only other person that responds to my posts about CRPGs?

[Phil_A]

Holy shit, was this made in OHRRPGCE? Hadn't thought about that in years. I like that someone would go to the trouble of making a whole game in obsolete MS DOS software in 2017.

As it's free I might as well give it a go...

[ASFTSN]

It was indeed, the same bloke has made about 12 games using it which are all free on his blog.  This and  Ramble Planet looks like the ones that have gotten most attention.

OHRRPGCE intrigues me, since I have zero knowledge of coding and have always loved the idea of attempting to build a CRPG.  Looks like (one of) the only ways I could do it, and has always seemed quite straightforward.

[Phil_A]

I've played a few hours now, and yeah, it is very good! Reminds me of a lot of classic shareware titles, but better. As you say, the weird atmosphere and the little odd touches in the descriptions make it feel very unique.

This one looks intriguing as well:

https://andihagen.wordpress.com/2017/06/14/1999-megallennium-6-in-1-mega-cart/

[ASFTSN]

Thanks for the reply!  Yeah it's been a highlight for me of stuff I have played this year, just in how concise and intriguing it is.  I forced myself to take the penalties for dying and not save scum - which made things quite annoying after I accquired a certain permanent status effect in the final area...

Still a few things in it I couldn't figure out.  Let me know if you decide to take on the final boss...it would have necessitated a bit too much grinding for me.

[Phil_A]

I finished it at the weekend, I was actually a little disappointed it was over so quickly. I'd be interested to know if there are actually any good endings, as every choice seems to result in something terrible happening further down the line.

I didn't chose to fight the final boss either so I don't know how much that changes the outcome. There's also an option to leave the Pyramid by an alternative route that I didn't take.

Lots of treasures missed as well, might have to go back with a guide(assuming one exists) to pick up all the hidden stuff.

[ASFTSN]

Yeah the alternative route(s) into space - I found two - are both entertainingly bleak.  I would imagine the only actual good ending comes with the defeat of the pharoah boss, unfortunately I think the only way to do that is with severe grinding - but who knows, maybe there's a Fallout 1 'just kill yerself mate' way to finish him if your Wits are high enough.

Got Ramble Planet on my list but not a whole lotta free time at present.